I talked to Dave Schembri today!!!

[ChiSmart]

I would like to know why some parts of the US are getting cars sooner than those that have to wait. Some areas have a lower numbers than my and are getting cars while I'm patiently wait and wait. Does not leave a good taste on customer service to me!!! Totally unacceptable in my eyes. Dealer can't tell me anything either. My DDE indicates 09/17/08 - 12/16/08. Reserved in June 03, 2007. 1 1/2 year wait is totally unacceptable while orphans are released to those that did not reserve early on and pay $99.

[Big Panda]

just a 'guess' "ChiSmart", but it makes sense from a business standpoint to have each dealer receive the same amount of cars for delivery.

if smartusa didn't do it that way, you could have one dealer delivering only 4 cars per month while others are delivering 44. with dealers investing milliions of dollars to acquire a franchise, the one getting only 4 cars per month wouldn't be in business for long. it's probably tough enough to get someone to invest that kind of $$ with the waiting period of 18+ months for a smart, but if dealers start dropping because they're going in the hole, the smart network never WILL expand. i imagine that there is some sort of agreement with the dealers that each dealer is treated equally and one will not be allocated more cars than the next.

i know it's a tough pill to swallow, but we need the dealers to be able to increase in numbers in order that all of the reservation holders will eventually be delivered pretty much 'in order of reservation' and not location. but until that day, we'll just have to either bear with smartusa or buy a , God forbid, a Prius......


P.S. the "orphan" situation is a totally different matter and i hope that smartusa will get on the bandwagon and set some dealer guidelines on the handling of 'orphans'. i agree, the orphans at each dealership should be offered to reservationists assigned to that dealer by reservation number only. period. none of this 'walk in, put your $99 down online at a smart center and then have a 'brand specialist' say: "You're in luck, we just happen to have an orphan available....." THAT SUCKS!!!

[jwight]

I know what you're saying about the orphan cars, and on one level I agree reservation holders should get first dibs. However, from the dealer's perspective (never thought I'd say that!), once the car is refused by the original reservation holder it belongs to the dealer and all bets are off. Considering supply and demand right now, getting the most from their orphans only makes business sense. Again, I don't like it but I can understand it.

[T12121]

the only real problem IMHO is that dealers are putting $10,000 worth of extra junk on orphans to make a bigger profit when they should be working with there internal lists to sell the cars to the people waiting. Instead some dealers are putting profits in front of their customers. Just my 2 cents worth.

[RVGRINGO]

I agree. If a local dealer didn't call everyone on the reservation list who had ordered anything close to an available orphan, I would be tempted to start a boycott of that dealer and probably wouldn't buy from them again. Dealers take note! There is no reason they couldn't send everyone on the reservation list an e-mail, give 48 hours to reply and then let the next eligible person have the orphan; no added options unless the 'winner' orders them.

[Big Panda]

Originally Posted by jwight

I know what you're saying about the orphan cars, and on one level I agree reservation holders should get first dibs. However, from the dealer's perspective (never thought I'd say that!), once the car is refused by the original reservation holder it belongs to the dealer and all bets are off. Considering supply and demand right now, getting the most from their orphans only makes business sense. Again, I don't like it but I can understand it.

you're absolutely right....the car IS the property of the dealer once it's 'orphaned'. BUT the problem is the dealers have tunnel vision and can only see more $$ for THEM should they get an orphan. they DON'T see that down the road, the people on the orphan list they passed over to make a quick buck may not be so eager to bring their smart in for routine maintenance. they may not even buy a second smart just because of this practice.

all i'm saying is that this is suppose to be about the customers and the cars they want. yes, the dealer should make money, but not at the expense of those who have waited in line for months, thinking that they'll someday get a call saying: "This is your lucky day, as we have an orphan available and YOU are NEXT IN LINE!!!"

but from the sounds of it SCI, for example, very seldom gets an orphan now and i would think that the longer the wait becomes to get a smart, the less chance smarts will become orphans. people that decide they don't want it will simply buy it and sell it on eBay or whatever. they've seen dealers do it and they're thinking 'why not ME?' in fact, that trend has already started.....

[sixcrows]

Originally Posted by meaux61

I would rather not say at this point. He did say that he put a blog on the smartusainsiders forum and they put cards there that we can print out with all the smart info to pass out to people who ask us a million questions. We can print as many as we want. I just got home from dinner so I am going to go check it out. PM me and I can tell you a bit more.

Meaux

Wow. You mean, we get to use our own paper and ink to provide free advertising for smart?

Sign me up.

[unicycle]

Thanks; that card does seem to answer most of the Qs posed by the ppl I've spoken to over the months.

[Big Panda]

Originally Posted by sixcrows

.....You mean, we get to use our own paper and ink to provide free advertising for smart?

....OR not. your choice.

[sixcrows]

Originally Posted by Jeepster55

....OR not. your choice.

Of course it's my choice. I wouldn't have realized that without your reminder!

Believe me, smart gets a TON of free publicity from me. I am more than happy to answer questions, and I've met many nice people doing so.

However, I think they should provide an incentive of sorts for people we might refer to a dealership. Providing a card and telling me I can "print as many as" I want isn't it. Surely, they can do better than that.

Of course, you can agree with this or not . . . your choice!