suv_guy_19 Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 Ford Motor Co. plans to unveil a new marketing campaign in March or April that works to restore consumer trust in the Dearborn automaker's products, according to Jim Farley, Ford's group vice president of marketing and communications. "The key elements are" to "restore the trust," he said Sunday, following a meeting with Ford dealers in San Francisco at the National Automobile Dealers Association's annual convention. "Our approach is very fundamental. Dealers are the key spokespersons in our process, and we're just about at the end of developing our plan," Farley said. Detroit Free Press, SAN FRANCISCO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 Detroit Free Press, SAN FRANCISCO spot the ex Toyota guy...cudos to ford for the hire Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edstock Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 Yes indeed. Been a long time coming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LincolnFan Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 Ford can win back trust by forcing dealers to be nice to customers after the transaction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 (edited) Ford can win back trust by forcing dealers to be nice to customers after the transaction. oh yeah, we are total pricks after we have your money...any hostility would never have ANYTHING to do with the customers behaviour at all.....after all, after the sale service, customer loyalty, and after warranty adjustments is of NO importance at all if one ever wants to see a customer again...who the HELL in their right MIND would EVER EVER want repeat business...that could be catastrophic in the long run and the big picture...i say SHOOT em...who needs customers anyway, all they ever are is problematic whiney moaners with their hands out demanding ridiculous deals , free oil changes for life, all wear items replaced free of charge, free pickup and delivery at their conveinience, cars washed waxed and filled at every service, birthday and Xmas gifts including A plan pricing on GT500's...all with a smile...hells bells...we are not worthy of customers, we actually all take classes in hostility, rudeness, tatsteless wardrobes and fake thankyous with bleached teeth, and im-promptu gratuitous puppy dog eye twinkles, all the time hypocritically driving a competitors car and practising cheesy "If I could would you?"closing statements in every available reflective surface admiring freshly dry cleaned tartan polyester beltless slacks and paisly ties............... Edited February 12, 2008 by Deanh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LincolnFan Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 oh yeah, we are total pricks after we have your money...any hostility would never have ANYTHING to do with the customers behaviour at all.....after all, after the sale service, customer loyalty, and after warranty adjustments is of NO importance at all if one ever wants to see a customer again...who the HELL in their right MIND would EVER EVER want repeat business...that could be catastrophic in the long run and the big picture...i say SHOOT em...who needs customers anyway, all they ever are is problematic whiney moaners with their hands out demanding ridiculous deals , free oil changes for life, all wear items replaced free of charge, free pickup and delivery at their conveinience, cars washed waxed and filled at every service, birthday and Xmas gifts including A plan pricing on GT500's...all with a smile...hells bells...we are not worthy of customers, we actually all take classes in hostility, rudeness, tatsteless wardrobes and fake thankyous with bleached teeth, and im-promptu gratuitous puppy dog eye twinkles, all the time hypocritically driving a competitors car and practising cheesy "If I could would you?"closing statements in every available reflective surface admiring freshly dry cleaned tartan polyester beltless slacks and paisly ties............... I don't get it, why are you damage controlling if you work for a good dealer? It's obvious I was talking about the horrendous dealers who made Ford lose thousands of sales because of their ignorance and short-sighted profit plans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 I don't get it, why are you damage controlling if you work for a good dealer? It's obvious I was talking about the horrendous dealers who made Ford lose thousands of sales because of their ignorance and short-sighted profit plans. was just havin fun with a sweepin statement Linc...never took offense...but remember...WE are the anti-christ.....addendums and all....LOL!...personally half of my customers i consider good friends, if it wasn't for their and other return business i would DEFINITELY find abuse elsewhere.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LincolnFan Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 (edited) was just havin fun with a sweepin statement Linc...never took offense...but remember...WE are the anti-christ.....addendums and all....LOL!...personally half of my customers i consider good friends, if it wasn't for their and other return business i would DEFINITELY find abuse elsewhere.... Offcourse you are, although I am not sure about the anti-christ, but point taken. "The customer is always the least beneficent", that's a rule to live by. Edited February 12, 2008 by LincolnFan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Offcourse you are, "The customer is always the least beneficent". That's a rule to live by. irrespective of my choice of pro-fession, I'm a big beleiver in treating people the same way I would like to be treated in the same situation....unfortunately some can never be appeased....and it goes both ways....theres good and bad both from a customer and dealer standpoint... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blksn8k2 Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 That was a joke? Damn, I thought you were serious. Sounded pretty realistic to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMDEE Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 Joke or not, there's a genuine point that needs to be addressed. Ford is not going to be able to restore trust with ads. I don't doubt that a lot of dealers do all the good things Deanh mentions, but those aren't the things move me to or away from Ford dealerships. I have been buying Ford and Lincoln products, among others, for many years, but I find I have swallow hard and force myself to even walk into a car dealership. I don't ask a lot. If the dealerships just had a few sales people, or a salesmanager, who liked cars and were knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the products they are selling, I'd be thrilled and go home happy with a new car every time. But it's almost impossible to get this most basic kind of satisfaction. The salespeople seldom seem to know the difference between a Fusion and a Focus, or for years at Lincoln, the difference between a Town Car and an LS. The salesmanagers only seem interested in "the deal." They run this ridiculous routine in which they drag out the customer's time at the dealership, hustling him back and forth between the salesperson and the sales manager, with one never seeming able to back up what is offered by the other. The game seems to be to wear the customer down until he signs something undesirable just to get out of there. How about training the salespeople in depth about the products, and testing their knowledge and sales skills before turning them loose on customers? Maybe try teaching them to just show a little respect for the customer, to listen to the customers interests and needs... and cut out the "hustle" with salesmanager/closer. And finally, make it a practice to fire any service writer who knowingly pads a repair bill. It really isn't much more difficult than this. But I have yet to find a dealership that isn't at fault in at least one of these areas. And this isn't limited to Ford and Lincoln dealers. You get much the same crap from Toyota, Honda, GM, Chrysler etc. In my experience, only Lexus and some Mercedes dealerships do better. I really hope I've just had an unusual run of bad luck and that car dealers are better elsewhere in the country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 Joke or not, there's a genuine point that needs to be addressed. Ford is not going to be able to restore trust with ads. I don't doubt that a lot of dealers do all the good things Deanh mentions, but those aren't the things move me to or away from Ford dealerships. I have been buying Ford and Lincoln products, among others, for many years, but I find I have swallow hard and force myself to even walk into a car dealership. I don't ask a lot. If the dealerships just had a few sales people, or a salesmanager, who liked cars and were knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the products they are selling, I'd be thrilled and go home happy with a new car every time. But it's almost impossible to get this most basic kind of satisfaction. The salespeople seldom seem to know the difference between a Fusion and a Focus, or for years at Lincoln, the difference between a Town Car and an LS. The salesmanagers only seem interested in "the deal." They run this ridiculous routine in which they drag out the customer's time at the dealership, hustling him back and forth between the salesperson and the sales manager, with one never seeming able to back up what is offered by the other. The game seems to be to wear the customer down until he signs something undesirable just to get out of there. How about training the salespeople in depth about the products, and testing their knowledge and sales skills before turning them loose on customers? Maybe try teaching them to just show a little respect for the customer, to listen to the customers interests and needs... and cut out the "hustle" with salesmanager/closer. And finally, make it a practice to fire any service writer who knowingly pads a repair bill. It really isn't much more difficult than this. But I have yet to find a dealership that isn't at fault in at least one of these areas. And this isn't limited to Ford and Lincoln dealers. You get much the same crap from Toyota, Honda, GM, Chrysler etc. In my experience, only Lexus and some Mercedes dealerships do better. I really hope I've just had an unusual run of bad luck and that car dealers are better elsewhere in the country. I agree.....I wish the salespeople would be more educated about the products they're selling. I find it annoying (but funny) when I have to tell the salesperson features of the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANTAUS Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 So, "How you driven a Ford, lately?" Maybe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford??-LOL! Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 So the Toyota trained guy will finally show Ford how to market and sell cars AND make a profit............ Well, he learnt from the best so there is hope for Ford!! :hysterical: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ovaltine Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 I agree.....I wish the salespeople would be more educated about the products they're selling. I find it annoying (but funny) when I have to tell the salesperson features of the car. Yes.... Ford (and ALL dealers for that matter) need more people like THIS guy (Merlin) on staff.... http://youtube.com/watch?v=WpNIR4ZcAYU http://youtube.com/watch?v=_HRswibSK0U -Ovaltine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suv_guy_19 Posted February 13, 2008 Author Share Posted February 13, 2008 So the Toyota trained guy will finally show Ford how to market and sell cars AND make a profit............ Well, he learnt from the best so there is hope for Ford!! :hysterical: Yeah, he also learned when to jump ship appearantly..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 So the Toyota trained guy will finally show Ford how to market and sell cars AND make a profit............ Well, he learnt from the best so there is hope for Ford!! :hysterical: Yes, he did learn from the best: "Farley attended Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where he earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and computer science, and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he completed his MBA with a focus in finance." No Japanese universities there. :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 So the Toyota trained guy will finally show Ford how to market and sell cars AND make a profit............ Well, he learnt from the best so there is hope for Ford!! :hysterical: your mother would be proud...only child? the village called they want their Idiot back..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlhm5 Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 Ford's reputation in a large part is formed by the relationship between the dealer and the customer. Hard to see how Ford corporate is going to control that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 Ford's reputation in a large part is formed by the relationship between the dealer and the customer. Hard to see how Ford corporate is going to control that. they can't, you are 100%....comes down to personel and personel only, however there is a really BAD situation happening of current, employee turnover is as high as I have ever seen it, new sales people are coming in for 23 months then leaving realizing that one cannot survive on commision. My guess is that the current state of the economy, housing market may be to blame, and experienced salespeople are looking to survive elsewhere. Truth be told, i honestly cannot fathom how people can afford $850 month car payments on their 50k purchases, plus gas, plus insurance plus plus plus, BEFORE rent/ mortgage. My beleif is the downpaymnet or cash was comuing from equity lines on houses they are now struggling to keep. Thus the slow sales and loss of salespeople with true knowledge....and IT IS NOT JUST FORD, you research your car like crazy to be greeted by a pie eyed new hire that has to refer to an encyclopedia brittanica when asked a seemingly simple question...DEFINITELY a reflection of the current times.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron W. Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 (edited) Dean, it's not just the sales people that have a high turn over rate. Last dealership I worked at (5 1/2 years, it folded) we went through 5 service managers, 5 sales managers and 4 F&I managers in that amount of time. The only reason we didn't have a high turn over as far as the techs went was because they were given a 40 hour flat rate guarantee. Now you and I both know Ford does not control the pay for dealership employees, but the dealerships took a big hit when Ford (Jac the knife) cut all warranty reimbursement times roughly 30% in 1999 and the dealer principals are dong their best to keep good personel on board but like any company they have to show a profit or eventually fold. I was the parts manager and for the last year I was also the warranty administrator, some of these labor op reimbursment times are just not possible so the techs take "short cuts" which drops the quality of repair, customer comes back with the same problem. Now on some repairs Ford tells the techs to take shortcuts, P0401 (02m01) change the DPFE don't bother with any diagnosis, 6.0L EGR valve, clean and reinstall don't replace, and the customer is back at the dealership upset the problem has reoccured and of course it's the dealerships fault not Fords. Does Ford need to regain the consumers trust, you bet, would eliminating flat rate pay scale for warranty reimbursement help, you bet. Unfortunatly I don't have a better idea as to how Ford could "moniter" the warranty repairs being made but I do know that Fords 126 report has put some dealerships in a position that they won't even claim "M" time when it's justified. Happy dealers = happy employees = happy customers. p.s. please excuse the bad spelling, in a hurry. Edited February 13, 2008 by Ron W. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 Dean, it's not just the sales people that have a high turn over rate. Last dealership I worked at (5 1/2 years, it folded) we went through 5 service managers, 5 sales managers and 4 F&I managers in that amount of time. The only reason we didn't have a high turn over as far as the techs went was because they were given a 40 hour flat rate guarantee. Now you and I both know Ford does not control the pay for dealership employees, but the dealerships took a big hit when Ford (Jac the knife) cut all warranty reimbursement times roughly 30% in 1999 and the dealer principals are dong their best to keep good personel on board but like any company they have to show a profit or eventually fold. I was the parts manager and for the last year I was also the warranty administrator, some of these labor op reimbursment times are just not possible so the techs take "short cuts" which drops the quality of repair, customer comes back with the same problem. Now on some repairs Ford tells the techs to take shortcuts, P0401 (02m01) change the DPFE don't bother with any diagnosis, 6.0L EGR valve, clean and reinstall don't replace, and the customer is back at the dealership upset the problem has reoccured and of course it's the dealerships fault not Fords. Does Ford need to regain the consumers trust, you bet, would eliminating flat rate pay scale for warranty reimbursement help, you bet. bottom line, hard to keep good people if they cannot make a living...bad thing is it reflects in certain areas the consumer places importance.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford??-LOL! Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 Yeah, he also learned when to jump ship appearantly..... He helped Toyota get to the top. He got bored and now he will assist a company that needs help badly...................Ford!! We'll see what that "traitor" does at Ford................ Yes, he did learn from the best: "Farley attended Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where he earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and computer science, and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he completed his MBA with a focus in finance." No Japanese universities there. :P Good schools right there but we all know a degree aint shit without real world experience! your mother would be proud. As a matter of fact, she is!! :happy feet: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 He helped Toyota get to the top. He got bored and now he will assist a company that needs help badly...................Ford!! We'll see what that "traitor" does at Ford................ Good schools right there but we all know a degree aint shit without real world experience! As a matter of fact, she is!! :happy feet: then you must be a chip off the old block....when did dad leave? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01FOCI Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 Was at a dealer yesterday to pick my mom up after she dropped her truck off to fix a probable injector issue (6.Oh Crap). She annoyingly went out to look at an 08' where I meet here and she salesman was gloating over the 6.4 and how much better it was than the 6.0, SOOOO I had to inform him that the 6.4 is merely a modified 6.0 that has had issues too. IE flame thrower, reversed polarity injectors from navistar, blah blah blah. He was not to happy with me, and I told him when Ford pulls their head out of their you know what and starts making their own diesel my mom would be in to buy one. So we will see you in 2010+... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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