Audi dealer acts like douchebag...but I agree with them

[Rupert]

Because our circumstances change, but only a little.

[Rich]

People never change.  But sometimes....we ......change.

WHAT!?!?!?

[Rupert]

Dazzle is confused again.

[dazzleman]

That's true, but as long as there are foresighted people out there we do have a chance.

Of course we do, but we need to face reality.

When I see that supposedly top-level businessman made the following decisions on a grand scale:

1.  Auto executives made a conscious decision, over a period of decades, that it was in their best interests to make products inferior to their competition, relying on patriotic jingoism to keep their customers buying those inferior cars over foreign competition;
2.  Union executives decided that it was in their best interests to bankrupt the companies that paid for their salaries, pensions and medical benefits;
3. Bank executives decided that their profits would be enhanced by lending large sums of money to large numbers of people who had little to no ability to repay this money;

all while we have allowed our ecoomic basis to erode and covered that erosion with ever growing sums of debt, a policy that continues even more strongly than before, I know that we need a fundamental change in how we do business.  Business people who make the type of decisions that I outlined (and those are but a few examples) are not good businesspeople, and having them collectively running our economy can't be a good thing.

Sorry to go off on this tangent, but the comment about dealers not caring about repeat business is what triggered it, because it seemed a smaller-scale version of the larger scale problem of bad decisionmaking by businesses, large and small, on fundamental issues.

[dazzleman]

Dazzle is confused again.

I must have started smoking some of that stuff you sent me in the mail....

[Rupert]

Good job; about time.

[Atomic]

a couple of perspectives. mega dealerships are generally less customer oriented (from my experience) than what i call single make "ma and pa" stores. the large dealerships probably rake in far more money, secondary to volume sales. i find many to appear (perspective) heartless, accept for attracting attention but large community donations that the smaller business may not be able to afford. i see more attention paid out to the individual customer or family from the community based dealer down the street. i think they must work harder. these are obviously generalizations, based on what i have encounter. both types of businesses (small vs. large) may help out for different reasons, but the result is typically the same - a happy customer.

[dazzleman]

Good job; about time.

But I don't want to get in trouble, man.....don't you think that's a little too badass for me?

[dazzleman]

a couple of perspectives. mega dealerships are generally less customer oriented (from my experience) than what i call single make "ma and pa" stores. the large dealerships probably rake in far more money, secondary to volume sales. i find many to appear (perspective) heartless, accept for attracting attention but large community donations that the smaller business may not be able to afford. i see more attention paid out to the individual customer or family from the community based dealer down the street. i think they must work harder. these are obviously generalizations, based on what i have encounter. both types of businesses (small vs. large) may help out for different reasons, but the result is typically the same - a happy customer.

The American 'consumer' (I hate that word) is also to blame for a lot of this.  We say we like the mom and pop businesses, but we don't frequent them for various reasons.  They're more expensive, have less of a selection, and are usually opened shorter hours.  So we choose the big box stores that are cheaper, but treat us poorly a lot of the time.  Just as we have undervalued our free time in order to chase more material goods, we have also undervalued good service in a lot of cases.

[Rupert]

But I don't want to get in trouble, man.....don't you think that's a little too badass for me?

Nah, everyone and their mother smokes the reefer these days. Well, in California, at least.

[dazzleman]

Nah, everyone and their mother smokes the reefer these days. Well, in California, at least.

Well, I have wanted to upgrade my 'bad mothafucka' tatto to 'SUPER bad mothafucka' so maybe I'll do it....

[AutobahnSHO]

Sorry to go off on this tangent, but the comment about dealers not caring about repeat business is what triggered it, because it seemed a smaller-scale version of the larger scale problem of bad decisionmaking by businesses, large and small, on fundamental issues.

You sir are correct.
It takes a long time for things to evolve in society, some of it is history, some of it cultural shift.  "People inertia" is very hard to predict or direct.

Look at the rise and fall of Rome or the British "Empire"- at one point not too long ago, they "owned" half the free world and acted like it, too.  That was a long story of fortune, technology, and location.  They're still not doing too badly as a nation- even though they still resist to some measure the EU.

America has reached the "top" and as such has failed to think things might change in the future. Instead, we'll be starting a downward slide (2008, anyone?) which will gain momentum until some other country is "on top". We'll still be crying about the glory days and insisting everyone listen to us because we "are the best" for a long time..

[sportyaccordy]

Its gonna take a long time for America to come to grips with the idea of short term profit/operating costs not being the be all end all of business. We seem to operate minute to minute with no foresight for long term consequences. You can even see that in this situation.

[dazzleman]

Exactly sporty.  That's what led me into my little thread hijack.

[GoCougs]

Ha! I was on fire in this thread!

[GoCougs]

Sheesh - sure is a lot negative Nancy-ism. We still do it best in America even in spite of the catastrophic government actions of the past little while.

Nah, the issue with car dealerships ain't an indicator of general business practices as a whole. The one-time sale nature of the auto dealer industry, and the resulting byproduct of shoddy and sometimes nefarious business practices, is simply what it takes to sell very expensive, very cultural-rich products, to the American public.

People lie about how much they make. People lie about their financial health. People lie about the condition of their trade-in. People want to act like a big shots and try to get the "best" deal by any means possible. If dealerships played it on the straight-n-narrow they'd go out of business in no time dealing with such clientele.

[Raza]

I think sometimes you do things to maintain good relationships with your customers. Even if the dealership isn't legally responsible, it may be in their best long-term interest to take care of a customer who just dropped $50,000 in their place of business.


Because I can guarantee he won't be buying another Audi from them any time soon if they don't try to make it right.

You're absolutely right.  If I ran this dealership, regardless of legal responsibility, I'd like to think I'd offer to replace the wheels, or at least cover some of the charge.  If the dealer was asked to leave a car outside of their protected property, then they're really not responsible.  If all this guy wants them to cover is the damn deductible, I'd eat the $500, because this is really bad publicity.  This guy probably won't even service his car there anymore, let alone buy another from them.

[Raza]

#1 rule about car dealerships is they aren't ever in it for repeat business.

How is that a car dealer rule?  Repeat customers are almost always less hassle than getting new customers.  They tend to shop around less, don't push as hard on the deals, and are more likely to service cars at that dealer past warranty.  The number one rule in any business is that keeping a customer costs vastly LESS than getting a new one. 

[GoCougs]

Check the Audizone link in the japolink article - update as of a few days ago - the dealership kowtowed and paid the deductible. Apparently the A4 owner was originally dealing with the service department not the sales department.

Which brings another point, don't put S4 wheels on an A4.

[Raza]

But if I (and lots of other people,) tell my friends I had a GREAT experience at XX place, they'll build up plenty of business in the long run.
If I (and lots of other people,) tell everyone I know that is looking for a car to never go to YY dealer, then they'll never be as successful as XX.

No, that never happens.  Take this unlikely scenario:

CarSPIN member A services a car at a dealership.
Member A tells SJZ3 about that dealership's excellent service.
SJZ3 then buys a GTI from that dealership.


Wait, that seems familiar. 

[Raza]

That's not necessarily true with luxury car dealerships.  The customers for those cars are fewer, their competition is narrower, and once people buy cars at that level, they don't like to drop back to average cars.  So for them, it's worthwhile to hold on to customers and maintain relationships.  For a Chevy dealer, I agree with you.

Not even.  You're talking about a broader part of the market and you're selling something that is perceived to be of lower quality.  Customer loyalty (to a brand or dealership) is extremely important if you don't have the best seller or the perceived best in your segment.  If we were talking about Toyota two years ago, I'd say loyalty wouldn't mean much to them, but you're kidding yourself if you think a wider range of competitors doesn't make repeat business that much more important. 

[Raza]

Which brings another point, don't put S4 wheels on an A4.

Well, money doesn't buy taste and all that.   

[sportyaccordy]

Which brings another point, don't put S4 wheels on an A4.

Why not? Stock A4 wheels suck, and not everyone wants/can afford an S4.

[Jon?]

I'd just get the S4 badge and tape it over the 'A4'.

[JWC]

If it is behind a security fence, it is the dealer's responsibility.
If it on the lot, and there is no security fence, it is the dealer's responsibility.
If the dealer left it outside of a security fence at the owner's request, it is the owner's responsibility.  If taken to court, the dealership will lose, but only because a business is considered financially able to take the hit.  Been there, had it happen.

Even a sign that proclaims the dealership is not responsible, isn't enough to fulfill the legal obligation.  The dealership personnel have to point out the sign and explain it for a court to consider the business has met their obligation.

As to the security cameras...don't be surprised if they don't work or are even dummy cameras.  At the Benz dealership I was at, we had beware of dog signs and no dogs.  No one ever climbed the fence after we installed that "security" system though. 

[Onslaught]

Why not? Stock A4 wheels suck, and not everyone wants/can afford an S4.

Well then you still shouldn't act like you got one. It's kind of pathetic.

[the Teuton]

...and the Audi dealer caved.

http://jalopnik.com/5568413/audi-dealership-caves-to-internet-pressure-helps-customer?skyline=true&s=i

[Jon?]

...and the Audi dealer caved.

http://jalopnik.com/5568413/audi-dealership-caves-to-internet-pressure-helps-customer?skyline=true&s=i

Good.

[sportyaccordy]

Well then you still shouldn't act like you got one. It's kind of pathetic.

I don't think the dude was swapping badges or w/e. I do not think going for OEM wheels of another model is rice or in poor taste TBH. I'd rather that than dude get some piece of shit chrome things.