An Open Letter to the CEO of General Motors

[Carol]

Dear Sir:

There is quite possibly a huge Corvette market out there that is largely untapped. This market would not change the character of the Corvette.

I understand that the engine of economic growth in most G-7 countries over, say, the last two decades has been the start-up and growth of small and medium-sized businesses. Many of these businesses are owned and run by women. The baby-boom demographic would indicate that a lot of these women are around 50 years of age.

The key to tapping into this market is a clear understanding of want and the barriers to acquisition, both purely psychological phenomena. Let me name your new market as "Mrs. Smith".

Respecting want, Mrs. Smith has a stable marriage, probably has grown-up children and has also successfully set up and run a business. Income tax, employee issues, pleasing the customer, bank loans, risk and endless hours of sacrifice figure into the picture. If you ask Mrs. Smith what is hers and hers alone, you may get an interesting answer. I suspect that her answer is "nothing". All aspects of Mrs. Smith's life are about responsibility to others. What Mrs. Smith really wants is a format that will allow her to break all of the rules and do so through an acquisition belonging solely to her. A selfish breaking-of-the-rules through ownership of an edgy, high-performance sports car is just the ticket (perhaps another 50 hp and a Honda S-2000-quality shifter in a convertible might be an improvement to the present C6). No "vanity mirrors" and the like for Mrs. Smith; no sir!

Respecting barriers to acquisition, there are three, as follows:

1. Opening the Door

Mrs. Smith has not even thought about a high-performance sports car. She doesn't know that she wants one. The personal approach and word-of-mouth are best, I suspect. Somehow you must go to Mrs. Smith personally. She will not go to you. Plant the seed. Give her time and the psychological bells will start to ring.

2. Car Dealership

Mrs. Smith is repulsed by the very idea. She has dealt with salespeople in business and wants no more of it. What is needed is a customer representative that will cater to Mrs. Smith -- treat her like a queen and never abandon or betray her.

3. Service Department

On this forum, I have noted the occasional horror story such as not changing the oil while saying that it was done, driving the customer's car without permission and dropping a Corvette off the hoist. What is required is absolute integrity. Trust and competence are key. With respect to barriers #2 and #3, I suggest an organizational cut-out at the dealership level. There should be a designated Corvette mechanic, (he can work on other vehicles but no one but he touches a Corvette), who reports directly to the customer representative who, in turn, reports directly to the dealership's owner or general manager. Mrs. Smith generally only deals with the customer representative. He looks after her. This is personal service.

(I note an article in the Jan. 29th, 2005 edition of "The Economist" magazine, page 65, entitled, "The Car Company in Front". The sub-heading entitled, "Pleasing Mrs. Jones", seems to me related to barriers #2 and #3.) Please refer to the following:

http://www.economist.com/printedition/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=3599000


In summary, there is the market (money), the psychological want and a very fine product that can fill that want. Either Corvette will "own" this market or someone else will.

With greatest respect,

Carol

 

[kingman]

Buy back the dealerships!

I would to have the following included into your open letter!

Buy back the dealerships and get rid of the sharks that prey on the ill informed. Make the buying experience a good one instead of constantly hearing they are all thieves which we know is not true. Just most of them. Try a pilot program of having a person at various dealerships to insure that the buying public is getting what they paid for in the showrooms and service area's.

Cut out all of the wasteful extra's dealerships push onto people out of pure greed and watch the deceptive advertising.

I could go on and on but this is at least a start.

Thank You

Alan

 

[OLDGOAT]

Carol, you are very perceptive. I think this is why many women of this age/demographic can be seen in a Lexus, Infiniti, BMW, Accura, or Benz etc.

I have never visited any of these high end imported dealerships. However, I notice that I don't see the crew smoking out front that all look like recently released felons. This "crew" is the "salesforce" you see holding up the walls outside domestic dealerships or low end imported dealerships. I should give them my money? For what? So they won't rob me at the point of a gun but at the point of a pencil?

I haven't even seen a C6 yet in person because I so detest even entering a domestic auto dealership. I don't associate with such people in my everyday life or subject myself to such behavior, treatment, and sales tactics. It's not just women who feel uncomfortable in such places. Am I intimidated by these people? No. Just disgusted.

So, your suggestions have already been taken. And by taking them the makers of many of the cars I named above gobbled up a huge share of the US passenger vehicle market.

We ( the US ) deserved to lose this business because of our narrowminded view of markets. We also deserved to lose the huge market shares lost due to very low quality of domestically produced autos starting in the 70's.

If they'd put a v8 in the Infiniti G35.......

 

[bing616]

Great letter, I simply dont understand why they don't Gm doesnt try and bump up thier image a little bit, i mean in all reality a fully loaded corvette costs around $55,000, that is no small chunk of change, why not cater to us like the high end luxury cars, I have owned several mercedes , and i truly enjoy the service and sales at their dealerships, Gm should get their stuff together and incorporate some of these things, maybe just have select "corvette only" dealerships owned by GM, i mean i walked inot one chevy dealership and was disgusted, the dealership was old , run down, had wood paneling on the walls, the drop in ceiling panles were turned yellow from people smoking, there was stains all over the carpets, I even checked out the "service center" and was appalled at the dirt in there, the funny thing is with all of this you would think this dealership would have been the cheapest , but they were the most expensive, and the owner told me point blank to my face, if you buy a corvette somewhere else, dont even think about taking it here for service. Can you imagine the nerve of this guy? Not like i would ever take my vette there fro service, but just the nerve for him to say he wouldnt service my C6 has me boiling mad, I am going to call GM about this one. ok, enough rambling from me, i say lets send em the letter.

 

[kingman]

They tried with the Saturn!!!!!!!!!

This division has not made any money since the day it started. Even though l have never stepped inside a Saturn dealership the orig premise was no dealing on the prices and to be treated like a real person.

My Jaguar dealership besides selling Mercedes, Infiniti, Porsche, Lexus and Aston Martin alway's amazes me with the way a dealership should be run. When the minute l place a call to service to the time l pick it up, l'm treated like l'm really important to them.

I get a loaner and if it's a quick service the waiting room has food for breakfast and lunch and every kind of drink you can think of. This is not counting the wide screen tv's, computers, vertial golf plus other things like every local paper in a clean and bright series of rooms. Oh, if the service is going to take a little longer they will drive you to a local mall and pick you up.

Even though l would not lease another Jaguar because of the car itself, l would select another car from this dealership in a heartbeat.

Everybody there calls you sir or by your last name and wears white shirts and ties and treats you right.

The showroom is top notch and they do not get up to talk to anybody or use the phone to discuss pricing with anybody. One person starts and finishes with you, and that includes financing and everything else. That salesperson also del your car and goes through it from bumper to bumper and then takes you out for a ride to make sure you understand everything. He also goes over the car to make sure everything works and that there are no imperfections.

Yes l'm sold on that dealership. "Ray Catena" is the Name

Alan

 

[caninelver]

I took my 04 Tahoe to a Chev dealership a couple weeks ago to have them check the transmission which has started slipping (34000miles). When I got it back I saw that it had been "road tested" to the tune of 69 miles??? And, they couldnt find anything wrong with it. The dealership called me the next day to see if I was happy with their service. When I questioned why it was driven 69 miles I was told the Service manager would call me. I'm still waiting.
Also, when I first decided to buy a corvette a couple of yrs ago, I went to a dealership that had a 03 anniversary model on the showroom floor. I fully intended to buy that particular car that very day. I tried to open the door of the car but it was locked. A salesman was sitting at his desk next to the car reading a book. I said, excuse me but this is locked. I thought he would get the key and open the door. He looked up from the book and said, thats right, we only unlock it for serious buyers, and went back to reading the book. So, I walked out of Sauder Chevrolet in Lancaster and never went back. I will never buy anything from a GM dealer again.

 

[kingman]

The decline of our economy is coming!

Sounds bleak but it's so true, we as a country are no longer a manufacturing country but a service country. That is why our dollar is so weak and sliding.

Today most workers think that they are entitled to something that they do not deserve and it's only because their position doesn't warrant it.

our pensions and profit sharing are in jeopardy and social security is a joke.

Today a gov't worker with a high school education working in the system for 20yrs will get a pension that would knock you off your feet, plus health coverage, plus social security. Did l mention how much they get paid today. Well l wouldn't want to ruin your evening.

And what makes this worse if their pension plan tanks then our taxes will go up to make up for the short fall. That's right we are paying for it even though we in the private sector do not have this and if we do it will end in the near future.

Sorry for the tirade but this country let it happen, so we are to blame.

Alan

p.s. GM is a dyeing company.

 

[bing616]

Yep KINGMAN,

I knew damn well it was Ray catena, because i bought 2 mercedes from them, and that place is top notch all the way, If they sold corvettes you know, damn skippy i would buy mine there. catena is the best, dealers should take a page out of their book, you can eat off the floor in their service dept, man, and they have this awesome golf game there too..LMAO, but seriously they treat you like its their privelage to serve you, which alot of places forget...

 

[tyrel]

I read this "letter" twice and I still don't understand it. What exactly are you saying?

 

[nyernga]

Yep KINGMAN,

I knew damn well it was Ray catena, because i bought 2 mercedes from them, and that place is top notch all the way, If they sold corvettes you know, damn skippy i would buy mine there. catena is the best, dealers should take a page out of their book, you can eat off the floor in their service dept, man, and they have this awesome golf game there too..LMAO, but seriously they treat you like its their privelage to serve you, which alot of places forget...

The only issue I see with this, and I agree with everyone here by the way, is that this dealer ONLY sells high end autos. Wide screen tv, virtual golf and a full menu are great ideas but could a chevy dealer, who maybe sells ONE 50k car vs several 20K cars really pull that off?
I pass the largest Corvette dealer in the southeast several times a week and I too am so disgusted with salesmen that I refuse to stop in. You are either treated like a carcus in the desert by vultures or they don't think you're "worthy" enough to have the vette unlocked.
Now here's a radical idea to improve the atmosphere at a dealership...........do away with commissions. Pay the salesman a decent salary. This will at least remove the "swarming" feeling we get when walking in. It will also address the constant "upselling" pressure.
As for the service dept's? Taking pride in where you work starts from the top. An owner should be more hands on with the day to day operations. Not some mysterious "man in the glass booth" that all salesmen have to "go check with".

Len

short footnote. A friend of mine, who won a lawsuit several years ago from losing a leg, went to a Mercedes dealership with jeans, plaid shirt,a crutch and most of all a WAD of cash. Only one salesman helped him and I think he's STILL spending that commission.

 

[KANE]

Does this sound familiar-

Ever "ran" from sales people because the vultures were coming, just as you got the cursory look around a model you'd buy somewhere else?

Does it take you MONTHS to settle on the car because you are waiting to buy it from someplace that isn't so bad?

Do you wait for models to turn up on used car lots because you know they won't sell you a warranty, special coatings on the finish, an oil change package, or other garbage?

Have you bought a car from a dealer who's service department is so bad that you have to battle the warranty parochrialism to get YOUR mechanic's work covered?

Do you have a mechanic who you trust ONLY because you have investigated him through word of mouth, the BBB, his certificates and training, physically looked over his work (yes, I have done that), and then- and only then- has he passed your test because of dealership burnings in your past?

Have you ever snooped around a dealership to see which salesman does the worst (or is the newest) because you know this guy will DO anything not to lose you as a customer- even if that means he/she doesen't offer you all of the "packages" or "financing options" to the detriment of his company?

Have you had a service department WRECK your car during a test drive and then haggle with you for the repairs?

Have you had a dealership's cro-magnon service techs put holes in your seats because of careless pens sticking out of pockets that RUIN your leather seats- and then the goons point to the "we aren't responisble for anything" disclaimer painted on their wall as their way of absolving themselves of any responsibility or common sense?

Ever had a car SIT at the dealership for 60 days, come back with the SAME problem and now out of alignment too?

Ever caught a service tech SMOKING in your car- and you DON'T smoke at all?

Ever found fast food wrappers in the car under the seat after you pick up your car after has been worked on?




- All of this and GM STILL wonders why we don't buy more from them....

 

[MsSchroder]

I read this "letter" twice and I still don't understand it. What exactly are you saying?

Tyrel,
I believe Carol points out to GM that there is a vast segment of potential higher-end-auto (i.e. Corvette) buyers - consisting of successful and mature women- that is not being sufficiently recognized or tapped into. She then points out what would be necessary for GM to capture this market, and cautions that if GM doesn't, another manufacturer will.

What is necessary:
1) making this group of potential buyers aware that what they really want and need is a GM product
2) Making improvements and changes in the Sales Department
3) Making improvements and changes in the Service Department

Excellent insight and analysis, Carol. Well done.

Tammy

 

[kingman]

Dealerships cannot afford real sales people!

That's the bottom line, the owners get greedy and l really cannot blame them because when a person walks into their showroom all they want is the best financing and then the lowest price period.

That is our system good or bad, we have to live with it. The onlt reason our gov't allows imports is to keep the price's more competitive. The thing that we didn't see was that they built a better car then we did and that's a fact. Even the Japanese and German cars built here are better built then the ones we build here.

So it has to stem from some where and the answer is that they take pride in how their cars are built and how their factorie are run. Our workers in our auto plants only care about how much they deserve and what they can get away with.
It's out of control and if this continues our auto industry will go the way of the steel plants.

If it wasn't for the imports our cars would be in the dark ages.

The Infiniti M45 Sport which weighs 3995 lbs can now go 0-60 in 5.3 sec's with only 335hp.
BMW 545i weighs 3814lbs and does 0-60 5.2 sec's 325hp
Lexus GS 430 weigh's 3745 lbs 300hp 0-60 in 5.7 sec's

If the Vette didn't come out with a 400hp engine it would be just another two seater that could run with the pack.

Now what does this say about the earliar vettes.

Alan

 

[Carol]

Thanks Tammy! You've got it exactly!

That article which I referenced in "The Economist" is well worth a read.

I note that Toyota's profit margin is 6.7% and GM's is 1.9%.

The important question has got to be something like this:

"How can the profit margin be significantly increased with only a small additional investment?"

Well, when I think of the skill and dedication that has gone into the design, development and manufacture of the corvette, my heart goes out to all of those people who work so diligently to get a beautiful, new corvette to the showroom floor. This effort must not be wasted. This effort must be appreciated by the customer.

In order for a customer to fully appreciate and value a corvette, he/she must be valued and appreciated him/herself. It is the "golden rule" (he who has the gold rules), and the "silver rule" (treat others as you would like to be treated).

It is absolutely essential, therefore, that the people who represent corvette (and GM) to the customer must have the very same skill and dedication as went into designing, developing and manufacturing this beautiful machine in the first place.

Simply put, the sales and service people -- the people who actually have contact with the customer -- can do the greatest good or do the greatest harm to a customer's opinion of the GM brand.

Carol

 

[kingman]

Fantasyland!!!!!!!!!!!!

The same person who sells the bottom of the line Chevrolet also sells the Corvette.

What dealerships have to do is have specialists to handle different segments of their line. What l hate most is to go into a dealership and look at a car and know more about the car then the salesperson.

This is very important when a buyer mentions a rival car and ask's what's the difference between them?

Also going into a dealership where a salesperson tell you that he is giving you the deal of the century, but leaves out that the model that you are looking at is going to be replaced in 10 days by a brand new model that's light years ahead of the one it's replacing.

That's why the dealerships have to have multiple lines and sell on pure volume because of dwindling mark ups. if a dealership handled their customers properly they would have them forever both in the selling and servicing.

The reason that car salespeople have a very high rate of turnover is because they are not paid enough or disgusted on what they have to do to get a sale.

Alan

 

[OLDGOAT]

.
Now here's a radical idea to improve the atmosphere at a dealership...........do away with commissions. Pay the salesman a decent salary. This will at least remove the "swarming" feeling we get when walking in. It will also address the constant "upselling" pressure.
As for the service dept's?


we have a dealer in my area that constantly advertises that salespeople are on salary so they make better deals for you! This sounds good. Then I see in the newspaper help wanted ads the same dealer advertising for salespeople and offering commissions, bonuses, spiffs ( whatever that is ) etc. no mention of salaries.
Len

short footnote. A friend of mine, who won a lawsuit several years ago from losing a leg, went to a Mercedes dealership with jeans, plaid shirt,a crutch and most of all a WAD of cash. Only one salesman helped him and I think he's STILL spending that commission.

smart salesman and / or perhaps just a nice human being who understands that a person's clothes and wristwatch don't always illuminate his character or wealth-anymore than a car does.

 

[OLDGOAT]

It's out of control and if this continues our auto industry will go the way of the steel plants.

If it wasn't for the imports our cars would be in the dark ages.

The Infiniti M45 Sport which weighs 3995 lbs can now go 0-60 in 5.3 sec's with only 335hp.
BMW 545i weighs 3814lbs and does 0-60 5.2 sec's 325hp
Lexus GS 430 weigh's 3745 lbs 300hp 0-60 in 5.7 sec's

If the Vette didn't come out with a 400hp engine it would be just another two seater that could run with the pack.

Now what does this say about the earliar vettes.

Alan

Add to list: BMW 645ci 4.4 liter V8 325 hp 330 torque
weighs 3781 lb, extensive use of light materials, alum. hood etc, 2 door 2 seater. 0-60 5.5 seconds. That's fast folks on 325 hp and 500 lbs or so heavier than the C6. Plus new tech adaptive rollbars and other goodies. I am looking very seriously at the M45 as a vette alternative-one untouched by UAW hands.

You are absolutely correct. Foreign competition saved the US auto industry. The corporations were totally complacent and took their market and customers for granted. The UAW workers were even worse actively engaging in product sabotage and work stoppages while they were paid ( and are paid ) huge wages for what they produce. I do not see how the US auto industry can avoid eventually moving totally offshore. They simply cannot pay the exorbitant union wages and compete.

 

[kingman]

That's the sad truth!

Oldgoat

We are going to see the decline of one our biggest industries the auto makers due to the unions large demands. The unions are doing their job at the expense of their members being laid off due to platform cutbacks and most of all robotic's.

And speaking of robotic's they are not union members and they have no benefit's or have any day's off and most of all they cannot strike.

The people running the robotic's will have to be highly educated in robotic's and will deserve what ever they get paid because they will wind up replacing 10-15 workers per stage of car building.

The computer is going to be the replacement of the average work force by at least 70%. And then what, higher welfare, unemployment only g-d knows.

Alan

 

[tomtom72]

I think Carol's right.

Hi All, I didn't read the article in the link but I agree with what Carol says. I think back to my sister's, then late 40ish, purchase of a used BMW 323i from Westchester BMW. It's a factory store so that may have something to do with it but the cert. used cars are sold at a separate location from the new cars. It was only 3 yrs ago, and she was and still is treated very well. The sales force tapped into that "what have you done for you" approach. They backed it up with good polite people and good service when needed and made sure the user was familiar with all the aspects of the car and the warranty. Only one bad mark, that they made good on, was a mis-hap that occured during a service stay. It took some persistance to get it resolved but ultimately it was corrected. I think the key is the people and the corporate culture of any given business. If the culture is right then the right people are recruited & stay. I don't know that GM carries all the blame, but they could demand a standard be met. I think it's impossible to "police" all 6,000 plus chevy dealers though it seems like there should be some way to enforce a corporate "customer relation" policy. I know that might be a tall order. It's too bad that it seems like the customer service aspect is left up to the character of the individual dealership owners. I know I had a very pleasant experience with a chevy dealer in Va. when I bought my 90 vette. They didn't even sell me the car! It was one of their customers that was selling their car & Berglund Chev. just inspected it for me. The dealership personel couldn't been nicer or more helpful. That corporate culture that I experienced came more from the owner than from anything GM did or didn't do I believe. I think the dealer that taps into what Carol is talking about could do quite well in their own market area. Who knows how far it would expand a dealer's market once word got out about the "car buying experience" at that place? Just my observstions, Tom.

 

[MsSchroder]

Proof that some dealerships can do it right in terms of service:

http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/forums/showthread.php?t=63856


Tammy