beden1

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Fred R. C4S

I worked for 36 years for the Big Yellow Tractor Co. As an engineer, for a great part of my career, I was involved with Sales, Service, and Customer Support. As a company, we had a pretty liberal view of warranty and goodwill if it was clear that we or our dealer who represented us had dropped the ball. I had to take a trip or two to the woodshed with an angry customer. No one likes the experience.

Occasionally, a customer would write a personal letter to the CEO or appropriate corporate officer to express his displeasure or profound disgust. I can assure you, these always got addressed. It would be sent down the line, perhaps to my desk with instructions to solve the problem with the customer and report back to the Boss.

In 2003, after just 6 weeks of ownership, the fuel pump on my new 911 Turbo quit and left me on the side of the road. I was initially upset, but things do fail. I can accept that. The car was towed to the nearest dealer where it sat for two weeks awaiting a repacement part. Now I am experienced with just about every reasonable cause for not having a spare part, but two weeks for something as rudimentary as a fuel pump? That needs an explanation to this Service Engineer!

I spoke with the Porsche zone rep for parts, and offered him just about every reasonable cause that might have occurred, but none did. It seems that the central warehouse for Porsche parts in Atlanta had run out of pumps and placed a "restocking order". This calls for no special expediting. My pump was in a container on a cargo ship on the Atlantic. I asked why a part the size of a fuel pump wasn't air freighted to address a "car out if service" situation. He had no response.

As all of this was happening, PCNA was running a full page ad in many of the car monthlies. It had a photo of a Porsche parked in a nice estate garage with the tag line, "Every day your Porsche is parked is a day you can't get back". Although it was intended to spur folks to use their garage queens, I felt it also applied to getting my car back on the road.

So I sent a copy of the ad along with a polite, businesslike letter outlining what had transpired to me to the President of PCNA. I didn't get mad or abusive, I simply asked if their actual performance matched what they were advertising. I sent the letter by registered mail so I could at least get the name of whomever signed for it so I could followup if I so chose.

Much to my surprise, I got a call from PCNA in Atlanta, and the woman apologized for their poor performance and offered to pay me for 2 weeks worth of a lease payment. I told her that I purchased the car for cash and did not have a lease. She then sent me a check for 1/2 months lease payment typical for a 911 Turbo.

Moral of the story.....contact the Boss, be polite and businesslike and request his assistance in determining an equitable resolution for a valuable customer. In your case, there's not much they can do with a dealer, but they can make him suffer in indirect ways. I realize they may not want to bite the hand that sells more cars than most dealers, but perhaps they can support a deal whereby the cars is traded at the value you paid for another Porsche product of your choice.

It never hurts to ask. Remember, polite, businesslike, no threats, just extreme disappointment in the product delivered to you by one of their dealers.

Good luck!

UDPride

Fred's anecdote is a perfect example of large companies getting into a "protocol" mindset and not a problem-solving mindest. I ran into this all the time when dealing with large 500-5000 employee companies at my prior job as a small business technology and data director.

What you learn in small business is you have a basic field manual everyone goes by that covers the basics, but every problem has its own unique set of solutions. You treat every problem for what it is -- one of a kind. Which usually requires a one-of-a-kind solution. In your own way, you put out fires, right a wrong, and clean up a mess. You get unconventional. And most of the time you dont even ask the boss for permission. Hes paying you to think on your feet and solve problems without being burped and diapered all day. Time is money. Small businesses are used to thinking on their feet and adapting to every problem, so when a customer calls with an issue, you use your field manual knowledge as a base, but sail where the wind must take you in order to fix the issue.

The person on the other end of the phone couldnt give a damn about your procedures, protocols, and excuses. They dont want to hear "well Im not authorized to do that." They just want their problem to go away. My boss always used to say to me,

"you are authorized to fix problems and turn time into money. Never tell a customer something can't be done [although its possible it won't be done], and never jump over a dollar to save a dime. I spent a fortune winning over customers and it costs me exponentially every time I have to win them back. So never give them a reason to leave or write a nasty letter in the first place. What little it costs us now to make them happy will get earned back several times over if we treat them like the most important person in the world. They will love us more for fixing their problem like champs than if they never had a problem to begin with."

Fred R. C4S

UDPride,

I think perhaps I didn't explain my anecdote fully. At the BYT Co., there are multiple levels in the organization authorized to act in the exact specific way you outlined as that of a small company. When a customer compliant made it all the way to the CEO, it meant that some folks weren't doing their job to support the customer. So while I might have been tasked to fix the problem, others were being called before the appropriate power to answer why a customer could be so upset that he felt compelled to write the chairman. I never heard of anyone getting reprimanded for authorizing the support of a customer.

I could tell you horror stories of abuse a customer may have put a machine through, but if the customer was open and upfront about what he did, we would find a common ground to help him out. On the rare occasion we had to have a "Come to Jesus" meeting with a dealer for the type of sin Beverly Hills Porsche has been accused of, he truly wished he could go back in time and undo his sin. Without getting into the fine print of "The Sales & Service Agreement" that governs the rules and responsibilities of a dealer, there ways the manufacturer can get the dog to heel.

SnP

PCNA and BHP intend to stiff Lozzy with the car. It's no different from the IMS flaw.

Porsche and its dealer network sell a dream that sometimes materializes and sometimes turns into a nightmare.

I love my C4S but I don't subscribe to the picture of engineering perfection that Porsche sells. When I buy a used car from a Porsche dealer I assume its overhyped and overpriced and negotiate until the salesman wants me to leave the sales floor.

It's just business.

UDPride

If I needed a big yellow tractor, Id buy one from Fred.

TommyV44

Love that!

Tom

CarreraX

Brilliant idea!

JustinCase

Although it doesn't always work (depends on the integrity of the man at the top), I second Fred R.'s approach because I had the same experience. In my case, no car was at stake, just some items from Driver's Selection I had ordered which were taking interminably long to come in.

I have worked in two Fortune 500 manufacturing companies, and now own a small, rapidly growing manufacturing business. With this as background, I am aware that the top guy does not always know what sins are being committed to customers by wrong-headed employees or defective computer systems, so my bias is to assume the best of the man at the top and to let him know what is really going on in his organization as a professional courtesy so he has a chance to fix it discreetly and out of the public eye.

Having worked for very large corporations, I am also aware that (a) lower levels are LOATHE to reveal problems they are aware of to their higher-ups because they typically think these problems will reflect poorly on their own performance and they may fear repercussions. Even loyal, honest subordinates who do pass problems up the chain frequently do so only to see them stopped at the next layer of management for the exact same reasons. Moral of this story is that NO problems will ever get to the top of a large organization through the company chain of command. Well-meaning subordinates often HOPE that outsiders will take their cause to the top because they always know about the problems, but are stymied by the self-defensive instincts of middle management.

Therefore, to get the attention of the top guy, you have to go OUTSIDE the organization and around the bureaucratic chain of command, either directly or through the press, internet, or legal system. I agree with Fred R. that quiet, direct communication with the top is the place to start, and it usually works, if not always.

In my case, my Driver Selection order was properly placed, but my credit card was not correctly processed by the order entry person. When I called to find out what was going on over a month later, I was given a runaround by the order entry people and their direct management (which I carefully documented, names, dates and times, and what I was told). I finally got exasperated and sent a registered, return receipt letter directly to Mr. von Platen with all my documentation. I knew he might not see it, but that his secretary would and would start some inquiries from the top. As the top man in my organization, I also wanted to whisper in his ear quietly to give him a chance to fix his own internal problems, assuming that what happened to me was not a fluke, but a systemic problem. It sends a signal that I am on his side and want to help him, not attack him.

In large corporations, subordinate levels always take questions from the top as a priority, even out of proportion to what is really desired by the company president, try to discern the intent, and immediately take preemptive action so they can look good when the president finally reveals what he was after.

So, too, in my case. From the timing, I can only infer that the Mr. von Platen's OFFICE really got the ball rolling right away, and I got my merchandise in shipping time plus only a few hours. I also got a telephoned personal apology from Mr. von Platen's office telling me they had comped the entire order because of the embarrassing length of time it took and their own comedy of errors. (I never once asked them to comp the order -- I just wanted my stuff.)

At the end of it, I sent Mr. von Platen a thank you note for comping my stuff, with a promise that I would always let his office know when it seemed his organization was missing the high mark of quality and performance that is (or should always be) the essence of the Porsche marque.

I don't know if PCNA ever fixed their Driver's Selection order processing problems since I have not had cause to use it since, but I do know that top person doesn't always know what is going on an often greatly appreciates a professional whisper in his ear before stuff hits the fan.

fast1

I understand your perspective, but I would never ever make a major purchase before I either saw the car in person or had it checked out by someone whom I trusted or as others have suggested have a PPI performed. I absolutetly would not take the word of a stranger on the phone regarding the condition of a car.

Based on my statements you may think that I must have had bad car buying experiences, but my experiences have been quite good. Nevertheless, there is a right and wrong way to conduct business, and the way this car was purchased was the wrong way.

UDPride

You could make the same case that it was sold the wrong way.

The difference is, there was no deception or willful disregard to live up to the expectations of the contract (sale) upon the part of the buyer. The buyer fully intended to purchase the car, make payment, trade in his Ferrari, and make arrangements for the Porsche to be shipped and delivered. He completed all of these things. In the eyes of the dealership, Lozzie gave them everything they expected.

In the case of the buyer however, he got less than what was promised. Lozzy could have been in Australia and it wouldnt change the obligations upon the part of the seller to accurately represent the car. Geography and distance does not exonerate the seller. Doesnt matter whether you are across the street or on another continent.

Now, would checking out the car in person make things easier? Sure. Would doing so have avoided this ****ty-uation altogether? Perhaps. But BHP handling it far better would have accomplished the same thing. After all, they were the ones selling the car, describing it, and representing Porsche Cars North America as a bastion of ethics, high standards, and uncompromised quality and service -- so says the letter he just received a day or two ago.

Lozzy never represented himself other than a casual guy switching from Ferrari to Porsche. Its Porsche that has created this aura of excellence and attention to detail.

The dealer said the car was "perfect". It wasnt. In fact, the paint looked like an Earl Scheib rejection. Lozzy is not arguing over a loose Tic Tac caught between the seat rails here. He's talking about an apple that was misrepresented as an orange.

They were a million miles apart, let alone a few hundred.

user 72902

Exactly the point. The law allows for "puffing" which is minor inaccuracies represented or claimed by the seller. BHP in my opinion committed gross misrepresentation. Even if they were unaware of some or all of the defects as a dealer the buyer has a reasonable expectation that they should have known about them.

sandwedge

So the buyer here is more at fault than the seller? The "stranger on the phone" was a sales rep at one of the premier Porsche dealership in America. Or so we thought. He was selling a car he described as "perfect" which was also certified per standards that sound impressive and comforting to anyone who reads through PCNA's description of the CPO process.

The fact that this was a CPO car makes a big difference imo since the dealership - although independently operated- surely must have some kind of obligation to abide by the promises PCNA makes on their website regarding the CPO process. Frankly, it almost seems like this dealer is using the CPO designation as a tool to move cars with no regard whatever to the standards associated with the certification. And why wouldn't they? Seems to work. Cars are sold, PCNA doesn't seem to be bothered by the scam and BHP acts as if they've done it many times before and could give two sh#its about bad publicity.

andrewinla

They must care somewhat about their public image.

They blocked me from Instagram and Twitter after posting a link to this thread into their comments and tweets.

Not sure who here has Instagram, if not open an account and link to this thread so all their followers (potential customers) can see what hey do to people.

Lozzy997

I emailed Pedro Mota on the Porsche USA website and the email just bounced straight back to me as undeliverable.

http://press.porsche.com/more_about/.../pcna/mota.php