Dealer SOLD my truck - resolved

Great thread Julia!

Yep. Courteous, intelligent interaction goes a long way.

What I find interesting is that you imply that this is a recent evolution, compared to the merchant in the old west finding ways to increase profits, or the shop keeper in revolutionary New England, or the faire booth operator in medieval times, the bazaar seller in ancient times, etc. People are people, profit is profit, customer service is dictated first by the provider, then by the interaction of the buyer. What's changed in thousands of years? Cheers.

 

I repeat, I won't believe it until I see it. You may be a supermodel in hiding or something.

 

Great points here. I think the moral of the story here is that people think kicking and screaming, and yelling "lawyer" will get you what you want. It's exactly the opposite. The people who actually work at the store level are humans, with families. And bombing them on a survey to get back at the corporate office isn't the way to do it. Cancel culture and the Yelpers of the world have caused things to go in the wrong direction. Companies aren't really trying to give better service to keep customers, they're just trying to get better reviews online because that's where customers focus.

For the guy who said "you don't have to take that job" is clueless. In 2011 when I got laid off from my job as a corporate pilot, a service advisor job was all I could get. I went from making a great living, to living with my parents within a month. Oh and with a baby on the way...Don't give me that BS. I have now luckily been able to escape that life. But it took me years. Not all service advisors and sales people are coked out highschool drop outs. In fact, the dealer I worked for required a 4 year degree just to get an interview. The entire time I worked their I dealt with constant disrespect from customers, and people looking down their nose at me.

I personally have boycotted any and all surveys for just that reason. I don't want to be a pawn in their game. Unless it's for someone I know and it will help them make a bonus.

 

The "evil, greedy corporations" narrative is a myth, for the most part. I'm sure there are bad actors but I can relate my own experience: About 25 years ago I had a brief stint as a homeowner's insurance adjuster for a national company. It was a good job but I only stayed for about a year because dealing with the general public is a daily sh*t show. I can 110% guarantee you that I never once saw the insurance company try to "screw" anyone. In fact, it was the polar opposite, they paid MANY claims that I felt they had zero responsibility for. Insurance is not a maintenance policy and is highly regulated by each state. The policies are very clear as to what losses they do or do not cover. However, particularly for long-term customers, they would bend over backward to help. I had a few people who told me "You'll hear from my lawyer!".......but it never happened, not once did my phone ring from an attorney. Sometimes it was gut-wrenching. I had to tell 2 people, whose houses collapsed into their basements during monsoon rains from a hurricane (we are about 5 hours north of the coast) that they had no coverage. You might say the insurance company was heartless but their policy didn't cover it. So, if there is a moral here, please read and understand what any type of insurance you buy actually covers, and more importantly what it doesn't.

 

Hey Julia, been following the thread from the beginning, props to you for your attitude and negotiation with the dealer and allowing them to make it right. Love the truck, I think if I upgraded I would opt for that exact same truck. Gotta unfollow the thread, took an annoying turn into customer service land and too many back and forth arguments. Good luck on the farm and hope the truck treats you amazingly well.

 

I hear you. A casualty of commenting on an Internet forum, I suppose. You lose a lot of nuance. I did not mean to imply that the pursuit of profit is a new phenomenon. It has driven us forward as a species for thousands of years as you correctly point out. I agree with you. And, I agree with the notion of the pursuit of profit. No question. But that is a whole other debate for another kind of forum.

To tie it back to car dealers (and service oriented industries, in general), what has changed the whole notion of metrics and how it drives employee evaluations. That doesn't need to be a bad thing but every time I go to the dealer for service (and, yes, I do go there for service when my care is in warranty), the employees are terrified of those surveys. I talk to them and they tell me that all of the time. They even get dinged if someone gives them a score that is good -- but not perfect. So, what I am saying is that what has changed is we now have a system that shifts all of the blame to the employee and generates of ton of data to do just that. Pay careful attention to how the question are written next time you get a survey. You see language like ... did your service agent resolve all of your issues related to your visit today to your satisfaction. The answer may be yes or the answer may be no because the cause of the issue is actually with Toyota. But that is not within the scope of the survey. There is no room for that. And that has changed.

Cheers to you as well ... sorry for the longer post but I tend to be fascinated by this kind of stuff. Appreciate you letting the discussion go on.

 

Sorry to hear of your situation but I am glad that you powered through it. Just like Julia powered through and got her truck!

I really don't understand how people act toward people in the service industry. They are the folks that make everything work on a daily basis. But that is just me.

 

I actually do have a lawyer and when people say I am going to sue you (which is really weird because 30 years in business I have never been sued or ever had to sue anyone) I just hand them the card and say I am sorry you feel that way ... but here is my attorney's card ... we look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

Minor point, if you don't mind. I am pro business. 100%. Didn't mean to imply corporations are evil. Just wanted to document that we are off the rails with this metrics driven system that evaluates employees. I guess my point is the bought into a system that they were told would ensure good customer service -- and that is really not working for anyone!

I've been lucky though. I bought my truck from one of the few remaining family owned Toyota dealers left here around where I live. I've talked to them about how hard it is to stay in business because the other dealers are getting bought up by finance companies, etc. Funny thing, they made my purchase so easy and pleasant ... and gave me a really good deal to boot. No survey though. A pre-Covid handshake and a pleasant exchange from one of the family members on the day I picked the truck up.

But that doesn't mean the big car dealer rollups can't offer good service. Look how the Berkshire team stepped up for Julia in this thread.

 

I hear you. I do believe the big corp America tends to treat employees like a commodity, which is unfortunate. No system is perfect but there's not a better one on the planet. With all our problems, people don't pack-up by the thousands, in caravans, to leave. I am a firm believer there is no better means of growth and innovation than the profit motive. I also believe that taking care of your people is a far better motivator than fear. I've worked in both climates and the former always seems to work better than the latter, over the long haul.

 

Agree with everything you have stated above.

 

True. We did. Apologies for that. Will stop now.

But in our defense, this whole story -- and how you treat people is part of the story -- is a good lesson in being firm but also understanding. And giving people the opportunity to do the right thing ...

But I'll butt out now ... You may now return to looking at pictures of a wonderful date farm in Cali sporting a new Tacoma ...

 

A question. Did you really drive this truck for over 40,000 miles and never changed the oil in it?

 

I do agree the style has changed through the years, not always for the better.

Big or small business I always approach problems as "we solve it together" and give a fair chance to the business to make good. If they do I'll go out of my way to praise..if I'm treated poorly, I will make sure people know.

A few years ago my old truck was damaged while having some crushed stone loaded, the operator was very apologetic and told me to see the owner inside. The owner had zero interest in it and doubted my claim even after I told him what I was asked to do, so I won in small claims..he didn't show up even. Had he taken care of it I would have been fine and continued to do business.

 

This is a purchase, not a lease. Oil will be changed, at 1K, 5k, 10k, in 5k intervals.

 

41,230 miles. Yes.

 

What is the difference between bimmer and beemer? Would like to know. I see it used everywhere interchangeably.

Also is the reason BMW drivers, drive Tacomas, so they have reliable transportation?

 

Supermodels don't farm for a living They do tiktok videos and E shows, and then go to RDBLA to get their car done

 

It has always been customary in the BMW world to refer to the cars as Bimmers and the motorcycles as Beemers. That way fellow enthusiasts always know what variety you are talking about.

My BMW is pushing 185K with only the cooling system replaced. It has been pretty reliable but does not have all of the electronic systems in today’s models. Actually the reason I am driving a Tacoma is for the manual transmission experience, like what I have on my BMW!