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Oh, you're NOT going to believe what just happened to me..

200K views 1K replies 264 participants last post by  Boraxo 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
So, I take my car to Flow BMW (the one that's on Peters Creek Pkwy, in Winston-Salem) to have my tire looked at. Sitting in the lounge, reading my book. A pleasant looking fellow comes out.

- Hi, I'm the general manager, please come with me.

I'm a little apprehensive but follow anyway. Racking my brain, trying to figure out what I did wrong. I don't have a chip in my car or anything, everything is stock... Walk into his office. Dimly lit, there's another dour-looking dude sitting in the corner. He's not smiling, kind of gives me a menacing stare.

- Have a seat.

Ookay then. I sit down.

- Is your alias c-o-o-n-t-i-e on bimmerfest?

I go, "HUH?"

- ARE YOU COONTIE?

I stammer, "Uh.. no." (OK, I wasn't gonna crack on the first question! Once the cattleprods were to come out, maybe then but surely not immediately. Plus, I think I'd be less flabbergasted if he had said, "We have a new M3 we don't need, it's your to keep.")

- Well, we have a reason to believe you are.

Then, he takes out a manila folder and (looking at it upside-down), it's full of my bimmerfest print-outs, certain passages highlighted. He takes a page out.

- It says here you once referred to buying a car at our dealership as "like being sodomized with a broomstick."

I squirm a little and go, "So, you have your own little Gestapo research unit, is that it?"

The sullen-looking dude in the corner (at this point they got the whole good cop/bad cop production thing going on here) says, "We don't like it when people maliciously slander our dealership."

I kinda stammer.. "Well, it wasn't slander, really, I just told people the truth. I didn't like being treated like an idiot by your saleswoman, it just wasn't a pleasant experience. Especially that when I offered $1k over ED invoice to your sales lady over there, she laughed in my face and said she's worked for 15 years and never did ED and no way would I get a 3yr lease for less than $700/month. I then went to Ricki in NY @ DiFeo and leased my car in 10 mins! For the price I wanted! AND! She didn't laugh in my face! So, how about that?!"

The good cop says, "So, you like Dunkin Donuts?"

I go, "what?!"

He says (taking another post from the folder) - right here, you said, "There's a Dunkin Donuts across the street, you can wait there during service."

I'm like, "Ok. SO?" (trying to see if these two really, REALLY hate Dunkin Donuts for some reason. They didn't look like it though.)

(cue in the bad cop)

- Well, when you go buy a donut that costs $3.50, do you offer them three dollars?!

I go, "A car is not a donut, first of all. Second of all, if you're so concerned about good image, why not just offer people fair prices, instead of putting on a whole dog & pony show?"

He says, "Because buying a car is like buying a horse. People have been doing it for centuries. It's called, 'NEGOTIATION.'"

I'm like, "Well, why would you waste my time in the name of this 'negotiation' instead of just selling it for a fair price and be done with it?"

Anyway, this "Waiting for Godot"-like back & forth theater continues for a little bit. Then the bad cop says, "OK, if you hate us so much, you can't come here any longer" or some such thing. I took my book and left, basically.
___

Thinking about it for a bit, I'm sure they were gunning for me for a while. I'm stunned that a dealership would have this Stasi-like group of people, trying to flush out whoever's posting bad reviews about them.

What do you guys think? Incredible, eh?

[Note from Moderator: The owner of the dealership, Mr. Don Flow, first replies to the OP in post #835.]
 
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#186 ·
Perhaps Coontie just picked the wrong time of the month to visit "Monthly Flow BMW"? :dunno:

Is the moral of this story the fact that people should not "Go with the Flow"? :dunno:

Sorry, but I'm childish.......I couldn't resist those.
 
#192 ·
You are ridiculous; the dealer had all the right to privately confront the abuser.
nobody's suggesting they didn't have the *right* to confront coontie in private; we're suggesting that they were stoopid for doing so. the guy is a known internet poster. how did they think he might react to their kafka-esque interrogation?
 
#199 ·
How about this scenario? The GM/bad cop/best looking female receptionist (seems like the BMW stealers here in NOVA all have hotties at the reception desk) invite Mr. Coontie back into an office. Offer him a coke, water, coffee, alcoholic beverage. Ask him if he's Mr. Coontie from the Fest. Once he confirms, they go on to state that they're very sorry he had a negative experience with their stealership and they'd like the opportunity to do anything/everything within reason to win him back as a loyal customer. I wonder if this story might be taking a different turn if they'd taken that approach. Can you tell that I'm in sales? Christ, BMWNA would probably give Flow another boy scout merit badge or something.

:thumbup:
 
#201 ·
I am not going to mention any specifics, for obvious reasons. But this does not pertain to any dealership; rather a "shop" if you will.

In the past, I have had service regarding my vehicle that was perhaps worthy of a 7 on a scale 1-10. After mentioning that I expected better from them, as I saw such positive praise of their outfit on "the internet forums like Bimmerfest," that 7 turned into a 10 faster than you can say "reputation is everything."
 
#218 ·
We have posters (in this evolution of a thread from complaint to debate) that work for dealers and they think what Flow did was bad.
Which means absolutely NOTHING.

The dealer gets PAID by BMW to do warranty work, and gets PAID by the CUSTOMER or some 3rd party to do non-warranty work. In this case, they would get PAID by the tire insurance company!
You forgot the donuts, the coffee and more seriously, the loaners. There is no money to be made by works on warranty. You can talk to my dealer who kept my cars for 2 weeks, has spent tens of hours. It was finally a 125$ part... do you think that BMW reimbursed them all those hours. Of course, not.
 
#221 · (Edited)
Which means absolutely NOTHING.

You forgot the donuts, the coffee and more seriously, the loaners. .
In the past have you had some sort of Internet pissing contest with Coontie? You seem more interesting in putting him down in this thread than anything else.
P.S.
I just want to make sure that everyone knows that we are talking about Flow BMW of Winston-Salem NC.
 
#225 ·
Wow, man, you know, if they would have closed the door, you could have charged them with false imprisonment or a low level assault. Pretty arrogant of them, and you made the right choice to just walk away.
 
#226 · (Edited)
After reading through this thread, I have to say Coontie is no angel. However, the way Flow treated him is totally unacceptable.

Car dealers are in customer service business so they need to be professional regardless of the situation. There's no need for Stasi-like interrogation.

Do you think it would be better had they kept their mouth shut? I think so.
 
#248 ·
That's just it, you don't know that it was a "Stasi-like" interrogation. I don't know of anyone there who would treat someone the way this guy describes. Me thinks he has a flair for the dramatic.

Do yourselves a favor. Instead of listening to one guy's beef, who admitted that he was not a regular Flow customer, talk to some people who have actually purchased cars there, have spent time in the showroom, and know the folks who work there.
 
#227 ·
This is truly an amazing story and totally believable. I'm famiilar with the dealership. I contacted a Flow CA several months ago when ready to buy and was quoted 500 off MSRP. I was told this was the best they could do, so of course I purchased elsewhere. I also have been to their dealership years ago on a Saturday and it was like a Bimmer parade, so many cars waiting to get washed. The reason I visited back then was I had a friend in the service department, great guy, who did some work for me.

Since 4BMWFamily mentioned the situation regarding the post dated tire damage prior to Coontie discussing it, it has to be someone familiar with the situation. I'm guessing a relative, son, nephew whatever of Flow management who thought they were helping by printing and supplying the previous posts to management, back fired of course.

Time for Flow BMW to institute their Crisis Management Damage Control Plan :yikes:, if they have one!
 
#229 ·
This is truly an amazing story and totally believable. I'm famiilar with the dealership. I contacted a Flow CA several months ago when ready to buy and was quoted 500 off MSRP. I was told this was the best they could do, so of course I purchased elsewhere.
Exactly. I said the same thing to the GM, only in my case it was $700 off MSRP, take it or leave it. He says, "I don't know, we routinely sell cars for less than $1K over invoice."

I said, "Oh yea, well how come she didn't want to do that before?" That's when the bad cop with the sour face launched into a monologue about how buying a car is like buying a horse and how this is called "NEGOTIATION" and their "$700 off MSRP" offer was simply a start to the negotiations and all that.

And to add a 3rd experience, I've a friend who lives in a neighboring town and he also went to them and was also quoted "$700 off MSRP and not a penny less." So, these are simply their prices and his claim about routinely discounting to Invoice + $1K or less is just a bold face lie.
 
#231 ·
Either Saintor has beef with Coontie or he works for or knows someone who works for Flow. I mean...HOW could someone agree with what Flow did? Its pathetic that anyone can consider what they did ok. If anyone agrees with the type of demeanor that Flow had that day then that says a good bit about their own character.
 
#235 ·
so are they reading this? That is incredible, how did they know it was you is my question? What did they think was going to come out of the conversation and confronting you? Doesnt' sound too professional, a better approach would have been "we're sorry you had a bad experience, how can we make it better?" or offer you a freaking free keychain or something. Confronting a customer that had a bad experience in that manner is only going to make matters worse. Dumb dealers.
 
#237 ·
Amazing story. I don't even know what to say. Flow has people on staff who are paid to surf the Interweb and keep files on local consumers? No wonder they can't sell for anything less than $700 below MSRP... they need to fund their CSI team activities.

I'm very glad you exposed them Coontie!
 
#240 ·
Google results for
+"Flow BMW" +rip off
shows it as the THIRD result!!!!

If you are going considering going to a place to buy or care for your Very Expensive ride, the first thing you do is Google 'em.
They say Any Publicity is Good Publicity, but this time, I doubt it.
 
#243 · (Edited)
Thnx... i also read the first result which appeas to be posted just few days back...

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/336/RipOff0336411.htm

This does not look good for the dealership in Winston/Salem:p But then in all fairness.... I'd run a carfax if i were to trek for 200 miles to see a car.. especially when car price is at over $4 bucks per gal
 
#247 ·
Unreal... This reminds me of a good ol' wild west style lynching. The villagers have lit their torches and brought the sharp lawn tools out of the shed and have the rope at the ready. Boys boys boys...shame on you!!!! Comparisons to Abu Ghraib...? Suggestions of contacting the local news...? Posting Mr. Flow's information...? Ridiculous!!!!

The majority of you who are running your yap know absolutely NOTHING about Flow BMW - only what this guy "coontie" is telling you. In fact, many of you live nowhere near NC yet you are getting in lock step with the "ruin Flow with bad publicity" crowd. Why? To what end? Do you really know what transpired at the dealership? Do you really care?

Unlike most of you, I am very familiar with Flow BMW. I have purchased TWO cars in the past three years from Flow (a MINI Cooper S and my BMW 328i) and have found their sales process to be nothing short of excellent. I am one of their paying customers who takes advantage of the Saturday carwash and excellent coffee (thank you). As such, I know their general manager, most of their sales people, many of their service people, and a few of their Saturday car wash detail people quite well. And, yes, I have met and spoken with Don Flow. The accusations and venom leveled against the people and this company are undeserved.

One would be hard pressed to find a better BMW operation anywhere. The people in the organization care about the customer and customer satisfaction is tantamount. I have never heard one complaint from anyone and I know many many BMW devotees in this town. I also know people who have purchased vehicles from their other dealerships - Buick and Cadillac - who have been happy Flow customers for years. Thus, I have come to the conclusion that the poster is simply a difficult person who likes making trouble for others and the rest of you aren't using your brains - only chest thumping testosterone.

I have a challenge for you boys. Lest you think I am making it up, check out their track record. Don't just listen to some obscure internet joker gifted with a dramatic writing style making spurious and unproven comments. Learn the facts!!!
 
#253 ·
If the dealership had a clue. They would use the posts to figure out what they are doing wrong and what the other dealership is doing right.

The Internet is not going away and it puts a lot of power in the consumer's hands.

Badgering a customer makes things worse for them as they are focusing on the symptom and not the problem.
 
#259 ·
Well, Houston, I'm normally a political forum type gal. I enjoy the rough and tumble of insulting liberals. But, since I'm a real BMW devotee and Flow customer, I thought I would jump in the fray here. I hate to see unfounded lynchings especially when nice people are being hung out to dry by people who are clueless.
 
#261 · (Edited)
This isn't the first time I've seen a business commit internet suicide and it probably won't be te last. Most businesses have no idea as to how to handle internet issues. I don't think the experience Coontie had while buying his car deserved his offending post. But in no case did Coontie deserve the treatment he received at Flow.

Flow is following the expected pattern. It appears they have enlisted a customer, BMWBabe, to come to their rescue. Now, I'll wager someone from the Flow will chime in an stick his foot deeply into his gullet.

The trick is to keep the ball rolling. This thread is probably cross linked to a few other boards by now and Flow is feeling pretty uncomfortable.

Good.

BTW, I'm a liberal. Being a conservative is insult enough, but I'll leave that for another day.
 
#269 ·
Flow is following the expected pattern.
I've seen this countless times also.

Remember that guy that got screwed when he bought his M3 at invoice on eBay? Same thing happened there. In short time, you had all these people joining the forum and berating him for expecting to receive a car he paid for when it was "obviously" underpriced.

Then there was a guy with a stolen Sidekick device and people on the MB forums who got swindled out of their rims. It's a standard MO. No doubt there will be other "satisfied" customers joining in a short while, all to say how much they love Flow. Of course.

We're all liars. I'm a liar and the other guy who chimed in from NC is a liar and my friend from Kernersville, NC is a liar and the guy from the Rip-Off report is a liar. I mean. OBVIOUSLY.
 
#283 ·
I've seen this countless times also.
We're all liars. I'm a liar and the other guy who chimed in from NC is a liar and my friend from Kernersville, NC is a liar and the guy from the Rip-Off report is a liar. I mean. OBVIOUSLY.
Coontie, I didn't call you a liar but I do seriously question the tone of your narrative on the event. I cannot recall one person there who would fit the description of "menacing." :rofl: Perhaps you embellished a tad for drama and effect..? For instance, I don't recall seeing the first broomstick in the showroom. But, I did see a mighty sweet M3 last time.
 
#284 ·
Coontie, I didn't call you a liar but I do seriously question the tone of your narrative on the event. I cannot recall one person there who would fit the description of "menacing." :rofl: Perhaps you embellished a tad for drama and effect..? For instance, I don't recall seeing the first broomstick in the showroom. But, I did see a mighty sweet M3 last time.
This most definitely is a male, and most probably an employee of the dealership. Maybe we are on the script but with a slight twist.
 
#263 ·
Do you deny that they took him to a private room and questioned him? That alone is flat out disgusting unless he was acutally doing something criminal against the dealership. It's flat out disgusting that any business would act in this manner against a consumer. Nearly impossible to believe any BMW dealership would act in this manner.
Did you witness this or are you just taking someone's word? As I said, I cannot imagine anyone at that dealership being rude. I've had nothing but good experiences there. I would advise all of you who have showed up for this lynching with no proof, aside from one poster's word, to listen to those who have had a different experience there. I've lived in this town for nearly twenty years and haven't heard of such a story. Remember, things get blown completely out of proportion on the internet and, since people love drama, they go along with the flow (no pun intended). :)
 
#267 ·
Did you witness this or are you just taking someone's word? As I said, I cannot imagine anyone at that dealership being rude.
I couldn't either.

I've lived in this town for nearly twenty years and haven't heard of such a story. Remember, things get blown completely out of proportion on the internet and, since people love drama, they go along with the flow (no pun intended). :)
Look, if you doubt the veracity of my story, all you have to do is reach out to your good friends at Flow and you'll have your confirmation.

Seriously. All you have to do is walk down the hall, lady! :)
 
#270 ·
I thought I better pop in here and introduce myself after my 0 to 60 on one of your threads. :) Sorry 'bout that. Some people were leveling some pretty nasty accusations about some of my acquaintances.

I'm a BMW devotee - both MINI and BMW. Not a better car around imo. I've been around BMWs really since they made their debute in the 80s - remember the days when BMW drivers were so rare that they would flash headlights and wave in recognition? **sigh**

While a NC native, I've lived near and far, to include Europe. I am a higher education administrator by profession and enjoy literature, music, the arts, family, and friends.

Anyway, nice to be here! :thumbup:
Allegations made by long-time BF members tend to have more weight than comments from someone who makes 8 posts in one thread in less than an hour. Welcome to the forum.
 
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