My experience at Hollingsworth-Richards Mazda (HRM from here on in) was pleasant for the most part, until the sale itself was actually completedAfter that point, it all went downhill for me and my time at HRM
Some background: I was involved in a car accident; that was the reason why I was car shoppingI have never bought a car from a dealership beforeI would not call myself a stereotypical consumer however
I have a degree in chemical engineering and focused in advanced differential mathematics and polymer scienceThis is not to say I am some kind of genius, but is instead to say that I have always been wary of numbers and in my purchases
I am not hesitant to haggle or negotiateI was raised in a penny-pinching household, which I did not enjoy, but nevertheless it affected the way I observe and behave as a consumerI also did a lot of pre-dealership research online to see what kind of experiences people can expect to see and how crazy it can get in a dealership when shopping around for a car
Now onto my experience at HRM
1)First off, everything was greatThe people were friendly and openI was helped by a "sales manager," whatever that means (since he performed a salesmans' role whenever I saw him), *** *He was open, casual, friendly, and wanted to help me and fulfill my requests quickly, which was greatHe took me around to different cars, opened up the doors, and worked with me despite the lack of inventory during the time of my visitsI left to shop at other dealerships after
2)The next time I was at HRM, I was going to test drive a vehicleHere is where I began to notice that the whole "sales" process was definitely different than what I would have expected from a professional salesman
I test drove the vehicles ALL BY MYSELFThe only time someone else got in the car with me was when Marlin sent a trainee to accompany meNEVER during any test drive did *** ever enter the car with meNEVER during any drive did *** ever try to "sell" me the car, tell me about features, advantages over other cars, reasons why I should get it, etcNEVERThis was probably because he knew that I would eventually buy from him (which I did, mainly because he accepted my negotiations while I was comparing HRM and another dealership)However, the lack of actual salesmanship made me question whether he was actually being paid commission for not even putting in effort to actually sell me the car
3)Outside of selling the car, *** was also lacking in professional activity in generalWe conversed via email often; however, it was usually me waiting up to three days for a replyAnd when I received a reply from him, it was like someone wrote the email from an AOL chat room between teens in high school; no punctuation, no graceful sentence construction, nothing to make me think an actual adult wrote the emailI was shocked by thisHow could anyone in this day and age, especially in an email, not capitalize or punctuate sentences? ESPECIALLY in a sales position! While the robot-generated mass emails sent to me "from" *** were perfectly and professionally constructed, any actual email from *** himself did not match that style at allSimply disappointing
4)Remember when I said he fulfilled my requests quickly? What I meant was that anytime I asked for anything, he seemed to respond with a rushed demeanor, like he was trying to get my requests out of the way so he could go back to doing something elseIt always seemed like he wanted to get me out of there as fast as possibleNow, this could be seen as a good thing, but this whole car buying experience took over a monthWould it really hurt as a professional to spend time with a customer to make sure that everything is okay? I would ask a question and he would answer and then quickly run off to somewhere else (I was never told)
5)After I purchased my car from HRM, there were scratches on the vehicle, something that was overseen by *** in his rush to get the car to meThe dealership took it upon themselves to fix it, which is goodHowever, it took me visits to get them worked out
The first time I came to get the scratches removed was on an appointment basisI left work early to get there in time (around 2PM) for everything to be doneAnd *** was nowhere to be foundI overheard people saying that he was out at lunchWhile they were working on the car, they were also installing accessories that were part of the dealHowever, I was waiting for almost hoursThe lady helping me was very patient with me and worked hard to get me out of there as soon as possibleShe was trying to help me, a customer of *** which was why it was taking longThe information she needed she had to findShe had to call *** as well
I was very frustrated at this pointIf *** was there, he could have sped up the process simply by performing his jobInstead, he was out
I emailed him and received a response*** said that he had a family emergencyOkay, fair enoughBut then why did ~employees say that he was out at lunch? Why didn't he tell anyone at the HRM dealership that he was out on a family emergency? And why did he still answer the phone and provide all the numbers and information that was needed to get my car serviced while he was at his emergency?
He may have been at a family emergencyI have no ideaBut regardless, the fact that he didn't even have anyone knowing where he was when he had an appointment to me is appallingWorst part is, the scratches couldn't be removedI had to come in the next week
The SECOND time I came in to get the scratches removed, *** was thereI said "Hi" when I entered and he simply told me to wait on the couchI ended up waiting for almost hours after he took my car inHe never, ever updated me with any information such as how long it would take or if there were any complicationsHe was working a sale with a customer while I waited on the couchWhat is with that!? Even if he knew it would take a long time, the fact that he completely ignored me after coming back from the auto shop made me even more annoyed with the service that was already becoming frustrating
6)Now for the real HRM rating killer; the misinformationWhile I was comparing dealerships, HRM was the best deal by farHowever, there was a caveat*** said that he had to get the car I wanted deliveredIt would have a few miles on it, he saidTo that, I replied, "No problem, okay." You might be seeing where this is all headingI expected that by "a few miles" *** meant somewhere sub-miles on a NEW vehicleInstead, when I got the car, it had miles on itThe car itself also had trash on the floor, and the dashboard and the driver's seat area had fingerprints, dust, dirt marks, and general scuffs all around
When I came back to ask why any of this stuff was in/on the car, I spoke to *** but he strong-armed me with the fact that he told me all this information: that the car had to be driven from a different dealership and would have 300-miles on it
My experience at Hollingsworth-Richards Mazda (HRM from here on in) was pleasant for the most part, until the sale itself was actually completedAfter that point, it all went downhill for me and my time at HRM
Some background: I was involved in a car accident; that was the reason why I was car shoppingI have never bought a car from a dealership beforeI would not call myself a stereotypical consumer however
I have a degree in chemical engineering and focused in advanced differential mathematics and polymer scienceThis is not to say I am some kind of genius, but is instead to say that I have always been wary of numbers and in my purchases
I am not hesitant to haggle or negotiateI was raised in a penny-pinching household, which I did not enjoy, but nevertheless it affected the way I observe and behave as a consumerI also did a lot of pre-dealership research online to see what kind of experiences people can expect to see and how crazy it can get in a dealership when shopping around for a car
Now onto my experience at HRM
1)First off, everything was greatThe people were friendly and openI was helped by a "sales manager," whatever that means (since he performed a salesmans' role whenever I saw him), *** *He was open, casual, friendly, and wanted to help me and fulfill my requests quickly, which was greatHe took me around to different cars, opened up the doors, and worked with me despite the lack of inventory during the time of my visitsI left to shop at other dealerships after
2)The next time I was at HRM, I was going to test drive a vehicleHere is where I began to notice that the whole "sales" process was definitely different than what I would have expected from a professional salesman
I test drove the vehicles ALL BY MYSELFThe only time someone else got in the car with me was when Marlin sent a trainee to accompany meNEVER during any test drive did *** ever enter the car with meNEVER during any drive did *** ever try to "sell" me the car, tell me about features, advantages over other cars, reasons why I should get it, etcNEVERThis was probably because he knew that I would eventually buy from him (which I did, mainly because he accepted my negotiations while I was comparing HRM and another dealership)However, the lack of actual salesmanship made me question whether he was actually being paid commission for not even putting in effort to actually sell me the car
3)Outside of selling the car, *** was also lacking in professional activity in generalWe conversed via email often; however, it was usually me waiting up to three days for a replyAnd when I received a reply from him, it was like someone wrote the email from an AOL chat room between teens in high school; no punctuation, no graceful sentence construction, nothing to make me think an actual adult wrote the emailI was shocked by thisHow could anyone in this day and age, especially in an email, not capitalize or punctuate sentences? ESPECIALLY in a sales position! While the robot-generated mass emails sent to me "from" *** were perfectly and professionally constructed, any actual email from *** himself did not match that style at allSimply disappointing
4)Remember when I said he fulfilled my requests quickly? What I meant was that anytime I asked for anything, he seemed to respond with a rushed demeanor, like he was trying to get my requests out of the way so he could go back to doing something elseIt always seemed like he wanted to get me out of there as fast as possibleNow, this could be seen as a good thing, but this whole car buying experience took over a monthWould it really hurt as a professional to spend time with a customer to make sure that everything is okay? I would ask a question and he would answer and then quickly run off to somewhere else (I was never told)
5)After I purchased my car from HRM, there were scratches on the vehicle, something that was overseen by *** in his rush to get the car to meThe dealership took it upon themselves to fix it, which is goodHowever, it took me visits to get them worked out
The first time I came to get the scratches removed was on an appointment basisI left work early to get there in time (around 2PM) for everything to be doneAnd *** was nowhere to be foundI overheard people saying that he was out at lunchWhile they were working on the car, they were also installing accessories that were part of the dealHowever, I was waiting for almost hoursThe lady helping me was very patient with me and worked hard to get me out of there as soon as possibleShe was trying to help me, a customer of *** which was why it was taking longThe information she needed she had to findShe had to call *** as well
I was very frustrated at this pointIf *** was there, he could have sped up the process simply by performing his jobInstead, he was out
I emailed him and received a response*** said that he had a family emergencyOkay, fair enoughBut then why did ~employees say that he was out at lunch? Why didn't he tell anyone at the HRM dealership that he was out on a family emergency? And why did he still answer the phone and provide all the numbers and information that was needed to get my car serviced while he was at his emergency?
He may have been at a family emergencyI have no ideaBut regardless, the fact that he didn't even have anyone knowing where he was when he had an appointment to me is appallingWorst part is, the scratches couldn't be removedI had to come in the next week
The SECOND time I came in to get the scratches removed, *** was thereI said "Hi" when I entered and he simply told me to wait on the couchI ended up waiting for almost hours after he took my car inHe never, ever updated me with any information such as how long it would take or if there were any complicationsHe was working a sale with a customer while I waited on the couchWhat is with that!? Even if he knew it would take a long time, the fact that he completely ignored me after coming back from the auto shop made me even more annoyed with the service that was already becoming frustrating
6)Now for the real HRM rating killer; the misinformationWhile I was comparing dealerships, HRM was the best deal by farHowever, there was a caveat*** said that he had to get the car I wanted deliveredIt would have a few miles on it, he saidTo that, I replied, "No problem, okay." You might be seeing where this is all headingI expected that by "a few miles" *** meant somewhere sub-miles on a NEW vehicleInstead, when I got the car, it had miles on itThe car itself also had trash on the floor, and the dashboard and the driver's seat area had fingerprints, dust, dirt marks, and general scuffs all around
When I came back to ask why any of this stuff was in/on the car, I spoke to *** but he strong-armed me with the fact that he told me all this information: that the car had to be driven from a different dealership and would have 300-miles on it