Hussein Tohme

Hussein was very friendly, thoughtful, knowlegdeable and provided great salesmanship and customer service. He clarified all the questions I had and even mentioned to me features that I forgot to ask him.

I set up an appointment with bank street mazda in Ottawa. I went in to meet Moe Turkei to discuss the possibility of buying a CX3 in the near future. After talking a bit he came back with a price that was very good and made me consider purchasing much sooner then i planned. As a first time car buyer i was not comfortable buying alone and made an appointment for the next day so my father could come with me (he drove from 2 hours away). Upon returning with my father we talked through all the details again and although it wasn't exactly what i wanted, it was pretty close and i fell in love with the car. That day i signed the bill of sale with my father and made in appointment after the weekend to come back in, sign the final papers, and see the car (it had to be brought in from somewhere else so i had not seen it). I returned on our scheduled date and did a quick walk by of the car. I was asked to come and sign the final papers to which i said i would like to take a better look at the car first since i have never seen it before. Moe made a big deal making me feel like i was stupid by saying things like "Uh its a brand new car, you dont have to look at it " or "well whatever you wanna do i guess, I've just never had this request before". I looked at the car and everything was fine so i went in to sign the papers for the bank. The entire time Moe was in a huge rush so just skimmed everything over. Once i got home i realized the bi weekly payments were 67 cents more on the bank papers then my bill of sale. I called Moe immediately and he reassured me that that extra was a fee the bank charged mazda and that i would never see that come out of my bank account. He also postponed the pick up day to a day later saying he wanted to make sure it was cleaned right and my winters tire would be put in the back. On the pick up day it started with problems. They lost the license plate ownership for my fathers car (the one i drove and traded in) which belonged to my fathers very first ever plates in 1987. When i called to make sure my father didn't have it he was upset but calm and asked to speak to Moe. From the beginning Moe was VERY rude, never apologized, and went as far as saying things like "i don't have to respect him because he's not listening to me" and "he's freaking out over nothing, its so stupid" among many other offensive things. While speaking to my dad he also said that the winter tires weren't here. My dad asked why and reminded him that that was a reason the pick up date was postponed. He went on to say it didn't matter when the tires were coming in because i wasn't putting them on my car now anyway even though i had already payed for them and was never told there would be a problem with that; in fact, Moe said it wouldn't be a problem and they would be in the back of the car. Eventually the manager James got involved and dealt with those problems (approx. 2 hours). Fast forward to the first payment coming out (2 weeks ago) and the payment was more then on the bill of sale. It was the extra 67 cents that i was told by Moe i would never see. I called James immediately and a few hours later he called me back and said he would issue a cheque for the $123.76 (67 cents biweekly for 84 months). It has now been almost 2 weeks and i have not received the cheque and have not heard from James even though i have texted him (what he said to do if theres anymore problems). I live 10 minutes down the street from this mazda and know for a fact it shouldn't of taken more then a few days at most to receive. The biggest problem during this entire experience has been the lack of consideration and poor customer service. Not once was i told by anyone that they were sorry or that they were going to do everything to fix it after i paid over $26,000. As a first time car buyer this has been- and i guess since i haven't received my cheque- continues to be an awful, frustrating, and maddening process. I have already told and will continue to tell friends looking for cars to steer clear of Mazda bank street. Although James did fix some problems in the beginning, it is not making up for the constant problems i am facing not even a month after buying. I plan on returning in mid November to get my winter tires and have them installed for free (as James promised for the issues with them at pick up)and i will never return again. I am still waiting to hear about my cheque and where it is. I cannot express how upset i am with this situation. I would appreciate if i could have someone reply to this email so these issues can be addressed. Thank you, Danielle Pegelo

My family sincerely appreciates the environment and the service we have received throughout the years at Bank st Mazda. This is our second purchase at your dealership and not only have we recommended to others we will return for any other vehicle purchase needs and service. Thank team. Once again you've exceeded expectations!

Hussein was super helpful an attentive. We couldn't have had a better experience with Hussein and the rest of the staff!

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.