Having a conscience
Discussion
Around 5 or 6 years ago I was working on a Saturday at a car dealers run by a friend of mine. We sell only 1 make of car that has a small market appeal.
A very elderly couple came in, (it turned out they were both in their 80s), and they expressed a desire for the gentleman to have a test drive in one of our stock. I did the initial driving and then asked if the gentleman would care to take over and drive the car back to our site. This was only about a mile and a half but it soon became apparent that he had very little clue about how to drive, and very little awareness of other road users and obstacles while driving. In short, he frightened the life out of me. On getting back to the site, I took his wife to one side and expressed my concern that her husband was obviously a danger to himself, and more importantly to other road users, and on that basis I would not want to sell them a car. They walked off and we never saw them again.
Fast forward to 2 weeks ago and a young couple in their late 20s come in with a very short grey haired gentleman who wished to test drive a particular car that they had spied on the internet. (This was a car with rather more performance than the standard product). The car was for the gentleman who, I gathered, was not related to the younger pair. Anyway, same procedure as usual, I do the initial driving then hand over to the customer. I inquired of the gentleman's age while I am driving and he says, "I am over 80 but haven't driven for a year, but used to own large Merc's". We exchanged seats and I went through the same scenario as 5 or 6 years previously. On getting back to the site I again expressed my concern to the young couple about their friends lack of capability at his ripe old age and that his faculties were no longer as sharp as they once were. I suggested that they went away and considered their next move. We haven't seen them since.
I am one of 3 people that run our site and try to give the customer the sort of service they expect.
I wonder how many large franchised/manufacturer backed main dealers would adopt the same sort of conscience.
Very, very few I would hazard a guess. Money is their ONLY driving force, and obtaining it by any legal means is their basic criteria.
A very elderly couple came in, (it turned out they were both in their 80s), and they expressed a desire for the gentleman to have a test drive in one of our stock. I did the initial driving and then asked if the gentleman would care to take over and drive the car back to our site. This was only about a mile and a half but it soon became apparent that he had very little clue about how to drive, and very little awareness of other road users and obstacles while driving. In short, he frightened the life out of me. On getting back to the site, I took his wife to one side and expressed my concern that her husband was obviously a danger to himself, and more importantly to other road users, and on that basis I would not want to sell them a car. They walked off and we never saw them again.
Fast forward to 2 weeks ago and a young couple in their late 20s come in with a very short grey haired gentleman who wished to test drive a particular car that they had spied on the internet. (This was a car with rather more performance than the standard product). The car was for the gentleman who, I gathered, was not related to the younger pair. Anyway, same procedure as usual, I do the initial driving then hand over to the customer. I inquired of the gentleman's age while I am driving and he says, "I am over 80 but haven't driven for a year, but used to own large Merc's". We exchanged seats and I went through the same scenario as 5 or 6 years previously. On getting back to the site I again expressed my concern to the young couple about their friends lack of capability at his ripe old age and that his faculties were no longer as sharp as they once were. I suggested that they went away and considered their next move. We haven't seen them since.
I am one of 3 people that run our site and try to give the customer the sort of service they expect.
I wonder how many large franchised/manufacturer backed main dealers would adopt the same sort of conscience.
Very, very few I would hazard a guess. Money is their ONLY driving force, and obtaining it by any legal means is their basic criteria.
My father in law wanted to buy his son a ford fiesta and did the rounds through a few small, "independant" dealers. The sorts of vehicles he came across were terrible - ran poorly, not as described, one engine hadnt had an oil change in 30,000 miles (and sounded it too) but the people running the business were not taking any critisism.
He then spied a fiesta at our local ford dealership. So we took a trip down there (I had been there previously) and whilst the young chap showing us around was a bit of a lad, he was genuine and honest. One of the first cars we looked at he claimed wasnt the best example he had (and showed us why - some wear on the seats, marks and scratches and when I asked about the service history he went and got it, and found it was not so perfect despite being "full"). I asked him a few questions about the cars in general (servicing etc) and things he wasnt sure of he went and found the answers. In the end my father in-law came away with a nice fiesta that had been looked after and he felt safe in the knowledge his son is now driving a good example of the car.
I would happily go back to that dealership.
In another story, my brother bought a used honda civic 1.6 SPORT VTEC from a honda dealer. He has had great service from them regarrding waranty, and they also sent him a letter after 12 months to remind him about car servicing (but it wasnt needed as my brother is good about that and has my dad help him with it).
In another story, my older brother has a good experieince with his local BMW dealership. They look after his car, have patiently showed him how to do the basic checks (he's not so mechanically minded) and keep him well informed when he has had the car in with them for other work
So dealerships arnt all bad. Further more, some independant dealers are bad. In this life we have to take things as we find them, take people as we find them and bend accordingly to get the sort of things we want. No-one likes being spoken down to, or ridiculed, or made a fool of. When one party does that, the other is offended and walks away. But if both parties are clever and can judge people correctly, then a good rapport is established, making interactions smooth, enjoyable and repeatable.
It's a bit like making love to a beautiful woman.
He then spied a fiesta at our local ford dealership. So we took a trip down there (I had been there previously) and whilst the young chap showing us around was a bit of a lad, he was genuine and honest. One of the first cars we looked at he claimed wasnt the best example he had (and showed us why - some wear on the seats, marks and scratches and when I asked about the service history he went and got it, and found it was not so perfect despite being "full"). I asked him a few questions about the cars in general (servicing etc) and things he wasnt sure of he went and found the answers. In the end my father in-law came away with a nice fiesta that had been looked after and he felt safe in the knowledge his son is now driving a good example of the car.
I would happily go back to that dealership.
In another story, my brother bought a used honda civic 1.6 SPORT VTEC from a honda dealer. He has had great service from them regarrding waranty, and they also sent him a letter after 12 months to remind him about car servicing (but it wasnt needed as my brother is good about that and has my dad help him with it).
In another story, my older brother has a good experieince with his local BMW dealership. They look after his car, have patiently showed him how to do the basic checks (he's not so mechanically minded) and keep him well informed when he has had the car in with them for other work
So dealerships arnt all bad. Further more, some independant dealers are bad. In this life we have to take things as we find them, take people as we find them and bend accordingly to get the sort of things we want. No-one likes being spoken down to, or ridiculed, or made a fool of. When one party does that, the other is offended and walks away. But if both parties are clever and can judge people correctly, then a good rapport is established, making interactions smooth, enjoyable and repeatable.
It's a bit like making love to a beautiful woman.
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