Dealer Interaction

[Black Label]

1 hour ago, FordBuyer said:

 

So what happen to Lincoln Concierge service that covered the whole experience of buying to ownership? And I believe the average Lincoln buyer is over 60 years old. Why buy a Lincoln if service is no better than average Ford dealer. I thought Lincoln would come to your house and do pick up, drop off, and give you a loaner. 

The Concierge is great. But, they are not involved in the buying process. It is the dealer's that are hit or miss. Most don't have enough loaners much of the time, but they will do the pick up service. Why do you think otherwise? 

Edited April 6, 2022 by Black Label

[akirby]

Normally you get pickup and delivery but there is a shortage of vehicles and drivers right now.  The more exclusive perks are limited to Black Label models.

[Black Label]

16 minutes ago, akirby said:

Normally you get pickup and delivery but there is a shortage of vehicles and drivers right now.  The more exclusive perks are limited to Black Label models.

Yep, you may have to schedule service weeks in advance to get that or a loaner. 

[FordBuyer]

1 hour ago, Black Label said:

The Concierge is great. But, they are not involved in the buying process. It is the dealer's that are hit or miss. Most don't have enough loaners much of the time, but they will do the pick up service. Why do you think otherwise? 

 

This thread has been mostly about poor dealer service, and more specifically Lincoln. It seems like just a few years ago Lincoln announced their concierge service with date night and all kinds of perks. Emulating Lexus in many ways.

 

It seems to me that more and more prospective buyers are being turned off by recent dealer practices and thus dropping out of new vehicle market altogether. 

 

 When you look at recent Lincoln sales irrespective of chip shortage, you would think Lincoln dealers would do everything possible to welcome prospective buyer orders and that includes A,X, and Z plans. Even before covid, Lincoln didn't have a vehicle selling over 3,000/month. 

[Black Label]

17 minutes ago, FordBuyer said:

 

This thread has been mostly about poor dealer service, and more specifically Lincoln. It seems like just a few years ago Lincoln announced their concierge service with date night and all kinds of perks. Emulating Lexus in many ways.

 

It seems to me that more and more prospective buyers are being turned off by recent dealer practices and thus dropping out of new vehicle market altogether. 

 

 When you look at recent Lincoln sales irrespective of chip shortage, you would think Lincoln dealers would do everything possible to welcome prospective buyer orders and that includes A,X, and Z plans. Even before covid, Lincoln didn't have a vehicle selling over 3,000/month. 

I agree.  I have detailed my dealer frustrations in other threads. I was just saying they WILL do the pickup/dropoff and loaners, but in typical dealer fashion, they do not purchase enough vehicles to accommodate that. And,. as detailed on this forum, Ford/Lincoln can do squat about it. I don't know for sure, smarter people here can answer, but I assume dealers can use vehicles as loaners and then sell them as demos/used vehicles later on. I drive a Navigator. Luckily, my dealer has a couple as loaners. No one else in the entire Chicago area does, at least not last summer when I was checking. 

 

For me, I have gotten results by being a squeaky wheel with the Concierge and by filling out the email survey from Lincoln about a particular dealer after I had service done. It was politely scathing. 

 

Now, the dinner experience you referenced is awesome. It comes out of your points, but I had 70,000. There is a number you call, and last year, when we did it, the gal who handles it could not be more courteous, professional, and enthusiastic about it. We ate at Eddie Merlot's in Burr Ridge, IL, and the experience was seamless. 

 

Totally agree that one would think dealers would try to provide the service of the Lincoln brand and Lincoln Way. Some do, some don't. 

[Black Label]

Another story about the Concierge affecting change and good results for me. 2 years ago, I took my BL Navigator, with its free any time car washes, to a local dealer. They basically told me maybe they could do it in a few hours. When I squawked about that, one of the service writers actually claimed the car washes were at their cost and they had no way to bill Lincoln for it, even though that is part of the cost of a Black Label. 

 

Fine. I called the Concierge, and, once again, politely yet scathingly described the incident, discussed how to that point the Lincoln experience was sucking, basically, and that I may have to go to Mercedes or someone else. Well, they must have contacted the GM because to this day, they welcome me with open arms and accommodate me very nicely. Oh, and on multiple occasions, the Concierge has confirmed that dealers do not pay for the car washes, that they do indeed get reimbursed by Lincoln. 

[FordBuyer]

47 minutes ago, Black Label said:

Another story about the Concierge affecting change and good results for me. 2 years ago, I took my BL Navigator, with its free any time car washes, to a local dealer. They basically told me maybe they could do it in a few hours. When I squawked about that, one of the service writers actually claimed the car washes were at their cost and they had no way to bill Lincoln for it, even though that is part of the cost of a Black Label. 

 

Fine. I called the Concierge, and, once again, politely yet scathingly described the incident, discussed how to that point the Lincoln experience was sucking, basically, and that I may have to go to Mercedes or someone else. Well, they must have contacted the GM because to this day, they welcome me with open arms and accommodate me very nicely. Oh, and on multiple occasions, the Concierge has confirmed that dealers do not pay for the car washes, that they do indeed get reimbursed by Lincoln. 

 

Thanks for your detailed experiences Black Label. That is unbelievable about Lincoln car washes. Blackwell Ford in MI routinely washed my Taurus after every car service and Bill Bryan Subaru in FL always washed my Crosstrek. However, my latest Ford dealer in FL will not wash my vehicle as they don't have a wash rack. Now Subaru didn't have a wash rack, but guy would hand wash it out back. Come to think of it, Porsche dealer never washed my Boxster after $200 oil change. 

[bbf2530]

1 hour ago, Black Label said:

Another story about the Concierge affecting change and good results for me. 2 years ago, I took my BL Navigator, with its free any time car washes, to a local dealer. They basically told me maybe they could do it in a few hours. When I squawked about that, one of the service writers actually claimed the car washes were at their cost and they had no way to bill Lincoln for it, even though that is part of the cost of a Black Label. 

 

Fine. I called the Concierge, and, once again, politely yet scathingly described the incident, discussed how to that point the Lincoln experience was sucking, basically, and that I may have to go to Mercedes or someone else. Well, they must have contacted the GM because to this day, they welcome me with open arms and accommodate me very nicely. Oh, and on multiple occasions, the Concierge has confirmed that dealers do not pay for the car washes, that they do indeed get reimbursed by Lincoln. 

 

HI BL. Since it is not clear (to me) whether this was a Black Label or non-Black Label Dealership you went to for the car wash, I will add this to your experiences and observations: Free anytime car washes are only a covered perk at Black Label certified Dealerships. Part of the certification process to become a  Black Label Dealer is to have a readily available car wash line or staff for Black Label customers. Non-Black Label Dealerships do not normally have the staff or facilities to provide any time/on-demand car washes.

 

So we purchase a Black Label vehicle from a Black Label certified Dealership, and we can then get free anytime car washes at any Black Label Dealership. However, non-Black Label Dealerships are not required to offer free anytime car washes. They are only required to provide car washes when we have service performed on the vehicle.

 

So if you went to a non-Black Label Dealership for a car wash, Lincoln Concierge certainly went out of their way to help you, since technically, you were not entitled to a car wash there. Unless you had service performed.

 

I know, a lot of if's and but's about what type of Lincoln Dealership it was....?

 

Good luck. 

Edited April 6, 2022 by bbf2530

[jcartwright99]

58 minutes ago, Black Label said:

I agree.  I have detailed my dealer frustrations in other threads. I was just saying they WILL do the pickup/dropoff and loaners, but in typical dealer fashion, they do not purchase enough vehicles to accommodate that. And,. as detailed on this forum, Ford/Lincoln can do squat about it. I don't know for sure, smarter people here can answer, but I assume dealers can use vehicles as loaners and then sell them as demos/used vehicles later on. I drive a Navigator. Luckily, my dealer has a couple as loaners. No one else in the entire Chicago area does, at least not last summer when I was checking. 

 

For me, I have gotten results by being a squeaky wheel with the Concierge and by filling out the email survey from Lincoln about a particular dealer after I had service done. It was politely scathing. 

 

Now, the dinner experience you referenced is awesome. It comes out of your points, but I had 70,000. There is a number you call, and last year, when we did it, the gal who handles it could not be more courteous, professional, and enthusiastic about it. We ate at Eddie Merlot's in Burr Ridge, IL, and the experience was seamless. 

 

Totally agree that one would think dealers would try to provide the service of the Lincoln brand and Lincoln Way. Some do, some don't. 

 

I'd be interested in which Lincoln dealership in the Chicago area you went to. When I had my Lincoln, I went to Napelton in Glenview. They were small but seemed ok. Having that MKZ was short lived. I seemed to go there often (hence why that ownership was short) and they diagnosed most issues I had. Each time they had me a MKC loaner. On side note, Napelton just got busted for being a crooked dealership by adding fees and charging certain demographics more than others.

 

In regards to dealerships as a whole, pre Covid it was always a mixed bag (Lincoln or otherwise). Shady practices and poor services were nothing new to the industry. However, dealerships cut a lot of their staff since inventory was down. Why have 20 sales folk when 10 will do, when you are only able to stock 40% of what you had pre Covid? The staff that's left knows they barely have to lift a finger to get a sale now due to supply/demand. MSRP for anything other than a low selling vehicle is the floor these days. I think over the past 12 months, Americans on average are paying more than 5k over sticker.  

 

In regards to service though, I would think that each Lincoln dealership would want to do their best at service as that's the cash cow. If the management gets too cheap and doesn't want to provide the services/perks, that were sold with the Lincoln then I'd never set foot in there again. Easy for me since there seem a decent amount of dealership under an hour drive from me. Not so easy for folks that have only 1 in their area.  My view of dealership service is they get one strike, any other BS I will never go there again. 

 

So getting back to Akirby's point, I don't think there is much incentive at this time for sales staff to put much effort in responding to potential clients. I can imagine the staff that is there, is probably overwhelmed with calls/emails .Personally, I'm very surprised that X plan is being offered to him. For now, I will have to just dream of fully stocked lots with attentive sales staff.

[Black Label]

Gotta go flying guys, but @bbf2530 yes definitely a BL dealership. More later...

[bbf2530]

2 hours ago, Black Label said:

Gotta go flying guys, but @bbf2530 yes definitely a BL dealership. More later...

 

Hi BL. Then if it was Black Label Dealer, they were mistaken. A Black Label Owner can receive eligible Black Label perks at any Black Label Dealership.

 

Fly safely and good luck.

[Black Label]

8 hours ago, bbf2530 said:

 

Hi BL. Then if it was Black Label Dealer, they were mistaken. A Black Label Owner can receive eligible Black Label perks at any Black Label Dealership.

 

Fly safely and good luck.

Yep, I know and the Concierge confirmed it. That service writer is long gone. 

 

Thanks!

Edited April 7, 2022 by Black Label

[Black Label]

6 hours ago, jcartwright99 said:

 

I'd be interested in which Lincoln dealership in the Chicago area you went to. When I had my Lincoln, I went to Napelton in Glenview. They were small but seemed ok. Having that MKZ was short lived. I seemed to go there often (hence why that ownership was short) and they diagnosed most issues I had. Each time they had me a MKC loaner. On side note, Napelton just got busted for being a crooked dealership by adding fees and charging certain demographics more than others.

 

In regards to dealerships as a whole, pre Covid it was always a mixed bag (Lincoln or otherwise). Shady practices and poor services were nothing new to the industry. However, dealerships cut a lot of their staff since inventory was down. Why have 20 sales folk when 10 will do, when you are only able to stock 40% of what you had pre Covid? The staff that's left knows they barely have to lift a finger to get a sale now due to supply/demand. MSRP for anything other than a low selling vehicle is the floor these days. I think over the past 12 months, Americans on average are paying more than 5k over sticker.  

 

In regards to service though, I would think that each Lincoln dealership would want to do their best at service as that's the cash cow. If the management gets too cheap and doesn't want to provide the services/perks, that were sold with the Lincoln then I'd never set foot in there again. Easy for me since there seem a decent amount of dealership under an hour drive from me. Not so easy for folks that have only 1 in their area.  My view of dealership service is they get one strike, any other BS I will never go there again. 

 

So getting back to Akirby's point, I don't think there is much incentive at this time for sales staff to put much effort in responding to potential clients. I can imagine the staff that is there, is probably overwhelmed with calls/emails .Personally, I'm very surprised that X plan is being offered to him. For now, I will have to just dream of fully stocked lots with attentive sales staff.

My neighbor is really good friends with, and I have played with Bill Napleton. But, the dealer close to me that initially squawked about car washes was Ogden Lincoln. Fair Oaks is who I did the online survey about and who I ordered my 2022 with, even though they are 30 minutes away from me. I would do more business with Ogden but their showroom and facility is so dated and perpetually "under construction". Definitely not befitting the Lincoln name. Fair Oaks is the first Vitrine style dealership in Illinois. Very nice. 

[SoonerLS]

On 4/6/2022 at 9:44 AM, akirby said:

Well I just gave them a deposit and the sales lady told me it is on microchip hold with an eta of 4/29, which is probably too optimistic.

Wow, seven years is a heck of a lead time...