How Toyota lost a sale

dandy-candy

I just had to share this!
My car was stolen in December and last week I banked the cheque from my insurance. Today it had cleared so I decided to go looking for a new car and visited the Toyota garage in Colindale. As I pulled into the forecourt an employee ran over and asked what I wanted, so I said I was after an automatic car and he said to park and go inside. When I went into the showroom and all the sales reps were busy so, after looking around all the cars inside, I decided to have a look at the used cars that were outside on the forecourt. Well it was bucketing with rain, but just outside the door was a wire mesh basket with a big umbrella in it with Toyota logos on it so I had picked it up and started to look over the cars when I heard someone calling out “Excuse me!” I turned and saw the guy I had spoken to earlier running towards me across the forecourt and as he got near he said “Did you ask? Did you ask?” Thinking he meant had I asked about automatic cars inside I was about to answer when he continued “Why....why would you do that?” Now I paused and was wondering what he meant when he gestured at the umbrella I was carrying and said again “Did you ask to take that?” I was pretty lost for words at first then said “Aren’t these for customers to use? I’m just looking at the cars out here” to which he stepped back, held up his hands and said “No, no, it’s fine, It's fine. But why would you do that?” Honest to God you would think I had just taken one of their cars for a joy ride or punched a toddler in the face or something. I actually wondered if this was a hidden camera show but as he just stood there looking at me with utter disbelief on his face I decided it probably wasn't. I was so thrown by him that I just left. And drove straight up the road to VW and bought myself a nice new top of the range Golf instead

1ubthrifty

Very odd behaviour indeed! He's obviously in the wrong job, he should be working alone in some kind of a tube. Enjoy the Golf!!:j

Anihilator

So you picked up there property without asking and wondered why they asked you about it?

Whether you thought they were customers or not is irrelevent, you, should have asked. For all you know they belonged to other customers

Tbh I think you overreacted.

All they did is ask why you picked up property not belonging to you without asking.

I bet each one that goes missing comes out of the garages profits

underlay_guru

Anihilator wrote: »

So you picked up there property without asking and wondered why they asked you about it?

Whether you thought they were customers or not is irrelevent, you, should have asked. For all you know they belonged to other customers

Tbh I think you overreacted.

All they did is ask why you picked up property not belonging to you without asking.

I bet each one that goes missing comes out of the garages profits

What a load of baloney!

It was raining....all the staff were busy....the customer wanted to view the cars outside.....there was a stack of umbrellas next to the door. What else is the OP meant to do? Get drenched, just to keep the suspicious staff peace of mind? :doh:

Anyone who works in a high value retail sales environment such as cars should have been taught that the customer is king, and to treat any visitor to their premises as a valued customer of the future. If it was that big a deal to the salesman, he should have instructed the customer in a firendly and apologetic manner, of the rules on loaning umbrellas....but he didn't: he was abrupt and a bit nasty. 99.9% of any other customer would have reacted in the same or similar way.

I'll bet garages struggle at the best of times to sell cars....maybe selling less than 10 new vehicles a week: the replacement of a stolen umbrella is nominal compared to a sale of a new car! If he was one of my salesmen I would have gave him a bloody good talking to.

mikey72

Sounds a real Basil Fawlty moment.

1ubthrifty

If I saw a brolly with the make of car that the garage was selling printed all over it I would assume it was for the customers' use too! And if you work in a sales environment and there is a potential customer looking at cars on your forecourt then I think its safe to assume that he merely wants to keep dry whilst he weighs up his options and also that he has made a mistake about the ownership of the brolly!! The sales person did a very poor job, shame on him.

Anihilator

They arent mutually exclusive.
The OP picked up an umbrella, he was simply asked where he was going with it as he didnt ask.

Its hardly poor customer service or crime of the century.

All could have been avoided if he had shown some manners and asked if it was ok to use one.

phingers

Anihilator wrote: »

They arent mutually exclusive.
The OP picked up an umbrella, he was simply asked where he was going with it as he didnt ask.

Its hardly poor customer service or crime of the century.

All could have been avoided if he had shown some manners and asked if it was ok to use one.

I don't think it was the question itself but rather the over-dramatised way in which it was asked!

sky11

Toyota rate better for reliability than VW. I dont get turned off by customer service.......I go for make of car, and getting a good deal. I went to four Toyota dealers in search of Yaris as downsizing and wanted good fuel economic and reliable car. Ended up doing a good deal at a dealership 50 miles from home.

1ubthrifty

As dandy candy said, all the sales assistants were busy, he used his initiative, unlike the sales assistant who didn't sell anything. I wonder what his boss would think of his petty behaviour?

1ubthrifty

phingers wrote: »

I don't think it was the question itself but rather the over-dramatised way in which it was asked!

Yes, well put phingers.