Captainp4 Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 I think he'd be better off acting as a customer on both buying the vehicle and then trying to have service work done without the dealership knowing its him. Just him going up on his own without any cameras or anything and going through all the crap that we have to go through to try to get any type of warranty work done. (and then the 8 times you have to take it back because they don't do it right) The problem with him visiting with media attention is the dealers will want to look their best and make it seem like the best thing ever because they'll know who he is. He needs to go incognito and then report his findings, I think it would be pretty cool if he did that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 Mr Jensen, no body can learn a trade in such a short time. Although it seems like and might be a good idea for the king to mingle among the peasents for a day or two will he really learn enough to make a informed decision? He may just be there to observe... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 I think he'd be better off acting as a customer on both buying the vehicle and then trying to have service work done without the dealership knowing its him. Just him going up on his own without any cameras or anything and going through all the crap that we have to go through to try to get any type of warranty work done. (and then the 8 times you have to take it back because they don't do it right) The problem with him visiting with media attention is the dealers will want to look their best and make it seem like the best thing ever because they'll know who he is. He needs to go incognito and then report his findings, I think it would be pretty cool if he did that. totally disagree, then it would just be a typical secret shopper BS ploy that riddles the salesperson with pointless product knowledge questions like cubic trunk capacity and curb weights....do we even know if he is going to sales or service, I would presume sales...they need to move product and an outside non bias opinion will observe obvious weakness;s....then once the sales is figured out ( ie what customers REALLY want and ask for ) then work on the service weakness side... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 Yeah, I have noticed the change in many, if not most, of the L-M dealerships. They definitely look classy, as do the Jaguar-LR dealers popping up. I'm not entirely sure, but I think a lot of the LM dealership management team replaced the Ford dealership management team when Ford Motor merged the LM and Ford distribution channels in '05/'06. Some of the more progressive initiatives at LM (the new showrooms, the better customer service etc.) may make it over to Ford, in time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captainp4 Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 I think the article said sales. But whats the point? Its just going to be sugar coated and fancied up for him anyway because they're going to know who he is and there will be cameras following him around. Is it just to help him connect with salespeople? Trying to learn what the customer looks for? Just a little confused as to the point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 I think the article said sales. But whats the point? Its just going to be sugar coated and fancied up for him anyway because they're going to know who he is and there will be cameras following him around. Is it just to help him connect with salespeople? Trying to learn what the customer looks for? Just a little confused as to the point. I am a little as well, and as mentioned beforehand 1 day is not long enough, thats why I think it wreeks of a PR stunt, but any good press is a bit of a change for anything Ford lately, that said though is he may just observe the obstacles and objections personell endure....hopefully he will realize his first priority should be to build/ supply product that people actually desire, NOT try and buy customers with subveened interest rates and rebates... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 I'm not entirely sure, but I think a lot of the LM dealership management team replaced the Ford dealership management team when Ford Motor merged the LM and Ford distribution channels in '05/'06. Some of the more progressive initiatives at LM (the new showrooms, the better customer service etc.) may make it over to Ford, in time. only quirk there is Lincoln sells how many cars????? If you only have to take care of 5 customers one can be a lot more accomodating than 125... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 I am a little as well, and as mentioned beforehand 1 day is not long enough, thats why I think it wreeks of a PR stunt, but any good press is a bit of a change for anything Ford lately, that said though is he may just observe the obstacles and objections personell endure....hopefully he will realize his first priority should be to build/ supply product that people actually desire, NOT try and buy customers with subveened interest rates and rebates... Well, being CEO of such a large company, I doubt he has the TIME to spend more than 1 day on this. It would be interesting to see if he assembles a team that will travel the country visiting multiple dealers and reporting directly to him though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 only quirk there is Lincoln sells how many cars????? If you only have to take care of 5 customers one can be a lot more accomodating than 125... Well, assuming that you're staffed appropriately.................. I don't believe that there are a significantly higher number of employees to customers at LM dealers, as there are far fewer of these dealers, and they are generally smaller as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xr7g428 Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 Mullaly will seek to understand the mechanics of buying a new Ford. He will look for systemic changes that can be implemented across the board to make the process more palatable. Shouldn't spending this much money be fun? If you have ever ordered a car from a Ford dealership, you know that there are a variety of different pieces of paper of unknown merit that you are asked to sign or approve. The relative merit of these documents only becomes important when something goes wrong. Just talk to any customer that has ordered a new Mustang GT. The process is filled with mystery. Why should consumers have to learn about the intricacies of the allocation system in order to determine if the dealer will actually be able to get the car built in reasonable period of time? There is also the slimmest chance that Mullaly will also discover a huge strategic advantage that the domestics have left untouched... the ability to build to order, and deliver in a reasonable time. Just try to special order a BMW or Toyota. Regardless of the outcome, at least Mullaly is extending the olive branch to the dealer base and sending the message that they are a part of the Ford team, not the enemy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 there are a variety of different pieces of paper of unknown merit This is because there are a variety of different lawyers of unknown merit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96 Pony Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 (edited) Unbelievable. This guy is making the effort to go out to a dealer and measure what it is that customers like/dislike about Ford and people immediatly bitch that it's not enough, or that he should do somebody elses job in the service dept/on the line :blah: :blah: :blah: This action on his part is part of the process for a former aircraft executive to learn more about the car industry in which he doesn't have experience. I give him a lot of credit for leaving the glass house and going out to try and get an idea of what Ford needs to do to gain or retain customer loyalty. As somebody else said earlier this isn't about the employees. This is about the customer who is the most important aspect of any Ford turnaround . I know that may come as a shock to some but . . . HELLO!!!! Edited February 6, 2007 by 96 Pony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captainp4 Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 I don't think anyone was complaining or asking for more. Just simply questioning what he intended to gain from it, especially since its only 1 day and it will most likely be sugar coated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 Well, being CEO of such a large company, I doubt he has the TIME to spend more than 1 day on this. It would be interesting to see if he assembles a team that will travel the country visiting multiple dealers and reporting directly to him though. that scenario has all sorts of weakness's....sometimes those in the team have a tendency to report and say what they think the leader wants to hear..aka a$$ kissing yes men...and Ford has plenty of experience in THAT department..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 Unbelievable. This guy is making the effort to go out to a dealer and measure what it is that customers like/dislike about Ford and people immediatly bitch that it's not enough, or that he should do somebody elses job in the service dept/on the line :blah: :blah: :blah: This action on his part is part of the process for a former aircraft executive to learn more about the car industry in which he doesn't have experience. I give him a lot of credit for leaving the glass house and going out to try and get an idea of what Ford needs to do to gain or retain customer loyalty. As somebody else said earlier this isn't about the employees. This is about the customer who is the most important aspect of any Ford turnaround . I know that may come as a shock to some but . . . HELLO!!!! ON THE MONEY... I think it is a VERY positive move on his behalf....has NOTHING to do with employees own job gripes/ satisfaction....one can learn a LOT more with a hands on approach than word of mouth from others just telling on what they think you want to hear... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 (edited) Mullaly will seek to understand the mechanics of buying a new Ford. He will look for systemic changes that can be implemented across the board to make the process more palatable. Shouldn't spending this much money be fun? If you have ever ordered a car from a Ford dealership, you know that there are a variety of different pieces of paper of unknown merit that you are asked to sign or approve. The relative merit of these documents only becomes important when something goes wrong. Just talk to any customer that has ordered a new Mustang GT. The process is filled with mystery. Why should consumers have to learn about the intricacies of the allocation system in order to determine if the dealer will actually be able to get the car built in reasonable period of time? There is also the slimmest chance that Mullaly will also discover a huge strategic advantage that the domestics have left untouched... the ability to build to order, and deliver in a reasonable time. Just try to special order a BMW or Toyota. Regardless of the outcome, at least Mullaly is extending the olive branch to the dealer base and sending the message that they are a part of the Ford team, not the enemy. never seen a piece of paper to sign on a factory order..in 18 years. And the ability to build said "custom" vehicles is one of Fords major problems....if you have 300 different ways of ordering a vehicle , the potential customer has 299 ways to say no, and the chances of finding ones DREAM vehicle are zip and none, and beleive me...the days of customer compromise are gone....as are old school practices of ..( hate this cliche ) " Could I make you color blind for the right price..." I say build em 3 ways ...THAT"S IT...that strategy has obviously been doing well for both of the franchaises some on these threads hold in such high regard ( bordering on cult status ) aka Honda and Toyota. Instead....we get such clap trap as King Ranch ( bench or quad buckets sir? ) FX4, Xlt Sport, XLT, Xlt two tone, Lariats, camper packages, chrome packages, wheel tire and Limited slip options....not to mention engine trans, moonroofs , mirrors etc etc etc ...and that is just on the Superdutys...... Edited February 6, 2007 by Deanh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 that scenario has all sorts of weakness's....sometimes those in the team have a tendency to report and say what they think the leader wants to hear..aka a$$ kissing yes men...and Ford has plenty of experience in THAT department..... True, but if Mullaly's actions of late reflect at all on how he would assemble a team, it would appear as though he'd see right through yes-men and promptly get rid of them...at least that would be my hope. My point by saying reporting directly to Mullaly though is that there wouldn't be any middle management screw-ups to fog the message. -------------- Instead of this: Investigator reports to Team Leader: "This is the exact problem at X dealership that NEEDS to be addressed immediately." Team Leader reports to Lower Manager: "There's a problem at X dealership we should fix." Lower Manager reports to Middle Manager: "Somebody said something about checking into a dealer about a problem." Middle Manager reports to Upper Manager: "We should check on our dealers for problems." Upper Manager reports to Top Management: "I didn't get any specifics, but we have concerns about how our dealers are operating." Top Management forms policy: "We will send more investigators to study operations at our dealers." ----------- We get this: Investigator reports to Top Management: "This is the exact problem at X dealership that NEEDS to be addressed immediately." Top Management forms policy: "We will fix the exact problem at X dealership and we will address it immediately." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSFan00 Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 He's already doing product planning based on his feelings, so he might as well do retail and distribution based on his personal judgment too. Great industrialists have generally been good at one thing; finding good subordinates. Make no mistake about it; at Boeing, the divisional VP/P's were the ones who engineered/planned/led the Boeing Commercial Aircraft turn-around, and integration of McD operations/assets, not the corporate office. AM is a good guy, but he is not a great guy for Ford Motor Company. I think his greatest personal contribution to Boeing was moving the corporate office to Chicago, to make sure it wasn't too beholden to defense vs. commercial divisions (D: St. Louis, C: Washington). That, ladies and gentlemen, was ego-driven. He got the major cities bidding for the relocation to kiss his/his staff's derrierre for 18 months, then moved Boeing's tiny corporate office half-way across the country for no real competitive/practical advantage. It was costly, motivated by a desire for press/ego-assurance, and acheived not one business purpose. Welcome to salesman Mulally-world, and welcome back Taurus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 True, but if Mullaly's actions of late reflect at all on how he would assemble a team, it would appear as though he'd see right through yes-men and promptly get rid of them...at least that would be my hope. My point by saying reporting directly to Mullaly though is that there wouldn't be any middle management screw-ups to fog the message. -------------- Instead of this: Investigator reports to Team Leader: "This is the exact problem at X dealership that NEEDS to be addressed immediately." Team Leader reports to Lower Manager: "There's a problem at X dealership we should fix." Lower Manager reports to Middle Manager: "Somebody said something about checking into a dealer about a problem." Middle Manager reports to Upper Manager: "We should check on our dealers for problems." Upper Manager reports to Top Management: "I didn't get any specifics, but we have concerns about how our dealers are operating." Top Management forms policy: "We will send more investigators to study operations at our dealers." ----------- We get this: Investigator reports to Top Management: "This is the exact problem at X dealership that NEEDS to be addressed immediately." Top Management forms policy: "We will fix the exact problem at X dealership and we will address it immediately." I don't think problems at the dealership level are truley the root of the problems....Product is....right now a majority is bland understyled boring boat anchors, sure there are problems, but number one prority should be / IS getting the customer TO the dealership....THEN start working on the rest... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 I don't think problems at the dealership level are truley the root of the problems....Product is....right now a majority is bland understyled boring boat anchors, sure there are problems, but number one prority should be / IS getting the customer TO the dealership....THEN start working on the rest... Yes, but product can change relatively quickly. Changing things wrong with dealers is going to be a long and painful process, and there IS plenty wrong with them. The sooner they start moving to improve dealer service, the better off they'll be. It's no longer a matter of fixing what's MOST broken at Ford. They need to fix ALL of it, and they need to do it as quickly as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 Yes, but product can change relatively quickly. Changing things wrong with dealers is going to be a long and painful process, and there IS plenty wrong with them. The sooner they start moving to improve dealer service, the better off they'll be. It's no longer a matter of fixing what's MOST broken at Ford. They need to fix ALL of it, and they need to do it as quickly as possible. not necessarily....dealership personel, at least in the sales dept has become a rotating door due to lack of generated income which is a natural bi-product of lack of the publics interest in Fords line-up. We cannot keep good people anymore, my survival has become TOTALLY dependent on repeat loyal business, but lack of floor traffic has seen our best sales people leave.....if product brings people in and sales increase perhaps our sales force will also improve...vicious circle I tell ya Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford Jellymoulds Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 Yes, but product can change relatively quickly. Changing things wrong with dealers is going to be a long and painful process, and there IS plenty wrong with them. The sooner they start moving to improve dealer service, the better off they'll be. It's no longer a matter of fixing what's MOST broken at Ford. They need to fix ALL of it, and they need to do it as quickly as possible. What Ford need are some decent cars that people want to buy, not flashy showrooms, l have not been into a UK Ford showroom since the late eighties and l am a Ford man to the core, due to dull boring and very BLAND range or cars that we have to suffer with in the UK at the moment, which are so dull it's turning our youngster into eco warriors. Its not a flashy logo signs that attracted me. Ford like McDonalds is becoming fast becoming a new 4 letter swear word with the UK's youth, a big new flash neon logo would probably get a brick thrown at it in the UK by some eco warrior. When l was a youth all l wanted to was get behind the wheel of a CLASSIC Ford, so what's gone wrong with the Fords of today DULL BLAND & BORING. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 What Ford need are some decent cars that people want to buy, not flashy showrooms, l have not been into a UK Ford showroom since the late eighties and l am a Ford man to the core, due to dull boring and very BLAND range or cars that we have to suffer with in the UK at the moment, which are so dull it's turning our youngster into eco warriors. Its not a flashy logo signs that attracted me.Ford like McDonalds is becoming fast becoming a new 4 letter swear word with the UK's youth, a big new flash neon logo would probably get a brick thrown at it in the UK by some eco warrior. When l was a youth all l wanted to was get behind the wheel of a CLASSIC Ford, so what's gone wrong with the Fords of today DULL BLAND & BORING. Like I said, they NEED to do BOTH. It's not a matter of "this or that" with Ford's revival. They can't get a stable full of hot vehicles and let inexperienced inept staff sell them out of a building that's borderlining on being condemned. Likewise, they can't have boring crap collecting dust in a well-maintained, inviting showroom filled with helpful, knowledgable staff either. It needs to happen in tandem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 Like I said, they NEED to do BOTH. It's not a matter of "this or that" with Ford's revival. They can't get a stable full of hot vehicles and let inexperienced inept staff sell them out of a building that's borderlining on being condemned. Likewise, they can't have boring crap collecting dust in a well-maintained, inviting showroom filled with helpful, knowledgable staff either. It needs to happen in tandem. I would buy a superb product from a barn before sub-par product at a marble and brass lined monolith with an on site Starbucks...first things first..product to generate the income to refurbish....expecting Dealers to foot multi million refurbishments whilst not generating income/ moving product won't work.... irrespective of Fords participation in upgrade costs.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 My dealership just went through a major renovation. That looks fantastic! Still a lack of any greenery though. Hmm... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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