Where are the dealers?

[davidjpowell]

They don't have to offer discounts though. Just show an interest, be helpful. The pricing is down to the sales/service guys.

The indies on the forum have seen the benefit precisely because of this. There are some people who will need/want to go to a dealer, and one who interacts in a positive fashion would be more favourable.

 

[WillDeBeest]

I suspect it's a matter of corporate policy. In my business I would not dream of making on a forum like this any comment that could be taken as an expression of my employer's view, and I could face stern action, including the sack, if I went too far. I see people do it - I read a travel forum that it full of self-professed airline insiders, who seem to think that a big disclaimer to the effect that 'views expressed here are not necessarily those of my employer' somehow covers them - but I think they're on thin ice professionally.

The climate may be changing, however. A colleague of mine went on a course the other week on how to use social media to get across messages about our business. Multinationals never do these things well, though, so it may not be long before we see heavy-handed corporate press releases dressed up as social discourse. I think we're generally better off without.

 

[markjay]

Presumably favourable feedback on this forum will bring them business, as is the case with Olly?

The point being that many unhappy a customer could be easily pacified with the right response form the dealer.

I personally went to Olly after having been put off by a bad experience during a service at my local MB main dealer, who were not too interested in even replying to my complaints. Others here praised Olly at the time, and indeed I was not disappointed. But had my local MB dealer dealt with the issues I raised following the service, I would have probably stayed with them.

Said that, any MB dealerships that is already booked to capacity with scheduled servicing work will have no business case for spending money on participating in this forum.

 

[st4]

Part of me does think that dealers are very old fashioned and few grasp the potential of the Internet other than as a for sale board.

I note what some have said about stepping out of the corporate line, but it's also an opportunity. ECP seem to be forging ahead, I just wonder if the dealers management will ever see the potential.

I don't think any main dealer would want to be mentioned in the same sentence as my car, as that was where it was sourced.

All is not well, paint is peeling....

 

[Dryce]

Presumably favourable feedback on this forum will bring them business, as is the case with Olly?

Olly offers decent advice and is a small business with a good rep here.

But he doesn't have to take responsibility for out-of-warranty good will claims or complaints about AU cars that have problems. In addition to that sort of issue MB or their dealer network is more faceless and ultimately a bigger target. And it doesn't take much to cause a slanging match on the net. And the more corporate the entity the easier it is just to become a target for everything.

 

[Schuey]

If you ever mention forums to dealers, they say "oh no, not the dreaded forums, don't believe a word you read on them".

They think the forums are a waste of time. The reason for this is that we seem to know more than them about their products........

Btw they do read them, they just don't contribute.

 

[bpsorrel]

I know that the service manager from MB Oxford reads this forum because when I was discussing my CLS issue, he referred to the discussion I'd had here!!

Also, my second largest client (who have five MB dealers in their group) do check the marque specific forums for comments about their service etc. I know as I've had the job occasionally to do this - not for their MB dealers though

 

[davidjpowell]

I'm not questioning that dealers don't monitor the forums, more that they have a clique of people interested in the marque and yet they don't engage.

I take on board the risk of negative comment, and that is true. Do it badly and it could go very wrong. Do it well I would have thought could deliver results.

 

[whitenemesis]

I don't think any main dealer would want to be mentioned in the same sentence as my car, as that was where it was sourced.

All is not well, paint is peeling....

For heavens sake Steve! Sell the car and move on ...

 

[Dryce]

I take on board the risk of negative comment, and that is true. Do it badly and it could go very wrong. Do it well I would have thought could deliver results.

You don't have to do it badly for it to go very badly wrong. Anything you say officially can be misconstrued, misrepresented, or used against you.

 

[st4]

For heavens sake Steve! Sell the car and move on ...

It's off to get repainted. A minor scrape which meant I had to claim against someone's insurance last year meant its been repainted in August. It's not held onto the car too well

 

[jaymanek]

Im sure main dealers are on the sites, but they would never come out publically... Look how much dealer bashing goes on, they would be bullied into depression.

 

[davidjpowell]

I give in then!

It's telling if dealers give such a bad service that they are not willing to identify themselves though, unlike our valued Indies.

 

[grober]

I would be very surprised if there was not someone at MB UK headquarters tasked with at least monitoring the main UK MB forums on the net on a daily basis. They may have software to assist them or possibly more likely in the corporate world we live in, have a PR/ Marketing company who does this "on contract" . As with all third party endeavours however efficiency/accuracy of such systems is questionable as there is always a temptation to put a positive spin on any reporting as negative feedback can be interpreted as criticism [ possibly accurate too ] of the main management of the contracting company. So telling the absolute truth may be business suicide quoting from A Few Good Men
Kaffee: *I want the truth!*
Col. Jessep: *You can't handle the truth!*

--------- Participation!!!!!!!!!!!!! on the other hand in forums would be a definite corporate NO from on high !.

 

[martyz]

As mentioned earlier,we are not going to get any dealer principals on here,but the valued
indies will,as they are technical people with the experience gained from many years working
for MB dealers, and are genuine MB enthusiasts that offer a proper alternative to the MB dealer network .Try asking a MB MD a technical question,his answer will be "Speak to my service dept", As for Sales and marketing.you pay your money you take your chances,the same the world over.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

This thread should answer your question David; http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/general-discussion/128814-mercedes-benz-dealer-stole-my-5.html

 

[davidjpowell]

This thread should answer your question David; http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/general-discussion/128814-mercedes-benz-dealer-stole-my-5.html

In reality the dealer was always going to sort that, whether it was found or replaced.

A well timed post, apologising to the OP, promising an investigation and pointing out that it will be sorted, how long would that thread got? It's a great example of what happens without the input of a dealer/mb rep.

Other large industries to actually employ people to seek out these sort of posts so they can resolve issues.

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?328419-Kwik-fit-how-to-complain/page2
http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?328419-Kwik-fit-how-to-complain
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/...28&i=0&nmt=Kwik+Fit+visit+today...&mid=148928

 

[ExW205and204]

II read a travel forum that it full of self-professed airline insiders, who seem to think that a big disclaimer to the effect that 'views expressed here are not necessarily those of my employer' somehow covers them - but I think they're on thin ice professionally.

I think I frequent the same forum.

It all depends on the industry and the employers.
A lot of employers now have very clear policies on the use of social media.

 

[ShinyF1]

If you ever mention forums to dealers, they say "oh no, not the dreaded forums, don't believe a word you read on them".

They think the forums are a waste of time. The reason for this is that we seem to know more than them about their products........

Btw they do read them, they just don't contribute.

Not quite the same situation, but I was chatting to a motoring journalist [a friend of a friend] a couple of years ago who knew nothing of MB's rust issues. Admittedly his focus is on new cars rather than used for magazines and a blog, but he seemed genuinely surprised about it. As a user of this forum I think I wrongly assume that knowledge acquired here is common knowledge, which it clearly isn't.

He claimed not to be a reader of motoring forums, which surprised me.

 

[jpwilliams]

Speaking as someone 'in the trade' (albeit not Mercedes specific) I have the utmost respect for Jaymanek for being a trader and being linked to this site because if you were to have a scan of some of the vitriol that people have for car dealers, you wouldn't come anywhere near.

Me too.
Regards
John