Where have the standards gone? Dealer complaints etc.

[AmishMike]

Just finished reading a thread about poor customer service from dealership. Rather then perpetuate that thread with how things should have been handled (from my 15 years in a dealership), I figured that I would start a new vent area.
Where have the standards gone?
Not talking about unrealistic expectations but standards of service.
Vent here

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[869 KPH]

I think it's that employees are universally less invested in the business and its clients than ever before. Average tenure for a new hire at my company is less than 30 months. Why work too hard when you know you're just going to bounce to the next opportunity?

 

[DobaMark]

It comes from the top down. A couple of examples:
When Chrysler had the chance to cut dealerships in the bankruptcy many years back, they chose to cut dealers with poor sales records - not poor service records.
The FCA decided (in states that did not prohibit it) a few years back to reduce hourly payment rates for warranty repairs to less than the retail hourly rate for repairs. That's a strong incentive right there to deny warranty work.

 

[redrider]

I would bet most folks are working a job they have no interest in. The paycheck is what matters.

 

[jeepers29]

Reading these threads, I am so glad we have a great dealer. Makes life much easier.

 

[869 KPH]

I would bet most folks are working a job they have no interest in. The paycheck is what matters.

 

[Hootbro]

Very few jobs are a career anymore. No need to rise above mediocrity when the same drone job is to be had elsewhere.

 

[AmishMike]

Very few jobs are a career anymore. No need to rise above mediocrity when the same drone job is to be had elsewhere.

'Mediocrity' America's new theme.

 

[RavensEyeOffroad]

Reading these threads, I am so glad we have a great dealer. Makes life much easier.

I used to have an awesome dealership. They let me use their lift to install my liftkit on my TJ. We use to go on trail rides together all the time. Great times. Sadly I have lost all contact with all of them.

 

[Jefe1018]

I don’t see how the new vehicle sales industry has changed to stay current with the times we are living in relating to leveraging technology and improving consumer experiences.

A few examples:

Netflix, Prime video and other streaming services killed off the brick and mortar video rental shops.

AirBnB is interrupting and causing the hotel industry to change and become more competitive.

Amazon, eBay and other online only retailers have turned retail upside down for the traditional stores.

Uber/Lyft changed the taxi game industry for likely good.

What has the automotive industry done to better consumer experience? Outside of sites like Vroom, Carvana and attempting to force Tesla into a dealership model, I don’t see anything from my limited point of view.

 

[spectre6000]

Death throes of a dying industry. Dealerships used to be middlemen that provided information and service. The average salesman knows no more than the average joe, and there's this whole "internet" thing everyone is so excited about, so the information part of the value proposition is completely gone. Zero value add.

Then there's the service side. Our society and economy has been on a long and brutal drift to put all the benefits of people's hard work into the pockets of those at the top. This is not a political statement so much as a well documented fact. As the rewards are shifted away from those directly responsible for the service are gone, so goes the service. Unfortunately, the value proposition on this side can actually swing to the negative; or at least does so more easily. Disaffected workers with no motivation and nothing invested (I forget the average tenure of salespeople in automotive dealerships, but it's shockingly short... six weeks maybe?) who are barely compensated for their job provide poor service, and often disservice. When you are dealing with high value transactions with unsophisticated buyers (technologically, financially, etc.), there is significant opportunity and financial incentive for nefarious practices. The industry has a long and storied history of this (sawdust in the gear box goes back about a century for instance), and has always been a problem.

Fortunately, some smart people have realized the dealership model is propped up solely on the back of antiquated legislation driven by politicians with lobbyist money in their pockets, and there's a movement to flush the whole lot. Good luck to them, and good riddance.

 

[Gvsukids]

I don’t see how the new vehicle sales industry has changed to stay current with the times we are living in relating to leveraging technology and improving consumer experiences.


What has the automotive industry done to better consumer experience? Outside of sites like Vroom, Carvana and attempting to force Tesla into a dealership model, I don’t see anything from my limited point of view.

More people buy online. Tesla has a dealership in my town.

 

[Jefe1018]

More people buy online. Tesla has a dealership in my town.

Is the dealership privately owned or ran by Tesla though?

 

[869 KPH]

Our society and economy has been on a long and brutal drift to put all the benefits of people's hard work into the pockets of those at the top. This is not a political statement so much as a well documented fact. As the rewards are shifted away from those directly responsible for the service are gone, so goes the service. Unfortunately, the value proposition on this side can actually swing to the negative; or at least does so more easily. Disaffected workers with no motivation and nothing invested (I forget the average tenure of salespeople in automotive dealerships, but it's shockingly short... six weeks maybe?) who are barely compensated for their job provide poor service, and often disservice. When you are dealing with high value transactions with unsophisticated buyers (technologically, financially, etc.), there is significant opportunity and financial incentive for nefarious practices. The industry has a long and storied history of this (sawdust in the gear box goes back about a century for instance), and has always been a problem.

This is spot on. Sometimes facts are facts. People behave selfishly and respond to incentives even when those incentives are to the detriment of literally everyone else.

 

[wchevron]

The dealership standards should come from the dealership owner on down. If management isn't customer focused, then that will permeate throughout the company. Warranty issues are a separate issue. Those stem from FCA. It's hard to complain that a dealership won't perform a warranty repair if the factory isn't going to compensate them. Sucks for the customer and the dealership gets stuck in the middle.
Poor service work is a dealership problem. It's up to them to provide training for their employees. Goes back to ownership/management. They should be constantly training the techs and salespeople.
I think most salespeople get a pass, unless they are jerks. I know when I went to buy my Jeep, I already know what features I wanted and (due to this site and the JL site) what things to look for. To me, the salesman was just someone to haggle the price with and fill out my paperwork. Long as he was pleasant, I didn't really care how much knowledge he had.
The service dept is where, I would think, the dealerships reputation comes from.

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