Leading MINI website MotoringFile has an opinion piece on the difference of respect held for customer satisfaction between the MINI we don’t see, head office, engineers and the like and MINI’s public face, its dealers:
This week I had the chance to hang out with some folks who work at the dealership level, and I had a completely different experience. Frankly, I was more than a little shocked. In short, most of them were all about the money. During our entire conversation, not once did I hear any of them mention customer service, or think that one thing or another would be better for the customer. Customers simply didn’t come up. Their only concern was how they were going to sell cars.
We see this as a much bigger picture than just the MINI brand. Indeed, AUSmotive’s experience with our local MINI Garage, Rolfe Classic in Canberra, both as a former customer and motoring hack, has been nothing short of excellent.
What’s interesting here is the disconnect reported by MotoringFile between the wishes and desires of head office—where customer satisfaction is key—and the dealer in question where the focus was not so much on the people, but more the numbers of units sold.
Of course, all manufacturers want to sell more cars year on year. Yet MINI positions itself as a lifestyle brand where the focus is on fun. Customers are right to expect the brand experience to match the expectation built by MINI’s generally excellent marketing.
As we said, this is not just an issue concerning MINI. I’m sure all readers will have horror stories from dealerships of all persuasions. And when you do find a dealer who treats you with respect and gives good service, pre and post sale, you want to give them more of your business in the years ahead. It’s just a shame there seems to be so few salespeople that understand that.
[Source: MotoringFile]
