Toyota set to rectify the poor dealer experience
Toyota has one of the highest loyalty rates of any car brand, something it's earned over decades of building reliable cars and treating customers fairly. So when one of its managers hears stories similar to that of a customer of twenty years switching brands because of the poor treatment received at a dealer, you can rest assured that the carmaker's service experience will be changing, and changing fast. The plan now is to improve the whole 'Toyota experience' of buying, owning, and maintaining one of its cars. "It's a movement, not a program," explained Jack Hollis, the corporate manager with Toyota's U.S. sales subsidiary who heads the EM2 initiative - Toyota's Everything Matters Exponentially plan.
The carmaker is rapidly expanding all over the globe, but at the same time it's facing new challenges that have the potential to tarnish its reputable image. The major issues are the growing number of vehicle recalls and a jump in the level of unscrupulous dealers that are overcharging customers for routine maintenance and simple repairs. Finally, Toyota has been slipping in the latest J.D. Power Initial Quality Survey, and is now behind arch rival Honda.
Can EM2 turn Toyota back into the carmaker that allowed it to reach the number one spot? Only time will tell.
[Source: The Car Connection]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
JGN 3:35PM (6/25/2007)
Good news, I hate Toyota Dealerships. The maintenance department is an absolute rip-off. I'd like to take my Tacoma there, but I just can't justify the cost.
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paul34 3:34PM (6/25/2007)
Tell me about it. I wasn't able to rotate my tires for various reasons, so I made an appointment (on the phone), and showed up 15-20 minutes "early" just in case. "Just a tire rotation?" "yup" cool.
1 hour later, nothing.
1 1/2 hours later, nothing.
Two hours later... guy mistakes me for some other person who barely looks like me.
Two hours for a 10 minute tire rotation. I guess appointments don't make a difference, either, since I had to re-explain what I wanted done, too.
ugh.
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shong 3:47PM (6/25/2007)
Very good news, the service at every Toyota dealership I've taken my 4Runner to has been indifferent and expensive. Best to form a relationship with a good auto maintenance and repair shop.
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Drewboy 4:26PM (6/25/2007)
Honda is no different in that way. I get (figuratively) raped every time I take my CR-V there.
Guenther 5:53PM (6/25/2007)
Drewboy- My Honda dealer had great service- for $15 I got an oil change, a car wash, and one of those king-size candy bars. Not that it helps your experience any
Jim P. 3:53PM (6/25/2007)
The way my sister and I were treated when she was looking to replace her car was horrible. The salesman personified the 'car salesman scumbag' stereotype and basically said Toyota is the best and your a fool to be looking at any other car. My sister went with a Hyundai instead. Not so much the car but the way she was treated at the dealership. Nothing Toyota has or their sales tactics would make me crawl on my stomach through glass to own any of their products. I get treated 100X better at the Ford dealer.
Glad to see Toyota addressing this where it should.
I'm glad to see this problem addressed.
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sw 3:49PM (6/25/2007)
Before buying a 2005 Matrix we went to 4 Toyota dealers that didn't even want to talk to us in any manner of a serious tone. I can only think that because we had an old old car the dealer didn't think we had any money to spend and therefore brushed us off. I would have gladly bought something else at the time but given the total cost of ownership that's all we could afford. Fortunately we did find a good dealer and that was the end of that. But I do have to say that most Toyota dealers are just atrocious to deal with.
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The Other Bob 4:18PM (6/25/2007)
Maybe should have considered getting a Pontiac Vibe. As you likely know, is the same car as a Matrix.
That's the one good thing about badge engineering. If you don't like the dealership, go buy the clone.
sw 5:03PM (6/25/2007)
The Pontiac/GM dealer in my area is even worse to deal with than the Toyota dealer. But I have managed to find a nice Toyota and a nice Dodge dealer, so all is now well.
judd 3:53PM (6/25/2007)
The only reason why I wouldn't buy a Toyota after owning 8 of them was the service. I've excluded and recommended against buying a Toyota because of their arrogant service and sales folks. I always walk in my worn out shirts and jeans whenever I buy a car. You don't pay attention to me, you will never see any of my money. Funny how the higher end dealerships actually are more eager to help someone that walks into their showrooms no matter what you wear or drive during shopping for a vehicle.
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Puffy C 3:55PM (6/25/2007)
Wow, a car manufacturer promising to improve the dealership experience? Stop the presses!! Has any car manufacturer not made these same claims? Next on autoblog, "Toyota promises to improve quality"...
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Jason 4:03PM (6/25/2007)
I have to say that I'm more than satisfied with the experiences that I've had at my Acura dealership. I've never had to have any work done except oil changes up until now, but the staff there is very friendly, extremely knowledgable, and the dealership itself is very nice. They do oil changes and tire rotations on a walk-in basis. You drive up to the service door and honk - they open the door for you and you drive right inside. This is super convenient when it's raining or snowing.
Every oil change comes with a car wash and vacuum every time (the dealership provides these services for free at any time to people who have purchased cars there). The lounge is very nice with comfortable chairs and free donuts/cookies/etc. along with a coffee machine that makes several different kind of flavored coffees and cocoas. They have a television with DirectTV and a couple of internet enabled workstations as well.
Oil change prices are usually pretty good - around $35 with every fifth one being free - an average of $28 each... which is only $3 more than the local Quick Lube charges. The dealer actually changes the crush washer on your drain plug after each change though, and a full service history is kept that they're willing to print out for me at any time.
Every once in a while they'll send email a survey about how I liked my visit during service, and upon competition they'll usually send me a coupon back for 10-20% off my next scheduled service.
Super good experience - I'm definitely buying my next car from them.
Viv 5:01PM (6/25/2007)
Please don't take this as an insult but you sound like the owner of the Acura dealership.
Jason 8:05AM (6/26/2007)
No insult taken. I wish I was the owner of the Acura dealership - I'd probably make a helluva lot more money than I do now. :-)
Allan 4:01PM (6/25/2007)
I've had pretty good luck taking my tC in to the dealer (also a toyota dealer, of course). Though I have gotten to know a few of the service guys. Even still... I haven't really had a bad experience yet. Thankfully... Of course labor could always be cheaper, but that's not just a Toyota thing.
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Jason 4:11PM (6/25/2007)
I bought a 2005 tC brand new back in 2004 when they were super high in demand, and the closest Scion dealership (which was pretty far away) was also a Toyota and Lexus dealership. I was treated awesome by the sales staff there. The woman that helped me out told me that they didn't have any tCs on the lot, so she let me drive the tC that she personally owned (she rode along, of course). She was super helpful and very knowledgeable about all of the questions I had.
I had to wait a few weeks for the two they were getting from California to get to the dealer - one was already spoken for (a purple automatic), but the other one, thankfully, was a black 5 speed which I ended up getting. Even after the sale the sales staff was very helpful with all of the questions I had - and they even had a couple of the shop guys come up and show me how to uninstall the stereo because I told them I'd be putting an after market one in.
A few weeks after buying the car I got invited to a customer-only party that had live music and drinks. The dealership provided complimentary catered food and some swag (shirts, hats, keychains, etc.) for everyone who showed up. It was a good time.
I've heard a lot of nasty things about Toyota dealerships, but my experience was pretty good with that one (Spartan Toyota/Scion in Lansing, MI). I've heard other good stories from them as well. At the same time I've also been to Toyota dealerships where the salesmen wouldn't give you the time of day if you didn't look like you had a million bucks. I've been to GM, Subaru, Honda, and Mazda dealers where I got the same thing though - so I'm sure it's a dealer-by-dealer basis.
Still, kudos on Toyota for cracking down.
paul34 4:17PM (6/25/2007)
I agree with that - my tC buying experience was WONDERFUL (after a bad experience at another dealer... needless to say, they didn't get my business...).
However, the service experience thus far has been pretty disappointing. Not horrible per se (as in, they weren't rude to me or anything - on the contrary, they were nice and understanding, if a bit patronizing), but the whole process seems inefficient and poorly managed.
Stephen 4:06PM (6/25/2007)
I have never had a good dealer experience. They never know anything about their product and having your car serviced costs more while taking longer.
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whofan 4:07PM (6/25/2007)
This is a problem the domestic automakers have as well. I can`t say I won`t but I`d be hard pressed to buy a Ford were I live, having been screwed over in the past.
In a 50 mile radius theres one dealer each for Ford and GM and two for Chrysler. Guess where the best service is? Chrysler dealers.
Its good Toyota is adressing this issue. The big three should take note. Toyota`s cars are no better than the rest they just don`t take things for granted.
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Joshua 4:14PM (6/25/2007)
Had a local dealer say out loud that with the offer my mom made for a used vehicle that she 'must be smokin' crack'.
Boy was that a great day. He almost had to fight a 17 year old that was really upset to hear such a thing. He lost his job for that little cute comment.
Oh and I didn't purchase anything from them.
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