Verified Customer
7 years ago
Frustrating
My sales person Hussein was great! He tried very hard to make everything run smoothly and to try to make me happy. Where the frustration came from was my account manager and other sales associate.
The account manager rushed us through our initial meeting and when we asked questions pertaining to the typical "buyers remorse 30 day return", got very forceful to tell us that it doesn't apply here and that he did 50 deals last months so he should know.
When I arrived on Tuesday to pick up the car, the account manager didn't change the plates as I had requested, only transferred them. When I asked about it he told me that wasn't what I had asked for and there would be more money involved. I said it was and reminded him about the conversation, also telling him that I didn't have a problem paying the additional money as long as I also didn't have to pay for the transfer. In the end he reviewed the file and came back to tell me I was right and he made the assumption because usually people don't ask for new plates. He told me that the plates would be ready for Thursday. I told him that was fine, but I was busy on Thursday so asked if I could pick them up on Friday.
After meeting with the account manager on Tuesday, I had to see a sales associate to finish signing some paperwork to pick up the car. Hussein had been called away for a family emergency, so I was being taken care of by another sales person, who by this point in the evening had already taken off my plates and moved them over to the new car. When I sat down with him he was going over the features of the car and when I asked whether my car starter had the app, he said he didn't know. When I asked about the smart city breaks, he said he didn't know. Regardless of not being able to answer my questions, he was still pressuring me to sign the papers and told me that he would ask Hussein to call me tomorrow (Wednesday). I was ushered out, into my new car.
On Wednesday, I called Hussein my self and he answered my questions and looked into those he did not know.
On Thursday, I called the dealership to check in on my plates. I explained there had been a mix up and that I was just making sure they would be available for pick up on Friday. The lady on the phone told me I would have to call and check with the account manager. I told her that he didn't start until 1pm and if there was an issue that would not provide him enough time to sort it out before Friday because apparently we had to get requests in before 11 am (what the account manager had told us). She told me that everything seemed to be in order and reminded me that there would be a cost associated with this. I once again said, I was happy to pay as long as I didn't also pay for the transfer fee as well.
Friday I went into the dealership and after waiting about 30 mins (despite telling the account manager I would be there at 5), the account manager came in and told me that "of course I couldn't get the plating done, I didn't have your ownership". This upset me because he took my ownership in the initial meeting, he gave me the new ownership on Tuesday, and when I called on Thursday to check in I was told that it was all good. Not to mention, he told me the plates would be done by Thursday, I was only there Friday because a pick up on Thursday didn't work with my schedule. The account manager then told me he would have the plates ready Saturday morning. It is also worth mentioning that when he did take my ownership he took the wrong side, so the lady at the counter had to run out of the dealership at full speed to make sure I didn't drive away with the document she needed.
After dealing with the plates, I went to see Hussein who (bless his heart) tried for about an hour to get the app installed on my phone for the car starter. It wasn't working. Because the shop was closed and they would only reopen on Monday, he asked that I bring the car back on Monday.
Saturday morning, I get a call from Hussein asking if we could come by this morning and drop the car off. He wanted to give us a rental car and take the new car so that the shop would have a full day on Monday to complete the job. We dropped off the car and were brought to the rental car location just up the road. When we arrived there were no cars in the lot other than a big truck. As we are filling out the paperwork, another (older) customer walks in and tells the clerk he is returning the car because he has to drive long distances and doesn't feel safe in the car he has, namely because it does not have cruise control. The clerk looks at me and says "do you want the truck or the car". Would I prefer a massive truck or a car that a more experienced driver does not feel safe in???? I asked if those were my only 2 options and the clerk told me yes. I took the car, because I knew I could control a smaller vehicle and was only suppose to have it until Monday anyway.
Monday, the starter they had installed wasn't working and they needed to order a new part. They asked that I keep the car until Tuesday.
Tuesday, the part they had ordered didn't come in. They asked that I keep the car until Wednesday.
Wednesday, the car was ready. Hussein met me at the door walked me through everything and helped set up the app on my phone. The new plates were on my car and Hussein had received approval from his manager to cover the cost of my plating and give me a credit at the service desk for anything else I needed for the car. I never caught his name, but the manager that was standing with Hussein at the end told me that they would give me these things if I gave them a perfect score. He continues to say that mess ups happen, it is how you deal with them and make them right that matters. Hussein just wanted me to be happy with my purchase, he never mentioned a perfect score to me.
Once again, Hussein... was ... amazing.... He was patient. He was kind. He walked me through everything I needed to know. What made my experience truly frustrating was the lack of ownership from the account manager for the mistake, the pushy sales person who pressured me into signing documents while my sales person was away and with not all of the information, and the manager at the end who tried to make it all better with a "moral of the story is...". I am a consumer... I don't care why it is wrong or whose fault it is, I just want it dealt with and fixed. The comments from the manager at the end just felt like one more justification for the experience, when all I really wanted (and got from Hussein) was reassurance that I was going to like my car and that they wanted to make up for the hiccups because they wanted me to be happy, not because they would get a poor mark on a survey.
I think the only message I have left for Bank Street Mazda is - people are spending a lot of money with you. People with jobs, homes, family, commitments, other expenses. So when they make the commitment to spending that money on a car and not on something else, we want to be treated with respect and we expect for our sales people to act like adults. If you make a mistake, it's not the end of the world, but own it. Most of my frustration could have been eliminated by the account manager saying "shoot, I misread the notes on your file, let's see what I need from you to make it right. I am not in on Wednesday, but I will ask that one of the other associates helps me out here so you can go home with your plates tomorrow or worst case they will be done Thursday and you can just pick them up on Friday". I do love my new car, I would get another Mazda, and I will continue to get it serviced at Bank Street Mazda. What I might think twice about is buying again from Bank Street Mazda.
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