The Squeaky Wheel Does Get the Grease

So you may have read about my outrage regarding the dubious business practices Ron and I encountered during our recent car buying venture. In a nutshell, we were lied to when we asked our salesman what the Blue Book value of our trade-in was (we ended up getting a little over a thousand dollars less than Blue Book value). I was really incensed so I fired off a letter to the general manager telling him what had happened and indicated that the surveys we'd be asked to complete would very accurately reflect our poor experience. For some really unknown reason, these dealerships live and die by those surveys. Probably has to do with bonuses and other payouts that drive up the prices. Yes, they would receive failing marks unless, I added, we got a check for the difference. I really didn't think anything would happen but I felt like he should know that we know we got screwed. And I felt better having vented my spleen (I'm going to do a whole posting about weird sayings and what they mean.)

Today I got a phone call from the General Manager and he was very apologetic, going to far as to say that he was appalled at the situation, the sales staff had had some retraining this week about acceptable business practices and that this type of salesmanship was not customary. And we'll be getting a check next week for the difference. Ron and I sat in stunned silence for about 15 seconds and then started whooping and hollering like hillbillies. What an awesome feeling. I stuck it to the man. I trumped the system. Good triumphed over evil. I played their game and WON!

Now I'm considering calling "Call for Action" and telling them that a certain Toyota dealership is bribing customers for good survey results . . . ha!

Moral of the story: ALWAYS let businesses know if they've really missed the mark. And tell them when they do a good job, too.