When you decided to buy your Porsche, did the experience of ownership live up to your expectations? What did your dealer do right? Wrong?
Town Porsche of Englewood wants to be the very best at this, and always appreciates feedback.

Joe Allis
General Manager

 

Great to see you posting Joe and always looking to improve the customer experience! Great to have you on the TEAM!!

 

I am very happy with my dealer, Sewickly Porsche.

A fair price was charged. When my car needs service they pick it up and look after it. They charge a reasonable fee for service. They do what they say, and don't make promises they won't keep.

In essence, they treat me like someone they want to do business with for a long time.

 

I have a friend at Swickley, good dealer.

 

When I saw the thread title, I thought it was going to be about which watch to wear with your Porsche or some other rubbish... WHEW.

I love Porsche, I love what the brand stands for, the heritage, the engineering, etc. Unfortunately, my local dealer is one of the WORST car dealerships (let alone a Porsche dealership) I've ever been to. Keeping in mind I've purchased 4-5 cars (Porsches, Audis) from this dealership in the last 4 years as well as referred another 5-6, every time I go in there it's like I'm pissing in their corn flakes. I don't even bother anymore which is a bummer, since I often enjoyed "window shopping". Hell, I even bought a Cayman one day on a whim... (Gobbles will attest)

I guess the number one thing you could do as a Porsche dealer is provide outstanding customer service. If I were looking for the cheapest payment, etc., I'd go buy a Honda or VW or something. I don't expect stellar service there (though the Infiniti dealer I bought my FX from was OUTSTANDING). Make the customer feel wanted and welcome.

Way to be proactive, Joe. I only wish we had a better dealer close by. As it stands, I'll continue talking to Casey at Silver Spring and the incomparable STOPPIE.

 

Hey Chris,
Thanks for the accolades. One of the things I always try to make clear to my Sales and Service Managers is that for the most part we are NOT in competition with BMW, Audi, or Mercedes-Benz. Not even Ferrari, Maserati or any other high end car. I honestly believe we are in competition with other businesses our clientele frequent. The Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, Crystal Cruise lines, type businesses. Our Clients travel first class, and pay for it because of the value they appreciate from it. Although I would love to be the best at what I do, and be able to get a premium for it, there are still thoses that don't care, they just want the lowest price.

I understand the value of a client is established over time. It shouldn't be determined by a single transaction. That being said, we handle it this way: If a client is from our area and has intentions of using us for all of their auto needs, why not be the best price? But on the other hand, if someone lives in the area of my Porsche competitor, and will service with them as well, why offer that person a low priced deal? The idea of "stealing" a deal from my competition simply to make a quick sale, not only makes us look cut rate, but also breaks down the integrity of the brand. I just can't engage in doing that type of business. I'd love to get to a point where I can hear people say,

"Oh yes, I've heard of Town Porsche, they're the greatest! They're not cheap, but worth every penny."

At that point maybe the Porsche clients that enjoy the lifestyle I mentioned previously would see the value in doing business with a truly exclusive dealer.

So many dealers make all these claims of how great they are, but when you really need them... try and get a hold of them. No wonder why dealers have such a bad rap. most of them are full of, well, Bull....stuff.

We are doing all possible to break that stereotype for our dealership. The point of joining the TEAMSPEED forum was to better familiarize ourselves with what really matters to the REAL Porsche lifestyle lover.

So thank you again, and all comments will be taken in and considered!

Joe Allis
General Manager
Town Porsche of Englewood

 

This is a great thread. I've been in many different dealerships, with many different reactions resulting. It has been especially interesting to see how the perception of service and value has changed over the last few years.

Personally, I only have a couple of requirements of a dealership (besides the usual aspects of quality work, professionalism, etc.). First, just make me feel welcome and comfortable, as though I just walked into a friend's house. Nothing is worse than getting a cold shoulder for any reason. What you happen to drive up to the showroom door should have no influence on how you are treated, period.

A friend of mine frequented a Porsche dealer in Michigan, and because she drove a well-used, high-mileage Boxter, the morons there often gave her sub-standard treatment. She eventually got frustrated, as anyone would, and drove 50 miles to the dealer in the next city, and they received all of her subsequent business -- including parts she ordered, the next car she purchased, and references to her friends.

The only other thing I ask is just not to be pitched on everything in sight. Seriously, if I look at a brochure or have a question about a part, that doesn't necessitate a hard sales approach. After about every version of "Oh, did you want to see this in another color? We can give you a great deal on that!", I'm ready to walk out and not return. It's a dealership, with hundreds of things for sale. Believe me, if I need a price on something, or have a question, I will ask.

Clients and customers are quickly realizing that "purchasing power" does not only refer to the size of your bank account or credit card. It means that we as consumers have choices - many of them, in fact. Those retailers out there who do not quickly catch on to what we the people are seeking, and how we would like to go about the purchasing process, are inevitably doomed to failure in the long run.

All that said, thanks for creating a great discussion like this one! More dealers (a great many, in fact) need to walk a similar path, and discover first-hand what their past, present and future customers desire.

 

Those guys at Sewickly are great! We've done several dealer trades with them...they do a great job on Service I've heard as well.

 

I probably don't count because my Porsche dealer is outside the US, but I figured I'd chime in anyway for discussion's sake.

I'll start off by saying that my dealer, Porsche Centre Kuwait, is one of the highest-performing Porsche dealers in the Middle East and Africa. They put thousands of cars out on the streets a year; Hell, they sold over 9000 gen-1 Cayennes in the seven years that thing was out.

My experience with the salesmen was initially melancholy. As soon as I'd return from taking a car out for a fifteen minute test drive [they don't do weekend or nightly loans], they'd instantly ask if I wanted to book a car and would send their business cards, phone numbers and a barrage of brochures my way. Determined and efficient enough, but they were a bit brash and uninterested in the customer, seeing me more as a sell-to asset than anything else; from an upscale manufacturer, I expected friendlier, more professional service. I wrote to Porsche Middle East about this and I noticed some [good] changes in the behavior of the salesmen not so long after, but they can definitely be more approachable and welcoming. Definitely no feeling of wanting to see you as a return customer; I've had much, much better service as a walk-in at the Infiniti dealer.

Ownership: having the car itself is phenomenal. However, taking it in to service is another story. Treatment there is nothing short of abysmal: while the service staff work to try to get you your car back as soon as possible, they do not offer replacement or loaner vehicles no matter what. I took the car into service three times and each time I was told that they only had a fleet of four vehicles and whenever I called in advance to try to book one for my needs as advised by the staff, all the vehicles were either (a) already loaned out, (b) could not be loaned to me because my car didn't have a manufacturer/warranty defect, in which case I should call in advance and wait two weeks to see IF a vehicle opens up and sit with a defected car in my driveway for two weeks, (c) the customer in front of me "just took the last available vehicle" or (d) because I "didn't really need it," to quote one of the staff members at one point, only to have him respond with one of the aforementioned excuses after further questioning.

I had a driving mishap several months ago right outside the dealership that resulted in a flat tire and damaged wheel. The staff took it in for service and said it needed three days to be repaired, but adamantly refused to provide a backup car. I had a meeting in an hour with no available ride whatsoever, couldn't find any taxi in the area and tried contacting the service manager since my accident happened during working hours, only to discover that he left the dealership to go hang out at a nearby mall. Calls to the general manager went unattended to and the brand manager, who was in at the time, staunchly refused to provide one of the demo cars for me to go to my meeting and return the car as soon as I was done [the centre has two shifts, one from 8:30-12:30 and another from 4:30 to 8:30; I was in at 12:45.]. The short of it is that I was stuck at the dealership until closing time, missed two meetings, didn't even merit a second look from any of the available staff nor did I receive an apology or any offers to make up for whatever inconveniences caused to date.

It seems that my angst at Porsche Kuwait's customer care isn't a solo emotion: all of my friends who own Porsches uniformly agree that the customer service provided by Porsche Centre Kuwait is downright horrible and completely shocking coming from a brand with the caliber that Porsche carries.

I'm now in the market for a new Porsche, but I'm EXTREMELY hesitant to go back and deal with the nightmare that is Porsche Centre Kuwait. Maybe if and when I move out of Kuwait to the US in the next six months, I could work with another dealer who will hopefully provide better service and make the ownership experience far more pleasant.

Thoughts, anyone?

Porschephile88