An epilogue to the tale of three car dealerships…

In my last post, I wrote about my experiences at three car dealers, all of whom sold the same brand of vehicles. I purposely omitted a common thread between the three because it deserved a post all to its own. Here are my concluding thoughts on the experience:

Recently, I made one of the better phone calls you can make. It was a call of praise. I called the customer relations for my new car manufacturer and told them about my car buying experience. The dealer I ultimately bought the car from was so wonderful, I felt compelled to tell the manufacturer about it. Why was I compelled? It’s an easy answer - they earned my trust.

Wow, a car dealership that earned my trust. Not a phrase you can say very often. As businesspeople we can never underestimate or forget the power of trust. A prospect who trusts you will become a loyal customer. In thinking about the other dealers, trust or lack thereof, was the reason I ended up at the third dealership.

The local dealer lost my trust when he proclaimed there were no cars available in all of America. What a ridiculous statement. This is the modern age. I have a computer and a phone – and I know how to use them. Don’t make statements that you can’t back up. The lesson they should have learned was that it doesn’t take long to lose trust and once it is gone…well, good luck trying to get it back!

The second dealer couldn’t even establish trust in the first place. Though at first they seem to be straight-up, once we arrived and they tried to undercut my trade by $3000 it became clear that they were shady. We did our research and we were being realistic so why would they try to play such a game? Their actions immediately put us on edge about trusting them with a business deal. Those suspicions were reconfirmed when they proclaimed that another dealer wouldn’t give the discount they were. If trying to rip-off your customers won’t establish trust then don’t expect that threats will!

So, why was the third dealer so different? The salesman was completely straightforward and spent time with us on the phone to ensure the long drive would be worthwhile. When we arrived, everything was as it was described on the phone and we came to a fair deal for both sides. The car was delivered as promised and on time. And, it doesn’t end there! The salesman has checked in with me several times to make sure everything is great with the car. The deal is done, he doesn’t have to do that but by doing so, he is continuing to build the relationship. I hope I can buy many cars from him in the future.

Now, that’s trust!!!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”