planbs4

I picked up 11'S4 2 weeks, part of my deal was to include black front plate filler. It's been 2 weeks and still no word on when it's coming. Called the sales rep, he said sometimes it takes longer since its "special order", but he has yet to contact me regarding it again. Today I emailed the GM because he sent me a email awhile back letting me know I'm going to get a survey from AoA, and if there was anything I wasn't satisfied with I should contact him first. Also called 3 local Audi dealers and they all said it takes about 2 BUSINESS days to get the filler plate in, which made me more upset. Right now I'm so fed up I rather go to different dealer and just purchase it myself and fill out the questionnaire honestly, unless the GM is willing to do more than just get me the filler plate ASAP. What would you guys do in my situation? It's the fact that they lied to me about the time it takes to get a filler plate as well as no communication update on the status that got me pissed off.

carguyrob

It could be worse...when I ordered my 2011 S4, I was told the front filler plate was no problem. They would provide one to me when my car comes in. The car came in, we closed the deal and then when they were changing over my rear plate that I didn't have the front filler plate. I asked my SA and even the Sales Mgr about it. They said they can't provide that at no charge...I would have to pay the $120-130 for it! I tried to make a big deal out of it and then decided it wasn't worth souring my brand new car purchase.

As a side note, I picked up my car 7 weeks ago and have yet to hear a peep from my dealer or AoA in any way asking about my sales experience. I am still totally shocked. I sold my fun car ('06 S2000) earlier this year. When I would bring my car in for service (at the dealer I didn't even purchase it from), I would always get a call or questionaire from both the dealer and Honda Motor Corp of America. And that was just for a friggin' oil change, not a $56K car purchase!

johnz

these survey/questionaires are extremely important to the dealer. Audi USA takes them very seriously. A good friend of mine is a sales manager for an Audi dealership and has told me if I ever have a problem to let him know first before giving the dealership a bad rating. i would let the dealership know that you are going to give them a poor rating if they are going to treat you like this. Even a satisfied rating instead of extremely satisfied can affect the dealership.

LeadToRome

They can, in a really extreme case, even lose the dealership.AoA cracks the whip hard on them and as the previous poster said,answering anything other than "Extremely Satisfied" on everything will get them in trouble.

carguyrob

So am I the only one that didn't receive any questionaire or contact from AoA or the dealer asking about satisfaction? Probably smart on their part as I don't have much nice to say about Schaumburg Audi.

The Chef.

Put it this way. As a long standing frequent Audi buyer from my local dealer with tenure and ties that go back way farther then my sales rep....my feedback contibuted at least in part to him no longer working there. It carries MEGA weight.

LeadToRome

I think my local dealer tries to cherrypick a bit. When everything goes fine I usually get a call from AoA. When there was some kind of a problem I seem to always get a call from the dealership first, seeing what you're going to say. It's possible that they don't tell AoA about services where something went wrong, just to cover themselves.

sf_loft

It carries MEGA weight and you can essentially fire the salesperson or even shutdown the dealership. Awhile ago I leased an infiniti G35 from a local dealership in Seramonte (South San Francisco). They were the closest dealer in the area and I thought I had gotten a good deal, but their finance person slipped a few things by me and after a long day at the dealership, I got tired and missed some details. I did the math later on and they were hiding costs from me and basically screwing me over. They used sleazy sales tactics, like making me sign the release papers on my trade-in before showing me the lease numbers (essentially I just signed my deed for the car over to them). He then threw in an exterior and interior protection package which seals the paint and protects the leather for life. I told him no and he said that it is a special they are running this month and that I couldn't get the APR rate if I didn't get the package. A lot of bull crap like that. I told him no and that it didn't make sense and nearly walked out and he finally gave me the APR anyways. To make a long story short, I wasn't the most experienced leaser at the time, they tweaked a few figures in their favor. I ran through the numbers and they basically got the MSRP value even when we agreed on a specific sales price. They basically adjusted all the other numbers and added misc stuff to get the price back up to get their intended profit margin.

I then called them, talked to finance manager and told him all the stuff he pulled on me. He wasn't sorry and said he'll call me back. Never returned my call and I wasn't able to get a hold of him. I then called the head manager and told him the story. The manager tells me that he is very disappointed in his finance manager and was nice enough to write me a check to make up the difference. It made me feel better at the time, but I was still not happy with how they treated me and how they continue to fleece other customers. The next day the head manager calls to inform me that I will be receiving a survey from Infiniti USA on my experience. He wanted to make sure that I am satisfied and that I give the highest score possible. I was honest and told him that I don't think I can because of how unprofessional the finance manager was. He then tells me to stop by after work to talk it over. So I stop by and he then offered to write me an $800 check on the spot if I promise to give them all 10's. I should have taken the money and given them all 1's, but I told him that I'll think about it and walked out. I got the call from infiniti and the mailed survey in which I just tore them apart. I got a call from Infiniti and they were very apologetic and will deal with the dealership appropriately. A week later I had a follow up question and called my salesperson to only find out that he no longer works there. Perhaps they made him take the fall for the negative feedback. After some time, the dealership was shutdown. I don't know if I had anything to do with it, but the fact that they were willing to offer me money for good feedback says a lot on how much weight these things carry.

The parent company will usually listen to their side of the story so that they do not get screwed over by an unreasonable customer who gave them a bad score because they didn't get floor mats for free. The fact that they offered to bribe me in addition to their sleazy sales tactics, it was really hard to argue against.

So before you write any feedback about your dealership, think it over to see if you are simply being unreasonable or selfish or did they really screw you over. You have the power to affect people's careers and I usually try to be a little forgiving for minor issues.

QUA77R0

+1
I get an email that links to a survey after EVERY visit to the dealership. These carry alot of weight since they go to AudiNA and the dealer. The dealer's performance review has a direct impact on the allotment that the dealer gets from the manufacturer. Better dealers get better cars, more colors options, models, volume, etc. A dealer that has a better/larger allotment can also get an ordered vehicle more quickly if they want by substituting your order for one of their alloted cars that are not yet built. This can cut weeks off of delivery of a custom ordered car. I recently went to the local Audi dealer to get something from the parts department... This is a dealership that I walked out of during the 6th hour of negotiation due to their terrible customer service during the process and plain rudeness that I witnessed to other customers that day. I knew by the games they were playing that this was the "tip of the iceberg" in dealing with them. I found another dealer 60 miles South that had what I wanted and was willing to treat me well. What I have noticed is that the "crappy" dealership has ZERO R8's and that the dealership that has taken great care of us and "worked" for the sale has anywhere from 3-8 R8's at any given time. I think I found the "right" dealership. This is why I always advise people to be ready to "walk" and find a sales manager that treats you how you want to be treated.

I was talking to my service manager the other day and I mentioned that the great service and treatment is what keeps me coming 60 miles South every time I need service of any kind for my Avant. I told him that like so many businesses these days, there is plenty of competition that offer the same product. What differentiates one business from another is how they treat and take care of the customer, during and after the sale. Customer service has become a mantra phrase for auto manufacturers and it is what can create or break customer loyalty so the manufacturer has a hugely vested interest in making sure that they take good care of their dealerships that represent the company and it's product line in the best manner.

planbs4

Thanks for the input guys. Whether or not I got the filler plate as part of the deal didn't affect my decision, but it was the fact that THEY said they would include it and the way they communicated with me after I bought the car. The fact that 3 dealers near by all said 2 business days and then my dealer says it can take up to couple weeks is what pissed me off.

Funny thing is, after I emailed the GM on Tuesday, his assistance emailed me later that day (GM was on vacation) saying the sales manager that dealt with me would call me that day, but he never did.