thirtythird

GM is not anyone's friend. Goes for most all large corps. Don't expect special treatment. It does not matter if you are a "good" person, just how many people are subscribed. Spreadsheets and numbers is what things come down to these days. And I'm OK with that because I have accepted this a long time ago.

Bajaholic

That is my point, The Museum DID NOT get an abundance of tickets as you implied. They are however attempting to put an event together to make the best of it. My beef is with GM for not making it available for more?

I was at the C5, 6 and 7 Reveals, would have liked to be there for this one as well, but not happening... I am curious who was invited and how they got to that position? But really it does not matter...

ColdPIzza

I never said an abundance. Sorry if that's what was implied. And I do understand the disappointment. It looks like a fun event and it's always fun to be involved in something so important. It matters.

Red67John

Not to insult anyone, especially Rick and our other dealers, but the dealers are middlemen through which GM sells the products. As Tesla has found out, it is state laws that generally require the manufacturers to even have dealers as opposed to direct selling. So, the reveal of a new product, including the C8, targets the media, including the new age influencers, who will spread the word. We live in an internet world and reveal events today are about the internet/social media hype and not about a party for the dealers or potential customers.

If you look at media and blogger stories of the recent reveal of the new Caddy CT4 and CT5, GM showed off the cars to media and bloggers, but did not even allow those present to look under the hood or in the trunk, citing that the cars on display were merely pre-production models. This concept really isn’t all that unusual anymore. I do hope,they show more of the cars and maybe even some driving action.

Sure, every corvette sales leader and a lot of corvette enthusiasts would love to attend the reveal, but they will have their opportunities to spend time with the car over the coming months at events throughout the country.

Remembr too that Rick Hendrick is more to GM than a dealer, he is their NASCAR partner and a major charitable donor.

17GSC7

Who cares about GMs introduction anyway. Three years from now no one will even remember it and Dealers will be heavily discounting it.

sunsalem

Completely agree, well said.

Thunder22

Who said that dealers aren't invited? I know people at the big dealers who are going, I also know people from the media who are going.

ShagVette

Right, make a video for pity.

Something doesn't smell right. That other person that makes BS videos said they got an invite, and have a lot less followers.

Judgment Day

ColdPizza already set the record straight, so no worries.

DebRedZR1

If you are going great, if not and wanted to watch it streaming live. Many of us have owned many GM products and their Flagship products. Unless you work in the department making The Who goes decisions WHO really knows. I’m not going to make a long whining Video most won’t watch a fraction of or blast the General on a Forum. Sad.

JoesC5

"Harlan Charles
Chevrolet Corvette Product Marketing Manager

Harlan Charles started his Corvette dream job in 2001. Harlan represents Chevrolet marketing and the Corvette customer with the Corvette Engineering team for the current and future Corvettes. His job is to make sure product decisions support making Corvette customers happy. Harlan comes up with new ideas and makes requests for product improvements, new models, special editions, and creates market specifications for the engineers to follow using clinic, research, and enthusiast data. He also creates the desired option packaging and customer order guides.
Harlan Charles started his GM career in 1988 as a Concepts Engineer at GM Design Staff and holds 11 US patents. Other past assignments include, Design Analyst for Chevrolet, Product Manager for the Oldsmobile Intrigue, and Portfolio and Technology Manager for Cadillac.
Harlan Charles has been a Chevrolet and Corvette enthusiast since childhood and owns 2 Corvettes, 1999 and 1990. He enjoys taking long road trips and has driven to 49 states and 10 provinces all in Corvettes. Harlan is on the National Corvette Museum Board of Directors. Harlan Charles has an educational background in Engineering, Transportation Design, and Strategic Marketing."

https://www.linkedin.com/in/harlan-charles-21471111

0bbbvettes.com

I don't think a lot of people understand the hours that are required to be a great salesman, at any car dealership

To be top 10 or top 5 Corvette salesman in the country is a whole other level of dedication.

People don't know the brain damage it causes a person, you are pulled in at least 2 severe directions at all times. Your boss and GM want you to hold gross profit on every deal.

Meanwhile, it only takes one customer who you make "too much money in their opinion" and they are trying to destroy your image on social media.

To deal with as many people as Rick, or any of the other top sales guys have who are on this forum... and also take the time to create a video blog... and to do all of this in the middle of nowhere unpopulated Ohio... it takes work, don't kid yourselves that it does not, or that the regular factory worker or design manager has more hours into this car than these top 10 sales people in this country, because I know beyond a shadow of a doubt, they do not. They get to see their families more than the top sales people do, and that matters.

What it all boils down to is... he wants to know he's appreciated.

If you read my post above... and then read many of the posts after mine, you will see who gets it and who does not.

Some people get it...

some people do not.

While none of us can give him the golden ticket to get into the show, all of us can say "thank you, and we understand where he is coming from, and we appreciate how hard you try and what you do".

Its amazing how the people who are closest to GM in this thread, are coincidentally the same people attacking his behavior and essentially telling him to "grow up, and man up"

While you might be correct, the way to help someone grow up and man up... is also for you to cough-up the compliments the person deserves.... instead of kick them when they are down. Its the difference between being a parent, and helping someone grow, or being a bully, and destroying and weakening them further.

We own the dealership 20 miles away from his. We are his competitor. I'm the last person who should be cheering him on... but I am. He and I have Corvettes in common... just like 2 rival basketball teams have basketball in common and they appreciate the work each other put in and shake hands before and after the game.

The fact that his "superiors" at GM, who benefit when he sells a car (let's face it, I don't benefit, in fact, frankly it hurts us every time he sells one)

.... the fact that his superiors at GM who benefit when he sells a car for the company, are not paying him nothing but compliments right now, and instead, his competitor is...

shows you the root problem which he and myself and many others who own GM stores and work at GM stores, are seeing become more and more common.

People are going out of their way... to make sure they remind their employees, they don't matter.

The comparisons posted above by others, which try to make him realize he is less than another employee or posting reasons why he does not deserve to be there, are so out of line, and I hope they stand, and the petty people who took the time... to post THAT... also have the spine to leave them up... so the rest of everyone can see what we are dealing with on a daily basis. And I hope they also have the spine to let this post stand.

Rick, you've done a great job. You deserve to be there. You have earned it. But don't let the fact that a confused person, who does not appreciate you now, nor appreciate you being at the reveal talking about the car as enthusiastically as you do.... don't let them ruin your mind. They aren't worth it. Literally, they are worth nothing... and the day GM fires that person, who takes the time to come in here and tell you that you aren't worth it.... is the same day GM will start to become a better company.... when that person is replaced with a person who DOES get it and has parental attributes laced into their character instead of a bully attributes laced into their character

And in the end, when you have a couple customers talking about the car, and talking about their great times with you and Coughlin, who are thankful that you sent them there....

I and others will enjoy watching that more than most of these other influencers who are just going to parrot what Tadge tells all of us.

You will win the war and come out on top. Just play your cards right, and don't let the people with zero class, who can't be the bigger person when they are supposed to be the bigger person in the positions they hold.... don't let them tick you off anymore.

They aren't worth it. They are a negative number in and around GM.

DebRedZR1

BBBvettes so anyone who has a different perspective works for GM ? Hey Harlan, Mark, Mary and all where are my paychecks? Maybe some should review their tasteless and unprofessional conduct including but not limited to their Dealership contract with the General.

0bbbvettes.com

While you may be correct in the year 2019 to some degree, the problem is you must be ignoring that every dealer PURCHASED a franchise from GM. This put millions/billions of dollars of capital into GM's pocket to advance as a company over the years.It is also free advertising for GM, as a GM billboard is on someone's drive to and from work, with pretty new cars under that billboard... an investment GM did not have to pay for either.... a billboard Tesla would LOVE to have, and a convenient location to accept trade-in's which tesla has a hug problem with.... but Tesla can't afford these locations unfortunately.Tesla is about to fail as a company, because the CUSTOMERS are not happy with the LACK OF DEALERSHIPS AND SERVICE DEPARTMENTS... and they are all chomping at the bit to get into the new porsche/audi/vw electric cars.I can't begin to tell you the amount of Tesla vehicle owners I have met who swear they will NEVER BUY ANOTHER TESLA due to the lack of service departments... due to the lack of dealerships to help them when there is a problem.I genuinely hope that the top brass at GM does NOT genuinely feels about their dealerships as you do, and the people who work at them.How quickly you seem to find your dealers, your franchise investors... a "nuisance and burden" when if you just hold your horses for another year or 2 on that fantastically accurate imagination of yours... you will see what happens when there are no dealerships at Tesla... since you can't see the writing on the wall of what happens to Tesla at this current moment in time on 6/14/19 with Porsche/VW/Audi about to slaughter them.While you and my imaginations may differ on what happens to Tesla next, give it a year or 2, and then let's revisit the topic. Perhaps I am wrong. Time will tell.If I were the CEO of GM, I would be ashamed to have people in my organization perpetuating such rumors... even if their points of view were true... but they are not in my opinion, instead, they are half baked... and they show how little about the industry so many people actually understand.Further, with the amount of flaws covettes and other GM products arrive off the truck from the factory.... GM corporate need not kid themselves that they are ready for direct selling any vehicle of any kind. The amount of work and problem solving and customer soothing that dealers have to perform, to calm a customer down and get their NEW car to perfect, as it should have been BEFORE IT LEFT THE FACTORY... is enormous.(exterior paint, blemishes in carbon fiber, different color blacks, and believe it or not, BENT WHEELS FROM THE FACTORY.. which myself and people at other dealers have gotten savvy and we are beginning to check for and document)The day GM removes that dealer presence, removes that human presence, GM removes that cog in their gear... is the same 3 year stopwatch span that GM's car selling/producing segment of their corporation goes out of business. I promise you that one.Let's try to see if GM can get their quality control into an admirable ratio of flawless perfect cars delivered vs ones that need new paint jobs or new panels with new paint... thousands of dollars worth of remedy.......before we kid ourselves that GM corporate and its factories, don't need dealerships.It's scary to see how blind so many people actually are.IF GM plans to go to direct selling, or even wishes they could go to that idea... perhaps we should be selling our dealership before GM yanks the franchise away from us... AGAIN like they did back during the last bankruptcy when they shut one of our chevy stores down.And we should be selling for 2 reasons...1. The franchise will become worthless, so may as well sell it while it is worth something2. GM will be going out of business, just like Tesla will be, when Porsch/Audi/VW still have a sales force and pretty cars sitting under the lights that people drive by on the way to and from work each day, and thus, even if we only had the service department, and no sales force, it would only be a matter of time until Porsche/Audi/VW would completely snuff GM out. So what would be the point of owning a service department for a brand of cars that no longer is in business?Keep convincing me GM does not want dealers... I am very intrigued. Its millions of dollars at stake on my end... keep showing how little GM understand the car business in 2019, I'm not arguing that your opinion is not theirs, I'm genuinely absorbant and interested in what horrible decision you guys plan to make next, so that I can protect myself.I never said that you work for GM in this thread.

ShagVette

Brain damage? - if being a salesman (or any other job) causes you that much stress, then you should stop.

Rick knows he's appreciated by his decent paycheck, and by seeing the very happy new vette owner's faces.

He's been in the game a while, and if he didn't get an invite, then it's his fault, he should've known what he needed to do to make it happen.

IIRC didn't he make a video of his C8 camo suit stunt that some thought was over the top? - perhaps they don't want something similar at the 7/18 event.

0bbbvettes.com

you know, you are exactly right... he does not want a compliment from anyone here. Who would? He is obviously very happy with his paycheck, and his paycheck alone... right now.

My bad.

ColdPIzza

You know, you are exactly right. This forum is the PERFECT place to come to to seek adoration.

We have all been duly chastized.

0bbbvettes.com

When you are sitting in the middle of nowhere Ohio, with no customer in front of you to talk to during certain moments of the day... you are exactly right... it is the perfect place to come talk to people who care about corvettes. Ask me how I know.

DebRedZR1

please direct me to where I said you did?
This thread has gone way off topic.
Take the politics of GM to another section.
We cant all be holding the Golden tickets.
There are good reasons some are not.
End of story.

Thunder22

If not getting "invited to the party" is the worst thing in Mr. Conti's life right now, as it appears it is, he should consider himself blessed.

That being said, I think I'm going to follow his lead and post a YT video to Linkedin about the trials and tribulations of where I work, I hope it's not career limiting, be right back.....