Would this bother you?

[school17777]

We recently bought a new van from a dealership over an hour away.  I had a scheduled appointment for something that needed replaced under warranty.  So, about a week before my appointment, I emailed our salesman asking him if he would be available to show me some cars that we might consider for dh while I was waiting for the van to be fixed.  He never responded.  I asked when I checked in if he still worked there, and they said yes. I had stuff to do while I waited, so I didn’t go look at cars.  

So, the salesman finally emails this week and starts a new email and never acknowledges that he didn’t respond to my initial email when I had asked to be shown cars when I would be there.  He just emailed a second time wondering if we still want him to show us cars.  

I so want to respond that yeah we did, last week when I was there!  It really bothers me that he didn’t acknowledge my request for him to show me cars on a specific date and time. Even if he missed the email when I first sent it, I feel like he should have acknowledged that he missed seeing it or whatever, rather than acting like I didn’t ask for an appointment last week.

Would this bother you as much as it is bothering me?  Are my expectations too high?

[happi duck]

Emails easily get lost in the shuffle.  I never depend upon a single email only.

[happi duck]

Btw, I think it would be okay for you to respond to the email nicely to say you had emailed about seeing cars the other day and were dissappointed at not getting a response.

[scholastica]

It would irritate me. I would expect him to acknowledge that he had missed the email. I would have expected them to tell him you were there and hopefully, he would come talk to you while you were in the building, apologize for missing the email, etc. Yes, you can send a kindly worded email saying that you had hoped to look at cars while you were there since you live so far away, but you aren't available right now.  Also, is this the closest dealership to you? If not, you can take to the closer one(s) for warranty work; all the dealerships have to do warranty work regardless of where you bought the car.

[Arctic Bunny]

Yes, it would bother me, and yes our expectations are too high. If I really had wanted to look at cars, I would have given the business to someone that was present. Knowing my luck, the guy who didn’t answer my email would get a cut because I was technically already his customer, and that would tick me off more!

Edited August 16, 2019 by arctic_bunny

[J-rap]

Yes, it would momentarily bother me that this is someone who has trouble keeping up with emails and is a little inept and doesn't know how to appropriately respond, at least with an apology, once he realized he didn't answer you before.

But, I wouldn't think too much about it beyond that.  Maybe I don't have high expectations.  Actually, I'm pleasantly surprised when someone acts appropriately and professionally in those situations.

I definitely think you can respond as happi duck suggested, that you were disappointed that you didn't hear from him before your last visit, especially since you're coming from an hour away.

[Carol in Cal.]

I would just go look at cars without him.  I’d answer, no thank you to his email.

[school17777]

12 minutes ago, happi duck said:

Emails easily get lost in the shuffle.  I never depend upon a single email only.

But he obviously saw it since he’s sent me two emails referring to us looking at cars for dh. 

[Jean in Newcastle]

I would expect that he has a very high volume of customers to show cars to.  I wouldn't expect him to remember that I was attached to a specific email.  And I wouldn't expect him to be available to show me cars at a moment's notice.  (Was there no one else there who was free to show you cars?)  But I live in a metropolitan area so perhaps that colors my expectations.  (I don't know where you live so don't know if volumes are high or not.)

[school17777]

12 minutes ago, scholastica said:

It would irritate me. I would expect him to acknowledge that he had missed the email. I would have expected them to tell him you were there and hopefully, he would come talk to you while you were in the building, apologize for missing the email, etc. Yes, you can send a kindly worded email saying that you had hoped to look at cars while you were there since you live so far away, but you aren't available right now.  Also, is this the closest dealership to you? If not, you can take to the closer one(s) for warranty work; all the dealerships have to do warranty work regardless of where you bought the car.

 

It’s the closest large dealership in our state.  There’s a couple of large dealerships near dh’s work, but they are out of state.  We initially bought my first van at one, but it ends up costing us more in tags and inspection - which is inconvenient because we have to take it (and pay) for an inspection in our state within 30 days.

We can take it to any dealership for warranty work.  I happened to be near there a couple of weeks ago, but they had to order a part so I had to go back.

[happi duck]

1 minute ago, school17777 said:

But he obviously saw it since he’s sent me two emails referring to us looking at cars for dh. 

I didn't realize that info only came from your initial email.  The salesperson should apologize.  It's a little weird from a sales standpoint not to apologize.

[school17777]

5 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

I would expect that he has a very high volume of customers to show cars to.  I wouldn't expect him to remember that I was attached to a specific email.  And I wouldn't expect him to be available to show me cars at a moment's notice.  (Was there no one else there who was free to show you cars?)  But I live in a metropolitan area so perhaps that colors my expectations.  (I don't know where you live so don't know if volumes are high or not.)

 

It wasn’t at a moment’s notice - I was scheduling a time a week in advance .

[school17777]

8 minutes ago, happi duck said:

I didn't realize that info only came from your initial email.  The salesperson should apologize.  It's a little weird from a sales standpoint not to apologize.

Yes, he started a new email referencing everything in my initial email, except my request to see cars during my van’s appointment last week.  He didn’t respond to my email, just started a new one.

Edited August 16, 2019 by school17777

[Farrar]

I'd be mildly annoyed, but I wouldn't hold it against them long term or anything, unless they did more annoying stuff.

[Selkie]

I would be annoyed but not surprised. I deal with a lot of salespeople for work and some of them are just flat-out awful at their jobs. Like some of them will take a week or more to get me a price on a vehicle or piece of equipment, while their competitors have it to me within the hour. It makes you wonder how some of them make any money.🤷‍♀️

[Miss Tick]

Yes, it would bother me. Do they really get a lot of emails at a dealership? Is selling cars not where he makes his money? I'm so baffled that he did not answer right away! You are doing half the job for him by walking in the door with a request!

It seems most likely to me that either he doesn't want to work with women or it is a misguided effort to try to make the whole transaction shift in his favor with "scarcity mentality" or something. Probably it is a more benign reason, like, he is a car salesman because his organization skills prevented his preferred career of accounting or librarianship or something. 

If you feel this dealership is the best choice, I would consider asking the sales manager to put you in touch with another sales person - or not. This is where I would use my annoyance level to decide. I would not bother answering his emails, just contact him (or the manager) whenever it is convenient for you to look at cars again. Pretend this whole thing never happened.

[happi duck]

At a dealership we recently worked with, we complimented their quick email response.  They told us all the emails go through one person and she routes them to salespeople.  If someone doesn't reply promptly she won't send them email leads next time and will continue to send them to those that respond!

Edited August 16, 2019 by happi duck

[SKL]

Some people are bad at timely communication.  I am one of those people. 

It would be best to immediately send some kind of answer, to acknowledge the email and let the person know when you can get back (or if there is a reason you can't).  But what I often do instead:  I tell myself I should put a little more time into it and give a substantive answer.  "I'll give the attention it deserves after I do A, B, and C."  Then I get 50 more emails that scream for attention.  By the time I remember the one you sent me, too much time has gone by.  If it's not a critical matter, I hope people will just assume I never got the email.

Or I might answer it late, but without apologizing.  Why?  I have learned that with some people, the worst thing you can do is admit you screwed up.  They will use it against you rather than appreciate that you were honest and contrite about it.  Maybe your sales guy has dealt with a couple of people like that.  Some people really don't care if you lose your job over something really small in the big picture.  You have kids, sick mom, whatever - nobody cares.  Better cover your butt.

Of course, your sales guy could just be a jerk.  I don't know.  I would give him a little grace though.

[Junie]

I *think* I know what dealership you're talking about.  I would expect nothing less than the best customer service from them and I would be annoyed.  My guess is that the guy was on vacation or something and is responding to a ton of emails.  I still think he should have apologized.

[EmseB]

I would just write back and say, "Sorry, as per my previous emails I was available on (X date) when my van was getting worked on and I was already out your way. I'm not sure when I'll be at the dealership again, thanks!"

[school17777]

5 minutes ago, Junie said:

I *think* I know what dealership you're talking about.  I would expect nothing less than the best customer service from them and I would be annoyed.  My guess is that the guy was on vacation or something and is responding to a ton of emails.  I still think he should have apologized.

Probably not the one you are thinking of - further north, slightly west.

eta:  no fruit involved 

Edited August 16, 2019 by school17777

[school17777]

2 minutes ago, EmseB said:

I would just write back and say, "Sorry, as per my previous emails I was available on (X date) when my van was getting worked on and I was already out your way. I'm not sure when I'll be at the dealership again, thanks!"

Awesome response!  Might just use this.

[Junie]

8 minutes ago, school17777 said:

Probably not the one you are thinking of - further north, slightly west.

eta:  no fruit involved 

Ha!  That is exactly the one I was thinking of!

Even so, if they are close in size or larger than that one, I would expect stellar customer service.

[TechWife]

Yes, that would annoy me. I would go to a different salesperson. I'd simply respond to the email, saying something like "As I stated previously, I was available on xx at yy o'clock. I do not know when I will be available again.  I will be selecting a more responsive salesperson at that point in time."

I think he needs to know he dropped the ball and lost your business as a result. Otherwise, he will not improve and if you select him again, you will not be able to count on his responsiveness.

Many people receive hundreds of emails each day at work, and they deal with them professionally. Ignoring an email is not professional.

I was incredibly annoyed when buying a car a couple of years ago when I told the salesperson that we needed all of the paperwork ready when we arrived to complete the sale. My husband, who was not part of the process (I had done all of the groundwork, all of the test driving, and had selected the vehicle) had to be there to sign paperwork because his name was also going to be on the title. He not only didn't have everything ready, he kept us waiting and then got annoyed 1 1/2 hours later when dh had to step out to take a work related phone call. We won't be using that salesperson again, and we might not even use that dealership again.

[school17777]

22 minutes ago, Junie said:

Ha!  That is exactly the one I was thinking of!

Even so, if they are close in size or larger than that one, I would expect stellar customer service.

Bigger, competitive pricing, and they had the model and color I wanted in stock.  I’d go to the other one if they had had what I wanted in stock and could match the price I was willing to pay.  Dh’s current car came from there.

[mom@shiloh]

It would irritate me, but the last time I was irritated because someone didn't respond to an email, it turned out that all my emails were going to her spam. 

[alisoncooks]

23 hours ago, EmseB said:

I would just write back and say, "Sorry, as per my previous emails I was available on (X date) when my van was getting worked on and I was already out your way. I'm not sure when I'll be at the dealership again, thanks!"

Yep. Polite but lets him know he's missed out. I mean, they get a commission, right? You'd think he'd be chomping at the bit to keep you as a return customer!

Edited August 17, 2019 by alisoncooks

[school17777]

1 hour ago, mom@shiloh said:

It would irritate me, but the last time I was irritated because someone didn't respond to an email, it turned out that all my emails were going to her spam. 

 

I do understand that could be a possibility, but he could have explained that’s why he didn’t respond in a timely manner.  

[catz]

Well I’d feel no obligation to give him my sale for certain.

[gardenmom5]

I think your expectations are too high.   he's busy (whether it's navel gazing or actually helping people, is unknown.)  he doesn't 'have time' to return a message in a prompt manner, so move on to another salesman for your next car.  they're working for you, on your schedule.

[Pen]

7 hours ago, happi duck said:

Btw, I think it would be okay for you to respond to the email nicely to say you had emailed about seeing cars the other day and were dissappointed at not getting a response.

 

ITA.  

Possibly along with “No thank you” as to him showing you other cars. 

Edited August 16, 2019 by Pen

[school17777]

I responded to his email from yesterday with EmseB’s wording, except I took out “sorry”.  He didn’t respond, at least not yet.

I may have dh check out a dealership that he can stop by on his way home from work that covers the first year of oil changes.  That would pay the difference it would cost us to buy the car out of state.

[gardenmom5]

another thing to keep in mind - the online sites conglomerate from dealers.  (cars.com, truevalue.com, Edmunds.com, cargurus.com..etc.) if you know what car/type of car you're looking for - they are worth using.  it will help you find a dealer with what you want.  even if you're looking at a 2019.  I used them for helping 1dd, and 2ds (two of the exact car - he went back and forth between the two dealers.  one refused to budge...fine, no sale for you.).

there were a bunch of sites - you can filter your results.  sometimes - the internet price would be less than what was on the dealer lot....  I did buy my car out of state - and even paying shipping to get it here, was less than I could have bought it here. (it was at least $6K less than their lot list price)

[SereneHome]

On 8/16/2019 at 1:35 PM, school17777 said:

Awesome response!  Might just use this.

I like @EmseB response except I would NOT start with "sorry", since you have nothing to be sorry for.

I had a thread on here last year about how annoyed I was that people (professionals and trade people )didn't seem to really read their emails.  They opened them and replied to them, but their responses were showing either 1) complete lack of reading comprehension or 2) complete lack of attention to information IN the emails.  I was told that I shouldn't expect too much bc evidently no one has time to read emails anymore. I think it's BS bc the same people who didn't answer questions in emails did the exact same thing with phone messages and texts.

I am all for giving people benefit of the doubt but I think professionalism is very much on the way out in our society today.

[school17777]

@SereneHome  I agree and used her wording, minus sorry.

[EmseB]

4 hours ago, school17777 said:

@SereneHome  I agree and used her wording, minus sorry.

Obviously I don't mind anyone leaving it out, but in my head the sorry read as more passive-aggressive, lol. As in sorry, not sorry.  Or, too bad, you lost a potential sale. But definitely not, "I apologize for not coming in."  Not that I mind how you wrote it, just explaining that I wasn't thinking of apologizing to the sales dude. 😄 

[school17777]

24 minutes ago, EmseB said:

Obviously I don't mind anyone leaving it out, but in my head the sorry read as more passive-aggressive, lol. As in sorry, not sorry.  Or, too bad, you lost a potential sale. But definitely not, "I apologize for not coming in."  Not that I mind how you wrote it, just explaining that I wasn't thinking of apologizing to the sales dude. 😄 

 

I understand!  I just didn’t want to take the chance that the salesman didn’t read it that way.

Thanks again for the wording!

[Soror]

Yes, it would annoy me. Sales people need to be responsive if they want sales and I wouldn't bother going back to one that couldn't bother to respond within a week. My time is precious too and if someone can't even return a message then they don't have time to have me as a customer. There are still service people that do a decent job, I'm not going to encourage the bad ones. If he actually had a legitimate reason for not responding he should have said so and should have at least given an apology. I know with our last vehicle purchase a lot is done online these days, they should be up on that.

Edited August 18, 2019 by soror

[Wheres Toto]

On 8/16/2019 at 1:32 PM, EmseB said:

I would just write back and say, "Sorry, as per my previous emails I was available on (X date) when my van was getting worked on and I was already out your way. I'm not sure when I'll be at the dealership again, thanks!"

I like this wording and I'm glad you used it without the "sorry".  It's polite, reminds him of what you requested (in case he forgot), and should stop him from continuing to contact you.

On 8/16/2019 at 2:55 PM, mom@shiloh said:

It would irritate me, but the last time I was irritated because someone didn't respond to an email, it turned out that all my emails were going to her spam. 

Does anybody who gets emails for business not know to check their spam folder every so often?  I feel like that should be a standard procedure at this point.

12 hours ago, SereneHome said:

I like @EmseB response except I would NOT start with "sorry", since you have nothing to be sorry for.

I had a thread on here last year about how annoyed I was that people (professionals and trade people )didn't seem to really read their emails.  They opened them and replied to them, but their responses were showing either 1) complete lack of reading comprehension or 2) complete lack of attention to information IN the emails.  I was told that I shouldn't expect too much bc evidently no one has time to read emails anymore. I think it's BS bc the same people who didn't answer questions in emails did the exact same thing with phone messages and texts.

I am all for giving people benefit of the doubt but I think professionalism is very much on the way out in our society today.

I'm constantly surprised by the responses I get from people.  Clearly reading comprehension is a problem.   I always struggle with how to answer to not sound snarky, but point out they didn't answer the question I asked.  

I get a lot of emails for my business.  I can see them on my phone but sometimes need to respond from my computer (to provide an attachment or something) so it can take a little bit longer.  I always try to answer by the end of the day I received the email.   Same with Facebook messages.   I often get people thanking me for the prompt response so I'm thinking it must be unusual.  

[StaceyinLA]

I recently bought a vehicle, and did a lot of communicating via email due to our location (not near either of the dealerships I was working with).

I’d be probably be irritated, but if I had wanted to look at cars, I would’ve called if I hadn’t heard back within a few days, and either talked with that salesperson directly, or made arrangements for someone else to show me cars. I definitely would have looked while I was there, with or without that salesperson. 

I bought a vehicle recently. I dealt with a lady at one dealership a few times, got prices, quotes, did a couple test drives, etc. I wound up calling another dealership to compare pricing, found out they offered dealer incentives (ie LIFETIME power train warranty) that the closer dealership did not. Not only that, but they beat the pricing by a couple thousand dollars, AND with a higher trim vehicle. In addition, they offered more for my trade, guaranteed, sight unseen.

Ultimately I bought from that dealership. I did email the original salesperson at the other dealership to let her know. She acted annoyed that I didn’t give her the opportunity to “beat” the price, only I had, for months, and they never came close, nor did she ever seem to want to go out of her way to acquire a vehicle for me from another lot or anything.

The salesperson I dealt with was fantastic. She bent over backwards to get my business. The dealership was awesome to deal with. I have already encouraged several people to go there, and I KNOW I’ll go back there again. People like that are few and far between these days, but they are out there.

Edited August 19, 2019 by StaceyinLA