dchar

I have given Lexus of Riverside 2 weeks to follow-up and apologize for my recent experience, yet no response from them. I think it is important to let you guys know about the practices of this dealer. It's a long story, so if you want the main reason for my disgust, move down to the third paragraph. Get a cup of coffee because it's a long one...

After ending my first GS ease and starting another one at the this dealer, I was unable to give good ratings on a survey for my salesman due to his rude attitude and lack of care to make the experience as easy as possible. I showed up at the dealer to get a quote, and they refused to give me one because I didn't have my co-signer present even though they already have our credit info. Then after some convincing they finally gave me quote that was much higher than my previous car. Cross shopped with dealers in LA which offered much better deals (several thousands less) for the same exact car (figures that people on the four were getting). Wanted to buy from local dealer due to perks, so I contacted them and they started slandering the other dealers. Then I told them that the other dealer has the car and I will go down to buy it there. They changed their tune immediately and said they will match it since they already traded with another dealer. When we arrived to the dealer, none of the paperwork was started even though they had most of our info on record. We waited for 3 hours, while salesman was on his phone, for them to finally get us into the finance office. When we got in, the finance person was confused and didn't know what was going on. Spent another hour signing paperwork. When we finally finished, the dealer had been closed and the salesman rushed us out the door without thanking us for our business. Buying a car should not take 4 hours, especially if the deal was already made.

Even though I wasn't able to give a good rating on the survey, I returned to the dealer again to purchase another Lexus (ES350 for the mom) in hopes of having a better experience with a different salesman. After haggling a bit, the salesman brought a copy of the survey and stated, "My manager says we cannot come any lower on the price due to your past survey. Your survey really hurt us so we need a way to make up for the loss." Punishing a customer for their survey is a low blow. No follow-up was made after they received the survey to find out reasons for mediocre ratings. As I let the salesman know about my disappointment and disgust, the sales general manager (Mark Marchant) finally came out and started yelling and lecturing me. "Young man, you wouldn't be driving your GS if it wasn't for me and your salesman. How can you give us a bad survey after we got you such a good deal? Your deal was one of the worst for my dealer. I trusted that you would give my salesman a good review and you didn't. My salesman lost his holiday bonus because of you and your survey. It seems like we can't please customers like you." He didn't allow me to explain before he told us to leave and stormed off. He seemed to be set on getting revenge and teaching me a lesson. When I got a quote from a different dealer that was a couple thousand less, on a similar car, he started slandering the other dealer saying that it was a trick and too good to be true. Went down to the other dealer and picked up the car for the deal I wanted. It is obvious that the sales GM had an agenda to rip us off by using the past survey as ammunition. When I brought my experience to the attention of the GM for the dealer, she ignored the email, and a different personnel at the dealer had to get a response over the incident for me. She told the personnel to tell me that she "did not agree with my statements and therefore we would need to agree to disagree." No follow-up, apology, or desire to investigate the situation. I have never encountered so many rude managers in my life. They treat their loyal, returning customers like trash after one little survey. Be careful what you say on their surveys because they are not anonymous and can be used against you when you try to be honest. Dealer does not represent the Lexus reputation for excellence. Other dealers provide more competitive pricing and better inventory. After 2 bad experiences and how they were handled I cannot recommend buying a car here. Customer service from the dealership is horrible. They are not honest and "play games" to make you pay more.

I'm not mad that they didn't give me a deal the third time, I'm mad about the reason and the attitude of the sales GM and the dealer GM. They could've just not go any lower and let me leave, but they wanted to harass me about the survey to make a point. Do you guys think what they did was right? Do I have the right to give an honest response on surveys? Do you guys think that I am at least entitled to an apology?

Sorry for the long rant, but I felt you guys should know about how Lexus of Riverside does business with loyal customers. I don't expect to receive any compensation, just a sincere apology.

chromedome

Saw your post over at the 4GS forum too.

I know we're hearing only from one side, but any dealer with poor survey results should be apologizing to the customer and reprimanding the salesperson, not the other way around. Talk about shooting your own foot.

dchar

Had to post it there too since it involves both GS and ES buying experience, and so both forums can see it just in case some GS people don't read the ES forum.

The thing is, it wasn't like I gave them 1 or 2 out of 10 on the survey. It was mostly 8 and a 6, which I think is pretty generous. Lexus is known for their exceptional customer service, so the behavior exhibited by this dealer is unacceptable.

Gatriel

Contact Lexus North America.

After you contact Lexus North America, copy/paste Marchant in the email, and let him know you are escalating the situation.

Give Thousand Oaks Lexus a shot next time. Its a drive from Riverside, but they always seemed professional when I was comparison shopping back in 2011 between the G37 and IS 350.

A320pilot

iTrader: (1)

I have purchased many of my cars from my former dealer. My last experience was a shocking one that resulted in my purchase survey to give low ratings. I have no guilt when I'm spending 50,000 + dollars to express my feelings.
Like you said, if they can't make the deal happen, let you walk away.

Mike728

I think you're referring to the dealer right down the street from me NVL. Do you always use the same salesman, or whoever is available. I've only dealt with their service dept.,, so far, and they were great.

To the OP, I agree with Gatriel. Escalate the issue with corporate, so they're aware of the issue. I would probably never go back to them, though.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

A dealer needs 10's.
Anything under a 10 is bad for the dealer.

mspearl95

they need to earn those 10s tho.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

Indeed.

bc6152

I didn't know the importance of the survey ratings. According to the sales manager, the salesperson lost a bonus due to a poor rating. I had no idea that bonus money was tied to a survey score. If, in fact, this dealer did act in this manner, then shame on them and just the mere posting of these complaints will make positive changes at the store. If I was the owner of this Lexus dealership I'd want to know how my managers were treating customers as buyers of $45-50k cars are in the minority...

lesz

In a similar manner, the survey results related to service department experiences have a financial impact on the dealership and the service manager. While I normally use Toyota dealers for service on my Lexus vehicles, when I have gone to the Lexus dealer, the service adviser has made a point of letting me know that anything short of 10s on the surveys is not satisfactory, and I've been asked, if I was in any way not satisfied with anything, to contact the dealership and to give them a chance to make it right before giving something other than a 10 on the survey that I would be getting.

kxaz145

Gents, what is the value of a survey if 10's is the only expected/accepted outcome? This is total BS in my opinion. I bought my ES350 last May and this was my first experience with Lexus. After the deal my salesman made it a point to mention that "all 10's" would be appreciated on the survey I received. As I recall, I gave 8's and 9's which were valid in my mind. After my first service the guy mentioned that he would appreciate "all 10's, too. I was looking for a car that met my needs and was not interested in establishing a marriage of any kind. All brands have their ups and downs and I might not even choose Lexus next time. I received a very long survey from Lexus, too, that took considerable time to complete. I was honest on that one, too, and never heard another word.

FastTags

some bonuses comes from surveys. For example if they get 30 surveys at 100% for 3 months, they may get $150 bonus. It's not just about one survey. So yes, it can hurt the salesman but usually 1 survey won't. This is just an example. Every dealer has different be bus structures.