unintrested main dealers

blingrhino

Right lads ,seriously thinking of changing my motor bmw 520d.
went to ballsbridge motors last week to see about changing for a passat cc.
i went into the showroom had to ask for a salesman as nobody approached me after 5 mins.after i enquired about a passat and was told "to go out side and look at one-it should be open !" he says-he didnt follow me out or offer a test drive,
after looking over the car i went back in and he took my details and said he would get back to me-still waiting.
Today i was in joe duffys looking at an insignia again had to ask for help.
again "there are two outside",no introduction ,no test drive and no details taken. i went outside looked at the two cars and left.
now my point is -are these people serious about business. i know im not buying a gallardo but a 40k car is pretty substanial in these times i feel and with dearlerships falling all around the country ,is it any wonder if this is the service they offer.
have these multi dearlerships got to big to care about the wee man anymore.
with the rate of car sales slowing for march and the scrappage going to end in june (another inflated bubble )surely these guys need to fight for every penny.
i `ll go to a smaller country dealer with my business i think.
was this just a bad experience or do you guys feel the same?
thxs paul

yourpics

i totally agree. i went into a main dealer and when i asked for a test drive he made something up about no tax on the vehicle. totally disinterested.

at another main dealer, it seemed like they didn't need my business either!!

better staying away from them!

robtri

i know what you mean, it is a disgrace....

it is a shame that some of the smaller dealership where good service was prevlant died out and places like this still survive...

ltdslipdiff

If you want a truly wonderful car-buying experience come to Waterford !!! We get compliments every day about our customer care and after-sales service !

mickob16

Ive had a similar experience with Bolands BMW in Waterford.Went looking to buy with a budget of about 30k.Waited 20 mins for a salesman to bother himself to come over,and judging by his face he obviously had better things to be doing and even took a phonecall whilst with us!!

Test drove a car and was really interested despite the salesman but we couldnt agree over the price for my trade in so he took my number and said he would talk to his bossNever got a call back.

Bought from Morrisons BMW in Cahir last year and apart from the usual bull**** from the salesman they offer a first class service.Had to go back 3 times with oil leaks and each time been given a replacement car and kept fully informed with work being done etc.

I think you prob met a gob****e who wasnt bothered but id imagine if his boss knew about his attitude he'd be joining the long dole queues

robtri

ltdslipdiff wrote: »

If you want a truly wonderful car-buying experience come to Waterford !!! We get compliments every day about our customer care and after-sales service !

as long as it is not Bolands you will be fine

mickob16

robtri wrote: »

as long as it is not Bolands you will be fine

Exactly, stay away!!

M cebee

can't understand that-i thought these main dealers were struggling

mickdw

Its beyond belief really. Ive seen this many times.

On the other hand I went to a peugeot dealer in mayo recently and was pleasantly surprised. Was immediately shown to the car, offered the keys. They drove my car at the same time. Was then handed over to another salemans who was the owner or owners son who went through the details with me. He promised to call back before the end of the day with a trade in price. He called at 5.30, gave me the price and offered the car for an extended test drive.
I didnt like his price much but the service couldnt be faulted.

rob180

Had a nice buying experience from Morrisons Cahir last year. Had coffee made(not the DIY) while we waited for a sales person. A very professionally run business. We even got a Xmas card from them and just last month they even rang us to ask how's the car (mini) was running for us. Bolands on the other hand was abit of a joke!!

Big Nasty

It's not a new thing at all. I first experienced it in the late 90's in Esmondes. Had it in my head that I wanted a Mondeo so went for a gawk. Had a few bob in my pocket and was ready to buy. Looked at a couple of cars and when it came down to dollars I commented to the salesman that I had seen similar cars at a lower price. No attempt to defend their high level of service, quality of cars, reputation or anything else, simply 'well of you go then'!?!

I've had similar experiences over the years, most recently in a used car dealership where I was wandering around for about 20 mins, eventually went in to the office and stood there while I listened to the salesmans convo about the previous nights antics for a good 5 minutes. Eventually got off the phone and threw my the keys of the car I wanted to drive. Car was blocked in, had to go ask for other cars to be moved then battery was dead. Another 10 mins before a booster pack could be found.

Didn't even bother driving the car - just walked away.

Delancey

Last year along with a friend who was looking at a new car I visited a number of main dealers - they were a joke : disinterested salesmen who could neither recognise much less respond to a ' buying signal '.

Close a sale ? These clowns were incapable of closing a door :eek:

firefly08

I've almost always had the same kind of experience with car dealers and there's a new thread to this effect every few days here. I really don't understand...there must be some angle to the business that I don't get. How can they afford to be so disinterested? It's a mystery to me. I moved to the US a while back, and to be honest it's exactly the same over here. Went to look at a fairly rare car a few weeks ago - the dealer has had it for ages, and admitted as much to me - he was to call me back to arrange a test drive...never happened. And I can see it's not because he's too busy.

I've lost count of the number of times I've gone to dealers almost ready to take the plunge, just needing a little persuasion, and they've sent me (and my money) away wondering if I'd offended them somehow. I'll never inconvenience a car dealer by trying to buy something from him again!

Reloc8

I'd say a lot of it is a perception on the salesperson's part that they can't meet the price requirement of the customer - not saying that the customer is trying to lowball, just that they have almost no lee way on the sticker price in many instances, which is itself frustrating as they know the car is not going to sell on that price.

Especially with a trade in involved.

Hence the negativity/lack of effort & morale on their part.

Of course if everyone here who had a bad experience was walking in and happy to pay 98% of the asking price for the cars in question then this attitude is just weird.

VolvoMan

robtri wrote: »

as long as it is not Bolands you will be fine

Strangely enough, I've found AutoBoland (one of their many sister dealerships) to be rather good.

Jarren

blingrhino wrote: »

Right lads ,seriously thinking of changing my motor bmw 520d.
went to ballsbridge motors last week to see about changing for a passat cc.
i went into the showroom had to ask for a salesman as nobody approached me after 5 mins.after i enquired about a passat and was told "to go out side and look at one-it should be open !" he says-he didnt follow me out or offer a test drive,
after looking over the car i went back in and he took my details and said he would get back to me-still waiting.
Today i was in joe duffys looking at an insignia again had to ask for help.
again "there are two outside",no introduction ,no test drive and no details taken. i went outside looked at the two cars and left.
now my point is -are these people serious about business. i know im not buying a gallardo but a 40k car is pretty substanial in these times i feel and with dearlerships falling all around the country ,is it any wonder if this is the service they offer.
have these multi dearlerships got to big to care about the wee man anymore.
with the rate of car sales slowing for march and the scrappage going to end in june (another inflated bubble )surely these guys need to fight for every penny.
i `ll go to a smaller country dealer with my business i think.
was this just a bad experience or do you guys feel the same?
thxs paul

Go for it OP !!!!

http://www.joeduffy.ie/customer_feedback.php

Big Nasty

^^^Surprised to hear about an experience like that in the US!

The way I see it is many of the salesmen in the industry today 'learned' their trade in the good times and were pretty much order takers earning good commission. Now that things have gone to sh1te they have no idea how to handle customers and how to actually 'sell'.

I worked in the hospitality industry for years so I know how to handle customers and adapt to all walks of life. A few years back I moved in to sales in a trade related to the motor industry, however my sales were outbound so you had to be pro-active as opposed to re-active and make sure you chased the sale.

A few weeks back there was a discussion here about car sales and there was one user who was a little obnoxious but made some fairly valid points. Personally, if I had my own dealership I would recruit staff who had outound (pro-active) sales experience as opposed to inbound (re-active) experience - i.e. people who know how to chase and make a sale.

darragh o meara

I had similar experience in two VW main dealers here now to be fair I wasn't spending much only 5-6k but nevertheless cold hard cash. One salesman wouldn't come down 100 on a passat I'd seen even though I had the cash there and then to do a deal, the other salesman kept trying to sell me a new passat on finance and get me to use my cash as deposit. I know these guys wouldn't have got much for second hand stuff but I myself having been in the motor trade for years know that everything in the yard must be sold regardless.

In the end I went over to the UK to a main VW dealership to buy a car ( 05 Passat Highline) and even though it was probably the cheapest car they had there I was treated like I was buying a Bentley off them. Got picked up from the airport by the salesman and brought to the dealership , the car was being valeted when we got there so he brought me down the road to a cafe for some free breakfast ! When we got back I was free to check over every single part of the car. To top it all off I went in to do the paperwork and he had arranged with the sales manager to sell me the car ex vat as i was exporting it and wouldnt be able to claim it back so I saved another few quid!! When I was getting ready to leave the salesman gave me a voucher for a fill of diesel in the local petrol station and drove in front of me up as far as the motorway. In all my time in the trade I've never heard of such good treatment not even for a new car let alone a 4k car.

I'll be going back there again for sure!

n97 mini

Myself and the missus went to look at a car (during the boom) and were told similar, i.e. "there's one outside". We said "really?" and went straight out and got in our own car and drove home and haven't bought a car in this country since...

M cebee

some guys are getting breakfast and free travel and christmas cards and bentleys:D

and other places the salesman won't even approach the customer

Delancey

These so-called salesmen would clearly benefit from a basic sales skills course.

Ricardo G

robtri wrote: »

as long as it is not Bolands you will be fine

Considering Bolands own half or more of the dealerships in Waterford there's not much choice !! My family and friends have bought from Bolands for the last 10 years and found them very professional to be fair

Absurdum

blingrhino wrote: »

Today i was in joe duffys looking at an insignia again had to ask for help.
again "there are two outside",no introduction ,no test drive and no details taken. i went outside looked at the two cars and left.

I had a similar experience in the Joe Duffy Mazda one a couple of years ago. Was offered 3k trade in by the salesman who wasn't interested in us whatsoever. We got 9.5k trade in elsewhere (small, country Mazda dealer as it happens).

I've also dealt with Joe Duffy BMW/Mini who were a lot better, we also got phoned a couple of weeks later by some company who were looking for feedback on our experience with them. That was rather pointless though since they only contact people who actually make a purchase, I presume.

smellslikeshoes

Too many places still think it's 2006 and people are falling over themselves to part with their money. With the motor trade as bad as it is now it won't be too long till these clowns go the way of the dinosaurs.

Ardennes1944

one of the worst dealers had to be turners cross motors in cork!
ryan motor power in clonmel gave brilliant service, along with the bowlers in killarney. truly exceptional.

mickob16

Ricardo G wrote: »

Considering Bolands own half or more of the dealerships in Waterford there's not much choice !! My family and friends have bought from Bolands for the last 10 years and found them very professional to be fair

Are you not allowed to leave the county:)

quad_red

darragh o meara wrote: »

In the end I went over to the UK to a main VW dealership to buy a car ( 05 Passat Highline) and even though it was probably the cheapest car they had there I was treated like I was buying a Bentley off them. Got picked up from the airport by the salesman and brought to the dealership , the car was being valeted when we got there so he brought me down the road to a cafe for some free breakfast ! When we got back I was free to check over every single part of the car. To top it all off I went in to do the paperwork and he had arranged with the sales manager to sell me the car ex vat as i was exporting it and wouldnt be able to claim it back so I saved another few quid!! When I was getting ready to leave the salesman gave me a voucher for a fill of diesel in the local petrol station and drove in front of me up as far as the motorway. In all my time in the trade I've never heard of such good treatment not even for a new car let alone a 4k car.

I'll be going back there again for sure!

Give us the dealers name!!

Mr.Boots

Most (not all) car salesmen in Ireland are rubish at their job...completly rubish....they know nothing about customer service or the product they are selling.
Im not looking for Latte's or the like...just do your job!!!
Its not much to ask to know what litre engine a car has or if it comes with air con without having to consult the brochure/computer/sales manager/service department.
I have never worked in the car industry but i would bet my house i could sell cars better than most in the industry.

bazz26

There still is a sizeable number of sales people around in many areas of business from the Celtic Tiger years who are nothing more than order takers. They have no experience or interest in customer relations and very little knowledge of the products they are selling.

The motor trade is no different, alot of them have since been forced to ply their trade in other areas but the scrappage scheme has seen a good of them dodge the bullet. There are decent folk out there in the motor trade but as usual it is the bad apples who grab all the headlines.

manatoo

darragh o meara wrote: »

I had similar experience in two VW main dealers here now to be fair I wasn't spending much only 5-6k but nevertheless cold hard cash. One salesman wouldn't come down 100 on a passat I'd seen even though I had the cash there and then to do a deal, the other salesman kept trying to sell me a new passat on finance and get me to use my cash as deposit. I know these guys wouldn't have got much for second hand stuff but I myself having been in the motor trade for years know that everything in the yard must be sold regardless.

In the end I went over to the UK to a main VW dealership to buy a car ( 05 Passat Highline) and even though it was probably the cheapest car they had there I was treated like I was buying a Bentley off them. Got picked up from the airport by the salesman and brought to the dealership , the car was being valeted when we got there so he brought me down the road to a cafe for some free breakfast ! When we got back I was free to check over every single part of the car. To top it all off I went in to do the paperwork and he had arranged with the sales manager to sell me the car ex vat as i was exporting it and wouldnt be able to claim it back so I saved another few quid!! When I was getting ready to leave the salesman gave me a voucher for a fill of diesel in the local petrol station and drove in front of me up as far as the motorway. In all my time in the trade I've never heard of such good treatment not even for a new car let alone a 4k car.

I'll be going back there again for sure!

That's unreal!! How much did you give the guy for the car? By the time you had taken you had gotten the lift from the airport, the breakfast, a full tank of diesel and a couple hours of the salesman's time plus whatever discount they gave you on the sticker price! Not clear on the VAT thing tho....aren't used cars for private sale exempt from VAT?

Leonard Hofstadter

Deutschlandfürimmer7 wrote: »

one of the worst dealers had to be turners cross motors in cork!

You just couldn't make up some of the stories about Turners Cross - in fact you could write several books about their legendary (lack of) customer care!

coylemj

Perhaps I can shed some light on the mystery of why car salesmen are so disinterested in a new customer who walks in off the street....

I have three sisters who live down the country, every time they upgrade their cars, each of them goes back to her favourite dealer (in different towns) and buys a new car. I continuously tell them to shop around, to consider other marques because they have better residuals than the models they buy - they only look at the new car price with no consideration for depreciation - but I'm talking to myself.

Their excuse is that the dealer will 'look after me if anything goes wrong', I point out that with the quality of cars these days there isn't much to go wrong and in fact none of them has ever had to fall back on the dealer's goodwill outside of a warranty claim. Any faults as usual arise in the first 12 months and gets fixed under warranty but of course the dealer makes out that he's fixing the problem out of the goodness of his heart and 'because you're such a good customer'. The result is that the more that goes wrong with the new car, the more the customer feels justified in only going to that dealer and nobody else. Women are especially vulnerable to this type of tactic because (politically incorrect statement coming up) most them are suckers for being bamboozled by BS when it comes to faults in cars.

One repeat lifelong customer is worth twenty of you tyre kickers, that's why you're being treated like sh1t!

VolvoMan

Mr.Boots wrote: »

Most (not all) car salesmen in Ireland are rubish at their job...completly rubish....they know nothing about customer service or the product they are selling.
Im not looking for Latte's or the like...just do your job!!!
Its not much to ask to know what litre engine a car has or if it comes with air con without having to consult the brochure/computer/sales manager/service department.
I have never worked in the car industry but i would bet my house i could sell cars better than most in the industry.

That's why it boils my piss when I hear the likes of BMW or VW Group putting their dealers out of business because they won't build a new muti-million euro showroom. How important is a new showroom when the staff in most cases lack basic sales techniques?

It seems VW Group replaced one of their longest serving Skoda dealers, who had an enviable reputation for customer service, with a new outlet who had no experience retailing cars whatsoever. All they had were the funds to build a big unnecessary glass house.

Mr.Boots

Instead of slatting more dealers....here are two positives.

Autostation Dun Laghorie-Found them (well the guy i dealt with realy) realy profesional and customer focused, i definetly would go back and would be happy to recomend them.
H.B. Denis- again found the guy i dealt with realy good (but not much personalty) and even though i had a few issues with the car they realy did their best in the end to sort it.

R.O.R

VolvoMan wrote: »

It seems VW Group replaced one of their longest serving Skoda dealers, who had an enviable reputation for customer service, with a new outlet who had no experience retailing cars whatsoever. All they had were the funds to build a big unnecessary glass house.

Strange - I'm sure I've been dealing with the dealer principle there for many years in different locations. The service from the other lot who closed, wasn't always as top notch as people seem to think.

Where To

Salespeople that aren't interested in selling are bad enough but i've also experienced more than my fair share of salespeople that have blatantly ignored me in their showrooms:(

Find VW and Ford garages to be particularly guilty of this

Ah well, their loss, not mine

kazul

OSI wrote: »

I've lost count of how many dealers I've contacted at this stage looking to get a test drive in anything from a new A3 or Giulietta to second hand Golf GTi's and Octavias and not once have I ever received a call back.

So you call dealers asking for test drives and are surprised when they don't waste time and money by calling you back?
If you were a genuine, serious buyer you would drop into a dealership for a test drive.

Anan1

Mr.Boots wrote: »

Instead of slatting more dealers....here are two positives.

Autostation Dun Laghorie-Found them (well the guy i dealt with realy) realy profesional and customer focused, i definetly would go back and would be happy to recomend them.
H.B. Denis- again found the guy i dealt with realy good (but not much personalty) and even though i had a few issues with the car they realy did their best in the end to sort it.

I'll add a third to the 'good' list, Castle Subaru in Bray. It's true, though, standards in the Irish motor industry are appalling to the point where you'd wonder whether most of them actually want to end up on the dole.

kazul wrote: »

So you call dealers asking for test drives and are surprised when they don't waste time and money by calling you back?
If you were a genuine, serious buyer you would drop into a dealership for a test drive.

Nonsense, a genuine, serious potential buyer will call ahead and make an appointment for a test drive.

-Corkie-

Turners cross motors were a complete joke.

I have purchsed a lot of cars from Al Hayes in Portumna and I think they are sound. There is always a crowd of people in the showroom but you always get served or acknowledged by a salesperson no matter what.

United Irishmen

My mate who lives in Meath had been trying to buy a car for months. He was looking for a VW initially and gave up due to main dealers (incl Commons Road Cars in Navan) not taking him seriously. He was fobbed off with "come back in a few months"...."I'll call you next week" (never heard from them)......ignored in the show room. He got so fed up, last month he went to Sligo where he managed to persuade a dealer to sell him an Audi A4.

The chap had money and was bemused with the attitude of the main dealers.

Reloc8

Was he looking for a big discount for his purchase ?

Big Nasty

Mr.Boots wrote: »

Instead of slatting more dealers....here are two positives.

Autostation Dun Laghorie-Found them (well the guy i dealt with realy) realy profesional and customer focused, i definetly would go back and would be happy to recomend them.
H.B. Denis- again found the guy i dealt with realy good (but not much personalty) and even though i had a few issues with the car they realy did their best in the end to sort it.

I don't think the point of this thread is to slate ALL dealers, more to point out poor practices in some. There are some very good dealers out there but the art in selling seems to be gone from most.

As I said earlier I worked in hospitality for many years and if you treated your customers with similar attitude to some of the above posts you wouldn't be in business too long. I have experienced this personally first hand from both franchised and indy dealers.

If someone walks in to a showroom / yard it is irrelevant to them whether they have €5k or €50k to spend, to the buyer a car purchase is big money and their budget is all they can afford. Mark up on cars these days is pretty small so any potential customer is very much worth giving the time of day to.

Unfortunately there seems to be little or no training given to many car sales staff these days in relation to product knowledge or hospitality.

Anan1

MCMLXXV wrote: »

Unfortunately there seems to be little or no training given to many car sales staff these days in relation to product knowledge or hospitality.

I think at least some of the blame lies with the staff themselves rather than management. At the end of my first day working for a main dealer I took home brochures for all the cars I sold, and learnt the prices, specifications, available options & option prices. Even this basic product knowledge is well beyond all but a very few Irish car salespeople. Why? Because they just aren't bothered.

Autosport

I bought my recent car purchases in a garage in waterford (cork rd) and they treated me like royalty the first time i bought a car which is why i went back to them. I did shop around unlike most women an earlier poster said and to me they were the best and gave me the best trade in and scrappage so i would recommend them to family/friends

-Chris-

I find it amazing that if you read the Irish Independent's Garage Watch feature regularly you'll find that virtually every article mentions that the salesperson doesn't take the reviewer's contact details.

I wasn't allowed to talk to a customer unless I got a name and phone number (and email address). It wasn't uncommon for the DP to walk up to you after a customer left and ask "who was that, and are they in the CRM system?"

If you call Isaac Agnew's you won't be put through to a salesperson until the receptionist takes your name and phone number.

Mahuga

Would any of the car salespeople here elaborate as to what what kind of qualification you need to become a car salesman? As already stated and from my experience dealers in the UK operate on a whole different level, why is that?

-Chris-

No qualification is needed to become a salesperson, it just depends on the interview.

All the manufacturers will have sales training courses that they expect salespeople to attend. It's hard to insist a salesperson attend, although some would be stronger on it than others.

It's true of most sales jobs I'd expect - how many people working in retail anywhere does any significant compulsory sales process or product knowledge training.


And to answer the actual question - to be Audi Certified as a salesperson it's a three week course in the distributor covering brand history & image, product knowledge, technical knowledge and sales process training.

kindalen

having spent the last while looking at, and after much hassle buying a car i can only agree that standards are low in most of the dealers i visited.
there is no excuse for not calling a customer back, this happened to me several times.
many told me information that was untrue.
i came across no over-pushy salespeople, but many many apathetic ones.
the best service i recieved was in tullamore nissan, although i decided not to buy there.

United Irishmen

Reloc8 wrote: »

Was he looking for a big discount for his purchase ?

Nope, he never got as far as discussing money.

Carson10

anytime i go into a showroom the sales people just sit in their offices and never come out. maybe after about 15mins of standing like an idot they comeover.

Also hate when you mention that you have a trade it, they go 'is it outside' and they take the keys and drive off it in it for about 20minutes witout sayin, with my phone and wallet and personal belongings.

I can see whey Irish companys are closing down. they offer really poor customer serivce and seem like they dont want the business.

Rang up a company about a price for a service they offer and after 4 phone calls they never rang back.

Mar4ix

another good story about good car dealer.

I was looking for 08 car for my wife, found one, and call to that phone number, .... car then cost 12.500 ... cheapest vw polo with diesel engine at that time, guy said that it is sold, then he asked, do we have old car, we could buy new car, and could use scrappage scheme , ok, we had that, and he invite us to shop have a look.

So we went to Sinott autos in Wicklow. I and my wife we are foreign nationals, and we expected some ignorance, or carelessness..... BUT ... we were surprised, how people was welcome to us, and show us cars, explain everything what we asked, at the end, we chose car by catalogue (they didnt had such car in stock, but we was able to order, and car goin to be made the way we would like to see it... but we have to wait for 6 weeks). Car original price then was 18.6k, scrappege scheme was 2.5k, if i not mistaken, so we had to pay 16.1k. then i asked, may we use vw bank finance, and finance manager said, no problem, just fill dockets. When we was coming back from Wicklow, i thought they never call back, but i was wrong, they call us even we didnt reach blanch, and finance manager said that we can get finance. We went back after couple days, and i cancel that finance, cos i dont like owe money to anyone, and once we had chance pay all money, i was happy to do. We sign dockets, paid 300 deposit, and thats it, had to wait car, until itll be shipped over.
The day, when we had to collect car, i was in work, so wife with 1.5 year old girl went down there, and while she was sorting out dockets, one of staff was looking after daughter ... you know in that age, kids have no fear, climb everywhere also they make picture, new car owners.

Recently i was in there for car service, people was polite and helpful. I am thinking buy used vw golf for myself, might will go to them.