For better or for worse … in sickness and in health … until death do we part.
How loyal are you ladies and gentlemen? To a certain brand or dealership, that is.
I’m sure there’s some of you out there who only drive American-made automobiles. Then you have your import-only drivers. Then there’s many who don’t seem to care one way or another.
I have been loyal to the same nail salon for over two years and I see the same two people. My mother has been following Tina and Alex (our nail people) for nearly five years. I know you can’t really compare buying a car to getting a manicure … but loyalty is loyalty, no matter how much or how little the service you are getting may cost you.
So tell me this … do you have a loyalty to a brand or a dealership? If so, which and why? If not, I’m curious why you have chosen to remain ‘single’ in the eyes of car-buying! 🙂
4 Comments
I’ll be loyal to a dealership if I feel they take care of me both during and after the purchase. For example, we bought a new car last year and had a great experience with the purchase itself. However, and out of loyalty, I began using their service department for my other car and really found myself in a different world. Repairs not being completed, over pricing, wrong parts being ordered, etc. More than likely I will return to this dealer when I decide to get a new car for myself (the other purchase was for my wife) but I think I will stick to smaller repair shops for future repairs.
Thank you for your comment and I appreciate your feedback. We agree that is important to not only feel comfortable with your purchase, but your service experiences as well. I try to tell my salesmen and women – it’s about building a relationship with your customers FOR LIFE! You treat them well; they treat you well.
Let me ask you … has the dealership (service) done anything to address these complaints? If not, what would you like them to do? And if they have, what was the solution?
In all fairness to the service department, I didn’t really raise an issue over the problem but rather just gave up on it. For example, when my front brakes were squeeling I took the car in and got new pads. When the noise continued I took it back and was told I now needed new shims. When the shims came in I went over to the service department only to be told that they ordered the wrong parts. When the right ones came in they did the work but I left with the same noise coming from the brakes. At that point I just gave up because I assumed I would just be told I needed something else replaced to eventually get right of the noise.
Well, it seems like you did a lot of “back and forth” with the service department. I’m sorry it was such an inconvenience for you … and an unsuccessful transaction.
I asked some of the guys in the back if there is anything we do to try to prevent the “back and forth” dilemma. For every customer that comes into the service department, our guys perform a (free) multi-point vehicle inspection. This essentially grades your vehicle (A, A-, D+). However, they DO NOT go looking for problems … if it is visible or apparent, it is addressed.
Thank you again for sharing…I enjoy learning more each day.