[Whitey#1]

ok, you folks with more Lotus experience than myself, what do you make of this?

i emailed the dealer over by St. Louis and asked several questions. he did write back, but only answered three of them. he then said if i need further info to email him back.

i guess my question is.....why didnt he answer the rest of my questions? my buddy that used to sell cars says to forget them and go to another midwest dealer, that it didnt sound like they wanted to sell me a Lotus Elise very bad.

Thoughts? Opinions?

Mike

 

[Chris Mackey]

In my humble opinion, email, text messaging and online chat are ruining peoples' abilities to read, understand and communicate. It isn't just your dealer.

I am an employer. I just got deluged with 70 emails looking for a job in response to an ad I placed on Craigslist. About a quarter have obvious typos (no spellchecker used). Another quarter had homonym replacement error (i.e. through versus threw). Ten percent blatantly didn't read the ad and requested work I don't offer. Another 10 percent decided to ignore the explicit instructions in the ad regarding contact. I don't want phone calls, personal visits or telepathic communication, just an email with a resume. Several looked like total crap, using obvious text message substitution like "I want 2 work 4 u".

I am getting old.

 

[IsellLotus]

I'll sell you a car!!!!!

 

[Ryephile]

I'm afraid Chris Mackey is spot-on regarding the dumbing-down of societies ability to communicate effectively due to the plethora of informal channels of informal chatter. If the salesman can't bother himself to entertain all of your questions then he obviously isn't intelligent enough to deserve your business. It's his job to woo your business and comfort your decision, not brush off your questions. I know there are dealerships out there that would practically break the law to earn your business. If the St. Louis dealer is your local option, try contacting the manager and enlighten him to the inferior reply you received; he may be more than willing to sweep you off your feet.

Cheers,
Ryan

 

[def]

Yes I have noticed, even on forums, that people unintentionally skip over parts of posts. I often make bullet or numbered lists to encourage everything getting answered.

But in this case, and in my experience, dealers (especially "upper end" car dealers due to tirekickers) don't take emails as serious, but if you go to the dealership in person, you will find they are very friendly and answer everything plus more.

I say give em another chance on the phone, if they pull the same thing... move on like you are thinking

 

[swede]

I spell like a champ, in Swedish that is, not so good in English. But then again I have a job

 

[Abe]

Yes I have noticed, even on forums, that people unintentionally skip over parts of posts. I often make bullet or numbered lists to encourage everything getting answered.

But in this case, and in my experience, dealers (especially "upper end" car dealers due to tirekickers) don't take emails as serious, but if you go to the dealership in person, you will find they are very friendly and answer everything plus more.

I say give em another chance on the phone, if they pull the same thing... move on like you are thinking

+1.

In todays market, internet is your main source of sales and very little people are foot traffic customers, regardless of the economy.

I'm a firm believer that all internet inquiries should be answered and in a timely manner however; as Def noted, give them a call and do not let e-mails be your only source of communication. You'd be surprise how much information you can get out of the sales department with a simple phone call. E-mails, to me at least, opens the door for you but phone calls actually get you in and are more personal than just looking at a screen. A lot of times you can tell if you're going to buy from the dealer by just calling them and I'm not talking about price but rather if they are kowledgable, courteous, helpful or just the total opposite. I'd call before brushing them off.

 

[propracer]

+1.

In todays market, internet is your main source of sales and very little people are foot traffic customers, regardless of the economy.

I'm a firm believer that all internet inquiries should be answered and in a timely manner however; as Def noted, give them a call and do not let e-mails be your only source of communication. You'd be surprise how much information you can get out of the sales department with a simple phone call. E-mails, to me at least, opens the door for you but phone calls actually get you in and are more personal than just looking at a screen. A lot of times you can tell if you're going to buy from the dealer by just calling them and I'm not talking about price but rather if they are kowledgable, courteous, helpful or just the total opposite. I'd call before brushing them off.

I have to agree with Abe. I just purchased an '03 Esprit last week at a Lotus dealer which I found through the internet, but all communication was done via phone and in person.
It is easy to take an email comment the wrong way, which is not the case on the phone. I bet if you took the time to go visit the dealer and test drove a couple of their cars you would have:
a) some fun ...and
b) call it a positive experience.

So get out off your computer chair, grab the phone, make an appointement and go for some test drives.:up:

 

[Randy Chase]

This is a common issue. If you send out an email with 5 points, many people reply to one point. It less a reflection on the dealer than in how one person communicates effectively (or not). As def said above, it happens on the forums a lot too. People gloss over the typed stuff.

What would be worse would be to do all your business via texting or im.

 

[RoadDad]

In my humble opinion, email, text messaging and online chat are ruining peoples' abilities to read, understand and communicate. It isn't just your dealer.

I am an employer. I just got deluged with 70 emails looking for a job in response to an ad I placed on Craigslist. About a quarter have obvious typos (no spellchecker used). Another quarter had homonym replacement error (i.e. through versus threw). Ten percent blatantly didn't read the ad and requested work I don't offer. Another 10 percent decided to ignore the explicit instructions in the ad regarding contact. I don't want phone calls, personal visits or telepathic communication, just an email with a resume. Several looked like total crap, using obvious text message substitution like "I want 2 work 4 u".

I am getting old.

Chris,

PM me your email and I will send you my resume. I'm not sure what the job is, but I'm a fast study .

 

[Chris Mackey]

Chris,

PM me your email and I will send you my resume. I'm not sure what the job is, but I'm a fast study .

Sorry, RoadDad! I did actually hire a candidate! I'm really excited about her.

 

[Whitey#1]

I say give em another chance on the phone, if they pull the same thing... move on like you are thinking

i believe i will drop him an email tomorrow, thank him for the initial response and politely ask him about the remaining questions, see what type of response i get. i figure if he ends up 0 for 2, then it might be time to email another midwest dealer.

Mike

 

[Hello Kitty]

I contact tech support for some software I use, and I now only ask 1 question per email, because if I ask more than one question, typically none of them are answered.

 

[NMRJock]

i believe i will drop him an email tomorrow, thank him for the initial response and politely ask him about the remaining questions, see what type of response i get. i figure if he ends up 0 for 2, then it might be time to email another midwest dealer.

Mike

I don't know which midwest dealer you're talking about, but I have had great experiences with the folks at AutoEurope. True enthusiasts.

 

[GR82DRV]

It's hard to believe that anyone "selling" cars these days is too busy to answer emails completely. I have a used Miata up for sale on the private market, and the only email that I dismissed was one asking no questions but offering less than 25% of my asking price.:thwack: Otherwise, I'll find time to more than answer every valid question.

 

[RoadDad]

Mike,

I don't know if you realize that Dan (IsellLotus) above is serious. A lot of cars are purchased from across the country and shipped. My salesman actually personally delivered my car in a covered trailer to my driveway. (I am in no way saying that is what Dan could or would do, just saying that you don't necessarily need to purchase locally.)

As far as the email questions go, I think you should just call.

 

[def]

i believe i will drop him an email tomorrow, thank him for the initial response and politely ask him about the remaining questions, see what type of response i get. i figure if he ends up 0 for 2, then it might be time to email another midwest dealer.

Mike

IMO, if you're a serious buyer, you shouldn't be emailing... you may just move on to the next dealer to find the same thing. They may just say "give me a call at #" and not answer anything, had that happen before...

 

[...m...]

...to contrast the popular preconception (which i often share, despite my best intentions), i've met several intelligent and expert professionals who've never mastered the art of effective written communication - don't be so quick to dismiss someone solely on account of inconsequential form...

 

[VisualEchos]

Many dealers don't take such emails seriously, as very few of them turn out to be sales. Look at it like the dealer looks at it; if you can't get to the store, you can't buy the car, and honestly, you could be anyone (a kid with a skateboard for example).

Show up in person, express interest, then do your emailing. I feel certain your responses will be better.

 

[twaszak1]

pm sent