Does GM Chevrolet really care?
04-12-2000, 01:32 AM
#1
Melting Slicks
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words of wisdom expounded on this forum I have decided to wait and order a yellow 2001 FRC rather than a 2000 Coupe. After a test drive of an A4 and of a M6 the "saleslady" told me to order the 6-speed---without reservation. Seems "nobody else test drives with as much vigor as I did".
How can GM Chevrolet Corvette Division fail to respond to the messages you Vette enthusiasts have written on this forum in good faith? You people tell them what needs to be changed for the betterment of the Vette icon and nothing happens. No response. It seems to me that they simply do not give a rip about their best customers, you forum members.
How can GM Chevrolet Corvette Division fail to respond to the messages you Vette enthusiasts have written on this forum in good faith? You people tell them what needs to be changed for the betterment of the Vette icon and nothing happens. No response. It seems to me that they simply do not give a rip about their best customers, you forum members.
04-18-2000, 06:17 PM
#5
Team Owner
Yeah, it doesn't seem like GM really cares too much about what we suggest here. You think they'd listen once in while to something. I wish there was a way to foster better communication on both sides. We provide feedback, they provide responses. there I go dreaming again....
04-21-2000, 08:10 PM
#6
Le Mans Master
Devil's Advocate Alert--
GM knows better than to cowtow to the wishes of fanatic customers. It would kill the Corvette.
We are not GM's best customers. We buy a lot of cars and (outside the circle of fellow Vette owners) we sing its praises. But we pay less and demand more than the other 80% of Corvette buyers.
GM's ideal Corvette customer is a (forgive the stereotype) Doctor or IPO-rich VP of Sales. This customer walks into the dealership, asks "hey, got one of those in Black?", and takes the loaded model off the showroom floor at $2000 over MSRP. He then proceeds to wave his new phallic symbol at work, impressing coworkers and clients with joyrides on the way to lunch or the links.
This customer doesn't bitch about how GM is raping him, he doesn't bitch about not being able to get the HUD on a 2001 Coupe without buying a $2500 option package, he doesn't bitch about pre-cats in CA, and he doesn't bitch about a measly 5hp increase.
He will bitch if the quality is subpar. And he won't buy another one if he gets humiliated at stoplight drags. (Let's hope he buys an automatic and never turns off Active Handling.) But for all the complaints I've seen here, the only one he's going to register that GM hasn't resolved is the steering column lock -- probably because they don't have a clue what's wrong.
GM knows that even when they don't adhere to all of our angry enthusiast demands, most of us will still buy more Corvettes more often than the "ignorant masses" -- because we're informed, and we know what a great performance value it is, and we're emotionally attached to the brand.
It's a delicate dance. But always remember that GM as an organization exists to make its shareholders happy. To insist that "the customer is always right" is to put them out of business.
GM is a huge company. But would anyone here say they're not improving?
.Jinx
GM knows better than to cowtow to the wishes of fanatic customers. It would kill the Corvette.
We are not GM's best customers. We buy a lot of cars and (outside the circle of fellow Vette owners) we sing its praises. But we pay less and demand more than the other 80% of Corvette buyers.
GM's ideal Corvette customer is a (forgive the stereotype) Doctor or IPO-rich VP of Sales. This customer walks into the dealership, asks "hey, got one of those in Black?", and takes the loaded model off the showroom floor at $2000 over MSRP. He then proceeds to wave his new phallic symbol at work, impressing coworkers and clients with joyrides on the way to lunch or the links.
This customer doesn't bitch about how GM is raping him, he doesn't bitch about not being able to get the HUD on a 2001 Coupe without buying a $2500 option package, he doesn't bitch about pre-cats in CA, and he doesn't bitch about a measly 5hp increase.
He will bitch if the quality is subpar. And he won't buy another one if he gets humiliated at stoplight drags. (Let's hope he buys an automatic and never turns off Active Handling.) But for all the complaints I've seen here, the only one he's going to register that GM hasn't resolved is the steering column lock -- probably because they don't have a clue what's wrong.
GM knows that even when they don't adhere to all of our angry enthusiast demands, most of us will still buy more Corvettes more often than the "ignorant masses" -- because we're informed, and we know what a great performance value it is, and we're emotionally attached to the brand.
It's a delicate dance. But always remember that GM as an organization exists to make its shareholders happy. To insist that "the customer is always right" is to put them out of business.
GM is a huge company. But would anyone here say they're not improving?
.Jinx