Another call from Dave Shembri

[kwagar]

So, I am in the Charlotte airport tonite on a business trip and at 8:00 PM my cell phone rings. It was Dave Shembri calling as a follow-up to his call to me in Devember to see if I had recieved my smart and to find out how I liked it!

I related to him that I loved the car but was very dissatisfied with the Orlando Dealer based on Prep fees, automatic window tinting and a rediculously high priced extended warranty that was twice the price of the smart extended warrenty.

He expressed what I took to be sincere discomfort with those issues and assured me he would be discussing those issues with the dealer. He was aware of the prep fees and had heard about the window tinting while he was not aware that they were not offerring the smart extended warranty.

He felt it was wrong to tint the windows without the authorization of the buyer.

He could not commit that things would change but did indicate that smart has some leverage and will use it to try to resolve the issues going forward.

He indicated that they were going to be adding a drop down menu on the configuration pages to allow reservationists to choose an alternate dealer for delivery if they so choose.

While this will not help those who have already configured it may resolve the problem for those yet to configure.

I can't say that things will change at the Orlando dealer but he did seem to be sincere in his comments that he would be doing what he could to get them to change their policies and procedures.

We'll see what happens over the coming weeks and months!

[bumblebee]

It's good to know that he's personally contacting his customers to follow up and to hear personally from a customer who's having issues with a particular dealership or about the car.

[SMARTnTiny]

I hope that smart, like many other manufacturers, sends out satisfaction surveys on not only the car but the dealership experience. I think that if dealers know that Penske means business when it comes to fairness to buyers and that Schembri and others listen to the feedback, we could see a much more level playing field.

[KP4 smart]

Kwagar, thanks for the news!

When I pick up my smart (hopefully this week), I'll make sure to mention Dave Shembri's discomfort with the way things are being handled by smart center Orlando.

I expressly indicated that I did not want tinted windows or any other accessory that I did not configure; however, they're back to their old tricks of not answering the phone or emails. So far they have ignored and not acknowledged my request.

[saronian]

If they really want to be revolutionary, they will add a comments area to the smartUSA website, so we can rate the dealers based on true experiences.

I appreciate that you took the time to point out the questionable practices of your dealer. My guess is this will have a large impact on how they are treated by PAG.

[rrrucke]

Dave continues to impress me. Hopefully he can push down some reinforced policies that benefit the smart customers.

[smarTIKI]

Originally Posted by KP4-smart

I expressly indicated that I did not want tinted windows or any other accessory that I did not configure; however, they're back to their old tricks of not answering the phone or emails. So far they have ignored and not acknowledged my request.

HeHe.

I told Julie that I absolutely did not want tinted windows when she briefly mentioned the subject during our initial telephone conversation on the 31st.

After receiving kwagar's PM, in which he told me that he was charged $395.00 for tinted windows that he didn't ask for, I fired off a couple of e-mails to Judson (I don't have Julie's e-mail address), confronting him about smart center Orlando's practice of trying to add window tinting on top of their already ridiculous $799.00 "doc" fee. Once again, I made it quite clear that I absolutely did not want tinted windows on MY smart.

Judson replied to my first e-mail, letting me know that he was "offended" by my choice of words when I said that kwagar's car "was already tinted and he was forced to pay $395.00 for the favor." Specifically, Judson didn't like the words "forced" and "favor." Apparently, Judson was too offended to actually answer any of my questions.

My follow-up e-mail to Judson was completely ignored.

I did receive a telephone call from Julie, today, letting me know that my car would finally be ready to pick up on Saturday. I was supposed to be at the top of their list, but they told me that a couple of vehicles arrived at smart center Orlando without their Monroney stickers in place, with mine being one of them, naturally, and that I could not purchase the car until they received a replacement via FedEx.

I asked Julie what my out-the-door price was going to be, since I intend to pay in cash, and I quickly asked about the window tinting. She replied that she was aware of the fact that I did not want my windows tinted and that they did not do anything to my car. Well, thank goodness for that! She did, though, try to tell me that most of their customers actually wanted their windows tinted, and that smart center Orlando was performing a helpful service, because now customers wouldn't have to experience any down time, later on, while waiting to have their windows tinted by someone else. Uh huh. Yeah.

After giving me my supposed out-the-door price, I was told by Julie that there would be "a couple extra fees," so I guess my out-the-door price isn't really an out-the-door price. She wasn't sure what the extra fees are, but apparently one has something to do with "battery waste" ($6) and another with "electronic filing" ($24). My guess is that these charges make up the $30.50 in "miscellaneous fees" that kwagar told me about.

[bmx43]

Originally Posted by smarTIKI

HeHe.

I told Julie that I absolutely did not want tinted windows when she briefly mentioned the subject during our initial telephone conversation on the 31st.

After receiving kwager's PM, in which he told me that he was charged $395.00 for tinted windows that he didn't ask for, I fired off a couple of e-mails to Judson (I don't have Julie's e-mail address), confronting him about smart center Orlando's practice of trying to add window tinting on top of their already ridiculous $799.00 "doc" fee. Once again, I made it quite clear that I absolutely did not want tinted windows on MY smart.

Judson replied to my first e-mail, letting me know that he was "offended" by my choice of words when I said that kwager's car "was already tinted and he was forced to pay $395.00 for the favor." Specifically, Judson didn't like the words "forced" and "favor." Apparently, Judson was too offended to actually answer any of my questions.

My follow-up e-mail to Judson was completely ignored.

I did receive a telephone call from Julie, today, letting me know that my car would finally be ready to pick up on Saturday. I was supposed to be at the top of their list, but they told me that a couple of vehicles arrived at smart center Orlando without their Monroney stickers in place, with mine being one of them, naturally, and that I could not purchase the car until they received a replacement via FedEx.

I asked Julie what my out-the-door price was going to be, since I intend to pay in cash, and I quickly asked about the window tinting. She replied that she was aware of the fact that I did not want my windows tinted and that they did not do anything to my car. Well, thank goodness for that! She did, though, try to tell me that most of their customers actually wanted their windows tinted, and that smart center Orlando was performing a helpful service, because now customers wouldn't have to experience any down time, later on, while waiting to have their windows tinted by someone else. Uh huh. Yeah.

After giving me my supposed out-the-door price, I was told by Julie that there would be "a couple extra fees," so I guess my out-the-door price isn't really an out-the-door price. She wasn't sure what the extra fees are, but apparently one has something to do with "battery waste" ($6) and another with "electronic filing" ($24). My guess is that these charges make up the $30.50 in "miscellaneous fees" that kwager told me about.

wow! this orlando dealer sounds like a real GEM! doing everything they can to keep my faith in car dealers right where it always has been.

your correspondance with this dealer is something you should forward to Smart USA and Dave Shembri. it would be one thing if they just ignored your e-mails, they could say they never got them. but since they replied, it shows they received it and still ignored and didn't respond to your instructions.

[Pivosmart]

It's too bad that Penske awards dealerships to crooked slobs like that.

[bumblebee]

Originally Posted by smarTIKI

HeHe.

that smart center Orlando was performing a helpful service, because now customers wouldn't have to experience any down time, later on, while waiting to have their windows tinted by someone else. Uh huh. Yeah.

Down time? What the hell is that? It only took my installer about 1.5 hours to get my smart tinted and that was the very first one he did. I'm pretty sure he can get it within an hour. Now tell me people, most of you probably can find an hour of down time to get your windows tinted elsewhere for less than half their prices right?
I guess I am blessed to have a dealership in Dallas who does not try to sell you things you don't want. We I picked up my car I did asked my sales consultant about window tint and she quote me the price. But she never push me into getting the tint done at the dealership.