Open Letter to Smart Center Milwaukee

[curtis]

I have e-mailed Tony 2 times, I have called and left a voice mail with Ryan and I have not gotten a return e-mail or phone call. I was one of the pioneers (as SmartUSA called me) that ordered in March of 2007 expecting to receive my car in 9-12 months from order, it is now going on 1 year 2 weeks with still no information on the status of my car, seems like all you or the people at SMARTUSA can say is within 90 days and then 30 days later say within 90 days again! I think I have shown patience but it's wearing mighty thin.

I have tried again to call but as usual Tony is making a delivery of car I bet was ordered after mine and Ryan is with a guest so I am once again shut out from getting any information unless of course I receive a call back from one of them after leaving a message of my frustration with their lack or response to my other attempts at contact.

I started out so excited to finally be able to buy a cool quirky little car usually only available to the Euro market but then became a bit frustrated with Penske but still was quite happy with my local dealer but now after all this I must admit they seem to be as unorganized as the people over at Penske Auto Group. Also, remember those nice little Smart newsletters we received early on? I haven't gotten on of those since shortly after my $99 was put down, Actually didn't hear a peep out of PAG until Nov. when I configured my Black/Silver/Black leather Passion.

I was willing to let it all be water under the bridge earlier this week when the DDE said my car would be in between 2/22 to 5/22 after it sat solid at 4/15 to 7/20 since it's inception but when I checked in today it was once again bumped back to between 4/22 to 7/22! I thought the DDE was going to finally give us info on when a car was going to arrive but I guess it was developed to piss me off!

sincerely,
Curtis Chrsitensen
reservation #1472411184
reserved on March 30 2007

[SMARTnTiny]

Curtis, I feel your pain. I am not in Milwaukee, but I also feel like the ugly stepchild. The dealerships aren't equipped to market, communicate or steward their reservation holders. Sad considering that many have Mercedes dealerships which I would think take the ultimate in schmooze to manage. There are simple things that a receptionist could do in the quiet times to communicate to members that would free the hands of the business and brand manager but those things aren't happening. We're being nickeled and dimed for every little thing and receive little if any response - not to mention respect.

I'm one of the lucky ones - I just got my #1185 on Friday - but I had to continue to tap on that door and have a friend across the way who is a great advocate for the brand, the concept and fellow adoptees.

I wish I could offer words of consolation - but I can't. It's as if there was no business model, no promotional and management plan but instead a "seat of your pants" launch. I worry that others will miss out on the opportunity due to a sour experience with a dealership who just doesn't (and refuses) to "get it."

Best of luck to you Curtis. My heart is with you...

[spdickey]

Since your smart center has not yet received word of when they will receiver your car from France, the DDE will be your best source of information about an expected delivery date. This is probably the same info your local dealer has.

Continuous haranguing of dealers does not lead to quicker production of your car in France.

[microdriver]

It's obvious that this DDE thing isn't working very well and you shouldn't put a whole lot of stock in it. Also there are many many other people waiting for their cars...gatchaman and I were reservation #1177 and just got our car 5 days ago on 4-8-08. Decide if you want the car and if you do, wait for it with out complaining about every little thing, if not, cancel your reso and get your 99 bucks back. nothing gained nothing lost.

But it really is worth the wait.

P.S. Tony and Ryan are awesome and have been nothing but helpful and enthusiastic in our experience.

[saronian]

Although I did not receive updates or detailed information from my dealer prior to delivery I was told by others that the dealer should be able to provide the following:

R11 Selected Unit Details Report
Which lists the VIN#, transportation status, ETA Date, Production Date and your smart's configuration/price.

Because your delivery is so late I would see if the dealer has any of this information in their computer. If not then it is a smart USA problem and that's where I would put the pressure.

[DenverSmart]

Curtis,

I sent you a private message... Let me know if it works out!

[curtis]

I understand all the issues with the DDE and the brand being new and that the dealer may not have any more information than I already know but a simple phone call back to me or an response to an e-mail would be appreciated. Since I have called and left voice mail and a message with the receptionist I would think it would only be the right thing for one of them to respond. I know they read this board so I used it as a last resort to get a response, I actually wrote the above letter yesterday morning but did not post it until last night in hopes that I would get a call but as before no one called.

[Smartdavis]

I wouldn't harass them. I would try to make friends with them. It's not an ideal situation, and I am amazed they haven't figured out a way to keep the early reservation holders in the loop better. The way orphans are being handled is really bizarre, but as the saying goes "You can attract more bees with honey than vinegar" The car is worth owning but not if it's going to be a miserable experience to get one.

[Wile E. Coyote]

There just doesn't seem to be a hard set rule of "what to do" for dealers. For example: a few weeks ago when the Buffalo dealer called me about offering a few orphans to me, he said he started at the bottom of the orphan list when he made his calls. It's unfortunate that the communication is lost from the dealer to the customer. But if he/she doesn't know anything all it would be is a friendly "Hey how ya doin? ok,take care! "call. I still haven't heard anything either and haven't even gotten the configure email yet. I'm glad I jumped on the one I have now without it costing me a leg. Good luck and I hope it doesn't sour you into buying something else that you normally wouldn't.

[curtis]

Once again, I was not harassing the dealer, I only contacted them 2 times over the last couple months but over the last 2 weeks I have not gotten any response to simple e-mails and phone calls. After my initial visit to the dealer I got along quite well with Tony and took the car out for a drive. All I ask is a call, e-mail or a smoke signal at the least so I know they have received my voice mail I have left for Tony and Ryan.

Also, I am not interested in getting an orphan, I reserved my car in March and I want the car I ordered, unless of course they have an orphan that is Black/Silver/Black Leather which is unlikely.