We just got a brand new MINI and as we left the sale manager start talking about the survey we would receive in an email, and how a rating less than 10 is a failure.
So what’s the secret behind those surveys? Why would he insist so much for 10s, as if their career is on the line?
I’d like to say give me good service and I’ll give you 10, but I also want to build a good relationship with those guys.

Some background:
When we order the MINI the young novice sales person wasn't very helpful in guiding us with options. We actually had to tell him a lot of things from our own research online. He got an important detail of the interior wrong. They were not up to date with their knowledge between 2013 and 2014 configuration which we had to consolidate on the fly, making us very unsure as to what options I would have wanted over another. This completely killed discussion about MSRP price and getting upgraded wheels. The sale manager was extremely aggressive in terms of his money.

When we picked up the car it took exhausting 3.5hrs to which we were busy for about 45 minutes top.
Overall all pleasant people but it was far far from a pleasant experience for us. I was honest with him via emails and now he’s asking us what he can do to make up for the trouble and to make sure we give all 10s.

I feel a little frustrated with this. We gave them a chance the first time to give us good service (I took a lot of time to provide them fair and honest feedback), I’m trying to be really nice and easy going, and I’m not really feeling heard very much. At the same time I’d hate a bad rating to interfere with them taking good care of the car. I also don’t know what to respond to him since I don’t feel the sale manager will give us anything for free or even at discount… so it feels everything is one way and not really sensitive to our needs. It’s understood on how they work but in my book, even if you’re a good sales man and know how to maximize your gains, you've got to give a little to keep us for the long run… Take our money, take our 10 ratings, gives us nothing, hmmm it doesn't add-up

Sorry for the long post. I guess I needed to vent more than I thought on the subject

 

This article sums up me feelings:
http://whowritesforyou.com/2012/02/0...s-are-useless/

 

I know that at my dealer they need a 9 or 9.2 average to not get dinged in the pay category. Also consistent or low scores will result and not working there anymore. It sucks because you would think if something needs a little work that a 7 or an 8 would be a fair judge on a 10 point scale, but then again that means these people don't make as much money and then lose their jobs if they keep that up.

In fairness to the dealers and service department. Don't hate the player, hate the game.

 

Just don't return the survey when it comes.................

 

be honest. dealers that treat their customers like crap deserve to have repercussions for it. if they try to take it out on your at service, give them bad reviews there too, copies get sent to corporate not just the dealer. bad dealers will never change until they are held accountable for their behavior.

why did you even get the car from a dealer like that? i would have walked away and gone somewhere else.

 

I don't hate the players but it's BMW MINI's game, their rules, not mines.
In good conscience I don't know how I can give a high rating when I'm the one feeling the pain, and when the good service is full of words but empty of actions...

I feel this is like the tipping discussion... The social mantra is: give a big tip to the waiter because he doesn't earn much. Why should it be my problem if the owner is not paying the waiter well? Did I push the waiter to get that job? I truly work my *** off and I don't get a tip from my client when I do a good job... I barely get a thank you if that. I tip well when the waiter has done his job well.
Systematically giving a big tip to the waiter regardless of the service is like facilitating the owner in not feeling the pressure to pay his waiters better. Kind of backwards...

It's a little bit the same here. If I give great ratings what's to push the service person to work any harder? Nothing... The problem I see here is if I give a fair rating (And I do mean a fair rating, not a bad rating) and the dealer sees that, then I'm the one blamed through the on going service...

 

Well, not all was bad and where I am I have no choice. There's only 1 MINI dealer in the region.


it has crossed my mind . . . though it feels like giving up on the issue. I'm not sure it helps anyone then.

 

TG... I had a lot of the same problems at my dealer.. There was a lot of them that had very little knowledge about giving correct answers.. In fact I knew more then they did..lol.. One of the issues came up about paddle shifters..they had no idea if I was going to get them or not.. I made sure I did get them..(whole new story there) Now when this survey came up at the dealership and they knew I was unhappy with there so called service they tag teamed me with different MAs and even a few from the service department on how important it was for them to get all 10s!! It was pathetic!!..

 

The dealer I bought mine from did not even talk about a survey, funny thing is they deserve 10's across the board they were so pleasant to deal with.

 

Sales and service are two different groups. If you give sales bad marks it is highly unlikely that service would know this. Considering that the people at the dealership might not see you for 4 to 6 months or even longer after you get the car until you come back for your first service (assuming you have no issues with your car) and how often people turn over at these places and you probably go into another part of the building for service, I think you have nothing to worry about.

I have my car for almost 5 years. In that time the MA who sold my car to me is LONG gone. The service dept is on their 4th or 5th Service Manager and I am onto my 3rd consistent SA. There is not one SA left from when I first brought my car in for service.

And I think the whole survey thing is BS too.

 

Just got my reminder email for that...still haven't answered. Totally feel the same way: I'm getting ready to pull of the lot in my new CM and my MA (who was above average in some areas and ok in others) gives his spiel about how he'll lose his bonus blah blah blah.

Maybe you should take the time to ensure my satisfaction at points throughout the process instead of asking me to do you a favor now that I'm happy.

I haven't even looked at the survey, but will probably wait a little longer before opening the email and addressing my concerns with my MA (I'm not looking for anything in return - I already got what I wanted).

 

Great topic! At the beginning of the year when I bought my car, the MA kept hinting and talking about "The survey". Apparently it does mean a lot to them and it seems like this is MINI Corp trying to get all the dealers to a certain level of service. I really had a hard time blindly giving 10s, so I answered honestly. A couple of days later the sales guy calls me and was upset that I had givn some 9s. Next time, I wll just use this "survey" as another bargaining chip for the price negotiation if it is so important to them.

 

Give them the rating you think they deserve. Did you get all A's in school / college just for enrolling in the class? Did you ever get a raise at work just for unexceptional performance? I hate the guilt tripping that people try to put on you saying "I need all 10s or it's a fail." That's BS. You want a 10, earn it.

 

I just don't understand why they would go into the whole process with poor, poor performance, knowing fully about the survey and how important it is to them??? Are they not really that smart? What am I missing here?

My MA promised on multiple occasions how I would have an awesome experience with this transaction...I can't think of the word now, but whatever the opposite of awesome is, that's the word. The survey will definitely reflect what I feel. We are giving these people $20-$40k of your hard earned cash. We are not ordering at whataburger. You work hard, you are rewarded. Poor service should be reflected accordingly...even though you may not feel good about giving a bad tip or telling the truth on a survey.

These surveys exist in order to correct poor performance, so the next person who comes in to buy doesn't have to go through the same experience. Isn't that the same reason we are here on NAM? So others don't have bad experiences that we have been through?

 

Who has filled the survey? Does it give a choice as to who sees the results (corporate vs. dealer)? Does anyone know how it ties in with the dealer itself?

One one hand I am ready to fill it with real honest feedback and true fair ratings at this was intended (completely disregarding the request for all 10s)

On the other hand the sale manager is offering to make amends. As we are all adults, I'm tempted to ask him for a good offer (a real one) on OEM upgraded wheels with free mounting and balancing. I'd pay for the tires from a place like tire rack, who actually has excellent service!

hmmmm?

 

I'm sure glad the Ft. Myers MINI is awesome, all 10s with no second thoughts. If I had second thoughts though, I'd sure be saying something to them about it and not you guys,lol.

 

I had a similar experience. My sales person knew very little about the cars and was fumbling around for answers to my (seemingly) simple questions. He kept having to check with other people over simple questions like accessories, what cars were on the lot, etc. It was a little sad and embarrassing for him, and I don't feel like I get the service I deserved (wanted). While I was sitting alone, waiting for him to fumble around for answers, I'd watch the other sales people who seemed to have their act together and were answering other peoples questions just fine. Maybe my guy was new, but I was honest when it came to survey time. He asked me to give him all 10s, but I gave him honest feedback with the survey. Overall, I'm not pleased with this dealership as a whole - the service department never seems to be able to answer my questions, and they NEVER call me back (even when my car is there being serviced. I have to call THEM to see if it's done). Unfortunately it's the only dealer near me, so I'm stuck with them, so I don't want to get on their bad side either.

 

My original MA was a nice young man, but he game me some answers I found unacceptable. I first test drove a Convertible then inquired about the Roadster. He said they drive the same, so there was no need to test drive the Roadster. Another MA, an older gentleman from hungry, heard the exchange and told me the younger MA was clearly wrong. I agreed. On my return trip to MINI of Sterling, I informed the Sales Manager I wished to work with the older MA. I ordered my 2014 Roadster through him that day. The Sales Manager has stayed involved since my purchase. Assuming the Roadster comes in as ordered, I fully expect to give them a 10 on the survey. If things are amiss, I will gladly use the weight of the survey to assure my satisfaction.

 

I guess i just lucked out my SA was very nice, helpful and new alot about minis. He had a mini that he had moded so he knew the cars inside and out and was a huge help.

 

If you think you can get a better/more fair deal with this approach, do it! The survey is from MINI corp itself if I remember correctly and there is no option to not share with the dealer. If I had to re-do my negotiations knowing that this survey was so importaant, I would have used it as leverage because my buying experience could have gone a lot smoother.

I'm not sure how it actually ties into the dealer, buty with the emphasis it has been given, I would say bonuses and/or the survey is factored into the emploiyee performance reviews are on the line.

 

No one at my dealer has ever mentioned a customer survey to me. And in three years of ownership I have never been contacted regarding a survey.

 

When I was shopping around for my MINI, I found the MAs at MINI of Sterling were not very helpful, misstated facts about the brand and cars, and very condescending. Out of all the dealers I talked to, they were the most disappointing....

 

This is where our relationship would have ended. While the two vehicles share the same wheel base, and the convertible weights about 44 lbs less that the Roadster, the two are a different driving experience.

You mean Hungary, don't you Dave?

Go with what feels best, I always say. I ended up working with a wonderful MA verses someone who was relatively new looking to impress. Turns out I worked with someone with experience as well as personality. The relationship turned into a friendship.

 

That is too funny! How could a European History major type in hungry instead of Hungary! Thanks for the correction.

 

Since my paternal side is from Hungary, I couldn't resist.