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This is an industry-wide cluster. Why all the lazy ass UI Lead Gen bullshit?

Simple answer... Dumb websites, ZERO integration and an industry thats been trained for almost two decades that the only way to measure the effectiveness of a website is how many leads the freaking site generated because most (including OEM's) can't seem to be able to measure anything past that!!!!

Soooo.... Let's throw as many M'Fing widgets on the page that we possibly can!!! Nevermind that the vehicle photos still SUCK!!! Nevermind that the vehicle descriptions still SUCK. Nevermind that your using a vehicle pricing process thats as old as the car business is and your overpriced in your market on most of your new and used inventory. Nevermind those things. Who needs that BS. We need more leads to fill up the CRM's because as an industry we poorly train our staff to properly handle the leads we have now and most reps simply quit trying after a couple phone calls and emails, but those wonderful CRM systems that we're paying a premium price for................. (nevermind, I'll just leave it there)!

Wash...Rinse...Repeat....
 
I don't have the heart to post who the dealer is (a friend of mine), but their chat tool went from an image of Paul to an image of Elaine. Humans or robots, whom am I speaking with here? So funny... and also untrustworthy. It's the chat 3rd party but it's killing the experience.
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I don't have the heart to post who the dealer is (a friend of mine), but their chat tool went from an image of Paul to an image of Elaine. Humans or robots, whom am I speaking with here? So funny... and also untrustworthy. It's the chat 3rd party but it's killing the experience.

The first time we signed up with Gubagoo I called up my contact there and said "Great product, great service, but it's unacceptable to have the name and photo of the person change randomly - stick to one name or use real operator names somehow".
As I understand it, they've solved for that somehow - it seems like a small thing, but I've seen real customers call them on it.
 
I think it is up to the Dealer and Website Provider to work and push back on Chat and Text pop-ups/sidebar banners and integrate them. I agree they are completely obtrusive and create a horrible UI/UX.

I have also started to notice that some Chat providers removed the close "x" icon on their chat box :egads:

You can take a look at how we integrated the text feature from Edmunds directly into the site:

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✨ AI Highlights

Automotive professionals documented numerous examples of poor website usability across dealer sites (Honda North, BMW North Scottsdale, Right Toyota) and vendor platforms (CarCode), citing problems like obstructive chat widgets, cumbersome mobile navigation, and outdated browser requirements that frustrate potential buyers. The consensus is that dealers should hold third-party vendors accountable for these experiences, as bad UX directly damages lead quality and customer acquisition. The thread reveals systemic laziness in the industry regarding lead generation UI design, with participants calling for dealers to demand better standards from their software providers.

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