Comments on: Blogs can kill brands

By: Eric Karjaluoto

Eric Karjaluoto — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 20:58:54 +0000

Hi Christa,

First of all, thank you for your response. It's the first time I've encountered feedback from Metrotown Mitsubishi that resembled a sensible approach to customer service.

I think you're right: few of us are perfect, and most all of us have clients who aren't happy with us. That's just the way it goes.

Posting this article (two years ago now) was something I felt strange about doing. There are likely many fine people working at your company, and I certainly didn't wish to disparage them. There were, however, things happening at Metrotown Mitsubishi that seemed too dodgy to not make note of. (As I think the W5 report is indicative of.)

You note that there are, "clerical errors, misunderstandings, language barriers, personality conflicts" that result in challenges. In my personal experience, though, it didn't come down to such things. These weren't little "slips." Instead, it seemed like the modus operandi was to mislead and then badger the customer.

Frankly, I should have just torn up the deal and walked out of your Business Manager's office. (I could be wrong, but it sure did seem like he was outright threatening me.) My feeling, though, was that he pulled stuff like that all the time, and probably didn't think twice about it after I left the office.

The thing is--and I've likely said this above already--you've probably seen for yourself just how much everything has changed lately. In the past, this sort of issue would have simply "gone away," but the fact that you're here, years later, responding, means that social media is changing how businesses operate.

At the risk of sounding like a brazen self promoter, I'd encourage you to pick up a copy of my book, Speak Human. Take some time and read what's in it, and even pass it around the dealership. My feeling is that it could be really helpful to many of the people you work with. Heck, if you don't want to pay for it, you can even read it here for free: http://www.speakhuman.com

As you're experiencing first-hand, business is changing. Perhaps this book will help you navigate these changes, and craft a strategy for turning Metrotown Mitsubishi into the kind of dealership you speak of.

I've carried on, as I sometimes do. What I really wanted to stress, was that I appreciate you taking the time to reach out honestly and take some responsibility for things that didn't go as they should have. In my mind that's a big step in the right direction.

Cheers!

Eric

By: Christa

Christa — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 20:16:18 +0000

Hello from Metrotown Mitsubishi!

Let me introduce myself and give you a little background for your followers.

My name is Christa and this is my family business. We are not part of a 'group' of companies. I am here, part time, co-managing the business with my father. I have two grade school children who may want to persue their future ambitions here in the business.

We have been here for over 25 years, all of which have been with an excellent rating with the BBB. We started out as an American Motors franchise, moving to Renault, Jeep, Eagle, Plymouth, Chrysler and currently a Mitsubishi franchise.

Throughout the years, we have developed and maintained an excellent relationship with thousands of customers. We have also had several customers who did not enjoy their experiences here for numerous reasons.

We are not perfect, but I can assure you we do try very hard to be. We don't always get it right. We have an excellent rating with the BBB and maintain our A++ rating due to the fact we always are willing to try to find a solution. Many times it is our error. Other times, no matter what, we can not meet the customers expectations. There are several variables that come into play. Clerical errors, misunderstandings, language barriers, personality conflicts are just a few that come to mind.

There is the old saying that you can't please everyone.... but we are committed to trying! I think that 25 years and hundreds of repeat customers would agree that we are not as terrible as this blog makes us sound.

To Eric and Julinanna and any others that I may have missed, please except my humblest apologies for your unfortunate experiences here at Metrotown Mitsubishi. I thank you for bringing these issues to our attention so that we can be better at getting it right the first time.

Sincerely,

Christa

By: Julianna

Julianna — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 21:21:38 +0000

Good discernment there Eric,

Before posting my response to David's request, I was suspicious - It's all too clear now, like the pieces of a puzzle coming together. I'm sure those comments generate from the dealership.

All I can say to folks is support those who are honest and forthright in their dealings - People don't take the time to write about these experiences for nothing - we all have better things to do with our time. In fact, this is the first time I have which means the treatment I received at this dealership (Metrotown Mitsubishi) was downright sickening!!!!!!!!!!!!!

May all the business go to those who appreciate their customers and treat them with respect and honesty.

Julianna

By: Eric Karjaluoto

Eric Karjaluoto — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 14:10:43 +0000

Tell me about it!

...and if I could only get the folks from Metrotown Mitsubishi to stop posting phony comments here, I might actually be able to. ;-)

By: David

David — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 08:07:31 +0000

Wow you need to get a life and enjoy it more.

By: Eric Karjaluoto

Eric Karjaluoto — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 15:42:09 +0000

Well David, it is nice to hear that your “kids” are watching my YouTube videos. (I know how the young folks love to get together with their friends and watch videos about marketing!)

I’ve approved your comment again. Although the motives behind it are clear to any readers, I find it entertaining to see how much time the gang at Metrotown Mitsubishi is willing to put into this.

In the meanwhile, I’ll render a suggestion. I can’t imagine that you and your colleagues will take it to heart, but I’ll put it out there anyway.

What if, instead of playing these silly games, you simply concentrated on servicing your customers?

You could run ads with accurate details about the cars you’re selling. You could invest more time into helping them find an appropriate vehicle.
You could work harder to address concerns or frustrations that might arise with customers. You could apologize for mistakes or misunderstandings. You could think of each sale as an opportunity to build a relationship with a customer (that could result in many future sales), instead of a single opportunity to fleece an unsuspecting “sucker.”

The interesting part of doing such a thing: you could charge more for your cars.

I say this from personal experience: the first dealership I dealt with did exactly these sorts of things, and the positive word-of-mouth they received was echoed by many.

I was in my early twenties when I visited the Hub City Motors Volkswagen dealership in Prince George. They were respectful of me and straightforward in their dealings. I negotiated rather hard on the price, but the fellow on the lot explained that the margins on that particular car were quite lean, and that they simply didn’t have room to work on the price. At first I didn’t buy a car from them, but within a couple of months I was back, paying full sticker price for a car that in turn served me well.

The paperwork they presented was clear, and there were no surprises. Perhaps that’s why I was so naïve when I dealt with Metrotown Mitsubishi—I just thought all car dealerships ran like ethical businesses. When you guys started sneaking in “extra” prices, I was rather dumbfounded.

To the point, however, whenever I returned to Hub City, they remembered my name and were considerate of my needs. On a couple of occasions there were mechanical issues with the car that weren’t easy to identify. In these situations they were forthright about the issue and clearly explained how they planned to solve the problem.

Now, I know you probably won’t do any of this. I’m of the opinion that after you’ve been dishonest for long enough, that sort of behavior just starts to feel normal. For someone like you (or your colleagues), the idea of being direct and honest would probably feel almost alien. Nevertheless, I’d ask you guys to head to the pub tonight and have a conversation about this. Have the times changed? Are your ways of conducting business simply outmoded?

Like I said, I can’t really see this happening, but who knows? Perhaps you guys are tired of proving the “used car salesman” stereotype true. Maybe it’s a bold new day for all of you, and you’ll embrace this opportunity to be better people, and even better businesspeople.

The fact is, I’ve spoken with folks an equal amount about my experience with Hub City Motors and about the one I had with Metrotown Mitsubishi. For Hub City, I’ve told numerous friends of the great experience I had, and how I’d recommend them to anyone. Meanwhile, I’ve told as many to avoid Metrotown Mitsubishi like the plague.

In the next few days, I expect you, or another rep from your dealership will come here and masquerade as an anonymous car buyer, or, perhaps as a representative wishing to deny such activities. Nevertheless, you’re just wasting even more of your time, which seems like a poor business decision. The folks at Hub City never had to bother with such things. They simply sold me a product in a forthright fashion and built trust.

Perhaps you might try doing the same?

By: David

David — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 05:01:01 +0000

Hello,

What are you talking about Mr. Karhaluoto I have seen othe videos of yourself on youtube.com from my kids and I can't believe how you act. I am not on the payroll at the dealership there was a David there but that was not our salesperson. Honestly I thought this was a good blog where people could talk about good and bad experiences that we all have with different type of dealerships. I now understand how odd you are based on your videos. The funny thing is also that I asked the Business Manager there about yourself and smashlab and he said that you owned it and was a great customer that bought a vehicle from the dealership. He also went on to say that you two had talked about that the company and it does webdesigns, etc. and said that if I knew anyone that was looking for that type of expert I should contact that company. He didn't seem to know much about the company and when asked why did he mention your company? His response was nice guys need a chance and if he can help a customer grow his business then it's a win win for everyone. I find your comment odd based on the fact he said your company would be one to look into?

David

By: Eric Karjaluoto

Eric Karjaluoto — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 18:50:25 +0000

Hmmm... I think I smell a rat. David, you're on the payroll at Metrotown Mitsubishi, aren't you? Perhaps you're pals with "Daniel" and "Dan" up above. (Honestly guys.)

By: David

David — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 06:30:55 +0000

Hey Julianna,

My wife is a bit of a smart ass and wanted to see outlanders at their location. I told her about this blog and even after that she wanted to go their and take a look. We were extremely cautious because of this blog. We like the guy who owns this blog actually bought our outlander there. We didn't get charged any odd fees other than the expected documentation fee that many dealers charge. We got the 0% for 36 months that we wanted without any hassle. Our sales guy was really nice, the sales manager on shift and business manager who did our paperwork were also kind to us. Funny enough we were expecting the crap to start and it never did. I only bought life insurance because I always buy that no matter what I purchase. We were happy with our purchase and so I guess after giving into my wife like many of us married men do. We were surprised with our pleasant experience, we actually only went their to get prices so we could shop those numbers against other stores. So, I guess I don't know in any business their are good and bad experiences in each store/business. Eric bought but wasn't happy, you were about to buy and then they wouldn't let you, and me and my wife did and left happy. So, all I can say is be careful what you buy in anything in life because at the end it's your money after all. I was waiting for the funny things to start but they never did. So, Julianna I hope you found a car for yourself.

By: Julianna

Julianna — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 04:58:16 +0000

Hi David,

So here's my best summary of our horrible experience. Went to the said dealership in response to Buy and Sell ad for a used vehicle. Got interested in another one after salesman told us he just dropped the price on the internet this morning. The car was older than we were looking for, but the mileage was good for the year and we thought the price was acceptable - it was the highest for that type of vehicle in that year category, but it was in very good condition. We gave our deposit by charge card and were to come back next day with arranged financing. NO PAPERWORK WAS GIVEN TO US - only the business manager's card. The amount we were to bring was written on the back. My husband noticed the next morning that the numbers didn't add up. They basically added in $600 plus $300 to the advertised price and then taxes on that. In otherwords $900 fee for paperwork.

When he saw the paperwork from the Motor Vehicle Sales Authority of B.C. in our hand, he nervously responded "what's that". After we pointed out that any extra fees should be included in the advertised price, he said that was a "gray area".

When asked if the BBB was aware of the extra fees they added he immediately pulled back the paperwork and said "I'm going to refund your deposit". To make a long story short, he refused to sell us the vehicle even at the deal we agreed on. He made sure we had no paperwork showing their unethical fee structure.

When the dealer called us next day asking where to send our deposit to, we were given the story that the real price was supposed to be $2,000 more than we were told - they said that it was a mistake in their advertising. That put their advertised vehicle at about $2500 higher than any other vehicle advertised in its category for that year. The first price we were quoted (without extra fees) was the only fair price for that vehicle and it was already at the top limit for its category. We wouldn't have even considered looking at it if we were quoted a price $2,000 higher at the start.

In summary, what did we learn? Get paperwork right away. Don't let them distract you with all the "small talk". Don't let the BBB A+ rating fool you into thinking that "these guys MUST be honest".

All the best David - hope things work out better for you.

Julianna