29 Votes

Did you know your dealer is probably spying on you?

Agent001 submitted on 1/3/2008 Official Bell & Ross Timestamp: 12:27:56 AM

39 user comments | Category: Spy Shots | Source: www.autospies.com

Tag Links: Dealers, Who's Calling, Eavesdropping, Spying

How would you feel if you found out tomorrow that every confidential phone call you were making to a salesperson in any business was being recorded?

And then every night, the sales managers were listening to your calls with the employees and critiquing and coaching the salesperson's sales technique.

Well that's EXACTLY what most car dealers are doing EVERY single time you call the dealership.

Most are now using a system called 'Who's Calling' that records all the calls coming into the sales department.

Then, every night, the sales managers listen to all the calls that came in that day and then chew the salespeople out for not closing the deal or using the right techniques.

You'll know if they have it if while you are on hold it says- "Your call MAY be recorded for customer service puposes".

Yea, right...customer service! LOL!

Ever get a random call from a sales manager at a dealership later in the evening and wonder why?

It's because he or she just reviewed the call you made earlier with one of their salespeople and they thought their person blew it, so they need to fix things and close the deal.

Because they are the almighty sales manager who was probably promoted to manager because they COULDN'T sell!

The Spies recommend being EXTREMELY careful what you say when you talk to your dealer...becuase you probably ARE being spied.

Be careful what kind if info you share, like credit scores, ssn numbers,home addresses, etc.

GOD only knows what they can do with it if it gets in hands of a disgruntled employee or should we even say, converted to mp3 and put on a website?

We say buyer BEWARE!

Let us know how you feel about this now common practice at car dealers.

Will it change the way you interact with them?

We'd also LOVE to hear from some car salespeople who can tell us a little insider scoop on the system and stories they've heard of or experienced.

2008 Detroit Auto Show Photo Gallery

2008 San Diego Auto Show Photo Gallery

Did you know your dealer is probably spying on you?

About the Author

FWD Torque Steer. Absolute proof the Devil exists.
— Agent001 (View Profile)

User Comments

This is a possibility with any electronic correspondence these days over unsecured communication lines...

If you're that worried about it, then simply ask them if if the call is being made from an secured line...

If they say no - HANG UP!
— DaHarder (View Profile)

Posted on 1/3/2008 12:47:51 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1

I meant A secured line...
— DaHarder (View Profile)

Posted on 1/3/2008 12:48:27 AM | | Votes: 1

What the *hell* are you talking about?! "Secured line" -- what, like the President?
— tundrahq (View Profile)

Posted on 1/5/2008 11:36:35 PM | | Votes: 1

How is it spying if they tell you that your call may be recorded? Plus, if the manager listens in, it will improve customer service by eliminating rude salespeople.
— Dustbuster (View Profile)

Posted on 1/3/2008 1:30:44 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 5

Eliminating rude salespeople? Clearly the system is working magnificently then. LOL.
— nukezdoc (View Profile)

Posted on 1/3/2008 8:17:44 AM | | Votes: 2

It is definitely spying but I really don't give a hoot as I use it against them with counter-espionage techniques including planting false information and by educating salesmen in a way that demoralizes the organization that they work for.

I find that many sales managers are downright stupid compared to some of the sales staff that they supervise. There is a lot of turnover among sales people. Most of them are hired, expected to try and con all their friends to buy a car from them, and are then fired as soon as their sales performance drops. By then these poor sales folk have lost all their friends and are scrambling to find a job at Walmart or wherever. The strategy many sales managers pursue is to rat race and stress out their sales staff and then move on to bigger and better things if they get lucky and have a good year.

It's a cynical industry and that is why I advocate the sale of cars directly to the consumer by placing an order on the factory website. This should be done in an environment of full disclosure with no hidden incentives or kickbacks to the dealer. I don't mind a dealer that I designate getting a small fully disclosed commission to act as the delivering dealer but I don't want to have to deal with a sales pest who has minimal product knowledge and adds little or no value to the sales process.

I have met too many sales people who are the scum of the earth, who lie and tell you what they think you want to hear and who have been trained to do the wrong thing by an even more stupid sales manager.
— EnnNorak (View Profile)

Posted on 1/3/2008 10:00:57 AM | | Votes: -3

Spying is a little extreme. If you have a legitimate concern with your vehicle, wouldn't you want to make sure you are getting the best treatment possible? That's what this is for. It's not like they are going to steal your social security number, they already have it in their system.
— adamsaf723 (View Profile)

Posted on 1/3/2008 10:46:25 AM | | Votes: 3

No, I spy on him.
— S4cabriofoxone (View Profile)

Posted on 1/3/2008 1:59:45 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1

You got it!!
— EvoAudi (View Profile)

Posted on 1/3/2008 2:32:09 AM | | Votes: 1

If only there was a website to weed out bad dealers and promote good ones... cough DealerRater.com cough
— Agent004 (View Profile)

Posted on 1/3/2008 2:38:54 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1

For some reason I just thought about DealerRater.com right after you cough. Strange.
— Brembo (View Profile)

Posted on 1/3/2008 7:35:44 AM | | Votes: 0

wow talk about a sensationalist article! so what, the managers are using the recorded call to either a) work out their strategy to close a sale or b) to review staff performance. umm big deal? I'm sure heaps of companies across a range of industries do this.
— trancier (View Profile)

Posted on 1/3/2008 2:51:28 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 5

I can't possibly think of a situation in which on the phone with a cars salesman you would be discussing your SSN or credit score. Just about every other company you call on a daily basis records your conversations for customer training purposes. This article is ridiculously pointless.
— skinny (View Profile)

Posted on 1/3/2008 3:27:39 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 4

SSN or credit scores are not the issue. In the auto industry, its all about getting the customer to buy a car sooner than he needs it and even when he does not need it. The sales manager's objective is to make sure the customer signs the sales contract and leaves a deposit.

I was in a showroom a few months ago and all I wanted was a brochure so I could study it and come back later with any questions not answered in the brochure or the factory website. A friendly young sales person invited me to sit down in the office and then immediately hauled out a survey questionnaire explaining that I need to answer a few questions so they could better provide me with the car that I want. I explained that I just want to pick up the brochure as I am in a hurry and that I have been buying cars a lot longer than any two sales people at the dealership have been selling cars and that I would come back with questions later if necessary. The sales person kept insisting that we go through the survey process as that is the way they do business and that is what they have been trained to do. I then said that "so you think your way is better than mine do you?" at which point I took complete control of the situation and went on to say that "you guys are making it more difficult instead of easy to do business with you which is a bad business practice and you should fire your trainer". I'm almost certain that the sales manager in the next office heard me. The bottom line is that this dealer had not received the 2008 brochures yet and I picked one up later that afternoon at another dealer. The original offending dealer made many followup calls including several from the sales manager. I don't mind these calls as every good sales person should have the word "followup" tattooed backwards on his or her forehead so they can read it when looking in the mirror in the morning. Following up with the prospect is good sales practice but all that initial bullshit with the survey is a red flag for me.
— EnnNorak (View Profile)

Posted on 1/3/2008 10:25:50 AM | | Votes: -2

Yawn, Nothing new hear, its all been said above.
— FOZ13 (View Profile)

Posted on 1/3/2008 9:02:27 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1

I don't mind it, let they hear what they have to hear and understand that I won't woke out of there with a car until I get the deal that I want. lol
— SHOWTIME (View Profile)

Posted on 1/3/2008 9:14:55 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0

Actually, you should walk out as soon as they turn down your deal. You would be surprised how often someone chases after you in the parking lot to get you back into negotiations.
— EnnNorak (View Profile)

Posted on 1/3/2008 10:28:25 AM | | Votes: 0

yea ur right about that too, and wow i had some serious miss spelling lol.
— SHOWTIME (View Profile)

Posted on 1/7/2008 12:24:20 PM | | Votes: 1

I am in car sales and my managers use it to make sure the calls are being handled properly. The only reason I work where I work is because I have such a good manager. He is not stuck in the old school days of car sales and understands good customer service. He is very progressive and does not yell and scream at his employees like I have seen at other stores. He finds solutions to problems.
I know a lot of you bash car salesmen, but think about it, how many people at your current job suck? But, there are also a lot of good people at your job, right? exactly. I do sell BMW's and I run into doctors that are complete morons, but my personal doctor is an awesome person and very knowledgeable.
— 2ndbimmer (View Profile)

Posted on 1/3/2008 10:29:10 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2

The issue is that customers do not need a sales person to buy a car. They can make do with an order taker or a decent factory website where you can order a vehicle at very slightly above dealer cost. Dealers make enough money from service and that is the extent of their usefulness.
— EnnNorak (View Profile)

Posted on 1/3/2008 4:50:04 PM | | Votes: 0

EnnNorak - that works for new cars, but what about used? Also, what about all those people that don't know what they want? Who should they ask for help?
— tundrahq (View Profile)

Posted on 1/5/2008 11:42:40 PM | | Votes: 1

These ignorant (not necessarily stupid) people should ask their more knowledgeable friends and not some sinister sales person who does not know his ass from his elbow and who is only interested in getting a signature on the bottom line.
— EnnNorak (View Profile)

Posted on 1/10/2008 5:09:39 PM | | Votes: 1

Geez you guys are harsh on Agent001. He was just trying to come up with a news story due to a slow day in the news room. Cut him some slack!
— 0to60 (View Profile)

Posted on 1/3/2008 11:26:28 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0

An E for Effort!
— 0to60 (View Profile)

Posted on 1/3/2008 2:53:37 PM | | Votes: 1

I hope they do record them. I had an idiot call me today from a major company while I was busy and started off with the lie that it was a courtesy call. The caller was asking me questions the answers to which should already be on their customer data base. The caller hung up on me when I started giving business advice on how not to conduct business and asked that the caller's boss be fired.
— EnnNorak (View Profile)

Posted on 1/3/2008 4:55:32 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0

It is amazing how many armchair quarterbacks and over opinionated idiots are out there. When one believes they are being spied on by a announced recorded message on a telephone call they are greatly mistaken. this is the digital age with any type of communication one can find almost anything through the internet.

I work in the industry with a dealer that uses a system similar to what you rant about. This is used for positive purposes ie. reinforcement not negative as you mention. In fact it allows for documented facts in a industry which breeds a lot of he said she said turmoils therefore imporving customer service.

Like anyone I would like for my privacy to be respected however almost every customer service industry employs systems similar to the one discussed. When have you called a Utility Company, an Insurance Company, or a major Retailer for that matter and have not heard those words? I can't remember the last time I have not heard them after dialing.

If this system is used for what it is designed to do it will increase sales for the dealership not by finding the weaknesses of the customer but for finding the areas to which the staff is not handling the call correctly. Often this is more on the terms of what information was not offered to the client to gain trust and commitment than the retrieval of information to force the client to deal with you.

Having represented premium brands for over twenty years I have heard an equal number of horror stories about the Auto Industry vs. my experience in other similar customer service occupations. When was the last time that anyone questioned a good experience? We expect it. The only way this happens is with proper training. Training breeds knowledge. Knowledge brings satisfaction. Satisfaction delivers success. This benefits both the client and the dealership.

If this takes following other industries into recording conversation then I am for it as what are the alternatives? Dealing with people who are not trained to handle the customers properly. I'm sorry I will take a person who is competent on the telephone any day.

Finally, for the EnnNorak. What you wish; to order directly from a Manufacturer paying a retailer a small disclosed commission for their efforts is the most ridiculous statement I have ever heard. It is people like you that do not think before you talk that create the concerns in this industry. What is a fair and reasonable profit to address your concerns over the term of ownership of that vehicle? Are you taking into account the operation costs of business? Do you disclose the profits in the industry that you are in? I suggest becoming more educated in the operations of this industry before making such an asinine statement.
— GreatWhiteNortherner (View Profile)

Posted on 1/3/2008 11:59:00 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1

EnnNorak do you know any profession that a client comes to see you to buy the 2nd most important purchase in there life and you think they are the worst poeple on earth ... your talking on buying a car via internet without any sales rep so you don't pay for the commision and all ... but how are you gonna test drive the car ?
— theonemikahel (View Profile)

Posted on 1/3/2008 1:58:14 PM | | Votes: 1

GreatWhiteNortherner , stop misleading the public. You know full well that an unacceptably high percentage of retail customers are unhappy with their car purchasing experience and that most people are fed up with hidden factory incentives not being passed on, defective demos being sold off as new, extra charges for equipment that is standard and all sorts of other devious tricks that unscrupulous dealers use. That is one of the reasons various governments forced the auto industry to paste MSRP stickers on new vehicles shipped from the factory. I have been buying cars for more than half a century and I pretty well know every trick in the book. I also consistently get the best deals.

What I am advocating is that we cut through all the bullshit and aggravation and go to a system of full disclosure where everyone is happy. This may sound ridiculous to you because of bad antisocial training you received in the industry.

As for used cars, there are consumer protection laws but they do not go far enough and those who can least afford it continue to get ripped off by sleezy used car dealers who sell products like flood cars that have been cleaned and painted over.
— EnnNorak (View Profile)

Posted on 1/10/2008 5:21:43 PM | | Votes: 1

theonemikahel, first of all there should be fewer dealers and the factory should supply test cars to every dealer whose main reason for existence is to act as a service point. Better still, each zone office should have a test track where consumers can go and test drive cars. Another way is what car companies have already done many times i.e. do a national tour spending a few days in each major city where retail prospects can test drive various models.

I'm a retail customer and when I point out a major obstacles to doing business the old way, all you defensive car industry guys come to me with more questions than solutions that you are in a better position to come up with than me.
— EnnNorak (View Profile)

Posted on 1/10/2008 5:31:06 PM | | Votes: 1

Most of the time we listen in to make sure the staff wasn't bad mouthing the management. Sales people are notorious for gossiping on down time so we had to make sure rumors didn't get out of hand.
— chuck717 (View Profile)

Posted on 1/3/2008 2:40:46 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1

If the staff is bad-mouthing management it means there is something wrong with the corporate culture. That should be looked upon as good feedback and a signal to do something about bad management.
— EnnNorak (View Profile)

Posted on 1/3/2008 4:58:28 PM | | Votes: 0

Everybody gets there phone calls recorded. Big effin' deal.

BTW... Dealerrater.com SUCKS. All it is, is a complainte department. Want real reviews? Try Yelp.com
— Godgore (View Profile)

Posted on 1/3/2008 6:38:29 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1

Why is it only now that we see a problem with the call from the sales manager?

I have been in auto sales for a long time, back before systems like this were in place, as a Sales Manager one of my expected duties every day was to call every customer who visited the dealership that day and every day before until you determine that he have bought or died, and if we had a phone log (before this system every dealer had a way of tracking this) to call every customer that called in and follow up to be sure that the salesman did his job.

This is just the auto industry getting with the times, what industry has not gone electronic? Do you remember when every car salesman had a "log book" in his back pocket where he/she wrote everything down? Now you see them with a slip of paper and then they enter into a CRM tool linked to the Dealership management system so the store can find more ways to market to you based on it.

None of stuff is new, just a little more high tech.
— chilipalmer (View Profile)

Posted on 1/3/2008 7:44:41 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1

Chili I *know* you man!
— tundrahq (View Profile)

Posted on 1/5/2008 11:45:17 PM | | Votes: 1

it depends the dealer. maserati... less likly to do so. toyota... garenteed to do so
— pacotacolol (View Profile)

Posted on 1/5/2008 9:59:41 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1

This is nothing new folks. Heck, every call center or customer service center has been doing this for years. Who know's how effective it is but it's not new. Like everybody else, they're just trying to close a deal.
— r_driver04 (View Profile)

Posted on 1/7/2008 1:48:38 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1

Add your Comments

Images hosted in your AgentSpace can now be posted in the comments section using the following syntax (case matters): [img]IMAGE URL[/img]
Example: [img]http://agent001.myautospies.com/images/sample.jpg[/img]

Email Me When Someone Replies To My Message

Did you know your dealer is probably spying on you?

About the Author

User Comments

Add your Comments

Submit an article

Photo Galleries

Cars

Autoshows

Latest Articles