The Dealership Dilemma

Okay. You’ve worked day and night, saved up enough money and gathered enough guts to finally decide to make that new car purchase. The first and most crucial dilemma that faces you now is where to go – and who to entrust the care of your soon-to-be-new car to. Common sense dictates that you head on to the nearest dealership that carries the car of your choice, of course. After all, geographically-desirable entities do tend to serve to ease the burden if and when the time comes that you have to have your car serviced for one reason or another. Realistically, speaking, however, this practice is merely an easy way out. There are other pros and cons to consider. What to do? Here are a few suggestions.

First off, try this test. Walk into a dealership and sit inconspicuously in one corner. If it takes more than a few minutes for a person from the dealership to come up to you with a smile, leave. Obviously, the people in such a place are much too concerned with what author Antoine de Saint Exupéry sarcastically calls "matters of consequence" to offer a potential customer with that which he deserves – attention. With that kind of a mindset, you can be assured that the people in that particular dealership have no interest in offering any kind of service at all. In other words, if they don’t value your presence in their establishment, it’s safe to assume that they won’t value you as a customer or as a person. You, in turn, ought not give value – much less hard-earned money – to such a poorly motivated institution.

Another test I always try is to actually walk up straight to the person who mans the service reception area and ask for a simple solution to a simple problem. Pretend, for example, that you need new wiper blades installed into your worn out car and ask if they can spare a quick five minutes to address your concern. If the person says that they have to order the parts before any work can be done, walk away. This attitude says one of two things to you. The first is that they are again much too busy with "matters of consequence" to spare five minutes for someone who could turn out to be a loyal customer. The second could be that you may have walked into such a lousy dealership that they don’t have even the most basic of parts on hand. And that is not the kind of establishment you want handling your precious investment.

Next, go for the connections. It pays to have a contact within a dealership, so try to find one where you do have a friend. But, really, not all of us work the motoring beat. Not all of us, therefore, have the pleasure of having friends and acquaintances in such establishments. And I have to be frank. It shouldn’t matter how much coffee is offered you when you walk into a car dealership. It matters when you get offered. I’ve seen a lot of car dealership managers, for example, jump out of their oh-so-comfy chairs only when they realize that it’s the motoring editor of a major broadsheet who’s sitting quietly in their showroom – observing the way things are done. But if I were any other customer, I might as well have been given an express ticket to hell. I’ve kept my relationships with such people and such establishments short and not necessarily sweet – despite the special treatment I eventually get.

Still, I’ve met a few people who epitomize the desire to serve. A few, in fact, come to mind. Kia Quezon Avenue’s Marc De Joya and Dong Aberin, for example, may seem to be much too young to be running a car dealership, but boy are they eager to serve. The same can be said of Willy Tee Ten of Autohub, who believes in valuing the customer so much that he practically pounds his beliefs into the heads of all his people in his numerous car dealerships. In fact, he’s got programs galore intended to woo customers in – and he’s told me about the said plans with much gusto time and again. Willy’s the type to practice what he preaches too. The guy once called me from China – on a Sunday – when he learned that I needed help with my Cefiro (a gesture that I appreciated but did not abuse). Then there’s Nicky Mariano and Ariel de Jesus of Motor Image Pilipinas, local distributors of Subaru vehicles. These two will go out of their way as much as they can to make a customer feel like a king – and the attitude infects all their staff. And no, before any of the dim-witted judgmental gnats who jump to conclusions at the slightest whim (yet haven’t the foggiest idea exactly what drives us journalists to write what we do) even begin to argue that Marc, Dong, Willy, Nicky or Ariel have me on their paylist, I have to make it clear. I do not get a single centavo from these guys. I’m just giving credit where I feel it’s due. I’ve seen how these people view and treat their customers, and I like what I see.

Here’s an example. I once walked into Kia Quezon Avenue. Marc and Dong were in their offices, but their people – who had no inkling who I was – offered me a seat in their impressively built lounge, the remote control to the huge flat television screen in it, and a glass of water (because that was all I would take). I informed Dong that I was waiting for him at the said lounge and by the time he walked out to meet me, I had already made up my mind. I liked being in his dealership and so I had to tell him. "I like it here," I said. "That’s good to hear. Why is it that you do?" he asked. "Because it feels like home," I answered.

And there lies the secret to finding the dealership that should eventually fit you like a glove. It matters how they treat you in a dealership because the reality is that you are the lifeblood of such establishments – the profit margins made in a sale, after all, go mostly to the manufacturers. It’s the returning business that you bring that feeds the families of people working in car dealerships. And if the people in a dealership are so clueless or nonchalant as to ignore this fact, then they don’t deserve your attention at all.

So, if indeed you are among the fortunate who have the ability and desire to make that new car purchase, then by all means… Don’t just take my word for it, though. Like I said, the key is to go out and find the one car dealership that fits. Despite the fact that there are a few rotten eggs out there, there are still a number who do know how to make their potential customers feel like kings. More importantly, they’ll most probably turn out to be the ones that take good care of the king’s steeds as well. And that should be the bottom line in addressing the dealership dilemma.

Here are a few Backseat Driver reactions and questions from last week (and at least one answer)…

Kailan lalabas ang Toyota Yaris hatch sa Philippines? – 09287982559 (It’s here now! In fact, the Toyota Yaris goes on a mall tour this March. Here’s the schedule: Eastwood City, March 2-4; Power Plant Mall, March 9-11; Metrowalk, March 16-18; The Fort Strip, March 23-25; and Alabang Town Center, March 30 to April 1)

Unruly motorcycle riders should be apprehended not only because of helmets (or lack thereof – Ed.), but especially for traffic violations done in an uneducated manner. – 09194223210

The bulk of our motorcycle riding public should be given lessons in proper riding, as most of them are road hazards. – 09178583558

Speak out, be heard and keep those text messages coming in. To say your piece and become a "Backseat Driver", text PHILSTAR<space>FB<space>MOTORING<space>YOUR MESSAGE and send to 2840 if you’re a Globe or Touch Mobile subscriber or 334 if you’re a Smart or Talk ’n Text subscriber or 2840 if you’re a Sun Cellular subscriber. Please keep your messages down to a manageable 160 characters. You may send a series of comments using the same parameters.)