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We all need to get around, right?

I’ve talked a little about cars and where to get the best service when it comes to getting into one here in Vancouver. But what I’m about to tell you, I’ll admit, probably is severe enough to warrant a permission slip from your parents.

A colleague of mine, who is an avid car enthusiast, has a particular thing for BMWs. So do a lot of people, so that’s no surprise, right?

Where the tire hits the pavement in this customer service story, though, is that his last eight cars have been….BMWs. And except for one or two of them, he’s sourced them all from the same dealership here in the city. Now THAT is a pretty significant kind of customer, wouldn’t you say? The way he was treated when he went in to consider his options for his ninth car, though, might make one think otherwise.

Now, let’s be clear, I’m not here to point fingers at this particular dealership as I’ve only had a few dealings with their sales manager when I was in the market for my new car. But, I thought you should probably know their name…Brian Jessel BMW
According to my colleague, he had come in to discuss upgrading from the M class (sports edition) to something larger as his family was growing, etc. That’s a fairly logical progression, I’d think.

What’s bizarre, and kind of disturbing (at least I think so), is that the sales person he dealt with (who he’s dealt with for quite some time) listened to him when he was there asking questions, but was distracted. Now when I say distracted, I don’t mean that he had something on his mind like ‘What’s for dinner?’ or ‘Did I leave the lights on at home?’…from what I understand the salesperson was more focused on concentrating on the other people in the showroom. Say what?!

Perhaps this particular salesperson, who will remain nameless, thought my colleague was a ‘slam dunk’ as he has, for all intents and purposes, purchased a whole heck of a lot of cars from them. What I think the salesperson failed to realize is that despite the length of your relationship, a customer is still a customer and warrants your attention. At the very least!

I know, I know, you’re probably asking yourself….so what happened? Here’s the Coles notes: two days later, my colleague was already behind the wheel of a new inifiniti and, according to him, has not looked back.

Customers are never ‘slam dunks’, I think. They’re people, and regardless of the amount of money spent, should receive service when and how they want it. But hey, what do I know?

darren