Inbound Organization

Chapter 17My Car Dealer, No Help at All

Todd tells this story about his experience with a dealership for one of the world's largest automotive companies.

Three years ago, I bought a new car, and after the car was purchased the dealership worked hard to keep me coming back for warranty service and maintenance. The service team was professional, friendly, and helpful. Right around the three-year anniversary of the purchase, I started getting calls from the dealer asking if I wanted to sell my car, since supposedly “there was high demand for my make and model” on the used car market.

I'm a buy-and-hold kind of guy when it comes to cars; I drove my last car 250,000 miles. I buy them, I service them correctly, and I keep them as long as they run reliably. This car was only three years old, and I figured I would own it for another 10 years. However, the dealership called me at least once a month for four months trying to get me to sell that car. It wasn't one inquiry, it was multiple calls every month, and those calls kept coming

Each time they called, I politely told them, “Please make a note in your CRM. You have a CRM, right?” They said, “Yes.” I tried to be as explicit as possible. “Please make a note in your CRM that I am not going to sell this car anytime soon. Please do not call me again and ask me if I want to trade it in.”

On the fifth such call, I was a little less patient. “This is getting ridiculous,” I said. “If you call me again, I promise you, I will never step foot ...