As the DEALER advocate magazine, DEALER
welcomes your letters, and after verification will run them signed or
unsigned. Letters may be edited for space and clarity.
Send To:
DEALER magazine
1116 W. 7th Street
PMB 239 Columbia, TN 38401 (931) 388-1800 ext. 203
Fax (931) 388-4881 e-mail: mroscoe@dealeronline.com
Mr. Roscoe:
Could you e-mail me a copy
of the Dealer Undercover article about Blue Oval Certified in your July issue?
This is the first time I've seen anyone in print tell the truth about the
Blue Oval Certified ideas. I would like to e-mail it to many of the small
dealers in this area, but it's not listed on your Web site yet.
Thanks,
Nathan Bernard
Union Auto, Inc.
Union, IA
Mr. Roscoe:
I look forward to your magazine
each month. It is the only true dealer viewpoint publication that I receive.
We are huge fans of Jim Ziegler. He is the only commentator that sees the
situation as it really is from the dealer's side. I hope he continues to expose
the flaws of Ford's Blue Oval program. This program will be the finishing
touch for most small dealers. Two-tiered pricing is illegal and will lead
to our demise.
Dealer name withheld upon request
Mike Roscoe:
I just wanted to let you
know that I enjoy your Internet articles online! I have been involved with
sales on the Internet since late 1993 and brought my experience with me to
the auto
industry about one and a
half years ago. I am lucky enough to work for a dealer who believes the Internet
is the way of the future. Fifty percent of our Internet sales are outside
of our area, we get incremental sales! We have a great process and I have
great people working for me with great training!
Come interview us!
John Parker
Internet Director
Friendly Chevrolet
Dear Mr. Roscoe:
I have long appreciated your
magazine and all the dealer mail. I assume my resume should allow a letter to
you and your readers after spending over 40 years as a Ford-Lincoln-Mercury
dealer in Weatherford, OK. I received the Ford Distinguished Achievement Award
(highest award Ford was giving then) for 14 consecutive years starting in 1963.
In 1981, I purchased the Lincoln-Mercury dealership in Enid, OK retaining ownership
until 1989. During the mid-80s, I was also owner and dealer principal of the
Lincoln-Mercury store in Shawnee, OK. During my watch at these stores, they
both received the Ford President's Award. I served as Regional Chairman both
for Ford and L-M Dealer Council and Chairman of our district's FDAF and LMDA's,
plus a full term as the Regional L-M Representative on the Ford Consumers Appeals
Board when it was operational from the Dallas region. I was selected as the
Oklahoma Auto Dealers Association TIME QUALITY Dealer in 1991. I served several
terms on OADA's board of directors and legislative committee. I am still serving
as a member of the Oklahoma Motor Vehicle Commission.
It is not my intention to be boastful or draw attention to myself, as there are hundreds of other Ford dealers who have exceeded my qualities in the automotive industry in their states and local communities. The purpose of my communication, with a copy to the President and/or General Manager of Ford Division is: "I have retired" and sold my interest in the Weatherford F-L-M store 90 days ago.
I feel a state of disappointment that somewhere in the chain of command (since all the paperwork was passed through Detroit) of Ford Motor Company, someone did not at least write me a short note and say, "Thank you for being our partner for 40-plus years." Or maybe I am expecting too much and no manufacturer would write this kind of note. Or perhaps, I should have known a "no response" was in order. After all, Ford Motor Company became their dealers' competition in Tulsa and Oklahoma City two and three years previous.
Sincerely yours,
Marion Davidson
Retired, dedicated
Ford Lincoln/Mercury dealer
1324 Grandview Dr.
Weatherford, OK
Hello Jim:
I enjoy your column in DEALER
magazine every month. I read an editorial by Csaba Csere in the August issue
of Car & Driver which is very anti-dealer in its stance against franchise
laws. I would ask you to read it and perhaps address it with a reply to Mr.
Csere as I have done. This editorial plays fast and loose with the facts and
is basically nonsense. It does damage to the cause of franchised dealers versus
factory-owned stores and computer stores.
Regards,
Alan Andrea
President
North Shores Nissan-VW
Highland Park, IL
Jim,
I just received the July
issue. How right you are. We have been in business since 1938. I am 3rd generation
with my uncle who is 2nd generation. We have seen many changes over the years
but this one takes the cake. Our customer base has been repeat buyers for
two to three generations. Our customer satisfaction scores are high but because
we are a select dealer and very small, less than 100 new per year, we may
not have enough scores to qualify for BOC, "bunch of crap." As of
May 2000, our VOC scores are N/A because we did not meet the required 30 surveys.
Over the last few years Ford has killed us on numerous things, shop tools,
Fordstar, and now a new sign that we are supposed to buy from them, not a
local sign company that could do it for a lot less. As everyone knows mark-up
margins continue to shrink as vehicle MSRP prices stay the same. Good for
the customer, bad for the dealer! As you see, we are on the Internet. We pay
Ford $225 per month for a Web site that we receive no leads for. Hey, this
is rural Montana! Lots of Net buyers here. I am typing on my new $1,700 computer
with its own phone line so that we are Net certified. My customers that visit
our site really appreciate that. Oh yeah, we don't have any Net customers.
I could go on and on but what's the use? Who knows the business better - a
62-year old dealership or some foreign executive trying to put us out of business?
Michael Mills
Mills Motor Co.
Fairfield Mt.
Dave Anderson:
I've been in this business
for twenty-one years and in those years I've never read a better overall article
than yours in the July issue of DEALER entitled, "Your One and Only Competitive
Edge." I plan to keep it close and read it regularly.
William Smith
Smith Chevrolet Oldsmobile
Cadillac
Laurens, SC
Jack Bennett:
Just read your article in
the July issue of DEALER magazine. First, let me say that I have followed
your career for the last 25 years with great interest and admiration. I can't
help but feel that I have been with you in some form or other for the entire
trip. I personally think that you have done one of the better jobs of taking
sales training material and making it interesting, informative, humorous and
insightful. Hopefully, when you were a "green pea," the material
was presented to you in the same fashion. If ya' get a chance, stop in and
see me. I'm the guy in the suit sittin' in the corner officethe office where
all the bucks stop.
Still think you're
the best.
Chris Olson
General Manager
Frank Bouchers' Waukesha Lincoln/Mercury
Mr. Roscoe:
I
have read your article in the latest issue and must respond that I am disappointed.
To begin with, I have enjoyed reading your magazine very much. I must now
question where you are going with this. Starting with your title of the article,
which you proudly displayed on the front cover, "Blue Oval or Blue Anal?"
Is this the way you want your publication to go? I personally don't think
you need to go there. I am not rubber-stamping the Blue Oval program as rolled
out, but I believe the all-out attack is not the way all dealers feel about
this. The information given about some of the facts by your anonymous dealer
are not accurate. They are misrepresentations. Does any business owner or
consumer not want clean restrooms? Just as the Ford dealers are judged by
the quality of the product, Ford is judged by the quality of the service,
which we give to customers at our dealerships. To raise the level and consistency
of a consumer's experiences at all Ford dealerships across America cannot
be bad for any of us the consumer, the dealer and Ford. There needs
to be some major changes in the Blue Oval, but to take the approach that nothing
is to be gained, I do not believe is in our collective best interest. I believe
Ford will work with its dealers now and make revisions, which would be beneficial
to the majority of dealers. We must work together to improve owner loyalty
and Ford brand loyalty. I believe we, as dealers, should want a part in this
effort. Thanks for your efforts in bringing us the dealer magazine.
Mitchell Dale
Dealer
McRee Ford, Inc.
Dickinson, Texas
DEALER welcomes all letters and thoughts from all dealers. However, I do believe that you're both in the minority in your feelings re: Blue Oval. Last I saw, Ford's in-house, on-line survey showed 347 against, 18 for. Also, an independent survey produced the following results:
"Blue Oval Certified" Poll Reveals Startling Rebuke from Dealers
Gulf Breeze, FL, August 18, 2000 - Responding Ford dealer principals and general managers issued a stunning reply of criticism to Ford's "Blue Oval Certified" program in a recent poll conducted by The Listener Group. The telephone survey, developed by Spoke Automotive Consulting, was conducted July 25-August 7 to Ford dealerships selected at random nationwide and produced a response rate of 76.5% among Ford dealers who were contacted. The average tenure as a Ford dealer among responding dealerships was 21 plus years as a Ford dealer.
Survey results indicate three out of four (76.32%) responding dealers feel Ford's new "Blue Oval Certified" program created an unfair advantage for many Ford dealers. Of the dealers surveyed, eight out of ten (83%) stated they felt the program establishes a two-tier price structure among Ford dealerships.
When dealers were asked if the Ford program would accomplish Ford's goal of improving customer satisfaction at the dealership level, over one-half of the polled dealers indicated NO while another 13% were uncertain.
Michael Roscoe
