Looking For Feedback from the Pros on this Site

We hade a situation at our dealership yesterday and I thought I would share it with everyone in hopes of getting some opinions. One of my salesman took a deposit for a dealer trade. It was a modest deal about $1200 front to back on a lease. He took the deposit on Tuesday found the car and was able to get it on Wednesday. The delivery was set up for Friday. The customer called yesterday and said the dealer he originally went to called him back. The customer told them about the deal he had with us. The other dealer then said they would beat it and basically quoted him a net deal on a car they do not have. The customer asked me to match it.

I reminded him that we had a deposit from him and already located and bought in his car. He reminded me that he did not sign anything and he was looking out for his best interest. I politely refused to come off my price and said I hope to see him on Friday. He probably will not show. He has not answered the phone from the sales rep who has time invested in the deal.

Imagine if he never called me and he showed up on Friday to pick up his car and I said "I am sorry sir we sold it yesterday to a guy who was willing to pay $20 more a month." "We were looking out for the best interest of our dealership." He probably would have been mad and wrote a letter to our front office or may have started a nasty blog.

I am looking for some feedback from the sales pros on this site.

Thank you!

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Comment by Joe Clementi on March 30, 2011 at 12:50pm: Sorry to hear that Stanley. We're competitive people by nature so I'm sure losing that deal bothered you all day. It sucks when the dealer without ability was able to capture a sale based on price alone. But, we learn from these losses and we move on. Good luck and continued selling!

Comment by Stanley Esposito on March 30, 2011 at 12:42pm: The guy did buy from the other dealer on Saturday. There are so many different ways to do a deal like this. I picked the wrong way this time. I will have to move on. Thanks to all of you for your ideas!

Comment by Craig Lockerd on March 30, 2011 at 11:26am: Did he show up Stan?...Happy Birthday by the way.....I used to let these deals grind at me for hours...sometimes days,and what typically ended up happening was I transferred the "heat and frustration" to my managers ,who tranferred it to the salespeople,who in turn transferred it to....well you know the rest.

What had he signed something,then what? Hold feet to fire? So easy to "Arm Chair Quarterback" this deal and many great suggestions here what could have been done.Heck you could even have offered to have him bring his "phantom" car he bought at the other dealer to yours for service and have him dropped off to work etc,and WAY over deliver and see what he would have said then....

Way I see it....Next!

Comment by Fran Taylor on March 28, 2011 at 8:00am: I think the customer should sign all the paper work possible and they will take mental ownership. Have them sign that they will pay for all expenses to get the car if the deal doesn't go through for what ever reason. This usually stops customers from shopping and if you loose the deal the customer pays for you to go get it.

Comment by Joe Clementi on March 26, 2011 at 2:04pm: Don't get me wrong. Supply and demmand play a crucial role in determing the value of a specific vehicle. The difference is that another dealer determined the "value" to be lower than your price. It really doesn't matter whether or not that dealer has the vehicle....Now its about credibility. That other dealer saved them $1200!! Right or wrong, that customer now believes the other guy and not you. This other dealership's sales manager was weak enough that he couldn't provide enough reasons why that customer should have purchased from him. Instead, he let price do his selling. We all know that customer is not going to be happy in the end. He/she doesn't know what the real numbers are and how much they could have saved?

I am of the opinion Stanley, that you are a victom of your fellow dealers ineptness. Unfortunatley, that is the reality. I would still call the customer back myself and sell him the car at their price. Then, hopefully you will make added profits through your F&I department. Sometimes, you have to buy a deal. I agree with something Bobby said, "I suggest to put the customer in a loaner or a rental until the vehicle arrived." For what it's worth, I don't think in this situation you should pass on the deal. Smile...and cash his check.

Comment by Keith Shetterly on March 26, 2011 at 1:42pm: I think I didn't put enough detail in my first reply, and I think also that you've had some GREAT feedback here.

I've sat people down at a computer and pulled up that inventory and let them see the car isn't really there. It's better than a confrontation, as you partner with them to protect their interest. And their own ego, which is the important ego in this situation, sometimes painfully, is protected. Unless they knew they were scamming you to lower your price vs. a car they knew themselves was already there.

Comment by Stanley Esposito on March 26, 2011 at 1:34pm: Joe,

Thanks for the input. I struggle with not taking the deal and I do feel for the salesman. I was selling up to October of 2010 and I know I probably would have been bothered. There are cicumstances where I would have taken the deal but this was not one of them.

My salesman looked at the other store's inventory and the car they were supposed to get is not there yet. So there is a chance we still make the deal. If I had the car in stock the guy would have been driving already. I am not ready to drop my price to compete with another dealer who does not even have the car they are quoting. Joe you are right about another thing, My ego was bruised. Thanks again for your input!

Comment by Joe Clementi on March 26, 2011 at 1:09pm: I guess, I'm in the minority here. I believe you should have taken the deal. Think of all the time your salesperson had invested? What about the driver you already sent to get the car? What about lost opportunity in the service/parts department? Look, no one likes to be cheated or lied to but the reality is deals like this happen every day. Don't let your bruised ego get in the way of making a sale. Who know's what could be created when the customer gets there. Perhaps they see a product (paint/rust/alarm) that they have to have. What your customer did happens every day in every showroom accross America. The other dealer obviously saw value in capturing the sale. My humble opinion is you not only lost one sale but, potenially many more dollars you didn't see.

I'm sure mine isn't a popular opinion but why "step over a dollar to miss a hundred"? Don't know your state but couldn't you have located the car and delivered in the same day? Or, couldn't you have signed them on a contract (having the vin #) and had him come back and pick it up? Just wondering?

Comment by Stanley Esposito on March 26, 2011 at 11:32am: Thanks Bobby,

I thought when I wrote this I would get some negative feedback. You guys have some quality points. I agree with what you are saying 100%. My guy did follow the process. We had thirty some cars in stock because we are running out of cars. Loaners are not an option in our case because we are doing too many. I think when we can get our inventory up things will take care of themselves. The other store did not have a car and they quoted them a net deal which I did not want to match. There still is a chance they wont get the car or they try to switch cars and upset the customer somehow and he comes back. Thanks guys!

Comment by Keith Shetterly on March 24, 2011 at 1:34pm: By the way, how much was the price difference to the "unreal" car?