Come on Ford salespeople...

"Jayhawk Jake" (jayhawkjake) 10/13/2013 at 23:36 • Filed to: Rant, ford

4

24

...get your shit together. Five times now I've gone to a Ford dealership to inquire about the Focus ST and/or Fiesta ST and encountered people that have no idea what either one really are.

Lengthy rant ahead...

Seriously, these are the most exciting cars Ford has brought to America for the common man in the last 5 years. Not sure you have one on the lot? That's fair, I wouldn't expect you to. But when you point to a Fiesta SE sedan and ask if I'm really set on the Fiesta ST? That's just dumb. And no, I'm not interested in a regular Focus, and no, I don't want a god damned Fusion even if you can get me in one for what I'm paying now.

i feel like I'm done with Ford, at least Ford dealerships. One in town is so fucking fixated with selling a car that they don't listen to the customer at all. They ask me what I'm paying on my car now before they even know what I want, and even when they do they never seem to know what the fuck it is. The other dealership is better, but still seem to have limited knowledge of their products and try to make promises that even a 5 year old would know they can't keep.

I like Fords cars today, and while their salespeople are certainly nice Ford dealerships are consistently the most frustrating for me. I think today finally pushed me over the edge, since I got a triple whammy: ask me my current payments before determining what I want, no knowledge of their exciting new product, and random salesperson asking me "what if I could get you in a Focus ST for less than a Fiesta?". The answer is you can't, and it's starting to feel like you'll never have me as a customer

Your boy, BJR > Jayhawk Jake 10/13/2013 at 23:42

1

EVERY DAMN TIME I look into the Fiesta ST, they act like I'm an idiot who is making shit up just to waste their time.

TheOnelectronic > Jayhawk Jake 10/13/2013 at 23:42

1

I have this problem at pretty much all of the "normal" dealerships in town. Ford, Chevy, Nissan, VW, Subaru, etc...

The only dealerships I've been to where the salespeople really know the cars have been BMW, Audi, and the area's exotics smorgasbord. (Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini, Bentley, Bugatti, Lotus, Rolls, Aston)

I think you hit the nail on the head: These dealers are so focused on just selling cars that they don't care about doing things right for the customer, or earning any sort of loyalty. They're probably used to the time when a "Ford guy" was always going to be a ford guy, so they didn't have to worry.

The more premium dealerships probably move less cars anyway, and so they're fine with devoting more time to each customer. Still, it's not like I've ever seen a packed ford dealership. They've got time.

Jazz Cat > Jayhawk Jake 10/13/2013 at 23:43

1

Good points, man. That oughta suck.

Jazz Cat > TheOnelectronic 10/13/2013 at 23:46

0

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Jayhawk Jake 10/13/2013 at 23:52

0

The whole stealership system in the US is totally screwed up.

How far to the next area with a better Ford dealer?

Or, if you know where you want you payments, just order a car online from Ford and walk into the dealer with your order sheet. Tell them this is the car you want, and you'll pay this much for it. They can either make it work, or you'll find a dealer who will. Since they are that desperate for a sale, one would think they would at least try.

The Millennial Falcon > Jayhawk Jake 10/14/2013 at 00:10

1

Aww man... I wish you could come over to the one in my area. Not only do they have a loaded ST3 parked right in front of the dealership instead of a Shelby or something, but they keep an ST1 around because they've realized some people can't fit in the Recaros. They've offered to let me have far longer of test drive than an inexperienced manual driver should have in the car, just so I can get a legitimate feel for whether it's right for me or not. There's got to be similar/better than usual service around somewhere, especially my prospective Ford dealer isn't exactly the breadwinner Ford for our area either. Hope you can find a better one nearby or at least find a salesperson there who isn't from a long line of bottom feeders.

Jayhawk Jake > TheOnelectronic 10/14/2013 at 00:20

0

I'd agree. Generally the cheaper dealerships have been fine to me lately, but the Porsche/Jag/Merc dealer has been the best the few times I've stopped to gawk. Chatted with a salesperson about the F-Type for a while even though it was pretty obvious I wasn't capable of buying one .

Hyundai has always been the best, I actually feel bad that their products haven't won me over because I'd love to give them my business

Jayhawk Jake > The Millennial Falcon 10/14/2013 at 00:22

0

I'm not going to buy one since I just got my car, but I want to see one and mess with it, and I'd love a test drive.

I don't want to waste anyone's time so I make my intentions clear, but every time I stop in its what I described above.

rabbitman > Jayhawk Jake 10/14/2013 at 00:25

0

I have seen them on the lot at a few but seems not all have them, I swear the one by my house has a few but show none. I presume from your picture that is your location, there is 2 at wildcat, one at town and country. If I am way off sorry.

Jayhawk Jake > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 10/14/2013 at 00:25

0

I'm not trying to buy one, and I make that clear to the salespeople. I get that their job is to sell and I can't hold that against them, but I don't feel it's unreasonable to expect them to know that the Fiesta ST is a hatchback only.

I just wish we were a big enough market for a car show. I grew up in Houston, I'd go to the car show with my dad every year and get to see all the new cars, now the only way to do that is to go to the dealership

Jayhawk Jake > Your boy, BJR 10/14/2013 at 00:29

0

That wouldn't bother me as much as them making shit up just to try and get my business.

Treat me like a person, I'll buy from you. Fuck, I've bought 2 new cars here in 2 years, it's not like I'm not a legit customer, I just don't want to be viewed as a check.

Subaru already lost my business in town, and Ford has been circling the drain.

Jayhawk Jake > rabbitman 10/14/2013 at 00:31

0

There's 2 at one dealer in town but they blew me off when I went in. The other dealer I passed by earlier and thought I'd stop in, they don't have any and are apparently only getting three. That wasn't the point of the rant though, I was more turned off by the salesperson knowing nothing about the car.

I'm in Wichita, no idea what dealerships you're talking about

MtrRider Just Wants Doritos > Jayhawk Jake 10/14/2013 at 00:35

0

You can buy a car from any dealer online. Email multiple dealers, tell them exactly what you want and have them bid to get your money. Chances are, you will get a better deal that way although it may take a while. You can also go out of state and have it shipped to you.

Jayhawk Jake > MtrRider Just Wants Doritos 10/14/2013 at 00:47

2

That's not the point. I don't want to buy the car sight unseen, I want to see one. Sit in it, play with the gadgets, drive it, feel it...and when I go to The dealership to look at a certain car, I don't appreciate the salesperson knowing nothing about it then trying to sell me on something that isn't related.

It's like going to cold stone and asking for vanilla and the server to say "hmm, I've never heard of vanilla ice cream, do you want chocolate? It tastes like dog shit and costs $3 more, but I think you'll like it!"

MtrRider Just Wants Doritos > Jayhawk Jake 10/14/2013 at 00:58

1

Oh I understand that, I just wanted you to know that you don't have to buy from a local dealer. Once you've seen the ST in person and decided if you want one, you can get one from any dealer that knows what they're doing and deserves your business. Don't give up what you wan't because of some know-nothing salesperson.

Mmmm, I haven't been to Coldstone in years. Now I want ice cream.

boxrocket > Jayhawk Jake 10/14/2013 at 01:08

0

I'm pretty lucky. The Ford dealerships I visit (though a couple have closed in the last few years) tend to have a pretty knowledgeable sales staff - especially the seasoned ones - and are enthusiasts themselves, many of whom participate in local shows and events. The nearest one to me had a customer's cordoned-off Ford GT in the showroom for a few years until it was moved to that customer's newly-built garage/shop/residence. The Mazda dealerships tend to be like-minded. Worst seem to be the toyondaubarolet folk who care more about volume than customer satisfaction or enthusiasm.

rabbitman > Jayhawk Jake 10/14/2013 at 01:13

0

Ha, Yup way off, wrong state. Mel Hambelton Ford has 4 hope that's not the one lol. Fords site has a inventory checker.
I hate dealers also a lot of them plain out suck, I try to go dealers that their sales people do not get commission.
They are as bad as politicians.
There are some out there that can be good but it sucks that you can't even go into a place and be like hey I am interested, take me for a ride. I went in to check out a R golf, guy was at least informative, but was to hasty on trying to get me to order one of the 2 they had allocated to them that day to make sure I got the color I wanted. You can always just order what you want and bypass them

Ghost Dog - For the kittens > Jayhawk Jake 10/14/2013 at 02:26

0

They're just running you through some situations to determine your Myers-Briggs personality type. This information will be used to best match you with a vehicle that you'll be happy with long-term.

Link

TheOnelectronic > Jayhawk Jake 10/14/2013 at 03:39

1

When I was maybe 13 or so was when we first spotted the exotics dealer. I asked my dad to pull off the highway and check it out, and he obliged.

I have been a huge fan of Lamborghinis ever since I saw a Diablo. That moment is sufficiently deep within my childhood that I can't remember it.

Sure enough, they had a Verde Ithaca Murcielago sitting there in the showroom. (this was back when there was just one flavor). I had planned to just gawk from a distance, but we were intercepted by a sales person, and we explained that we were just here to look at some fancy cars for a bit.

I was a little worried that they'd be unhappy with that sort of loitering, but he seemed perfectly fine with it. In fact, he even got the key, opened it up, and let me sit in it! I was absolutely over the moon. I had more or less resigned myself to the fact that I would never even get close to a Lamborghini, and now I was contorting myself to get in under those scissor doors. (Yeah, it's not exactly easy.)

Here I was, some kid in a dealership with marble floors, my dad wearing work clothes and overalls, and this salesman took the time to let me get up close and personal with one of my dream cars. It really left an impression on me, and as we were leaving, I thought to myself "someday, somehow, I'll buy a car from that dealership."

And as a strange bit of fate, we signed a guest book while we were there for shits and giggles, which resulted in them sending us a card advertising the new Maserati Gran Turismo that had just recently launched. I managed to convince my dad, having just sold his company and looking to replace his aging S-class, to go check it out just for fun. He ended up liking it immensely, and took one home a few days later. So, in a way, It all worked out.

/storytime

Jayhawk Jake > Ghost Dog - For the kittens 10/14/2013 at 08:10

0

If only.

They have a form they sit you down and make you answer questions for. The first question: what do you drive now? Second question: what are your monthly payments? Third question: what's the payoff? 4th question: what's your budget? 5th question: what are you interested in?

They don't give a shit what I want or should drive, they just want me to buy a car from them. That much was clear when I said I wanted to look at the Fiesta ST and the salesperson offered me to look at a Mustang.

Jayhawk Jake > TheOnelectronic 10/14/2013 at 08:12

1

That's awesome, and exactly the vibe I got from the Jaguar salesperson when I was gawking at the F-Type. Basically the attitude of yes, these cars are awesome, and we'd love to chat with you about them.

That attitude goes so much further than most people would think. Who knows, I could win the lottery on Wednesday and be in a position to buy a Jag, and because of that experience I know exactly where I'm going. On the other end, after being treated like a stupid child at the Subaru dealership, I'm not crazy about buying a car from them.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > Jayhawk Jake 10/14/2013 at 08:27

0

The Ford dealership by my house is awesome, or I should say, Jeff is awesome. But I could have encountered another sales person and had a bad time. Point is every dealership has good and bad sales people. Unfortunately some dealerships probably only have bad sales people. At the end of the day I ended buying my car from a dealership 3 hours away, I hated my sales person, but the price was right. At the end of the day, I would say, get the test drive you want and then buy the car from the dealership that gives you the best deal. After you've bought your car, you'll likely never talk to the sales people again.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Jayhawk Jake 10/14/2013 at 13:35

0

Man this sucks.

As a guy who kinda sorta works for Ford and has for the last 4+ years, it's really dissappointing that the guys on the front lines could lose a customer for just beign stupid. Drive up here to Wayne, MI. They drive the Focus ST off the assembly line and right across the street to the dealership. (dealership is LITERALLY across the street from the Focus/CMAX plant).

George McNally > Jayhawk Jake 11/03/2013 at 10:29

0

I don't buy new cars very often.....when we bought our Outback in 2008, I did the research online, checked out cars at the dealership on a Sunday because in PA- dealerships are closed.

We went back to the dealership Monday evening a half hour before they were closing-took the car for a drive and had a check already written out for what we were prepared to pay.

The salesperson started the "let me go check with my manager stuff" ....we stuck to our guns and got the car for what we originally offered. Got a 27,000 dollar car for 21,750 bucks.

One other thing that might have helped-it was New Years Eve and being the last day of the year, having another sale probably didn't hurt.

The Focus ST is on my short list for my next car, probably going to do the same thing.....I always do my research beforehand. Waving a certified check under a salepersons nose lets them know they have a serious buyer.