great op/ed.
The dealer where I live is not very good. They had a great motoring advisor. He knew you when you called and always had a answer for your question. They let him go to hire some who knows nothing about MINI's or cars. There is more to that story but I won't go into why she was hired. They also had a couple of sales people that were great. Both loved the brand, I bought my MINI from one. they are both gone. I have sent friends to this dealer and get the same report,all they care about is the sale.
I wish I could open a dealer that would cater to the people that like the brand. A place where after the sale they would be welcomed backed for all there needs. I know it would work.
Sorry about the rant. But when this dealer first opened it was a great place now I hate going in it. Its part of a BMW dealership so I'm in there a lot for parts(three teen drivers two with older BMW I keep running) The parts dep. is still good but thats about all I can say.
I can only speak for the attitude at my dealer which I find to be most satisfying. The sales people are always glad to see me and moreover they are quite knowledgable.
No doubt there are differences among dealers. Because of so few, I suppose some dealers don't care about good customer relations, knowing that often competition can be many miles distant.
One would hope that MINI runs checks on their dealers, but any penalty for poor performance that could hurt sales would be avoided, so how much control does MINI dare excercise. My dealer runs its own quality survey among its customers. Don't know if this goes to MINI or stays with the dealer. But its a sign that my dealer cares.
If this is really a problem, maybe MA should conduct a survey of dealer satisfaction among its members and report it to MINI for consideration. I don't really think, however, that it is a significant problem.
I went to a different state to buy my MINI. That's how terrible they were locally.
Luckily that same dealer became my home service dept for the next two years. They were fantastic. The service folks cared. It kept me coming back.
The salespeople slid downhill though. They got slimier and pushy. I once parked in customer parking to go to the parts dept. I was intercepted by a sales guy who wanted to know if I was ready to swap out my old MINI for a new one. My MINI was 18 months old... I told him I wasn't interested and I was going to the parts dept. He stood in my way and told me that I parked in customer parking not parts parking and I should move my car. I walked passed the guy and went in anyway. I bitched to the sales manager but I don't think anything was ever done. It was all about the $$$. Make sales kick the customer to the curb.
I lucked out after my move. The local MINI dealer here gets it. Good service and sales staff. Buddy of mine (Denizen) just picked his MINI up and had a great sales experience.
