I’ve
so far purchased two cars in my lifetime – my 2005 Acura RSX as my
daily driver, and my husband’s 2007 Mazda3s. The two buying experiences
were vastly different.
My Acura was purchased at the dealership that could get the right price
and color for me at the time. I wasn’t picky at the time about customer
service – I wanted that electric blue color, and only this one
particular dealership could get a hold of one from Japan and get it
over here quickly. I gave them my business. Never again. I won't bore
you with the details of my many lengthy conversations with the sales
guy leading to the pick-up date, but suffice it to say they were not
pleasant. I was not a priority, or even important, in this guy’s life.
When I finally signed the papers, I only did so because the price was
great. When I was handed my keys, I drove away and never returned.
Don’t take this wrong – just because I bought from him doesn’t make
this a success story. I bought it well under invoice and at a tiny
profit for him. He probably didn’t see much at all from that sale. Most
of a dealership’s revenue comes from the service drive, and I am a
regular at the service drive. I take my car in every 3000 miles for
maintenance and get all work done at the dealer. A DIFFERENT dealer.
See how much cash that guy threw away? Plus, I’m the first one to steer
someone away from doing business at that location.
Our purchase at the Mazda dealership was completely different and now, we are loyal service customers. See the difference?
Let
me give you another anecdote. My husband and I have an insurance agent.
His name Hector Martinez. He handles our auto, renters, earthquake, and
life insurance policies. The reason he has all of them? Not because it
was cheaper. Definitely not because of that. Hector was a such a great
salesman and was so attentive to our needs that we decided it would be
best to give him all our insurance business because we TRUSTED and
LIKED him. I know I can call Hector or email him any time and he ALWAYS
gets back to me right away and takes care of whatever it is I need. If
only everyone we work with could be like that! In fact, my husband and
I were looking at some houses for sale online the other day and he
turned to me and asked, “Does Hector sell houses? Can he?”
Of
course Hector doesn’t sell houses but you know what? If he did, we
might be fairly inclined to take the leap because we trust in him so
much. So if you haven’t been following my analogy here, it’s this:
People will bring you their business – even IF it’s not the cheapest –
if they feel they can trust you and enjoy working with you. Take that
and apply it at your dealership and watch those sales increase. I
pretty much guarantee it.
By Breanne Boyle
AskPatty.com Contributor
acura
