I apologize for this rant but it has been making me want to scream for a while and I need to vent.
I have been a GM technician for over 20 years. I have been with my current dealer since '91 and GM has informed us that we are no longer needed. I know a lot of people have strong opinions about new car dealerships but the people I work for are different. In sales, I have heard them tell customers to "go home and think about it for a day or two. We want you to be comfortable about your decision" or "this isn't the best time for you to buy a new car. It will be a lot better to put a few dollars into your old car. It is in good shape and there are rebates coming later in the year". In service, we do not sell the 'wallet flushes' other places push. We will fix what you brought it in for and tell you if there are other things that you should consider. We then would give you a price so you can compare prices, no hard sell. Our labor rate is below all the other shops in the area, even the independents and much of our work is brought in to be fixed after another place either couldn't fix it or said they did and didn't. My bosses do not live 'high on the hog'... heck there have been times when I would have to pick up the boss to bring him to work because the car he was driving broke down... his opinion is that if a trade-in was questionable, he would rather drive it than put a customer in it.
We have a small but very devoted customer base. We treat people the way a good business should and have often gone to bat for a customer when their car is out of warranty because we knew it was a known fault and of no fault of the customer... theirs just didn't break while still covered but it still should be covered. Most people do not know (because other dealers do not want them to know) that GM use to give service managers great leeway in extending coverage. We felt that if we treated our customers and GM fairly, that was the best for everyone. For instance, my bosses did not pay techs based on flat-rate. For those who do not know, most techs are payed on what the book says a job should take so if the book says it should take 2 hours, if you shortcut the job and do it in 1, the tech benefits but the customer may have not as good a job done but if a rusted bolt or a tricky electrical problem takes 4 hours to track down, the tech still just gets the pay for 2 hours. This puts the tech in a position where they have to worry more about the clock or their paycheck than fixing your car. Add to this that warranty works pays about about 40% less time than the book time unless you do that exact job constantly, it creates an atmosphere that pits techs against other techs, against the clock and against the customer. It is an unique situation where the harder the job is to do, the less you will make. I have talked to many techs who, after a long, hard week, takes home a check for 17 hours. To add to that situation, we also have to deal with 'second-guessing' on GM's part. We had a situation earlier in the year where a customer had an oil leak. We felt it was from the rear main seal but unfortunately, you can't see the rear main with the trans in the car. I removed the trans and could clearly see it was the seal and replaced it. GM then said that they didn't think the seal was leaking and to send them the old seal... we did and they looked at the seal and since they didn't see where it was leaking, they refused the claim even though the customer called and told them the car was fixed. That was $400 dollars out the window for the dealer but they still paid me whereas a lot of dealers charge back the tech if they do not get paid by the company.
Anyway, back to the point... GM says that dealerships cost them money, which is not the case. Dealerships pay for everything they get from GM, from special tools, franchise costs, displays, service information, signs and sales brochures... dealerships are not a major cost to the manufacturer but for some reason, they have decided that eliminating dealerships is the answer. I cannot see where making your product harder to get will improve sales but that is what they have decided. GM used the bankruptcy court to skirt state franchise laws and put privately owned dealerships out of business. Those laws were put in place to protect small businesses. We met all of their sales standards and customer satisfaction standards. They already had cut our potential by killing off Pontiac (which is another can of worms) The dealers that are being "wound down" will be allowed to stay a dealership until October 2010, if they last that long. They cannot order any new cars, return any parts, must continue to pay for the special tools to work on the vehicles they cannot order and keep up on training for cars they cannot sell and to top that, GM is now giving dealers down the road rights to the franchise you hold. We must continue to do all warranty work and abide by all the rules but they do not have to. It is like telling your wife she can still clean the house, cook and do the laundry but that you will be sleeping with someone else!
It is a sad day in this country when a poorly run company can place the blame on small businesses that have have supported them and have the government and courts side with the people who caused the problems in the first place. The American dream has been killed by General Motors and the government's hand... as for me, I will stick with my bosses whatever they decide to do because they are good people and have earned my respect, I owe them that but GM can kiss my rosy red.........
I have been a GM technician for over 20 years. I have been with my current dealer since '91 and GM has informed us that we are no longer needed. I know a lot of people have strong opinions about new car dealerships but the people I work for are different. In sales, I have heard them tell customers to "go home and think about it for a day or two. We want you to be comfortable about your decision" or "this isn't the best time for you to buy a new car. It will be a lot better to put a few dollars into your old car. It is in good shape and there are rebates coming later in the year". In service, we do not sell the 'wallet flushes' other places push. We will fix what you brought it in for and tell you if there are other things that you should consider. We then would give you a price so you can compare prices, no hard sell. Our labor rate is below all the other shops in the area, even the independents and much of our work is brought in to be fixed after another place either couldn't fix it or said they did and didn't. My bosses do not live 'high on the hog'... heck there have been times when I would have to pick up the boss to bring him to work because the car he was driving broke down... his opinion is that if a trade-in was questionable, he would rather drive it than put a customer in it.
We have a small but very devoted customer base. We treat people the way a good business should and have often gone to bat for a customer when their car is out of warranty because we knew it was a known fault and of no fault of the customer... theirs just didn't break while still covered but it still should be covered. Most people do not know (because other dealers do not want them to know) that GM use to give service managers great leeway in extending coverage. We felt that if we treated our customers and GM fairly, that was the best for everyone. For instance, my bosses did not pay techs based on flat-rate. For those who do not know, most techs are payed on what the book says a job should take so if the book says it should take 2 hours, if you shortcut the job and do it in 1, the tech benefits but the customer may have not as good a job done but if a rusted bolt or a tricky electrical problem takes 4 hours to track down, the tech still just gets the pay for 2 hours. This puts the tech in a position where they have to worry more about the clock or their paycheck than fixing your car. Add to this that warranty works pays about about 40% less time than the book time unless you do that exact job constantly, it creates an atmosphere that pits techs against other techs, against the clock and against the customer. It is an unique situation where the harder the job is to do, the less you will make. I have talked to many techs who, after a long, hard week, takes home a check for 17 hours. To add to that situation, we also have to deal with 'second-guessing' on GM's part. We had a situation earlier in the year where a customer had an oil leak. We felt it was from the rear main seal but unfortunately, you can't see the rear main with the trans in the car. I removed the trans and could clearly see it was the seal and replaced it. GM then said that they didn't think the seal was leaking and to send them the old seal... we did and they looked at the seal and since they didn't see where it was leaking, they refused the claim even though the customer called and told them the car was fixed. That was $400 dollars out the window for the dealer but they still paid me whereas a lot of dealers charge back the tech if they do not get paid by the company.
Anyway, back to the point... GM says that dealerships cost them money, which is not the case. Dealerships pay for everything they get from GM, from special tools, franchise costs, displays, service information, signs and sales brochures... dealerships are not a major cost to the manufacturer but for some reason, they have decided that eliminating dealerships is the answer. I cannot see where making your product harder to get will improve sales but that is what they have decided. GM used the bankruptcy court to skirt state franchise laws and put privately owned dealerships out of business. Those laws were put in place to protect small businesses. We met all of their sales standards and customer satisfaction standards. They already had cut our potential by killing off Pontiac (which is another can of worms) The dealers that are being "wound down" will be allowed to stay a dealership until October 2010, if they last that long. They cannot order any new cars, return any parts, must continue to pay for the special tools to work on the vehicles they cannot order and keep up on training for cars they cannot sell and to top that, GM is now giving dealers down the road rights to the franchise you hold. We must continue to do all warranty work and abide by all the rules but they do not have to. It is like telling your wife she can still clean the house, cook and do the laundry but that you will be sleeping with someone else!
It is a sad day in this country when a poorly run company can place the blame on small businesses that have have supported them and have the government and courts side with the people who caused the problems in the first place. The American dream has been killed by General Motors and the government's hand... as for me, I will stick with my bosses whatever they decide to do because they are good people and have earned my respect, I owe them that but GM can kiss my rosy red.........
