GM Dealers Caught Cheating on CSI
As Gil Grissom might say, the evidence is incomplete. But Automotive News [AN, sub] is confirming what TTAC and TrueDelta have been saying since the dawn of time: car dealers are rigging customer satisfaction scores. In this case, it's not the usual "please give us all 10 out of tens or we'll have to shoot our sales manager and orphan his children" type fraud. AN reports that an unnamed number of GM dealers have been sending the mothership fake CSI mail-in forms and filing bogus on-line survey responses to scarf hundreds of thousands of dollars in corporate bonuses. GM sent an "unsigned bulletin" to dealers on August 14 announcing "appropriate adjustments" to third-quarter survey scores "to reflect interference." Needless to say, GM claims the fraud isn't widespread. Just obvious. Let the wrist-slapping begin!
More by Robert Farago
Comments
Join the conversation
As punishment GM should make Marg make love to me. That seems like a just resolution...to me.
Sounds like the "No Dealer Left Behind" plan has resulted in excellent customer service; I look forward to buying my next vehicle...
I have been in the industry for 7 years. Every dealership I have sold cars at have this same problem. They all struggle to get the best survey scores possible. Its true about "Top Box" scoring. On a scale of one through five a four is graded just like a one. Most dealerships will punish the sales man by taking away bonuses. (which can be thousands of dollars per month) The one survey ask to grade the Finance Manager, The Closer, and the Salesperson. So if one of the three people they come in contact with is rude, pushy, or the customer just dosen't like someones tie the Salesman is the one who gets punished. I once had a customer LOVE me. When it came time to sign the paperwork, the Finance Manager got upset because they did not buy an extended warranty. So he treated MY customer rudely and they torched my survey. This was in December just before Christmas. I lost my "Top Man" bonus of $1000 and 5% extra commisions which were close to $2000. Thats $3000 taken from me right before Christmas. So if a salesman seems extremely eager they get a good survey. Just remember they are human, with families at home. What might not seem like a big deal to you. And giving them a piece of your mind may make you feel better for a second. Think for a second how you would feel if you knew a third of your paycheck was in the hands of the stranger you spent all afternoon with. And by no fault of your own... the paperwork took a little too long. So now I get a bad survey.
Oh... and please be polite when we welcome you on the lot.