New Survey Finds Only 5% of Car Customers Knowingly Oversold
Published: July 18th, 2007
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Wards has posted the results of The Prospect Satisfaction Index, a survey compiled by Pied Piper Management of Pacific Grove, CA. We have our doubts about the methodology– and not just because of the company's name. According to Wards, Pied Piper's professional pollsters asked an undisclosed number of prospects an unspecified series of “yes” and “no” questions at 1,592 dealerships. We also have our doubts about the results. The study asserts that only five percent of respondents were "oversold." Pushy salesmen? Pied Piper's Pied Piper says it's purely a pernicious perception problem. “The treatment prospects receive on average is very good and professional,” says Fran O’Hagan. So now you know.
More by Robert Farago
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The key word here is "knowingly." The average auto buyer knows so little about the process that they have no idea when they're being taken for a ride, so to speak. And when you're cornering someone at a dealership, chances are they're not going to have a lot of negative things to say. If they want a true measure of how happy buyers are, they need to interview them after a couple of weeks, when the "glow" has worn off the purchase and they've had a chanced to reflect on how the deal was handled.
They asked the questions right after the customer left the dealership. I would like to know the numbers if the survey was filled out one week after the deal.
Yep, Frank has it right -- the key is that they felt they paid too much. Say you're Joe car buyer, and you have no idea what that used Monte Carlo costs, you just can't wait to put your Dale Jr. sticker in the window. You go in and see a price -- wow, that's a lot of money! But your salesman cuts you a great deal, and you walk out feeling like you paid less than the car was worth. Except you had no reference point, and if you had done some research online, you would have found that you paid way too much (but then, any amount is too much for a Monte Carlo). It's all about how the customers feel. A good salesman will make the customer feel like they got a great deal. The bad ones? Well, apparently they're only about 5% of the dealership population.
Even if a customer realizes he/she was bilked, are they going to admit it to some survey? "Look how stupid I was!"