Oh please!
It’s called new technology.
Adapt or go out of business.
The rate at which the dealership is calling you hardly qualifies as harassment or desperation. I’d classify it as good business. For all they know, you could be busy, forgetful, a flake, or all three.
You asked for information; they are trying to give you that information. Phone calls during regular hours are not rude. Repeated calls would only be rude if you had TOLD THEM TO STOP, which you have not. They can’t read your mind and know that you are playing a game with them or that you want them to stop calling you. You could, you know, answer your phone and tell them, but you aren’t. And for some reason you have decided to push the fault onto them. I find this strange.
They are neither rude nor desperate.
sachertorte: when did I ever suggest that they were rude or that I was annoyed?
I simply find it interesting that they are persistent enough to call me 8 times, despite me never answering (and again, I didn’t answer the first few times simply because I didn’t recognize the number- I NEVER answer calls if I don’t know the number).
So again, I find it interesting (hence posting in this forum). I’m neither upset with them, find them rude nor think anything, really. Yeesh.
So let’s rehash: if I recognized the number the first time, I would have answered. M’kay?
But now it is a game. A game of epic proportions!
(Not really, that’s sarcasm.)
Go ring their doorbell and run away. That would be fun too.
Nah. Too many calories burned.
You reached out to a large corporation with multiple stores expressing an interest in purchasing their product. It should not be a surprise that you’re going to receive calls from phone numbers unfamiliar to you. So pick up the phone already.
No. It’s foolishness.
If you want the quote answer the phone.
If you want them to stop calling answer the phone and tell them
If you want entertainment, find it somewhere else.
I don’t see where “game” entered the picture at all.
Wow. Do you take everything you read here seriously?
Robert Langdon: "Fellas, you called me. "
It’s not a game, you’re just being rude.
What sites like edmunds.com (and, I would imagine, the main Ford website) tell you is, if you send your contact information, dealerships will respond with availability of the model you want and give you a price quote. That’s the theory, anyway.
And that’s where the system breaks down. The dealers do not want to make it easy for you to solicit competing bids. They’re stuck in an old business model where you’ve typically got to visit the dealership and get harangued before emerging with an offer. Most people do not have the time and energy to go around visiting multiple dealerships (plus the experience is only slightly more tolerable than root canal), so they try one or two places and that’s it.
You’d think that a more consumer-friendly dealer approach would yield dividends, but they’re convinced otherwise.
What sparky! did wrong was give out his phone number. That invites trouble. Just provide an e-mail address.
“Bob! We’ve got to move that '09 model that’s been rusting on the lot by the end of the month or we lose big money! I don’t care if he didn’t respond to our first 6 or 7 messages. Call up that Internet guy again!”
I’m not being rude, silly! I’m being fun!
Have you hit upon a quiet time in your life?
It’s SPARTA!
Why yes, yes I have.
Car dealers can be dishonest assholes.
I know; i worked for a car dealership for almost a year back in the early 1990s. The main reason i quit was that there was too much pressure to be dishonest. And i don’t just mean internal conflict where i worried about the issue; i mean direct pressure from the asshole sales manager, and competitive pressure from other salespeople who were happy to be dishonest in order to get the sale. I hated almost every minute of the job, and probably should have quit earlier.
You know the one group of people that can, on occasion, give car dealers a run for their money in the dishonesty stakes? Car buyers. People buying cars can lie with the best of them. Of course, some will argue that this is merely a defense mechanism against dishonest salespeople, but that’s simply not always the case, and it doesn’t change the fact that plenty of buyers are just as dishonest as the people they’re buying from.
mhendo, do you mean lookie-loos? I don’t see how car buyers could otherwise lie, unless it’s about income requirements and such.
They lie all the time.
“I was quoted $X for this car down the street.”
“I don’t have a trade-in.”
“My trade-in is perfect, and those are all highway miles.”
“I’ll think about this over lunch and call back.”
Yep, this is exactly the sort of thing i was talking about.
I’ve seen scenarios like this happen plenty of times:
Customer: “I was hoping to get $5000 for my trade, and you’ve only offered me $4500”
Salesdude: “If i can get you $5000, would we have a deal.”
Customer: “Sure.”
Salesdude: “OK, we’ll give you $5000.”
Customer: “Actually, i need to think about it. I’ll get back to you tomorrow.” [takes offer down the street to the next dealer and says, "Look, they offered me $5000 for my trade in; can you guys do better?]
I’ve had root canals, and I’ve bought cars. On the whole, I’d rather have a root canal, at least I get numbing drugs beforehand.
Also, I’d never, ever give out a phone number. I’d give my spamcatcher email address, not the one I use for real emails. Especially since I usually sleep during the day.
Ohhh I see. Wouldn’t 1-3 be able to be disproved though - just by sheer # of years owned versus mileage, and by calling the other dealership? And why would they lie about having a trade in in the first place, so they could sell privately or…?