# Dealership Didn't Appreciate My Review?!



## BeemerMeUp (Sep 26, 2011)

So I have recently purchased my new 2012 BMW 135i, this was after months of research and eleminating other cars, weeks of negotiation with multiple dealerships and finally going in to purchase. Over-all my experience was what you would expect from a dealership, but it has gone downhill.

During my sales experience of course there is a point where the sales rep tells you about a survey that is going to go out and that he would appreciate 5 stars or 10/10, apparently mine didn't know I didn't fill it out until after I was done working with him. Below is the story.


My sales rep was overall a great sales representative. He kept in fairly good communication with me throughout the process, of course a lot of sales reps drop communication from time to time if the buyer is not as active as they say they are and don't seem to be engaged in the buying process. As soon as I emailed again he was willing to answer my questions and assist me. He didn't seem to take me too serious due to of course I had never bought a BMW and I was looking well below the range I was trying to buy.

Saturday the 10th of September is when I showed up to take a look at the BMW we have been discussing and after I had submitted an offer through their website. I didn't make an appointment and showed up in the early afternoon so I understand I was not a priority at the time. My sales rep was with another customer who was purchasing a car, I stuck around while he was trying to assist me and the other costumer, and again I was patient due to not having an appointment, 

I had arrived probably around 2:30 or so. I was very understanding that day. Most of my research was complete, I have bought many cars before and know the process. I planned to work out the final negotiations and either buy or walk out. After waiting almost 3 hours for him to get done with the other costumer, we worked out a deal and moved forward. By this time if was closing. I didn't want to keep them there any longer than I had to because I'm nice like that. I rushed through a lot of the process. I even rushed through the process of financing and planned to do the overview of the vehicle at a later day to assist with getting my sales rep and the finance employee who was assisting me. I could have kept them there for the 3 hours the process probably should have taken.

Friday the 16th of September I had discussed with Andy (My sales rep) as one of my few days I would be able to come in to go over the BMW, he mentioned possibly being off that day and I said I would work with him on a date and time. I believe he contacted me around the following Wednesday stating that he was going to assist some other costumers that day and would be in, so he said stop by. On Friday I called in the morning to set up a time and we had agreed on around 3:00pm, I stated I might be a few minutes late depending on traffic. I showed up at 3:15pm, Andy was just getting off the phone and getting up. He mentioned that he was trying to get lunch before I came and stated he was REALLY hungry at the time. Of course I was shocked a sales person would say something along those lines. I asked if I could come back at a later time but he was willing to assist me. I as if it was my fault and felt bad for stopping him from grabbing lunch and felt as if I came in at the wrong time.

Andy assisted me with my satellite radio set up, BMW assist, and walking through some of the features, although I could tell he was trying to push the process a bit faster than possibly another costumer, or the costumer the previous weekend while I waited patiently for my assistance. He even seemed annoyed most of the time. I felt rushed and felt it would be best to research the rest on my own rather than skip any details because of his hunger. I have since been on BMW forums to answer or hopefully answer any questions I have about the features, equipment, maintenance, or general questions regarding my BMW.

Again, I appreciated the overall experience with the dealership and Mr. Alexis's assistance with my BMW. I feel that timing and schedule were the two issues that caused my only main complaints. I feel I gave a favorable review, although I didn't go into a lot of details of my experience which could have been commented on. I usually give more detailed and tougher reviews, I hardly every give a perfect 5 star or 10 out-of 10 review unless the dealership exceeded my expectations to the fullest. I would defiantly do business with them in the future and would also recommend to family or friends if they ever decide to purchase a BMW.,,IF they didn't pull the recent issue.

I finally filled out the survey and gave them a 4.5 out of 5 stars. Regarding my experience and sales rep I ended up giving 8s and 9s out of 10 with comments on why. I was contacted by both Andy (I didn't answer because it was late) and email by a sales manager. They were confused because he has never had complaints in the past and made it seem like I was either lying or it was my fault for the issues?!?! :dunno:


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## amancuso (Jun 17, 2004)

Welcome to this ridiculous grading system. It should be done anonymously as far as I'm concerned.


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## haskindm (Jun 1, 2011)

A grading system where anything less than perfect is failing is ridiculous, but that is the way these things work. E-bay and Amazon treat their sellers the same way. If a customer gives you any less than "5-stars" it is a failure. In my opinion 5-stars should be for truly exceptional service, not for people doing what they are paid for. If everyone always gets a perfect score it means nothing...


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## Yorgi (Mar 17, 2005)

He's lucky you gave him 8's and 9's if you ask me. Don't worry about it.


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## Munich77 (Jul 16, 2008)

Yeah no kidding - I would have left after waiting 3 hours at the dealership. Shows you how fake those surveys are!


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## Elias (Jun 26, 2005)

Those surveys are a sham and does nothing to improve customer service, you get harassed to give 10s and if you don't you get scolded by the dealership. If anything this fantasy survey cheapens the brand because of the bad predicament it puts the customer having to lie so they don't have to deal with an angry CA.


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## DGMorgan500 (Jul 21, 2007)

An automobile is frequently one of the largest purchases consumers make and most want to be taken through the process with attention to detail and "perfect" execution that "exceeds their expectations," whatever that means. Most consumers, however, treat the process like they are dropping into Nordstroms to pick up and pair of jeans: They show up late--show up randomly on a different day--don't show up--don't call to cancel--then show up and use a different Sales Consultant. This is what these guys deal with all day--day after day--month after month--year after year.Too, because of this, they don't have the normal lunch time most people get at work. It could cost them a deal--or--in this case--a bad survey. You show up late: he probably assumed you were not going to show or--like most people--show up later than quoted--so he tried to fit some lunch in. He still put his lunch on hold to take you through the BMW. Yes he was short and irritable--okay--so what. How do you get when you're *really *hungry?

Unless people are completely incompetent, grossly unprofessional or belligerently rude, I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt and scoring them with the highest marks they can receive. I realize I am not perfect and because I know I am not, I believe in extending to people the same grace I would like when I either fail or have an off day.


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## cwsqbm (Aug 4, 2004)

haskindm said:


> A grading system where anything less than perfect is failing is ridiculous, but that is the way these things work. E-bay and Amazon treat their sellers the same way. If a customer gives you any less than "5-stars" it is a failure. In my opinion 5-stars should be for truly exceptional service, not for people doing what they are paid for. If everyone always gets a perfect score it means nothing...


+1. Back when my car was new, I had an issue. Overall, it was a good experience, but there was it was far from perfect since it took four days to fix my three month old car, and I had to return to the dealer afterward to get a key reprogrammed. The dealer was unhappy with the review. EXCUSE ME? I WAS THE CUSTOMER, NOT THEM.

I understand BMWNA pressuring its dealers to aim for perfection. That's just part of making a better business. But when they start pressuring the customers for good reviews, they've gone WAY over the line.

Sadly, that was 7 years ago, so things are still the same.


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## DGMorgan500 (Jul 21, 2007)

cwsqbm said:


> +1. Back when my car was new, I had an issue. Overall, it was a good experience, but there was it was far from perfect since it took four days to fix my three month old car, and I had to return to the dealer afterward to get a key reprogrammed. The dealer was unhappy with the review. *EXCUSE ME? I WAS THE CUSTOMER, NOT THEM. *I understand BMWNA pressuring its dealers to aim for perfection. That's just part of making a better business. But when they start pressuring the customers for good reviews, they've gone WAY over the line.
> 
> Sadly, that was 7 years ago, so things are still the same.


Funny, I wish business had a reverse Yelp type survey they could fill out concerning customers so other business' could look them up and decide if they want to fire them as a customer before doing business with them. One question that would be exceptionally relevant is one asking if the customer had a reasonable grasp on reality and how the world works or did they completely lack knowledge and while throwing a public fit, they furiously and vociferously, demanded that the square peg be put in the round hole.


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## mclaren (Jan 5, 2005)

The csi survey system is broken but it is your best interest to give all 10s because if you don't they don't want you as a customer which they will make clear.


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## Elias (Jun 26, 2005)

mclaren said:


> The csi survey system is broken but it is your best interest to give all 10s because if you don't* they don't want you as a customer which they will make clear.*




Thats a very poor way of doing business instead why don't they let the dealer make good when a customer is not happy and if they do then the dealer can get all 10s and everybody is happy. Running off customers that don't give them a good score on the survey is bad business!


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## Wihelm G (May 15, 2008)

In my experience, all the SA's I've come across provide pretty much the same level of service, which is high compared to other brands I've purchased in the past. But my expectations are basically, "do your job competently, don't BS me, get me out of here quickly and with a minimal amount of inconvenience." They pretty consistently come close to meeting most of my expectations, but to say the "exceed" my expectations-- nope, almost never. But they are nice enough people, and good at what they do for the most part, and I certainly do not want a "bad" evaluation to affect their livelihood, so I give 'em all 5s. It's a sham, but it seems to satisfy everyone and doesn't cost me anything.


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## DGMorgan500 (Jul 21, 2007)

Wihelm G said:


> In my experience, all the SA's I've come across provide pretty much the same level of service, which is high compared to other brands I've purchased in the past. But my expectations are basically, "do your job competently, don't BS me, get me out of here quickly and with a minimal amount of inconvenience." They pretty consistently come close to meeting most of my expectations, but to say the "exceed" my expectations-- nope, almost never. But they are nice enough people, and good at what they do for the most part, and I certainly do not want a "bad" evaluation to affect their livelihood, so I give 'em all 5s. It's a sham, but it seems to satisfy everyone and doesn't cost me anything.


Reasonable description. Sham? Not really. CSI needs to be overhauled. Dealer is under a lot of pressure from the Manufacturer and customers know this and plenty use it to be unreasonable--or else.


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## BeemerMeUp (Sep 26, 2011)

Thanks all for the info and sorry about the vent session. I have dealt with some REALLY bad dealers, of course a lot of these sadly are the ones that have the better deal so I still go through them. They bribe and beg for me to give them outstanding reviews and of course being me I will NEVER give a perfect review UNLESS they make the whole buying experience pleasurable.

From my understanding, the only reason these dealerships care what you think and depend on these surveys are the fact that these go up to higher people who make the decisions on how many 1 Series M they get or the rest of their inventory. That also gives them a reputation for being "5 STARS", which we all know is crap. Which is what I was explained by another sales person from another dealership.

They have yet to contact me after I explained what happened which I don't expect or want it, but it would be in their favor. I plan on writing reviews on several other websites. I still would recommend them over other dealerships I have been to.

If I was a salesman, I would have starved before I let a costumer wait or known...ESPECIALLY if I had scheduled a time. :thumbdwn:


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## Yorgi (Mar 17, 2005)

I believe the main reason they want the 5 stars is the fact that this survey affects the size of the bonus (or holdback) paid by BMW to the dealer on each new car sale. The dealer usually gives some of this "bonus" payment to the salesperson.


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## Andrew*Debbie (Jul 2, 2004)

The surveys are skewed. BMW NA considers anything less than all 5's a failure.

If you don't score them all 5's they don't get a bonus.


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## BeemerMeUp (Sep 26, 2011)

Andrew*Debbie said:


> The surveys are skewed. BMW NA considers anything less than all 5's a failure.
> 
> If you don't score them all 5's they don't get a bonus.


Well the 4.5 stars that I gave them was pushing it, especially now that I realize it's just a show to get 5 stars.

How about these dealerships focus on the costumers and their ratings will fall into place!


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## creamclean (Jul 8, 2011)

I recently purchased...we've bought a BMW from our rep before, and she didn't even _consider_ that we would give anything less than a 10/10. She was pretty blunt in telling us that she wanted 10's for a bonus. I was shocked, but after hearing about the pass/fail rule, I figured overall I wouldn't "fail" someone for minor blips. Weird that uneducated costumers act as almost the hand of god in their sales rep's pay...


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## Zeichen311 (Mar 31, 2011)

Simple solution: Ignore the survey or opt out.

On the first few surveys I was asked to complete, I gave very high but not perfect marks. As a result I quickly learned about this ridiculous pass/fail grading and that the feedback was NOT anonymous. After smoothing the ruffled feathers at my dealership, I called BMW NA Customer Relations and informed them--politely but in no uncertain terms--that their feedback system was fundamentally flawed (and why), a waste of my time and I would not participate, so they should stop calling me for that purpose. (I believe I said something like, "Put me down as completely satisfied at all times; if I'm not, the dealer and I will work it out between us, like adults.")

That was ten years ago, I never received another survey call and my relationship with my dealership couldn't be better. (Recently the surveys have started to arrive by email (I ignore them) so it seems I need to educate someone in Woodcliff Lake again.)

Still: Opt out and explain *why*. If they hear from enough customers that a non-anonymous feedback system is useless, they might listen.


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## Elias (Jun 26, 2005)

Zeichen311 said:


> Simple solution: Ignore the survey or opt out.
> 
> On the first few surveys I was asked to complete, I gave very high but not perfect marks. As a result I quickly learned about this ridiculous pass/fail grading and that the feedback was NOT anonymous. After smoothing the ruffled feathers at my dealership, I called BMW NA Customer Relations and informed them--politely but in no uncertain terms--that their feedback system was fundamentally flawed (and why), a waste of my time and I would not participate, so they should stop calling me for that purpose. (I believe I said something like, "Put me down as completely satisfied at all times; if I'm not, the dealer and I will work it out between us, like adults.")
> 
> ...


+1 looks like I'm going have to make a call soon!


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## DBLAZE (Jul 26, 2010)

You did the right thing! I can't believe they called you back for giving the salesperson 8's and 9's. That's still good scores by many people's standards...


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## Eliot (Jul 30, 2007)

DBLAZE said:


> You did the right thing! I can't believe they called you back for giving the salesperson 8's and 9's. That's still good scores by many people's standards...


But not by BMW's standards. Give all 10's, and rant and rave all you want in the comments section. That way, you get your point across without penalizing your CA.

BTW, the CA has nothing to do with a lot of the questions (Is the building clean?), but they get financially hit for a less than 10 response.


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## ProRail (May 31, 2006)

Eliot said:


> But not by BMW's standards. Give all 10's, and rant and rave all you want in the comments section. That way, you get your point across without penalizing your CA.
> 
> BTW, the CA has nothing to do with a lot of the questions (Is the building clean?), but they get financially hit for a less than 10 response.


That goes under the category "not my problem." I first encountered this idiotic way of interpreting survey data when I bought my Infiniti in 1995. Having spent most of my life as a survey statistician, I carefully explained that their system was ridiculous and unfair, not to mention that it yielded useless data. Result? Nada.


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## BeemerMeUp (Sep 26, 2011)

ProRail said:


> That goes under the category "not my problem." I first encountered this idiotic way of interpreting survey data when I bought my Infiniti in 1995. Having spent most of my life as a survey statistician, I carefully explained that their system was ridiculous and unfair, not to mention that it yielded useless data. Result? Nada.


I completely agree. I went there to buy a car and sure I got it accomplished, but I'm buying a product from you, I could have gone elsewhere. These dealerships NEED less than perfect scores to understand that people are able to go somewhere else if the quality of service is NOT perfect. Once they recieve all perfect scores they have nothing to compete or improve for.

I stand by my ratings, I wouldn't expect anyone to give me perfect scores if I didn't deserve it. How about they do what their supposed to and earn them, it's not hard:

- Clean up your area
- Greet the costumer
- Work out a deal
- Explain everything well
- Follow up

^ PERFECT SCORE

Most of those weren't met, the guy didn't even follow up till I gave him a "bad" review. I say 8 and 9s were pretty damn good!


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## mclaren (Jan 5, 2005)

BeemerMeUp - I agree with everything you are saying, what I'm saying is it is not in _your_ best interest to give 8 or 9s.


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## dalekressin (Sep 3, 2008)

I believe the review process is seriously flawed creating very serious long-term problems with relations.
The procedure needs to be changed by BMWNA. These OPs work pretty hard and need not get pay reductions on a 4.5 of 5 score for a customer's honest review.
The customer need not be treated badly for their review either.


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## BeemerMeUp (Sep 26, 2011)

mclaren said:


> BeemerMeUp - I agree with everything you are saying, what I'm saying is it is not in _your_ best interest to give 8 or 9s.


Why would it be in my best interest? Because they won't want me as a customer? That's fine. I live in the DC area, I don't mind driving 250 miles to other dealerships if need be. I have no problem if they don't want me as a customer anymore, although I don't appreciate dealerships calling or emailing me because I was honest.


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## BeemerMeUp (Sep 26, 2011)

*Follow Up*

I was contacted yesterday by a Services Manager with an email asking if anyone has contacted me regarding my issue. It's good to see that they may be dealing with the feedback, I will see what comes of the situation and keep you posted. Honestly I didn't expect anything afterwards but they may redeem themselves if it's handled correctly. :dunno:


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## djnadina (Dec 20, 2008)

I will be getting the same call sometime soon given my recent purchase and I can honestly say that the salesperson will not get 5 stars. He was not the most knowledgable, he was somewhat dismissive, and sloppy. Can you believe he printed the wrong VIN on my purchase contract so when I called around for insurance I was getting incorrect rates??? I wasted so much time due to his mistake. If he was excellent in all other aspects, i probably wouldn't let it get to me so much. Unfortunately, he isn't. I'm not sure that he should be in a customer facing role and I am going to be honest about this when it comes time to respond to the survey.

BeemerMeUp - Don't feel bad about being honest. We spend a lot of money on these cars. The least they can do is treat every customer like a king or queen during the process :thumbup:


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## BeemerMeUp (Sep 26, 2011)

djnadina said:


> I will be getting the same call sometime soon given my recent purchase and I can honestly say that the salesperson will not get 5 stars. He was not the most knowledgable, he was somewhat dismissive, and sloppy. Can you believe he printed the wrong VIN on my purchase contract so when I called around for insurance I was getting incorrect rates??? I wasted so much time due to his mistake. If he was excellent in all other aspects, i probably wouldn't let it get to me so much. Unfortunately, he isn't. I'm not sure that he should be in a customer facing role and I am going to be honest about this when it comes time to respond to the survey.
> 
> BeemerMeUp - Don't feel bad about being honest. We spend a lot of money on these cars. The least they can do is treat every customer like a king or queen during the process :thumbup:


Djnadina - You tell them! It could be my revengeful side coming out but you're right. In this economy and time they should be happy they have customers at all. Ok that's a little dramatic, but you would think the thought of us the customer sending family, friends, co-workers their direction based on a great experience.

Let us (or me) how it goes! Congrats on the new buy!


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## Inline Sixer (Oct 28, 2010)

It's the survey trap. Dealers learn to game the system to artificially raise scores, instead of actually improving customer service. Agree with comments above. Why not choose a better indication of satisfaction like customer loyalty?! The same flawed grading system is happening everywhere -- even in healthcare, where no less than perfect is a fail... :tsk:


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## Edgy36-39 (Jan 29, 2008)

Yet another reason to never buy a brand new BMW! Thanks for sharing this story, survey system sounds like a joke.


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## tlm999 (Feb 8, 2006)

Edgy36-39 said:


> Yet another reason to never buy a brand new BMW! Thanks for sharing this story, survey system sounds like a joke.


You might have trouble buying any car since many use the same type of system. If I take my Honda for a simple oil change I get a survey call from the dealer and then also one from Honda. I recently stopped by to have a plastic receptacle cover replaced. The ensuing surveys took longer than the time at the dealer. There are many non car dealers that also use the same type of survey to rate their service. Often the questions are worded so that even if you had a complaint, the nature of the question still elicits a good grade and no opportunity to address the complaint. I find these surveys to be annoying and I tell them so in my comments.


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## ProRail (May 31, 2006)

Andrew*Debbie said:


> The surveys are skewed. BMW NA considers anything less than all 5's a failure.
> 
> If you don't score them all 5's they don't get a bonus.


True. We have no obligation to support this idiodic interpretation of survey results. Don't let them play on your sympathy. Give them an accurate rating. It's not your fault if they know nothing about statistics or surveys.


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## 1naztyx5 (Aug 5, 2011)

Andrew*Debbie said:


> The surveys are skewed. BMW NA considers anything less than all 5's a failure.
> 
> If you don't score them all 5's they don't get a bonus.


This is correct. when I purchased mine and I did my survey I gave my sales man a 10 on everything pertaining to "Him" and the sales experience but there were also some questions in regards to delivery, condition and such, I purchased a CPO and the car had some issues that should had been corrected before hitting the lot, I had to go back and leave it for a few days to be fixed, in top of that they gave me a smelly rental, so guess what in the survey I let them know! so he called asking what happen? he didn't get his bonus and was coached by his manager about it. oh well what are surveys for....


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## BeemerMeUp (Sep 26, 2011)

So I tried contacting the gentleman who contacted me trying to reach out regarding the survey. I must have just missed him, he has yet to call me back, it's been almost a week and a half. :thumbdwn: So much for trying to improve my tarnished image of the dealership. I guess I've already completed the survey, no use in trying to improve? :dunno:


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## Highmodulus (Aug 16, 2011)

If you are willing to drive, check out the Crown dealers in Richmond and Charlottesville. They have great Dealerratings reviews, and my shopping experience, purchase and delivery on my X3 were excellent. Plus having three lots means more cars in stock to choose from.


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## BeemerMeUp (Sep 26, 2011)

Highmodulus said:


> If you are willing to drive, check out the Crown dealers in Richmond and Charlottesville. They have great Dealerratings reviews, and my shopping experience, purchase and delivery on my X3 were excellent. Plus having three lots means more cars in stock to choose from.


I may have to after my whole purchasing experience. I'm afraid I have burned bridges at most of the dealerships here. The one in Alexandria had a bunch of lousy sales people, I went through 4 of them before finally completely walking away and now I think they have my picture posted as DO NOT SERVE. That is a whole other story in itself, they should be lucky I didn't have to fill out a review for them.


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## x26 (Sep 16, 2007)

amancuso said:


> Welcome to this ridiculous grading system. It should be done anonymously as far as I'm concerned.


^^ This ^^


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## hpowders (Jun 3, 2005)

The sales and service forces of a car dealership live and die by perfect ratings issued by the consumer. Because of this they put all sorts of unwelcome pressure on us. Every time I bring my Porsche or BMW in for service, it's always the same drill, "You will be contacted by Porsche/BMW. We expect all 5's (or 10's)." It's ridiculous, but 4.5 or 9.5 is seen as failure. It's about time this ridiculous system is done away with. Corporate managers should install hidden cameras to see for themselves what's really going on between sales/service people and the consumer.


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## LandsharkBMW (Jul 25, 2008)

mclaren said:


> The csi survey system is broken but it is your best interest to give all 10s because if you don't they don't want you as a customer which they will make clear.


Exactly... unfortunately you have to play the game with them. If they were smart they should say you have a survey coming and if our service was not all 10's then please let us know first so we can rectify it first.


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## grimloktt (May 7, 2011)

Don't feel bad in the slightest. You gave an honest, good--in most respects--rating. Dude should've planned better; that's why you both scheduled a mtg.

Next time I buy a vehicle, I'm going to tell them my expectations when I walk in the door and tell them IF they meet/exceed them I will give them a perfect score. Otherwise, don't ask for one! LOL


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## Cobra75007 (Jul 11, 2010)

*Agree*



Elias said:


> Those surveys are a sham and does nothing to improve customer service, you get harassed to give 10s and if you don't you get scolded by the dealership. If anything this fantasy survey cheapens the brand because of the bad predicament it puts the customer having to lie so they don't have to deal with an angry CA.


Amen. These are a total sham. I didn't fill mine out - if someone has to tell you to only give a 10, then what is the purpose?


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## caesarp (Mar 24, 2011)

*Umm, why?*

I never, ever fill out surveys from any company. If my dealer sent me one (I'm not sure), it went in the trash.

I prefer not to do marketing work or other work for companies for free. If they want to pay me a consulting fee to better run their bussiness, I'll fill out forms for them after a sale.

Almost every company you purchase something from wants you complete a survey. Don't do it, ever. End of story. No worries about dealer relationship.


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## grimloktt (May 7, 2011)

caesarp said:


> I never, ever fill out surveys from any company. If my dealer sent me one (I'm not sure), it went in the trash.
> 
> I prefer not to do marketing work or other work for companies for free. If they want to pay me a consulting fee to better run their bussiness, I'll fill out forms for them after a sale.
> 
> Almost every company you purchase something from wants you complete a survey. Don't do it, ever. End of story. No worries about dealer relationship.


I love this methodology! I may not only apply it but tell them I'm applying it next time...


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## SpeedyD (Sep 18, 2011)

caesarp said:


> I never, ever fill out surveys from any company. If my dealer sent me one (I'm not sure), it went in the trash.
> 
> I prefer not to do marketing work or other work for companies for free. If they want to pay me a consulting fee to better run their bussiness, I'll fill out forms for them after a sale.
> 
> Almost every company you purchase something from wants you complete a survey. Don't do it, ever. End of story. No worries about dealer relationship.


This is also what I do...barring an AMAZING experience. Very rarely.


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## The BoatMan (Apr 2, 2002)

IMHO you have 2 options. Of course, the third is to answer honestly but that isnt going to best help you.

1. If you're not going to give all 5's, opt out of the survey. Especially if that dealer is the only one close by. You're going to want them on your side during service time. It's not right, fair, etc. but it is what it is. It's their way (game) of doing things.

2. Speak to the sales manager / service manager and give them the chance to resolve the issue before answering the survey. You'd be surprised at what their willing to do to make things right to get perfect scores.

Here's an example. After routine oil service I smelled oil. Opened the hood and oil spilled all over. Hardly the perfect survey score. But I called the service manager and voiced my dissatisfaction. They told me to bring the car in. They fully detailed the engine bay, exterior and interior of the car.

You may feel better giving an honest survey but it's not going to gain you anything. Use their survey game to your advantage.


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