DW's Blog

Lost Customer

by DW Green — February 7, 2018

Take care of customers you already have

I had an unpleasant experience at the ole auto dealership last month. I’ve leased five cars at that dealership over the past seven years. The car looks good, runs great and a heck of a value! So when my lease was up, I went to the dealer to lease a new one, same model and color. I was told they didn’t have the color I wanted in that particular model. I asked if they could get the car from another dealer? I was told that there wasn’t one in the state of Arizona. My options were to either purchase one in a color I didn’t want or drive to Nevada or California to buy the one I wanted. I wasn’t pleased with either option so I bought a different brand of car from a different dealer.

Later when scheduling an inspection for the car I was returning, I was told by the national car manufacture that I could extend my lease payments for up to six months so I could order the car I wanted. Well, it was too late by then, as I had already purchased a different car. When I returned the leased car to the dealer, I explained the situation to the sales manager, telling him there was a third option, in case someone else visited the dealership with a similar situation to mine. The sales manager didn’t listen, was arrogant and could only offer excuses about allotment issues. The dealership has lost my business, even though I’m an old dude with few future car purchases to look forward too!

The moral to the ole auto dealership story is to take care of the customers you already have. A goofy, inexplicable policy coupled with an arrogant salesperson equals a lost customer and thousands of dollars in lost revenue.