What's the deal with the survey you get after purchase?

[Dani]

Can anyone tell me the importance of the survey that comes in the mail (after the H3 purchase)? Had to go back to the dealership last night as I wanted to know about rear wiper not working and they kept asking me if I had gotten my survey and if I was going to give them all the highest ratings. How do those ratings affect the dealership? And how could they possibly expect me to give them the highest ratings when they tried to screw me over on several things. First the financing, then the dvd entertainment system, then the 3m coating for the paint chips. They offered the dvd and 3m items to me at no charge "to cover my trouble for the financing issues" and last night they had changed their minds and are giving me nothing. I really don't think they wanna see my survey.

[Agriv8r]

Most manufacturers survey the customer 3-6 weeks after purchase to see what type of service they received. If the surveys are good enough a bonus may be paid to the sales agent, if bad enough, a few warnings some training and if it continues termination. The survey mainly deals with the sales agent, so if he was good then he should get good marks. There is an area that pertains to the finance people and then the overall dealership. Lastly there is a comment section that allows you to write anything you want. The dealerships are scored and compared to the local same vehicle dealership, and the region and all dealerships (HUMMER compared to HUMMER, GMC compared to GMC). They are reviewed by many many people. From the sales agent to the GM to the owner and up through the HUMMER administration.

[Steve - SanJose]

Dealers need to "incentify" people to reply to these surveys.

S.

[DarthKarl]

Originally posted by Dani:
Can anyone tell me the importance of the survey that comes in the mail

$$$$$$$

High ratings can equal bonuses and incentives for the dealership from GM. That's why they all want you to submit the very best marks

[deicustoms1]

My sales agent used to call me like 3 times a week until I turned in the survey, to make sure I was going to give the highest ratings. Haven't heard from him since! http://www.elcova.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif

Also...included in the Hummer bag that came with the truck, was a copy of a survey, all ready filled out with the highest marks, and something like, "Hummer of Orlando is the freaking best dealership ever!!!" in the comments section. Kinda sad that they put that in there, at first I thought that it accidentally got put in there, til I started getting the calls.

[Dani]

Originally posted by NASCAR17:
i did the same thing. i went to the dealership with mine and sat down and talked the sales mg. made him listen and agree with the things they did wrong. like hiding the 400 to take off a roof rack and a factory brush guatd i didnt want . they hid it in the finacing and i saw it at the last mintue.they have to have ALL PERFECT SCORES or it is a fail grade they told me. so i got a were sorry and a free tank of gas and more free tshirts.trust me they told me its all good scores or if ONE BAD MARK and the sheet is consider a fail grade for them.this is YOUR TIME TO BE IN CONTROL OF THEM.USE IT AND TELL THEM HOW YOU FEEL.They should bend over for you with it in your hands.let us know what happens on here after you take it in there.

First- let me start by saying that I absolutely LOVE my H3. However- I'm still not thrilled with the finance people at the dealership where I bought it. The fact that they told us we were approved for a specific rate then they up the rate by almost 4% when we tell them that we don't want the 2 extra items they were automatically adding in- and then there's the part where they offer me the dvd entertainment system and the 3m coating "for my trouble" then end up not giving it to me when I refuse their financing. It's ridiculous. Something else I thought was odd- I bought the H3 on the 17th of April but as far as Onstar is concerned- they have me purchasing the vehicle on the 26th of March. I called them and inquired as to where they got that date and I was told that it's the date the dealership activated Onstar for me. Interesting as I was there when my salesperson activated the service and I can assure you it wasn't on the 26th of March.
I've just never had this much trouble buying a vehicle ever (and I've purchased many). I've always tried to be an honest person and say what I think/feel however this time I'm not sure what to do. Technically- I never had a salesman at the dealership. I dealt ONLY with the administrative guy who sits at their front desk. He's the ONLY reason I purchased from this dealership. Unfortunately since he's not a "salesman" he gets nothing from the sale. I have no problems giving him 100% ratings. The finance people on the other hand- I want to give them the worst rating but on the other hand- I don't like to mess with people's $$/jobs and knowing that this survey has a lot of affect on a dealership- it's tough for me.

I do feel that the only reason my interest rate changed was because we were declining extras from the dealership. I feel that the dealership was trying to keep the $$ somehow whether it be through the higher interest rate kickback or whatever.
Am I wrong to not give 100% ratings?

[westhillsat]

The dealership made some "errors" in ordering our H3. We got the chrome tube steps for the cost of the black ones and they threw in the roof cross bows for free. I think we got something else too.

So the survey is taken very seriously by the dealer or should be.

[Rick]

Originally posted by Dani:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by NASCAR17:
i did the same thing. i went to the dealership with mine and sat down and talked the sales mg. made him listen and agree with the things they did wrong. like hiding the 400 to take off a roof rack and a factory brush guatd i didnt want . they hid it in the finacing and i saw it at the last mintue.they have to have ALL PERFECT SCORES or it is a fail grade they told me. so i got a were sorry and a free tank of gas and more free tshirts.trust me they told me its all good scores or if ONE BAD MARK and the sheet is consider a fail grade for them.this is YOUR TIME TO BE IN CONTROL OF THEM.USE IT AND TELL THEM HOW YOU FEEL.They should bend over for you with it in your hands.let us know what happens on here after you take it in there.

First- let me start by saying that I absolutely LOVE my H3. However- I'm still not thrilled with the finance people at the dealership where I bought it. The fact that they told us we were approved for a specific rate then they up the rate by almost 4% when we tell them that we don't want the 2 extra items they were automatically adding in- and then there's the part where they offer me the dvd entertainment system and the 3m coating "for my trouble" then end up not giving it to me when I refuse their financing. It's ridiculous. Something else I thought was odd- I bought the H3 on the 17th of April but as far as Onstar is concerned- they have me purchasing the vehicle on the 26th of March. I called them and inquired as to where they got that date and I was told that it's the date the dealership activated Onstar for me. Interesting as I was there when my salesperson activated the service and I can assure you it wasn't on the 26th of March.
I've just never had this much trouble buying a vehicle ever (and I've purchased many). I've always tried to be an honest person and say what I think/feel however this time I'm not sure what to do. Technically- I never had a salesman at the dealership. I dealt ONLY with the administrative guy who sits at their front desk. He's the ONLY reason I purchased from this dealership. Unfortunately since he's not a "salesman" he gets nothing from the sale. I have no problems giving him 100% ratings. The finance people on the other hand- I want to give them the worst rating but on the other hand- I don't like to mess with people's $$/jobs and knowing that this survey has a lot of affect on a dealership- it's tough for me.

I do feel that the only reason my interest rate changed was because we were declining extras from the dealership. I feel that the dealership was trying to keep the $$ somehow whether it be through the higher interest rate kickback or whatever.
Am I wrong to not give 100% ratings? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Dani.. You should go after this dealership. It sounds like they have broken about 2-3 federal laws just from the few quick stories that you have told. They CANNOT raise the rate on you for turning down their products. That is a VERY quick way for them to incur fines and possibly lose their franchise. (Though probably not just because of a single incedent.)

I'm in the auto indusrty... I make my living off of dealers. BUT... There is no way in HELL that I would work for/with a crooked dealer like this. This is what gives dealer a bad name. This crap needs to stop at some point. If you let them slide they will take advantage of someone else... Then there will be someone else on here telling your same story.

I would not only slam them on their survey... I'd call them up to let them know that you are thinking about persuing Federal charges against them... You'll probably end up with a 7 week cruise vacation paid by them. You can call the manufacturer. (GM is hurting bad... But they will jump on this a$$hole for you!)

A single bad returned questionaire doesn't hurt the dealer... Though it may hurt the salesman's bonus structure. But if enough bad ones are returned it definitely hurts the dealer. (He will lose dealer cash bonuses for sure!) I would also write to anyone and everyone complaining about these creeps! If they tried to cheat you... They are doing it to everyine else too!

[HummerNewbie]

Originally posted by dei???????:
My sales agent used to call me like 3 times a week until I turned in the survey, to make sure I was going to give the highest ratings. Haven't heard from him since! http://www.elcova.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif

Also...included in the Hummer bag that came with the truck, was a copy of a survey, all ready filled out with the highest marks, and something like, "Hummer of Orlando is the freaking best dealership ever!!!" in the comments section. Kinda sad that they put that in there, at first I thought that it accidentally got put in there, til I started getting the calls.

I didn't have a survey in my bag but my sales guy kept calling me too. Only asked about the survey on one of the first calls but did stop calling after I mentioned that I received it.

Still got my survey sitting right here in front of me. Maybe I need to take it in with me to my service appointment tomorrow.

[HummerNewbie]

I also just got any email last night from OnStar asking me to complete a survey. Did anyone else get this?

[Mancil]

My dealer sent me $100 in gas cards for filling mine out "Complete Satisfaction"

[Viet Nam Vette]

This is a great thread...
I didn't realize that this survey thing was that important to the dealer. I'm gald I decided to come on in October on this forum before I buy my H3X.

I will now be in a better posistion to bargain with the dealer.

[Digital-Audiophile]

My awesome sales guy told me that if the survey is returned 100% satisfied he gets a $100 bonus. He did a great job so he deserves it! In return I got 30 extra ONstar phone minutes http://www.elcova.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

[Dani]

SO- I finally got my survey- filled it out and I finally get a call from the HUMMER customer service. The corporate customer service people basically said that there's nothing they can do for me. :( (see problem below)

On another note- I've had my H3 for a little over 2 months now and get this- I can't get my damn title from the dealership. When I got the original title in the mail (funny how it arrived the EXACT day my temp. tag ran out)- the dealership had not only put it in the wrong person's name- but they also had the lienholder incorrect. On May 17th (the exact day I received the title) I took the title back to the dealership to have them correct their mistakes. At that time I had to sign all sorts of new paperwork- power of attorney, etc...It's been over a month and no one from the dealership will return my calls at all. So- I call HUMMER customer service who tells me they'll look into my concerns and get back to me within 2 days. My service rep called me 2 days ago and basically said that when he talked to the dealership- the dealership said it was my fault I don't have a title because I never brought it to their attention that the title was incorrect. Now- if I never brought it to their attention- then why in the hell do I have their DEALER plate? The dealership knew it was incorrect because they gave me their plate because I couldn't register my damn vehicle with that title.
Now-as I re-explain the entire situation (dealership changing original interest rate when we remove items we didn't want, promising stuff and not giving it to us, title issues, etc...) to my customer service rep- he proceeds to tell me that he can do nothing for me and that I should seek out the advice of an attorney. He also referred me to the Better Business Bureau. Don't get me wrong- I absolutely love my H3 and don't ever want to get rid of it- However I'm having difficulties even considering the thought of purchasing another HUMMER product period. I find it hard to believe that there's absolutely nothing that HUMMER Corporate can do for me.

Anyone have any suggestions?

[Aubs]

When you call customer service, if you don't get a decent answer, ask for a supervisor. You should record the time, service agent, and details of every further conversation, both with your dealership and Hummer customer care. Get ID numbers for agents, and maybe reference numbers for the calls. They should provide that information with no hassle.

If I understand, the car is titled to someone other than yourself? And the leinholder is not listed correctly? If that's the case, then this becomes an issue for your leinholder as well. Explain the situation to them, and they should be quite angry that they are not listed correctly. I imagine that will put more pressure on the dealership to clear up the problem.

The long and short of all this: DO NOT EVER TRUST A DEALER. They are ALL crooked in some way, with the probably the exception of Lynch in St. Louis (I haven't bought there, but I've spent a lot of time with sales and service guys there. And they accept GMID's, give back the dealer cash to the customer, and generally give you the best price for the least in their pocket, which is the best sign of a reputable dealer.) DO NOT trust a dealership which adds on 3M crap, or other odds and ends that you really don't need. It's just instant cash in their pocket. $300 for a 3M coating probably means $250 profit for the dealer. Also, be leary of one that adds in a fee to all sales. That's just underhanded, and should be an insight into the management.

I hope you didn't feel pressured into this sale by the salesman 'becoming your friend' or them telling you that 'you won't find this anywhere else'. If things seem bad, WALK AWAY. There are plenty of other dealerships to choose from, even if they're rather far away.

I have family in this business, and I've been screwed even by them on things like service ($40 for wiper blades once, on a total bill of $60!).

So this whole essay probably hasn't made you feel any better, and I'm sorry for that. But I hope that at least the first part might help you, and the rest be helpful to someone else. Just pursue the hell out of it, and they will eventually collapse. Call your loan agent, and keep calling GM. Pestering will always make someone listen if you keep it up long enough.

[Dani]

Honestly- when they tried to screw me with the interest rate hike- I SO wanted to tell them to shove it up their ass but I didn't. They gave me the excuse that I couldn't return the H3 as they'd already sold my trade. Otherwise I'd have went to a different dealership.

I personally have no problems with my salesman or the actual Hummer dealership. The Hummer dealership I bought from is actually a small part of another dealership which is in charge of all financing as well as other GM vehicle sales. My Hummer dealership didn't actually have it's own finance dept.

I'm gonna go to the dealership tomorrow and I had better get some form of satisfaction or else it ain't gonna be pretty. I've been extremely nice so far but I've reached my breaking point. I will not be nice....

[Aubs]

Honestly- when they tried to screw me with the interest rate hike- I SO wanted to tell them to shove it up their ass but I didn't. They gave me the excuse that I couldn't return the H3 as they'd already sold my trade. Otherwise I'd have went to a different dealership.

I personally have no problems with my salesman or the actual Hummer dealership. The Hummer dealership I bought from is actually a small part of another dealership which is in charge of all financing as well as other GM vehicle sales. My Hummer dealership didn't actually have it's own finance dept.

So Hummer Customer Assistance probably won't be able to help you because of the whole seperate finance department thing.

Never sign your trade over until the deal is done with the vehicle you're purchasing. They can shop it around, but you should only sign it over once you have completed all the paperwork for your new vehicle. If you didn't sign it over to them, then they pulled the wool over your eyes...:( :mad:

[HummerNewbie]

They gave me the excuse that I couldn't return the H3 as they'd already sold my trade.

I know people that this has happened to and it is really the dealerships problem if they have sold your trade-in. As I understand it, they can not legally sell your trade until you purchase is complete. So based on the fact that they sold the trade, you should be under the understanding the deal was complete at the time of signing at the lower rate.

[Dani]

So Hummer Customer Assistance probably won't be able to help you because of the whole seperate finance department thing.

Never sign your trade over until the deal is done with the vehicle you're purchasing. They can shop it around, but you should only sign it over once you have completed all the paperwork for your new vehicle. If you didn't sign it over to them, then they pulled the wool over your eyes...:( :mad:


The deal WAS done. Or so we thought when we signed the paperwork on it back in April. We signed all the contracts, odometer statements....everything.

And Hummer customer service said they couldn't help me because my problem involves a sales contract and customer service has nothing to do with how their representatives (dealerships) do business.

[FutureBeachBum]

I had no problems with the dealer (Lynch) everything was very smooth.
However this was the first time I had my financing ready to go before I walked in to make my final deal. It worked out great, I will never finance from the dealer unless they have some type of factory sponsored interest rate.
I do give Lynch credit for not trying to sell any unwanted add ons or application or prep fees.

Before buying my H3 I snooped around several Jeep dealers in town. One had an "environmental protection package" added to every vehicle for the bargain price of $900, the salesman told me it was worth every penny and no I couldn't buy a vehicle without it. 12 miles down the road was a dealer that had no paint/fabric sealant mumbo jumbo add ons.
Why would anyone buy from the first dealer?

[Dani]

Why would anyone buy from the first dealer?

If you're referring to me- I did buy from the first dealer. BUT not before shopping at 3 other HUMMER dealerships in my area. Just didn't like the people as well as I did at Ed Schmidt Hummer.

[FutureBeachBum]

Dani,
Wasn't referring to you at all.
It was purely a rhetorical question and I was referring to the Jeep dealers I mentioned.

[usetosellhummer]

As a evil former car sales person I could tell you stories that would make your head spin. Alot of good info. posted here so I will sum it up. If you do not do your homework you will fail the test. I made a ton of money on people who did no homework or were just plain willing to do whatever it took to get their car. I hate financeing people and that is wehre most of the money is made. Re-fi the car on your own and drop the rate if you think you were ripped. Hummer places alot of cash out for the dealers on survey scores. Make nice with service and sales people and bring them in every time you get one. Get your tank of gas or oil change and play ball. Be a dick and see how fast they come to your rescue? I have pulled people out of ditches, picked them up from the airport. droped off thier drycleaning. and had the service Mgr. pull parts off of stock trucks for my v.i.p.'s

[Dani]

As a evil former car sales person I could tell you stories that would make your head spin. Alot of good info. posted here so I will sum it up. If you do not do your homework you will fail the test. I made a ton of money on people who did no homework or were just plain willing to do whatever it took to get their car. I hate financeing people and that is wehre most of the money is made. Re-fi the car on your own and drop the rate if you think you were ripped. Hummer places alot of cash out for the dealers on survey scores. Make nice with service and sales people and bring them in every time you get one. Get your tank of gas or oil change and play ball. Be a dick and see how fast they come to your rescue? I have pulled people out of ditches, picked them up from the airport. droped off thier drycleaning. and had the service Mgr. pull parts off of stock trucks for my v.i.p.'s

it will be a cold day in hell before I'll ever kiss someone's ass. If there's one thing I've learned in life- it's to be independant. I'll never rely on anyone else for anything.

I went to the dealership today and they tried to offer me tons of crap just to make their "mistake" go away. No thanks. Piss me off and I hate you for life. You know the situation's pretty bad when your salesman gets teary eyed over they way you're getting treated. I've become pretty good friends with my salesman and after the crap I've had to put up with- I won't go back. Not even for service. I'll gladly drive the hour and a half up to Jim Riehls or Detroit Hummer.

On another note- It's kinda interesting to see the **** that happens when you call Hummer corporate. I've had 3 other Hummer dealerships in my area call me and offer their services. One dealership even offered to help me get my title from Ed Schmidt's (not exactly sure how they'd go about that but whatever).