First, the shop: send an email to the car dealership looking for some information based on suggested scenarios and then do the report, including the responses received from the salesperson. Done quite a few of these over the years - easy peasy. :-) So, sent the email for information to the dealership. This is the first response I got from the salesperson:
"xxxx sent me an email telling me to get you the perfect vehicle at the perfect price, with the best possible gas mileage. I tried calling you, but there must have been a typo on the phone number. This would go a lot quicker on the phone but I'll give it a go by email. (P.S.- I'm glad you're not one of those secret shoppers that we're bombarded by. We love helping people who are sincere about wanting one of our award winning SUV's.) It would help to know what your space requirements are, either in terms of people or cargo. You mentioned fuel economy was a consideration also. It would help to know how many miles per year you drive, and whether the majority are local or highway miles. Without knowing any of this it's a disservice to you to recommend anything. That being said, I'll give you our best prices on our full line of SUV's with all of the available incentives. These are LS models, our basic packages, from smallest to largest. Once again, without having a discussion about your particular needs, this is not a recommendation. They are represented smallest to largest. Chevy Equinox, available in all wheel or front wheel drive, five passenger cpapability, from $19,864. Chevy Traverse, in AWD or FWD, seven passenger capability, from $26,205. Chevy Tahoe, available in rear wheel drive or four wheel drive, from $32,282, or Suburban, nine passenger capacity, available in RWD or 4WD, from $36,278. Keep in mind you're combining these unbeatable prices with xxxx's award winning sales and delivery! Chevrolet also has some roomy cars and trucks that offer best in class space and fuel economy, but once again, I'd need a little more info. The incentives expire soon, and supply is dropping fast= don't hesitate to call or email me. We can go into more detail about meeting your needs that way. Thanks for the opportunity, and I look forward to hearing from you soon."
Okay, that was a bit of an odd email, and I included it on the report since that is what is required. End of story? Not quite. This comes to me today - it would appear my shop has already made it into his hands and he has a few things to get off his chest.
"Allow me to critique your critique of my email. I was correct in the phone number I received was not in service. xxxxxxx was what I was given. Call it yourself and get the "not in service" message. I was correct the email lead was bogus, a secret shopper. We are not paid for these as salespeople, and they are handed out in rotation to the salespeople. Not only was I not paid for the 40 minutes of work researching the incentives and prices, and composing the email, but to top it off, the next email, that would have been mine, led to a significant commission for the next salesperson. We take it very seriously, to take care of our customers and prospective customers. The 40 minutes you received were taken from other customers of mine. I have one significant resource, my time, that you wasted. The request you made spanned a $50,000 price range. What you asked for was a dissertation on half of GM's lineup. You gave absolutely no help narrowing that span with any cogent information. Other of my customers who have bought vehicles from me have given me customer satisfaction scores totalling a 94% completely satified rating with the sales and delivery process. Even though your email was a fabrication, it gets averaged in with people who did buy, and affects my scores and pay through xxxxx. In light of all this, maybe you could see your way to reconsidering your decision to do business here. Thank you for your time."
First instinct? To send a sharply worded email back to this gentleman setting him straight on a few things. Second instinct? To forward this email to the shopping company. But I think (after a few deep breaths) it might be best just to "put this in a bubble and send it to the sky" as my mother in law would say. :-) Wondering what everyone else thinks though....thoughts or advice?
"xxxx sent me an email telling me to get you the perfect vehicle at the perfect price, with the best possible gas mileage. I tried calling you, but there must have been a typo on the phone number. This would go a lot quicker on the phone but I'll give it a go by email. (P.S.- I'm glad you're not one of those secret shoppers that we're bombarded by. We love helping people who are sincere about wanting one of our award winning SUV's.) It would help to know what your space requirements are, either in terms of people or cargo. You mentioned fuel economy was a consideration also. It would help to know how many miles per year you drive, and whether the majority are local or highway miles. Without knowing any of this it's a disservice to you to recommend anything. That being said, I'll give you our best prices on our full line of SUV's with all of the available incentives. These are LS models, our basic packages, from smallest to largest. Once again, without having a discussion about your particular needs, this is not a recommendation. They are represented smallest to largest. Chevy Equinox, available in all wheel or front wheel drive, five passenger cpapability, from $19,864. Chevy Traverse, in AWD or FWD, seven passenger capability, from $26,205. Chevy Tahoe, available in rear wheel drive or four wheel drive, from $32,282, or Suburban, nine passenger capacity, available in RWD or 4WD, from $36,278. Keep in mind you're combining these unbeatable prices with xxxx's award winning sales and delivery! Chevrolet also has some roomy cars and trucks that offer best in class space and fuel economy, but once again, I'd need a little more info. The incentives expire soon, and supply is dropping fast= don't hesitate to call or email me. We can go into more detail about meeting your needs that way. Thanks for the opportunity, and I look forward to hearing from you soon."
Okay, that was a bit of an odd email, and I included it on the report since that is what is required. End of story? Not quite. This comes to me today - it would appear my shop has already made it into his hands and he has a few things to get off his chest.
"Allow me to critique your critique of my email. I was correct in the phone number I received was not in service. xxxxxxx was what I was given. Call it yourself and get the "not in service" message. I was correct the email lead was bogus, a secret shopper. We are not paid for these as salespeople, and they are handed out in rotation to the salespeople. Not only was I not paid for the 40 minutes of work researching the incentives and prices, and composing the email, but to top it off, the next email, that would have been mine, led to a significant commission for the next salesperson. We take it very seriously, to take care of our customers and prospective customers. The 40 minutes you received were taken from other customers of mine. I have one significant resource, my time, that you wasted. The request you made spanned a $50,000 price range. What you asked for was a dissertation on half of GM's lineup. You gave absolutely no help narrowing that span with any cogent information. Other of my customers who have bought vehicles from me have given me customer satisfaction scores totalling a 94% completely satified rating with the sales and delivery process. Even though your email was a fabrication, it gets averaged in with people who did buy, and affects my scores and pay through xxxxx. In light of all this, maybe you could see your way to reconsidering your decision to do business here. Thank you for your time."
First instinct? To send a sharply worded email back to this gentleman setting him straight on a few things. Second instinct? To forward this email to the shopping company. But I think (after a few deep breaths) it might be best just to "put this in a bubble and send it to the sky" as my mother in law would say. :-) Wondering what everyone else thinks though....thoughts or advice?
