davidgriffith

I think there are pockets of good people in the industry, the Sales Manager where I buy my cars and the Service Advisor where I get them serviced are awesome. Always willing to make allowances and get it done.

But generally on the sales side, I think the vast majority of car sales people at large corporate dealerships are just like the stereotype insurance salesperson, they are there to and incentivized to get the most money from your pocket into theirs - isn't that capitalism after all. Like mandatory 20% tips, if you don't like the service go elsewhere. I went to buy a new Golf GTI / R recently and the generic VW 'it's a car' salesperson thoughtfully handed me to off to an amazing enthusiastic 20ish yr old salesperson who just wanted to chat cars and different specs. Similarly if you go to Porsche specialists (Zweck, Parkhaus1 etc.) here in Miami you'll find enthusiasts but you'll have to pay a premium for their low volume and their time / attention.

Maybe that's the route of the issue here, people assume that because it's Porsche they will get 5 star / Ritz Carlton treatment but in realty with the push down-market to 4 cyl Macans at $65k your average dealer is just another 3 star Chrysler Dodge Ram / Courtyard Marriott

blackland

The dealer I ordered a GT4 from told me I had to sell it back to them or they would not sell me another Porsche. When I decided to get a 911 I called my SA, he told me to talk to the used car sales manager to see about the trade in. I wanted to order a T. I left the guy two voicemails and he never returned my calls. So I traded the car in to the other Porsche dealer for a CPO 911. I would not buy another car from those dysfunctional people if they begged me to do it. Vote with your feet!

20C4S

This pretty much sum it up. Running a business dealing with venders hearing from other business owners etc. People just don't seem to give **** anymore. extremely frustrating.

Icegrill

I resonate with this as well. Seems to be more of the norm than not.

Snareman

Unfortunately so many dealership (and companies) forget that customers are the source of their income. Good service is rare and lackluster service is norm.

Shambler

Funny how this story resonates with me from a long time ago...
Back in the early 90's, I was fresh out of college and writing software. Very good income, very little debt...

I was, of course, looking at sports cars. As a misguided youth, I was looking the Dodge Stealth among others. I call the dealership get a sales guy, he sets up an appointment for a test drive a couple days later.
I'm dressed in jeans and some tee shirt coming straight from work with an appointment.

I show up on time and the sales guy goes over to sale manager to get the keys. And, I hear the chatter, "what's he do?" "what does he want to drive?" etc.
The sales guy returns and sheepishly denies me keys, etc. Meanwhile, I am steaming as I'm sure I make more money than either them.

I politely leave. And, while I may never own a Dodge, I always tell anyone who will listen to never buy a car from Elmwood Dodge in East Providence, RI.
This is an experience from 30+ years ago and nothing will ever change my opinion of that sh*tball operation.

So, I agree, share the names of these bad actors. It's not a person. It's usually an organizational culture.

For what it's worth, I have been very happy with my local dealer, Porsche Warwick (RI). I have had good conversational experiences with some other New England dealers; Nashua, NH and Fairfield, CT come to mind.

Just remember, F*ck Elmwood Dodge.

jlegelis

So Porsche keeps sending me these dealer 'satisfaction' surveys to which I never respond to for fear they'd give me a hard time with warranty coverage if I really told 'em my awful perceptions. Since I don't think a survey response would have any positive effect on my awful dealer (PCNA seems to be part of the problem), I'm curious if others actually spend the time to provide truthful feedback, and has there been any follow up / outreach from PCNA?

GoTime

To the OP - I had a dog**** experience with Porsche DTLA. HORRENDOUS.

Motorin Mark

So yes I do respond to these surveys and in a honest fashion too. Short sum-up, First 992, Delivery was a 4 out of 10, service/warranty 2 out of 10 (dealer eventually bought this car back). Second 992, Delivery 7 out of 10, service/warranty 4 out of 10. Never heard back from either dealer or PCNA. Note: these were different dealers, but similar experiences.

981KMAN

The PCNA Dealer Satisfaction Surveys have BIG Impact on a Dealers $$ and the pay of the Service Manager. A few years back I sent one in with a good but not stellar review. I received a call from the Dealer with-in 3 hours of hitting the send button. Now, if I have any issues, I call first and they do whatever it takes to get a "10" rating.

So from my experience - if you have an issue, call first and say you are filling out the survey and have "these" issues. They might surprise you and make things right. If not then "roast them"!

Nashvegas

I don't like 'playing their game' on this. To get a 10 -- Are they going to un-deny covering something that should have been covered under warranty that they argued about covering for a week before explaining "trim isn't covered"? Are they going to magically remove the dent from the side of the car from careless / lack of care for a customer's car?

I roast them on the survey and then ignore their annoying follow up communications...

mlrtime3

The denying warranty coverage part I don't get. Maybe someone can educate me, Doesn't the service department want to allow all warranty claims? They get to do the work and PCNA pays them for the service and the customer is happy.

Isn't it PCNA denying the warranty coverage not the dealer?

981KMAN

This isn't about warranty coverage as that is clearly written in your manuals, or CPO documents, which you can read prior to bringing you car in for service/repair. Once confronted with the written document, things get very clear for both sides of the situation. The PCNA service surveys are for the experience of how well they serviced/repaired your vehicle. Did they do what they said they were going to? Did they fix everything correctly the 1st time? Was the work completed when promised?, etc... Yes, you can use it for some leverage on Good-Will repairs, yet that should be done PRIOR to them completing the work. Rating the Dealers performance after the fact based on what Porsche has in their written warranty coverage is not the purpose of the survey - it's about how well the Dealer performed.

With your "Trim" situation, They can earn a higher rating if they push PCNA for "Good-Will" on your behalf, yet I would not lower a rating if a non-warranty item isn't covered. By discussing this all upfront there are no surprises in the end. I am constantly amazed on the number of posts on this forum from folks who were "Shocked" at the service invoice they received after the work was completed. The cost should be all discussed upfront, including all fees and any PCA or other discounts. Getting the bill should be boring.... as you know what it will say.

The point of my previous post was that many Dealer use the Survey results for Service Manager Compensation - Bonus, etc... Discuss things with them upfront and set expectation, or if work was not performed to your liking, discuss with them prior to payment. It's all about meeting expectations, yours and theirs.....

And Yes, If they put a dent in my car, I expect them to repair it. Its like Magic what these Paintless Dent Removal guys can do these days.

I will add that in my experience, the Sales Side of a Dealership is totally separate from the Service Side. So a "relationship with Sales has little pull when there is a Service issue.

981KMAN

Yes, you are correct...... PCNA pays the warranty claims.

pitt911

this problem is not unique to Porsche
the biggest problem that we avoid talking about because it quickly becomes politically heated discussion is
the work ethics in this country has been slowly deteriorating for years , and Covid pandemic accelerated the process
Why ? most likely related to expansion of government programs which has been happening for years and accelerated during Covid , as well as political correctness that you are a victim and nothing is your fault
this mostly affected the people on the lower wage spectrum , as they have been seeing for years that you can make same/similar money sitting doing nothing and Covid gave them a taste of that money
so people gradually started losing work ethics and feeling the the need to work
30 years ago, people were fearful of losing their job and thus worked harder to keep it
now, you rarely see or talk to anyone that is fearful of losing their job. Why? because the government will help you , and take care of you , and if you lose your job , it is never your fault
so as a business you are as good as your weakest link
so if you are having hard time recruiting good people , then you are going to have gaps in your service , some bigger than others and this leads to poor customer interaction
please don't make this political
human beings react to the environment around them , and at this time , the environment is not conducive to hard work and I don't blame the people ,
so lets not make this a political debate