Transparency: The Good, The Bad and The Hypocrisy
Hypocrisy: “Hypocrisy involves the deception of others and is thus a kind of lie”
I bring attention to a recent article on TechCrunch, not for its content, but rather the Editors note which is placed boldly and prominently before the article. The Editors note reads as follows:
"Editor’s note: This guest post is written by Aileen Lee, Partner at venture firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, where she focuses on investing in consumer internet ventures. Full disclosure: some of the companies mentioned below are KPCB-backed companies, including One Kings Lane, Klout and Plum District (both of which count Lee as a board member). You can read more about Lee at KPCB.com and follow her on twitter at @aileenlee."
http://techcrunch.com/2011/11/27/social-proof-why-people-like-to-fo...
I have no idea how the readership on this or any other automotive forum breaks down. Consultant, vendor, dealer owner, dealer principal, dealer sales manager, internet sales manager, or non-titled employees with little or no connection to the dealerships wallet like myself.
Of this I do know. Everything that is posted is about getting a vehicle delivered and then splitting the pie. We were/are quick to call out TrueCar and others for their lack of transparency (myself included).
Getting back to the title of this post, If there is “more to the story”, let’s hear it.
This post is dedicated to John Zeiglar, to the best of my knowledge is a person who never existed, and was/is a “performance writer”, “author” and “expert” and is employed by “Performance Company” a company, to the best of my knowledge, that does not exist.
"John" has authored several articles in several automotive publications over the years. I would ask, was "John" a shill?...and if he was/is, who was/is he shilling for? Did he in any way promote specific entities for the purpose of increasing their perceived value?....or was "John" created to simply report the automotive news of the day, fair and balanced?
Harlene Doane, Wednesday February 1, 2012:
“Be happy to solve that mystery for you Thomas, John was a pseudonym created by Sean Wolfington 8 years ago although I believe they were written by Daymond Decker, he should be able to verify that one. Auto Dealer Monthly hasn't allowed anything but authentic authors for many years now however we have archives of online and printed published articles for more than 10 years on our site.”
Finally, I suggest, the days of cutting back room deals with “associates” and misleading dealers and investors, creating and awarding reciprocal trophies, awards and accolades, are shorter in number as our industry as we move forward. My thanks to TrueCar......
T R A N S P A R E N C Y….LIVE IT.
Thanks for reading,
Thomas A. Kelly
( I am a real person and I wrote this post, I work for a dealership, my opinions and statements are my own, I speak for no one other than myself. I stand neither to lose or gain financially from any impact my statement may have. I am not a partner in any form with any vendor or consultant except for those who may join me in the spirit of protecting investors and dealers interests)
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Thomas A. Kelly on
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Please note : Harlene Doane, who I quoted in this post, was responding to a previous discussion I started on DE and ADM, titled "Who is John Zeiglar?" Harlene's response to my post was made on ADM.
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If anyone is curious if "John" is still active.....This Google search result would indicate that he was as of less than 90 days ago.
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I omitted that "John Zieglar" is also claimed to be a "consultant"
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John Makey, former CEO of Whole Foods and 2003 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year, enjoyed the status of being a significant figure in marketing. Mr. Mackey also became well known for "sock puppeting". From a New York Times article:
"This digital-age deception has a name, “sock-puppeting,” and a precise definition — the act of creating a fake online identity to praise, defend or create the illusion of support for one’s self, allies or company."
From the same NYT article:
"For executives like Mr. Mackey, sock-puppeting is probably more gratifying than effective in swaying opinion or stock prices — until they get caught. Then it is embarrassing, and for chief executives, at least, potentially illegal. Laws carefully prescribe what executives of public companies can say. The Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site Friday night that the Securities and Exchange Commission had begun a formal inquiry into whether Mr. Mackey violated security laws with the posts."
Entire NYT article:
https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/16/technology/16blog.html?pagewante...
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So there is this article which describes how Paragon Honda became #1.
Much is said about how Paragon did it thanks to the help of Tier 10 Marketing and even quotes Sean Wolfington. See below:
“A typical
consumer can trade-up from a 2007 to a 2012
with over a hundred new vehicle
feature enhancements while saving
thousands of dollars in gas—a
fact based value proposition
that is hard to resist,” says
Sean Wolfington, owner of
the marketing company that
Paragon works with to implement
their integrated marketing
strategy.
… and then A VP from Paragon is quoted. See below:
“Before moving to our integrated strategy we worked with multiple vendors that had different
messaging and often competing strategies that only confused customers and even our
employees, but with this Civic campaign and all campaigns that Tier 10 Marketing creates
for us, the message our customers receive is the same whether it’s seen on television, heard
on the radio, viewed online or on the showroom floor,” says Brian Benstock, VP and general
manager of Paragon Honda and Acura.
“Our results went
through the roof when we implemented
one integrated marketing strategy to attract
in-market consumers to buy and service
with our dealership and our team works
very hard to attempt to deliver a world-class
customer experience that has improved our
customer satisfaction and loyalty.”
The article was written by “John Zeiglar” See below:
“John Zeiglar is a performance consultant
from Performance Company. For more
information, please email Jzeiglar0@gmail.
com.”
My research indicates that “John Zeiglar” was invented by Sean Wolfington and that “John” is a SOCK-PUPPET, See below:
Comment by Harlene Doane (Editor of Auto Dealer Monthly) “Be happy to solve that mystery for you Thomas, John was a pseudonym created by Sean Wolfington 8 years ago although I believe they were written by Daymond Decker, he should be able to verify that one. Auto Dealer Monthly hasn't allowed anything but authentic authors for many years now however we have archives of online and printed published articles for more than 10 years on our site”
On Wikipedia, a sock-puppet is described. See below:
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia A sockpuppet is an online identity used for purposes of deception. The term—a reference to the manipulation of a simple hand puppet made from a sock—originally referred to a false identity assumed by a member of an internet community who spoke to, or about himself while pretending to be another person.[1] The term now includes other uses of misleading online identities, such as those created to praise, defend or support a third party or organization.[2] A significant difference between the use of a pseudonym[3] and the creation of a sockpuppet is that the sockpuppet poses as an independent third-party unaffiliated with the puppeteer.
http://www.dealermailsystems.com/NewsSites/automotivemarketingnews/...
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So there is this article which describes how Paragon Honda became #1.
Much is said about how Paragon did it thanks to the help of Tier 10 Marketing and even quotes Sean Wolfington. See below:
“A typical
consumer can trade-up from a 2007 to a 2012
with over a hundred new vehicle
feature enhancements while saving
thousands of dollars in gas—a
fact based value proposition
that is hard to resist,” says
Sean Wolfington, owner of
the marketing company that
Paragon works with to implement
their integrated marketing
strategy.
… and then A VP from Paragon is quoted. See below:
“Before moving to our integrated strategy we worked with multiple vendors that had different
messaging and often competing strategies that only confused customers and even our
employees, but with this Civic campaign and all campaigns that Tier 10 Marketing creates
for us, the message our customers receive is the same whether it’s seen on television, heard
on the radio, viewed online or on the showroom floor,” says Brian Benstock, VP and general
manager of Paragon Honda and Acura.
“Our results went
through the roof when we implemented
one integrated marketing strategy to attract
in-market consumers to buy and service
with our dealership and our team works
very hard to attempt to deliver a world-class
customer experience that has improved our
customer satisfaction and loyalty.”
The article was written by “John Zeiglar” See below:
“John Zeiglar is a performance consultant
from Performance Company. For more
information, please email Jzeiglar0@gmail.
com.”
My research indicates that “John Zeiglar” was invented by Sean Wolfington and that “John” is a SOCK-PUPPET, See below:
Comment by Harlene Doane (Editor of Auto Dealer Monthly) “Be happy to solve that mystery for you Thomas, John was a pseudonym created by Sean Wolfington 8 years ago although I believe they were written by Daymond Decker, he should be able to verify that one. Auto Dealer Monthly hasn't allowed anything but authentic authors for many years now however we have archives of online and printed published articles for more than 10 years on our site”
On Wikipedia, a sock-puppet is described. See below:
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia A sockpuppet is an online identity used for purposes of deception. The term—a reference to the manipulation of a simple hand puppet made from a sock—originally referred to a false identity assumed by a member of an internet community who spoke to, or about himself while pretending to be another person.[1] The term now includes other uses of misleading online identities, such as those created to praise, defend or support a third party or organization.[2] A significant difference between the use of a pseudonym[3] and the creation of a sockpuppet is that the sockpuppet poses as an independent third-party unaffiliated with the puppeteer.
http://www.dealermailsystems.com/NewsSites/automotivemarketingnews/...
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- Jason Manning on ADM:
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Comment by Jason Manning 8 hours ago
Even automotive "writers" have to consider transparency and trust. I believe you are looking for something to support trust. I'm not sure it's there, Thomas.
- Comment by Thomas A. Kelly 1 hour ago
I have not found it yet Jason. Time and resources should not have to be spent on figuring out who is being played and by whom. But, if we do not it seems, at least to me, that those in the Old Boy Network will continue to unfairly manipulate the dealers and investors. I believe "John Zeiglar" never existed, That he was created along with a company that never existed by Sean Wolfington et al, that "he" was created for the purpose of appearing as an unbiased outsider that is well credentialed to promote all things Sean Wolfington. Is it illegal? I don't know. Is it unethical?, in my opinion, it certainly is. Influencing and supporting your entities position is a CEO's job. Making up fictitious consultants who work for a fictitious company to promote your entities that can be used to influence potential investors in an upcoming property sale or promoting claims about your value to dealers, in my opinion, that would be very serious if it were to happen. If I am misunderstanding "John Zeiglar", how he came about and what his purpose is, I would like to know. Thanks for commenting Jason.
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Scott Painter is Right, It’s About Transparency.
Transparency is knowing the “Rest Of The Story” as Paul Harvey used to say.
A vendor, a consultant or an expert cannot pick and choose when to be transparent. His moral compass should guide him. If his compass is on the blink from time to time, much has been written that he can refer to. When all else fails, a quick reference when you are looking for guidance in your actions might be “Never do or say to someone what you would not do or say to your mother or in your mother’s presence” (If you were a bad boy or girl and did not love and respect your mother or she was a crappy parent, disregard this advice and Google “ethics”)
If there are facts, details to a discussion or presentation that by omission would change the appearance of your validity if they were commonly known, then let’s hear them up front. Please do not make us go looking for them, it puts your profession in a bad light and takes away from the overwhelming majority of up front, honest and transparent providers of goods and services.
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THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS!
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“With over 100 experts writing columns for the magazine, DMM covers every aspect of running a modern auto dealership with a focus on the new digital marketing opportunities. “
JOHN ZEIGLAR is one of those “100 experts”. He does not exist. “John” it is claimed is a “performance writer” for a company that does not exist called Performance Company.
“John Zeiglar is a performance consultant from the Performance Company. For more information, please email jzeiglar@dealermark.com”
http://www.dealermark.com/bizdev/business-development/2525-huffines-hyundai-is-breaking-records-and-outpacing-hyundai-nationally-by-25.html
I wonder how many other experts writing for DMM are really just shills for everything Sean Wolfington?
Below is a recent article written by "JOHN ZEIGLAR" in DMM.
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