Miniman
 

Methinks the man (with the mini-man-van) has a chip on his shoulder and was looking for someone to knock it off.

The 75K in cash stunt proves it. Even if you have the cash only a _____ would walk around with it. And besides, modern car dealerships could care less how you pay for the car.

As for paying sticker for a GS430, which are fairly rare among GS' as it is, and is part of a much hotter brand than all the others mentioned, and only a few weeks into the new model, what the hell do you expect? A premier salesperson (whatever the heck that means) should know the basics of supply and demand. If they were also rude about it than that is a different matter.

my experience is much different Reverse
 

I for a few weeks having been going back and forth to both Lexus& InfinitI dealerships At Lexus., where we are repeat customers. My wife bought es3000 in 2003 from tthem. I have been trying to get rid of my 528bmw since I first bought it TOO NOISY TOO UNRELIABLE. Have gone through drives on gen 2 430 & 300, was not super impressed. I have driven m45 sport 3 times at same dealer. At last test drive I used my polorized sun glasses, and could not see video /nav screen clearly. For me it was almost deal breaker. I went back Yesterday, and was told salesman were too busy to help me. All I wanted to do was sit in m car with screen on, Having sat in floor model I sensed how the atm center stack would drive me crazy. Wierd shape , too many buttons placed in order that defies
logic. Also I could only get interior color I wanted if I ordered the sport model. Sport model uses summer tires, usless in winter snow in CT. Also wheels are 40 aspect too narrow for pot holes around here. Yes m45 is very fast with good tranny, But as bad as interior is, exteror is worse. I expect after flooring car for a few weeks novelty of v-8 would wear off. So would my pocket book with its poor fuel economy,Lexus dealer bent over backwards. gave me keys to both 430 & 300 and let me drive cars alone on roads I was familair with, I then could get true feeling about the cars. Chose
gs 300 for reasons in my post of todays date. Each dealer is different . Some have more patience than others. :thumbup: :thumbdn:

Let me summarize it this way, as my intent was not be arrogant or to have someone remove a chip from my shoulder. Also, I thought I stated a Professional Salesperson, if I said premier I miswrote. The easiest person in the world to sell is a salesman, the hardest person in the world to sell is a trained salesman.

The fact the manager called me "cheap" did not bother me. However when another salesman asked my salesman "who the hayseed was", I got a little upset. Granted I "reacted" when I should have "responded", but some of these guys just are too poorly trained to understand things unless you "draw them a picture", which the money did.

When someone walks out of your business, most people don't give it a second thought. When you see cash money leave your desk and walk right out your door, I can guarantee that you will never forget that visual image. Actually, seven, ten thousand dollar stacks fit nicely in my interior coat pockets. The cash had nothing to do with how I was going to pay for the car. I had total equity in my Denali up for trade.

I took $75k in there, because next week I will pick up a G35 I purchased for my daughter to take to college. Four years ago I told her I would buy her a new car if she received a full academic scholarship to college, which she did. They not only missed one sale, but two.

At least Lexus made an effort. I can't even say that for Mercedes or Audi.

Like I stated earlier, this is not to make anyone upset. I simply like sharing my experiences, good and bad, with others. Customer interaction has always been my best learning tool.

That is a great job by the Lexus folks. They pulled themselves away from the competition, and in turn eliminated the competition. Send the salesman or the sales manager a note thanking him for his assistance, and tell him exactly about what happened as a result of him giving you the keys. You will be amazed at the service and "extra help" you will get in the future.

Ahh this reminds me of my first experience with BMW. Couldn't get someone to wait on me at first. When I finally did the guy really didn't give me the time of day and it seemed I was wasting his time. Somehow I got past that point and 3 cars later, he's acting like my best friend and providing exceptional service (although his pricing is still not the best) and to tell you the truth, I do enjoy dealing with him now. Again this is one of those lucky cases that worked out, not all do.

I believe you should get great customer service no matter where you go and even if it's your first time, however unfortunately it does take some kissing butt on your side, to develop a relationship with a good salesperson at the dealership. Notice I said someone good, since it'll just be a waste of time dealing with a shark of salesman that you really don't like.

I have been lucky with my Lexus Dealer too, they have always treated me great from the start. 3 cars later there too, I am being offerred $2K off MSRP for the new GS430 (due to loyal and repeat customer).

I do have to agree that one bad experience at a dealership (you usually go with the one that is closest to you) will not only turn you off the dealership, but possibly to the brand too. Especially if another dealership carrying the same brand is now way out of your way. You start to think of what else you can get.

Congrats on your purchase. I've had bad expericences from dealers and good ones, including Lexus. Luckily I am in Altanta, so I could choose to try different dealers until I found the absolute incredible Hennessy Lexus of Gwinnett. (Avoid Lexus oF south Atlanta at ALL COSTS!).

I think Infiniti is going to learn a lot with the new "M" and the tier-1 luxury buyers.

These stories are so typical....
 

of how the mindset of the buyer will be confirmed by the dealership experience. Lexus is pretty good at this part of the business in general but this proves how much variation still exists. You can go to a dealer and luck out and find the person that establishes rapport easily and treats you in a friendly way and establishes trust. You can go back to the same dealership on a different day and feel ignored if they are busy for instance. It is the buyers perception that matters ultimately no matter what the situation. I have seen guests walk in and not make any eye contact with anyone trying to greet them and go up to the Lexus in the showroom and examine the sticker of one car and then another and then turn around and leave in a huff. I'm sure that they are thinking that they were rejected by their appearance or whatever. This internal dialogue is very common. My advice is ask for help, if you are not satisfied ask to speak to a sales manager and give him/her your thoughts. Donomat felt slighted and now tells us he was also ridiculed by being labelled a Hayseed. That is all the motivation needed to want to show his displeasure. Very unfortunate. I have heard many other horror stories. Lexus would like to know about the everyday experience of their guests and spends a lot of money surveying these folks. This thread has been very illuminating for me and I would welcome others to post their impressions and experiences with Lexus and others. Lexus is also reading these posts so Bring it!

dealers
 

my experience has been that the car i end up driving away has a lot to do with the dealership/sales experience. I shopped the G35 vs. A4 3 years ago, and the Infiniti dealer gave me all this crap about waiting for a month for a car to be available, and seemed generally smug with himself, whereas the Audi salesman actually wanted to make a sale, in an unobtrusive way. Went with the Audi, and 2 weeks later, i get a call from the same Infiniti salesman saying "we got the car in early, do you still want it." Point is, it totally makes a difference to me how i am treated, i won't give my money to an a-hole.

Good googly moogly
 

You've got to be kidding me on this...

A couple of points,

1> The sales experience good or bad is very temporary in relation to your experience with the car. I've delt with some real jerks simply because I knew I could drive the best deal with them. Once the car is purchased - take it somewhere else for servicing. If you bought a "G" but find out later that a "GS" would have suited your taste better - that's a shame.

2> Poor salesmanship by Lexus. That's a shame.

3> What are you trying to prove? "Premier Sales Professional", $75K in cash on the desk, taunting people who did not treat you properly, Man, it ain't worth it... Exhale some of that air out of your chest. There are way too many other things in life to enjoy other than taking joy in getting back at other people.

4> Enjoy your "G" - you paid good $$$ for the pleasure.

Eric

[QUOTE=Shogun]You've got to be kidding me on this...

A couple of points,

1> The sales experience good or bad is very temporary in relation to your experience with the car. I've delt with some real jerks simply because I knew I could drive the best deal with them. Once the car is purchased - take it somewhere else for servicing. If you bought a "G" but find out later that a "GS" would have suited your taste better - that's a shame.[QUOTE]

I have to disagree with you on this point. As a manager who interact with customers who are also managers it is very important, that I treat them all with the same level of respect. It does not matter if they represent a small business that is just starting or a fortune 500 company.

Reputations are built upon the "sales experience" for a car dealership. I literally boasted about my Lexus salesman after buying my wife's LX470. This guy went the extra mile. A bad reputation will not only hurt sales but sometimes put a company out of business. If that isn't the case then why waste money on advertisement.

Even if you don't shop at wal-mart, almost everyone believe they have the lowest prices in their market.

Lexus' corporate statement is the pursuit of perfection in the buying experience, luxurious interiors, beautiful designs, reliability, and top notch customer service after the sale. Take that away and Lexus' sells will suffer just like their competitors.

When the competition are all on the same level relationships can save the day.

I have dealt with plenty of axxhole salesmen from various brands/dealers over the years. Me and my girl friend price shopped my 98 LS (certified) and her 02 LS (new) online and dealt with only the online sales manager at each dealer. We had very limited contact with the floor salesmen, if at all. Both online purchasings proved to be much more pleasant than our past experiences. The online sales managers seem to be more professional overall. We considered the Lexus LS only. We went to our local dealership only to test drive a vehicle before we decided on the trim level. If we dont like how we are treated, we simply walk away and complain to the sales manager later. The deciding factor for us is 'the lowest offer'. We both bought our cars from out-of-state dealers who offered the best deals.

Totally agree
 

<<I have to disagree with you on this point. As a manager who interact with customers who are also managers it is very important, that I treat them all with the same level of respect. It does not matter if they represent a small business that is just starting or a fortune 500 company. >>

Absolutely, you are correct and I would bet you're able to display a great deal of humility and respect towards your clients. All sales should be handle in this manner. Lexus should have this down "pat" and it's a shame they screwed the pooch in this situation.

My point was that this gentlemen let a bad (and in the big scheme of things...temporary) sales experience possibly come between him and a product that may have better suited his tastes.

My ego loves a great salesperson - but I'm not there to get "sold" - I'm there to "buy". To that end, the product & the "deal" drives my decision. The sales equation is very temporary compared to the life of the product. If the sales experience was great then that's nice but I won't pay more $$$ (or switch to a product I like less) because of my dislike for a sales person.

Now, tell me the service dept. sucks and we've got whole 'nother situation...

Eric

Respect and humility :thumbup:

Well spoken!

QUOTE]...but I'm not there to get "sold" - I'm there to "buy"...[/QUOTE]

You sound like a person who does his homework before going shopping. Everyone should do this but most don't. They are there to be "sold" as well as "buy".

Donomat sound like a guy, after some research, who had not made up his mind at the time he went to visit the dealerships therefore the sales person played a very important part in his decision making process. In his experience, from what I've read, the Lexus salesman didn't give him a chance to prove that the GS is the best vehicle "for him."

One of the most important task of a salesman is to listen to the customer's needs and then CONVINCE him/her why his products will best meet those needs. The Lexus salesman failed to do this therefore HE lost the sale.

"New to the Lexus board as a member, but I must say that I have been trolling for quite some time."

Good post. Just letting you know that "trolling" is a pejorative term to describe yourself. I think you mean that say "lurking".