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I am BEYOND frustrated with Dealer.com

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#63
JQuinn said:
I will offer that there is one MAJOR difference in the banter above -- anonymity vs. public accountability.

Beating your chest and making threatening remarks behind the veil of anonymity is kinda like a little kid flipping-off the other kids on the playground while holding-on to mommy's pant leg -- not real high on the Brave-O-Meter, know what I mean?

This is a pretty lively discussion, but not really valuable without equality. I would like to see introductions! This is the CAR business -- I think we skipped the meet-n-greet. "Hello, my name is John, and you are?" :)

Let's take the masks off! If we can't get that far, maybe time to pick another playground.
Click to expand...

Amen. Thank you John! :rofl:

Kcar, come on, looking at all your post there isn't much you haven't commented on since joining in June that has not had some negative tone toward vendors or in general. Joe, JQuinn and others have asked that you identify yourself. As Ricky Bobby said "with all due respect..." grow a set and identify yourself if your going to continue to contribute, this isnt some high school BS! Alex has offered to help you from dealer.com and you didn't even acknowledge him, hell, he even offered you a hug..... who wouldn't want a hug from Alex?

The team at dealer.com can take the critisizm, maybe something good will come out of some of the comments. I am a dealer.com client and been very pleased so far. I am not an expert but I wasn't born yesterday, I think they have a good product. However, I agree with some of the things posted and some of the things you said but there is a way to go about it. Maybe its just that being a southerner I handle things in a more tackful way.

The DR community to me is the best round table for dealers without the BS! As Joe said and you have basicly admitted, you seem to be a vendor. I have been part of this community for almost 2 years and DR is a great resource for DEALERS that allows vendors to join in on healthy discussion, answer questions, give advice, and give some laughs! Jeff, Alex and everyone involved have worked to keep it that way and we all respect each other and act professionaly. We all can suggest some vendor or "I'm an expert" dominated forums if you want to chime in on the many debates they have and prefer that style.

You have to fogive me, I am ADD and can ramble. Simply put, just identify yourself, and join in the discussion to help and learn, not to bash everything or act like a know-it-all.

And just accept Alex's hug.......... he's really a nice guy!
 
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#64
Dan Opthof said:
I couldn't agree with you more. I average 12 leads a month from them, and it's a shame we are in contract with them. I will not renew them.
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We're sorry to hear that Dan. I can assure you some good discussion has happened at Dealer.com, in regards to your comment, since you posted it this morning. Expect to hear from someone soon.
 
Dominion DMS
#66
I will give something to KCAR;

I do understand the size of DDC. With size comes the ability to have tools that smaller companies can't afford to develop. The problem then is that if you want very unique changes or things done to your website they have a harder time getting those done.

Also remeber that the more tools DDC offers the less flexible their system gets as it need to play a much larger orchesta and make sure all works.

That said, a small website company, maybe even a website company that is not in the car biz may work better for you.

One of my Honda dealers broke all the rules and they work with w company in India that had never done dealer sites and they seem to be happy with what they have. They were very specific about it.

This dealer group (and please website vendors respect then now that you know) Bruce Titus > Home uses a small local company (check at the bottom: Home > SiteCrafting, Inc.). I dont have any knowledge whether they are happy or not, but this was also a unique move in my market since almost all other dealers use a car biz specific vendor for the website.
 
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#67
Do shoppers really stop and say "damn, that looks just like a dealer website I went to 3 weeks ago".

No.
(unless its a BMW franchise site ;-).


Do shoppers complain that all the dealer sites look the same?

No.

Cookie cutter complaints come from car guys (like you and me) that look at other dealer sites all the time.
 
#68
yagoparamo said:
...That said, a small website company, maybe even a website company that is not in the car biz may work better for you.
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Yag,

I know kcar like the back of my hand and I think I like him.

Here's my take.

Kcar is a brilliant young and eager spirit that has invested a lot of time teaching himself all things interweb. Although he found high school to be a bore, he discovered many challenging ways the web allows for self-expression and creative freedom. To enhance his myspace pages, He loved working with photoshop. These efforts led to WordPress and more... Every HTML door kcar opened, he eagerly devoured.

While Kcar was working the forums, he also discovered that marketing was second nature to him (where the other geeks he ran into were oblivious to it).

This young buck needed a day job, found a dealer that needed a geek to work the net and kcar was off and running. Kcar was ready to knock the ball over the fence but the web marketing systems the dealer had were closed systems & not widget friendly. It was as if kcar was being forced to work the net with his hands firmly tied behind his back. Typing on a keyboard with your nose SUCKS and it makes you MAD AS HELL. All kcar understood was the simplicity of the REAL internet vs the handcuffed internet that dealers wer being forced to use.

ergo... DDC rage.

What our budding young gun dosent fully understand is the depth and complexity of Dealer operations. He dosent understand VINexplosions, trim level option mayhem (aka Chrome Fees), eVox stock pics fees, DMS polling (technical and legal), inventory data exporting, data exporting standards and on and on and on...

The good news is that if kcar has the patience to learn every aspect of our space, in about 5-7 years he'll be a major player. If kcar finds a guru (that'll put up with him ;-), Cut that 5/7 years in half.


Which takes us to today...
IMO, the WORST thing kcar's GM could do is give him authority to replace DDC with a home-brew solution, or, give him any authority in the decision making process. Until kcar works with every facet of the dealership his input should be limited to his scope of work.
 
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#69
yagoparamo said:
This dealer group Bruce Titus > Home uses a small local company (check at the bottom: Home > SiteCrafting, Inc.). I dont have any knowledge whether they are happy or not, but this was also a unique move in my market since almost all other dealers use a car biz specific vendor for the website.
Click to expand...

Yag,

Bruce Titus is a GREAT example of comparing Dealer Vendor Sites (like ecarlist, Dealer.com, DealerFire.com, etc) vs a DIY solution.

Summary: DIY = IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT... EVERYTHING.

A 60 second tour of Bruce Titus > Home shows me more FLAWS than I have time to write.
MayDay, MayDay, MayDay!!!
DIY FAIL, DIY FAIL,
ABANDON SHIP!!!


VDP page FAILs: Bruce Titus
  • It took me 30+ seconds to find the options, and they are a disorganized visual mess. Swapout the disclaimer with the options tab, WTF! HIDE THE DISCLAIMER, NOT THE OPTIONS.
  • Whats up with that irritating auto pic scroller?
  • Why does the SRP call it a Model Code # and the VDP calls it a stock #?
    • Model Code BW514024B
    • Stock #: BW514024B
  • Where's the Trim? (its buried, should be in the model area)
  • Where's the MPG? (its buried too)
  • Oh and look at these helpful options!
    • 4 Doors
    • Clock - In-radio
    • Satin Silver PRNDL Bezel Also Includes Leather Trimmed Bucket Seats.
Few people on this planet are as well qualified on DIY vs Vendor web sites than I am. In my past life, I've built an internet startup company (Shark Investing - Stock Market News, Investing Advice, Stock Picks, Volume Chart, Intraday Market Report), so building a DIY site from the ground up with Homenet was a comfortable place for me. I EASILY have over 1,000 hours in research and design and communication. I keep EVERY EMAIL with My project manager (Matt Scalcione) and it's around 1,300 emails at last count. My site is 3+ years old and it's totally due for a ground up make over.

If you go it alone, IT's ALL YOUR FAULT.
If you go it alone, you had better be the smartest guy in the room
If you go it alone, it will test your management skills to the max (organization, communications & time management)

Oh, if you think its frustrating to work your web vendors customer service, just wait until you work with web geeks that know nothing about cars.

Be Careful for what you wish for HUG YOUR WEB VENDOR


Last thoughts:
If you are frustrated with your Web Vendor and your contract is a year out (or less), you had best get organized NOW. Document EVERYTHING that drives you mad. Document your wish list for ideas that you think are important. Then, Document your wish list for ideas from management on ideas they think are important.

When I built my list it was on a yellow legal pad and it was 3 pages long. 3 PAGES LONG!

Fax or email that "build sheet" to your existing vendor and tell them this is what you expect to be done by contract renewal. Inform your vendor that this same sheet will be used to solicit other vendors.

Nothing scares a poorly executing & inflexible vendor than a highly prepared customer.

Hug your vendor, work with them, THEY ARE NOT THE ENEMY. But, warn them they have to perform or they're getting the boot!!
 
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#70
JoePistell said:
Do shoppers really stop and say "damn, that looks just like a dealer website I went to 3 weeks ago".

No.
(unless its a BMW franchise site ;-).


Do shoppers complain that all the dealer sites look the same?

No.

Cookie cutter complaints come from car guys (like you and me) that look at other dealer sites all the time.
Click to expand...

That is totally true. Adding to the point, rather than cookie cutter websites they should be called 'websites with features known to work".

Problem is that when dealers don't sell cars often times they will turn to the easiest problem they can focus on to change/solve and often times it is "have the website company change the website".
 
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Dominion DMS
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