Dealer overload?
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Jul 2019
Posts: 41
Likes: 6
From: Queen City, NC
Dealer overload?
What's interesting to me is how some of the dealers on Youtube say, "I am so overwhelmed and please don't call me because I have sooo many inquiries ...I will get back to you". Can you imagine any sales business where the salesperson says, "please don't call me"...?
My thought is that the dealer's knew this was coming and knew that would be selling these at MSRP and above...My guess is they knew for a year this was coming. Look, GMs marketing team has done many focus groups and field research to know what the demand was going to be before Mary Barra hired 400 more folks at BG. With that...DEALERS STAFF UP!!!
I am fatigued on dealers posting in their videos, "don't call me, I am getting hammered with calls". As we all are paying MSRP, we should demand that we can talk to our sales reps when we have questions!!!
My thought is that the dealer's knew this was coming and knew that would be selling these at MSRP and above...My guess is they knew for a year this was coming. Look, GMs marketing team has done many focus groups and field research to know what the demand was going to be before Mary Barra hired 400 more folks at BG. With that...DEALERS STAFF UP!!!
I am fatigued on dealers posting in their videos, "don't call me, I am getting hammered with calls". As we all are paying MSRP, we should demand that we can talk to our sales reps when we have questions!!!
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 2,906
Likes: 1,366
From: Sevierville Tn
What's interesting to me is how some of the dealers on Youtube say, "I am so overwhelmed and please don't call me because I have sooo many inquiries ...I will get back to you". Can you imagine any sales business where the salesperson says, "please don't call me"...?
My thought is that the dealer's knew this was coming and knew that would be selling these at MSRP and above...My guess is they knew for a year this was coming. Look, GMs marketing team has done many focus groups and field research to know what the demand was going to be before Mary Barra hired 400 more folks at BG. With that...DEALERS STAFF UP!!!
I am fatigued on dealers posting in their videos, "don't call me, I am getting hammered with calls". As we all are paying MSRP, we should demand that we can talk to our sales reps when we have questions!!!
My thought is that the dealer's knew this was coming and knew that would be selling these at MSRP and above...My guess is they knew for a year this was coming. Look, GMs marketing team has done many focus groups and field research to know what the demand was going to be before Mary Barra hired 400 more folks at BG. With that...DEALERS STAFF UP!!!
I am fatigued on dealers posting in their videos, "don't call me, I am getting hammered with calls". As we all are paying MSRP, we should demand that we can talk to our sales reps when we have questions!!!
Team Owner
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 31,796
Likes: 2,420
From: DFW/Long Island
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 2,813
Likes: 503
From: West Chester Ohio
2018 C4 of Year Finalist
My buddy wanted to order a new Convertible Z06 and tried to contact one of those guys a couple months ago. Was given the same “too busy right now, I’ll call you back in a few days” line. Needless to say he took his business elsewhere and has been enjoying his new car very much.
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Racer
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 468
Likes: 320
One thing I think is happening here, is that when you have a new/hot Corvette like this - the dealer allocation model that has been developed for this car, doesn't serve the marketplace too well. Look at how much allocation the top dealers control, look at the top 20. A car like this comes out, alot of potential buyers don't know anything about how unbalanced the allocation distribution is for this car, they walk into their local Chevy dealers only to find very few allocations available, over MSRP pricing, long waits, etc. Alot of those potential buyers are going to walk away and not come back.
GM should shake up the allocation plan for years 1 & 2. Take 80% of Production and allocate as they do now with the focus on the mega-dealers, hold back 20% and tell the rest of the Chevy dealer network to "take orders for as many as buyers you can find, we have production set aside to back you", and let the market find some new equilibrium. Don't let a single discouraged buyer walk away, for the "sin" of not knowing who Kerbeck or McMulkin or Criswell is.
GM should shake up the allocation plan for years 1 & 2. Take 80% of Production and allocate as they do now with the focus on the mega-dealers, hold back 20% and tell the rest of the Chevy dealer network to "take orders for as many as buyers you can find, we have production set aside to back you", and let the market find some new equilibrium. Don't let a single discouraged buyer walk away, for the "sin" of not knowing who Kerbeck or McMulkin or Criswell is.
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 32,089
Likes: 4,613
Yes, yes I can.
Members here reported that Connell Chevrolet in Costa Mesa, CA. was gleefully telling their Corvette shoppers; "the 2020 Corvette is SOLD OUT. We're not going to take any orders for the MY."
Members here reported that Connell Chevrolet in Costa Mesa, CA. was gleefully telling their Corvette shoppers; "the 2020 Corvette is SOLD OUT. We're not going to take any orders for the MY."
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 1,008
Likes: 82
One thing I think is happening here, is that when you have a new/hot Corvette like this - the dealer allocation model that has been developed for this car, doesn't serve the marketplace too well. Look at how much allocation the top dealers control, look at the top 20. A car like this comes out, alot of potential buyers don't know anything about how unbalanced the allocation distribution is for this car, they walk into their local Chevy dealers only to find very few allocations available, over MSRP pricing, long waits, etc. Alot of those potential buyers are going to walk away and not come back.
GM should shake up the allocation plan for years 1 & 2. Take 80% of Production and allocate as they do now with the focus on the mega-dealers, hold back 20% and tell the rest of the Chevy dealer network to "take orders for as many as buyers you can find, we have production set aside to back you", and let the market find some new equilibrium. Don't let a single discouraged buyer walk away, for the "sin" of not knowing who Kerbeck or McMulkin or Criswell is.
GM should shake up the allocation plan for years 1 & 2. Take 80% of Production and allocate as they do now with the focus on the mega-dealers, hold back 20% and tell the rest of the Chevy dealer network to "take orders for as many as buyers you can find, we have production set aside to back you", and let the market find some new equilibrium. Don't let a single discouraged buyer walk away, for the "sin" of not knowing who Kerbeck or McMulkin or Criswell is.
This sounds like Bernienomics. socialist plans like what you propose aren't fair to places like Kerbeck that sell the car so they get rewarded with more. All people need to do is go online to educate themselves before driving down to a dealer.
Kerbeck and Mac Mulkin for example sell their cars for MSRP with no bullshit vs a small dealer that will sell the car for 15k above sticker, The downside to places like kerbeck is if your trading in, then your options are limited to Carmax or private sale. Or sending money and paperwork. Its a pain in the *** overnighting everything. The smaller dealerships only have a small amount of allocation because they don't sell corvettes to stay in business. They are a volume dealer moving everything else and they many people beyond these forums don't know about the BIG dealers will. So the small dealers will adjust the market knowing it will spend time there waiting on the person to come in with more cash than they know what to do with because it will draw people in and create foot traffic to buy their other vehicles. They will come in to look at a corvette knowing they're not gonna buy it and then walk out with a new Malibu.
It makes complete sense that the dealerships that sell the most corvettes get the most to sell.
Racer
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 468
Likes: 320
This sounds like Bernienomics. socialist plans like what you propose aren't fair to places like Kerbeck that sell the car so they get rewarded with more. All people need to do is go online to educate themselves before driving down to a dealer.
Kerbeck and Mac Mulkin for example sell their cars for MSRP with no bullshit vs a small dealer that will sell the car for 15k above sticker, The downside to places like kerbeck is if your trading in, then your options are limited to Carmax or private sale. Or sending money and paperwork. Its a pain in the *** overnighting everything. The smaller dealerships only have a small amount of allocation because they don't sell corvettes to stay in business. They are a volume dealer moving everything else and they many people beyond these forums don't know about the BIG dealers will. So the small dealers will adjust the market knowing it will spend time there waiting on the person to come in with more cash than they know what to do with because it will draw people in and create foot traffic to buy their other vehicles. They will come in to look at a corvette knowing they're not gonna buy it and then walk out with a new Malibu.
It makes complete sense that the dealerships that sell the most corvettes get the most to sell.
Kerbeck and Mac Mulkin for example sell their cars for MSRP with no bullshit vs a small dealer that will sell the car for 15k above sticker, The downside to places like kerbeck is if your trading in, then your options are limited to Carmax or private sale. Or sending money and paperwork. Its a pain in the *** overnighting everything. The smaller dealerships only have a small amount of allocation because they don't sell corvettes to stay in business. They are a volume dealer moving everything else and they many people beyond these forums don't know about the BIG dealers will. So the small dealers will adjust the market knowing it will spend time there waiting on the person to come in with more cash than they know what to do with because it will draw people in and create foot traffic to buy their other vehicles. They will come in to look at a corvette knowing they're not gonna buy it and then walk out with a new Malibu.
It makes complete sense that the dealerships that sell the most corvettes get the most to sell.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 6,671
Likes: 4,144
2020 C8 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
Then they don't understand the process. No dealer can deny you service on your car no matter where you bought it. In fact, if I'm a Chevy dealer I welcome the chance to see a potential new customer walk in their service department and get them, make them a loyal customer and eventually perhaps have them buy another Chevy from them.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2017
Posts: 5,363
Likes: 4,108
From: New England
In their (dealers) defense they will get a ton of tire kickers with this car. People calling in and hoping to get into one but likely may not be able to get financing, have not see insurance quotes, and don’t realize that with any type of options this is not really a $60K car.
For every legit buyer they are problem getting twice as many callers who watched some YouTube video or new article and have no idea what Corvette really is.
For every legit buyer they are problem getting twice as many callers who watched some YouTube video or new article and have no idea what Corvette really is.
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 4,980
Likes: 3,826
From: Bainbridge Island WA
Two sides to this.
Side One: What the hell is wrong with these sales guys? Are they so disorganized that they can't return phone calls, or worse, emails? Get your act together. Use CRM software. Whatever it takes. just get yourself organized. Case in point. Rick Conti lost a sale with me because he did not pay attention. By the time he "got around to it" I had placed my order with Macmulkin. Up your game!
Side Two: What the hell is wrong with customers? Can't you do the least bit of research yourself? Why should a salesman have to take the trouble to answer the question. "What's the difference between a 1LT and a 2LT? Don't you already know? If you're serious you ought to have every RPO code on a list ready to submit. Why do you need a salesman to answer questions you could damn well answer yourelf? Up your game!
Side One: What the hell is wrong with these sales guys? Are they so disorganized that they can't return phone calls, or worse, emails? Get your act together. Use CRM software. Whatever it takes. just get yourself organized. Case in point. Rick Conti lost a sale with me because he did not pay attention. By the time he "got around to it" I had placed my order with Macmulkin. Up your game!
Side Two: What the hell is wrong with customers? Can't you do the least bit of research yourself? Why should a salesman have to take the trouble to answer the question. "What's the difference between a 1LT and a 2LT? Don't you already know? If you're serious you ought to have every RPO code on a list ready to submit. Why do you need a salesman to answer questions you could damn well answer yourelf? Up your game!
Race Director
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 12,759
Likes: 10,657
From: Prosper TX/Austin TX
2020 C6 of the Year Winner - Modified
Two sides to this.
Side One: What the hell is wrong with these sales guys? Are they so disorganized that they can't return phone calls, or worse, emails? Get your act together. Use CRM software. Whatever it takes. just get yourself organized. Case in point. Rick Conti lost a sale with me because he did not pay attention. By the time he "got around to it" I had placed my order with Macmulkin. Up your game!
Side Two: What the hell is wrong with customers? Can't you do the least bit of research yourself? Why should a salesman have to take the trouble to answer the question. "What's the difference between a 1LT and a 2LT? Don't you already know? If you're serious you ought to have every RPO code on a list ready to submit. Why do you need a salesman to answer questions you could damn well answer yourelf? Up your game!
Side One: What the hell is wrong with these sales guys? Are they so disorganized that they can't return phone calls, or worse, emails? Get your act together. Use CRM software. Whatever it takes. just get yourself organized. Case in point. Rick Conti lost a sale with me because he did not pay attention. By the time he "got around to it" I had placed my order with Macmulkin. Up your game!
Side Two: What the hell is wrong with customers? Can't you do the least bit of research yourself? Why should a salesman have to take the trouble to answer the question. "What's the difference between a 1LT and a 2LT? Don't you already know? If you're serious you ought to have every RPO code on a list ready to submit. Why do you need a salesman to answer questions you could damn well answer yourelf? Up your game!
I haven’t negotiated a deal for a car in person, in a dealership for over 15 years. I research what I want, learn everything I can about it, find a dealership (generally through recommendations or professional connections) & contact the sales manager directly - I don’t deal with salesmen/women. We agree on a price & I get my financing done through my bank/credit union. Paperwork is done & car is detailed/prepped by the time I show up to pick up the car- I get in & out of the dealership in 30 min. Don’t rely on car salesmen, as you can quickly see here on the forum they generally don’t know what they’re taking about & you’ll get a completely different story from each one you speak to.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 6,486
Likes: 1,659
From: Las Vegas NV
Then they don't understand the process. No dealer can deny you service on your car no matter where you bought it. In fact, if I'm a Chevy dealer I welcome the chance to see a potential new customer walk in their service department and get them, make them a loyal customer and eventually perhaps have them buy another Chevy from them.
”You want us to look at your squeaking roof panel? So I can look up your records, was the car purchased at our dealership? No? That’s ok. Now, let me see... hmmm...I’m afraid our shop is unusually busy right now, and the next appt is in 4 weeks. And you may have to leave it here a few days so we can fit it in”
Team Owner
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 31,796
Likes: 2,420
From: DFW/Long Island
Alot of buyers do not want to purchase from distant dealers - issues about where to subsequently service the car, etc. Especially Chevy trying to bring new buyers into the fold here, the allocation strategy for this car is going to hurt them - because most people can't walk into their local dealers and order/get one. Some potential buyers are going to walk away.
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 12,256
Likes: 4,745
From: SE WI