Coming to a dealership near you:
Elena Ford on the Ford Signature Experience
- Thread starter SID297
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So what this really menas:
1.) Ford is going to require dealers to pay $X,XXX,XXX to update their facilities.
2.) Ford is going to require dealers' employees to take customer satisfaction tests and courses online.
3.) Ford will push their initiatives and costs on to dealers.
4.) Dealers that have poor customer service today, will still have it tomorrow (and good customer service stores will still have good customer service); only difference is the dealer will be shelling out tons of money.
1.) Ford is going to require dealers to pay $X,XXX,XXX to update their facilities.
2.) Ford is going to require dealers' employees to take customer satisfaction tests and courses online.
3.) Ford will push their initiatives and costs on to dealers.
4.) Dealers that have poor customer service today, will still have it tomorrow (and good customer service stores will still have good customer service); only difference is the dealer will be shelling out tons of money.
I figured you'd be able to put it into layman's terms.
WTF is this shit? Keep your crown jewels away from my eyes and get to work on building the ****ing car I ordered.
Transparency? OK, why is everyone that ordered a GT500 continually getting their build dates bumped? Who is the idiot that came up with this "golden ticket" garbage? And why can't I fart and pee at the same time?
Transparency? OK, why is everyone that ordered a GT500 continually getting their build dates bumped? Who is the idiot that came up with this "golden ticket" garbage? And why can't I fart and pee at the same time?
37 of the 50 states have recently passed legislature stating manufactures can't force franchise owners to spend money on buildings etc constantly. States are saying every 5-10 years is 'ok'.
I love seeing the small town dealerships that have survived in the same building since the 70s/80s. I went out of my way to buy my F-350 from what had to be one of the smallest Ford dealerships in existence at the time. Point Marion Ford, it's now closed. They only had one salesman, and he was great.
This whole dealership experience thing is out of hand.
I don't want to spend ANY time there. I want to pick my car, sign some papers and leave.
The Dodge dealer I got my Charger from has a friggin ice cream bar inside with an old timey ice cream slinger behind the counter. Its neat and all, but why? Nobody should want to 'hang out' at a dealership...
If they want to maske me a satisfied customer, let me fill out and sign ALL the paperwork online before I even show up at the dealership, then hand me my keys when I walk in and say 'Thanks, have a nice day and enjoy your new car'.
/done.
I don't want to spend ANY time there. I want to pick my car, sign some papers and leave.
The Dodge dealer I got my Charger from has a friggin ice cream bar inside with an old timey ice cream slinger behind the counter. Its neat and all, but why? Nobody should want to 'hang out' at a dealership...
If they want to maske me a satisfied customer, let me fill out and sign ALL the paperwork online before I even show up at the dealership, then hand me my keys when I walk in and say 'Thanks, have a nice day and enjoy your new car'.
/done.
Part of my company is a parts distributorship for a large automation component manufacturer. They do the same thing and place very similar requirements on us. It makes it almost impossible to eek a profit when large corporations impose their touchy-feely crap on folks. It's painful to watch...
I work for an OEM with an extensive global dealer network, so I have some experience with these kinds of initiatives being pushed on to dealers. That's my angle, here. So now.....
Honest question: Are you suggesting the dealers won't in turn pass these added costs on to end users in some form?
Everybody knows shit rolls down hill, and end use customers are at the very bottom.
Isn't this part of the deal of being a franchise owner? You are at the mercy of the corporation you are making your money from? I feel like these demands to remain up to date in accordance with their standards comes with the territory.
Is this that big Ford stock booster you were talking about?
All solid points.
I understand that dealerships may want to feel upscale and create a positive environment, but damn.
Positive to me is a clean crapper, attentive salespeople, and no unbuttoned top button showing me a hairy chest and gold necklace while I’m shopping.
There have been countless studies over the last 5 years that suggest upwards of 85% of consumers still want face to face interaction when purchasing a vehicle. They say by 2030, the number will be less than 40% and at that time the majority of vehicles will be purchased exactly how you would like for them to be.
Yep.
It won't happen. You still have to remain competitive in the market (other Ford stores, GM, Chrysler, etc).
Yes and no. Before this new "Ford Signature", Ford had a "Blue Oval" program which was the EXACT SAME THING. Dealers just now got those building renovations paid for. In between they had the aluminum buildings mandated... Ford isn't even the worst. I'd say Cadillac is the worst about property upgrades. I know dealers that had to spend $5-6 mil on renovations, and before they were even completed, Cadillac went a different route and they had to spend MORE money to be compliant.
Negative. Unfortunately, that announcement has been slightly pushed back.
Well that is pretty excessive then if they just did that.
Happens about every 5 years.
I remember my buddy Jack Anderson (Laura Buick) telling me that GM came down and said he couldn't have all of the old gas pumps he owns in the service area. These were really nice refurbished gas pumps, but GM said they didn't fit their vision for a dealership.
Jack moved them, but everyone complained that they were gone. LOL, all the elderly people loved those things.
So many times a business is a character of how they go to market. You might perform the same tasks, or sell the same thing as others do, but it doesn't mean that you need to be the same as everyone else.
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Jack moved them, but everyone complained that they were gone. LOL, all the elderly people loved those things.
So many times a business is a character of how they go to market. You might perform the same tasks, or sell the same thing as others do, but it doesn't mean that you need to be the same as everyone else.
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That is extremely unattractive for a woman.
Ford is making it easy for me to go elsewhere these days.
Agreed. Much of the same happened to us.
We have a 1954 Ford tractor on the showroom that's been restored. They have asked us to remove it several times. I can promise if I ever take it off the floor, it'll because I have something more fun to sit there....and not because they asked. haha
It's frustrating. I get it, dealerships are the representation to the public of who Ford is...but as long as dealerships are presentable, clean, and have the ability to service as Ford deems fit, who gives a shit if my tile is $3 a square foot or $20.
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