Ok, I've read the previous discussions debating whether great customer service is a necessity or just fluff. Either way, the bottom line is that my MA is going to want me to fill out 5 stars, which I just don't feel that he deserves. He's aloof, and I'm a first time buyer.

My question for all of you is, what kind of 5 star experience did your MA give you? For example, I saw that one person's MA called to let them know that their car had a VIN number. Mine won't even call me back. So when he asks why I didn't give him 5 stars, I want to be armed with examples of true 5 star service that other motorers have received. Thanks for all of your help!

P.S. Have also heard that people are intimidated to fill out the survey as less than perfect - I'm missing something - why is this?

 

My MA was Jon Silos at Global Imports MINI in Atlanta. He's the internet sales MA, and most of our interaction was via phone and e-mail.

Even so, he went out of his way to keep me informed - any time there was a change in status as Junior went through production, I got an e-mail. He worked with me through some accessory angst about halfway through the process, and then spent most of a Saturday after I picked up Junior tracking down the answer to a question I had about the Sirius radio set-up.

So - all-in-all, I'd rate the service I received as a 4.5+ on the five-scale. The only thing I'd have wanted was a faster response to some of my e-mails.

 

Never dealt with an MA because I just bought mine used a couple weeks ago. But..................Any person in that type of business who does not return phone calls deserves the lowest possible rating regardless of anything else. It's just simple business!

 

Well, my MA gave me a 30 min test drive over all sorts of roads and spent over 3 hours with me when i was in the initial "looking" phase. We talked about Mini's, history of the car, cars in general, aviation (I'm a pilot by proffession). When I was worried about if my bags would fit in the back, we loaded them in. I asked him not to call me, that if I was interested I would call him back and he respected that wish! (Most car salesman don't). When I was ready to order, I had a lower offer from another dealership, which he gladly matched. He emailed me when he recieved a production date and VIN. He let me know when it was on the ship and what the approx. date of delivery would be, all without me having to pester him. When the car was ready he called to let me know how great it looked, and when I went to take delivery, he picked me up at the rental car agency. I was treated as if I were the only customer he had, we took our time going over everything and was not rushed. He was a great guy and I now consider him a new friend! We talk MINI all the time via email and cell, and last week we met up to go cut up some twisty country roads (yes, he owns a MINI too...it's not just a company car!).

So, my advise is give your MA what he deserves and when he asks you what he can do to earn 5 stars, tell him it's too late, he already missed his opportunity, but perhaps he can learn from this experiance to give better customer service to his future customers.

 

actually, I don't think you have to justify a 'darned' thing. this is a subjective rating. you probably know why you're giving whatever number you choose, but you do not have to say it. "I thought it could have been better," is a perfectly fine answer.

 

Yeah, I considered bringing the survey up in an offhand manner, as a sort of leverage for our future dealings (Gosh, what's all this hype about surveys? Will I have to fill one out?), but I figure if he doesn't care about returning phone calls, he might not care about the survey either! Just to give you a better idea, this is his profile on miniusa:

[FONT=Arial]They call me the Motoring Advisor to the stars. Maybe it's because I'm so darn handsome. Let me be the motoring advisor that puts you in a dream machine.

Although facetious, I think you get the picture. [/FONT]

 

Oh my gosh, that is too funny... what is his name?

 

I don't have my Mini yet, so haven't taken the survey, but I read somewhere that they (either the MA or the dealer) get bonuses for getting a 5. Anything under a 5 and no bonus. (Again, I don't know the accuracy of this.)

You would think, knowing this, that they would go out of their way. I mean, my dealer has about 16 cars on the lot at any given time. Then there are the cars that are on order and incoming. Then there is the service department. Perhaps my MA is selling a car every day, but I doubt it. There are times I've been up there during the middle of the week and there's nothing going on. Perhaps they spend their time on prepping ordered cars or dealing with service inquiries? I don't know.

But, I do know this... if I were an MA... I would keep a list of my "clients" that have ordered from me and I would keep in touch with them about their orders, at least once a week. How hard is an email? Perhaps they don't want to do this because it invites more questions and communication and they don't have time because of above duties. I don't know.

I will say, my MA has been pretty good. I actually ordered, then had second thoughts and reordered. I kinda wish he had said, for instance: "why don't you test drive the S and see if you'd prefer it?" (I orig. ordered an MC, then reordered an S after driving one later). Of course, I understand he was trying not to hard sell me, and perhaps he was trying to respect my spending limits. And, ultimately, it was my own fault for not asking to test an S at first.

Throughout the time I was considering reordering, my MA responded to lots of emails from me... not always with the most information i thought he could, but he did respond. I also went on a number of test drives, and they never seemed unwilling to let me test drive a car. If there was any reluctance, it was on my side as I felt I was "bugging" them too much. But as someone said in reply to one of my earlier threads... I'm the one dropping over $20k on a car, so I should be happy and not worry about what they think. In the end, they will sell the Minis.

I will have to wait and see how the final transaction goes with my dealer/MA, to see how I would rate them. If it goes smoothly, I will take that into account. But, for instance, if I tell them i don't want the car washed or the dealer's decal put on the car, and they do it anyway, that will be a strike against them. If they don't email me about the pre-programmable options (as some here have said they do) that will go against them.

I realize it is not the highest paying job, but my view on that is, if you have a job, you do it as best as you can (with 100% customer service... that's what I do and I work in a marketing/advertising type climate). If you don't or you don't like your job... do something else. Good performance should be rewarded.

Here endeth my sermon.

 

p.s. - didn't mean to hijack your thread with my sermon... and not give you more answers to your question.

I do think it's bad form that your MA didn't call you back with a production number. Mine was given to me the next day after I ordered.

 

In the hands of a good negotiator, this would be worth at least a case of Stella Artois!

 

For an MA that wants to improve, though, that's a terrible answer. What is he supposed to fix? If you found the experience imperfect I think it's important to explain how and why.

My MA was very attentive in the showroom but terrible at returning phone calls and never answered emails at all. I gave him a 3.

 

sales like anything else is survival of the fittest.

Give him/her what he deserves. If we run out of sales people in
all markets and humanity, then we will reconsider lowering the curve.

little harsh? well, noone said sales was easy.

 

I would be up front with your MA. If s/he consistently does not return your calls, bring that up in conversation. If it keeps happening, go up the food chain to the sales manager. Try, "I've tried getting information from _insert MA here_, but s/he is having a hard time getting back to me. Can you help me? I'd really appreciate it." If the dealership is in any way concerned about customer service, this should do the trick.

 

Gee, my first (scary) thought was that you were talking about meeting your MA with guns Glad to see that's not what you meant I agree with whomever said you should royally ding your MA for not returning your calls; don't give him a score you truly don't believe he deserves

 

My suggestion would be to keep your integrity on the survey and give them what they deserve. Many faults can be overlooked depending on how they handle situations during your new car purchase (and long process getting there). If they bring it up, I would ask if they think they are providing 5 to you. See how they justify themselves.

BTW - Since I've had my car about two weeks... when should I expect my survey from those that got one?

 

My MA personally sucked the washer fluid out of both reservoirs at our request. While getting the siphon started, both times he got a mouthful of washer fluid.

Now that's going the extra mile in my opinion.

 

Thanks for the stories - keep them coming! Am considering printing them out. I agree that a survey should be constructive, and they should know areas for improvement. Again though, why are people intimidated from the surveys? I.e. scared of receiving poor service afterward? Not sure.

Mini dreams- I too work all day in a customer service industry, sales at Kiehl's to be specific. We pride ourselves on our individual attention and customer care, and it just kills me , after smiling for 8 hours, usually genuine but sometimes faked, to not have a freaking phone call returned. Or an aloof response. Thanks for the sermon, it summed up my thoughts exactly.

Little Bit - I actually prefer Corona. Could you forward that to my MA?

Stomprocket - I agree, it can come down to the end moment, and hope this guy may be a total jerk, but a generous one, and soothe me by means of soothing my pocket book.

Purple Hazel - yeah, I wanted to get people's attention with the thread, while simultaneously capturing my frustration. Tongue in cheek. Not planning on going postal. Yet

 

5* service?

• When I asked a question, he KNEW the CORRECT answer
• He asked how I wanted the car programmed without me asking
• He gave a fair and honest answer to some accessories (e.g., when asked about the black magnetic rear fender guards he said that nobody buys them and they are useless
• When discussing JCW he honestly and fairly said I could get more HP ... cheaper by going aftermarket and the dealer would warrant it.
• When I asked ... yes if you don't ask, you dont get, for freebies, he gave them
• When the car was being delivered and the wife went over it with a fine tooth comb, she spotted some dirt and fetched the detailer to fix it

Intimadation? Probably one of two reasons, IMO

1. New owner is afraid if they don't give 5 stars that they will get poorer service or something like that (when, in fact, sales and service are different departments)
2. New owner is a wuss.

without having to look it up