[Michael Schott]

He should give everyone on this forum a free car. :dunno: What do you think we've been telling/asking him this whole time? Read the thread, there are other issues about this interrogation that he had previous not covered.

This thread is out of control and much of what has been said is is nonsense. In practical terms what Mr. Flow said is a good honest response and IMO should be enough to end the sniping.

Thanks, Mike.

 

[mrvuml]

Me too............Mr. Flow, who was the employee that posted? :dunno:

It kinda sounds like perhaps one of his employees pretended to be a satisfied customer in an effort to try and diffuse the situation but instead made it worse several pages and hundreds of posts ago.

 

[Gremlin]

The posting regarding how we should have engaged the customer addresses my earlier question about what is the appropriate way for us to engage with a customer on an anonymous blog or network. The members of my organization who were aware of the thread did not know the best way to engage in the conversation. Ultimately, that is clearly my fault.

They did keep the conversations because they were trying to figure out who the customer was so that they could address the issues. While this might sound idealistic, we are dedicated to every customer trusting us and to creating the benchmark for a positive customer experience. When we don't do that, we try to immediately respond. When we have broken trust, we believe that we have to be willing to disadvantage ourselves to prove that we are trustworthy (Isn't that what friends do?).

So, in that spirit, let me say once again.

I apologize for the variety of interactions that have not demonstrated that we respect you or that we value you as a person. You do not have a history with us so that I recognize that we have no equity to demonstrate our sincerity and our commitment to be a place that customers can trust that will always strive to do what is right for the customer.

If you would like to email me, please contact me directly at dflow@flowauto.com and I will be glad to meet with you personally. I am also confident that the other members of our BMW dealership would be pleased to reach out to you as well.

Don Flow

Well, I am satisfied with this. I am thoroughly impressed that he came on here himself to address the issue, and seems to be trying to work out a better way to deal with the internet age. As far as giving him a hard time on the pricing, get over it. Flow will charge what the market dictates, some parts of the country you can get better deals than others, and Flow would not be in business if he was fleecing the customers.

I am convinced he is trying to run an excellent customer service orientated business, and became aware of an issue. They did not deal with it will in the first instance, but I get the impression they were trying. Him coming on here and apologizing and even asking for advice on how best to deal with it impresses me to no end, to the point that if I were in the market for a BMW and lived in the area, I would give them a shot. (of course, if its MSRP I still would look elsewhere) but I am impressed.

EDIT: Also, this has now become the most amazing and productive thread I have been a part of, thanks Coontie and Flow BMW.

 

[Don Flow]

Hopeful Conclusion

The posting regarding how we should have engaged the customer addresses my earlier question about what is the appropriate way for us to engage with a customer on an anonymous blog or network. The members of my organization who were aware of the thread did not know the best way to engage in the conversation. Ultimately, that is clearly my fault.

They did keep the conversations because they were trying to figure out who the customer was so that they could address the issues. While this might sound idealistic, we are dedicated to every customer trusting us and to creating the benchmark for a positive customer experience. When we don't do that, we try to immediately respond. When we have broken trust, we believe that we have to be willing to disadvantage ourselves to prove that we are trustworthy (Isn't that what friends do?).

So, in that spirit, let me say once again.

I apologize for the variety of interactions that have not demonstrated that we respect you or that we value you as a person. You have never purchased a vehicle from us so that I recognize that we have no equity to demonstrate our sincerity and our commitment to be a place that customers can trust that will always strive to do what is right for the customer.

If you would like to email me, please contact me directly at dflow@flowauto.com and I will be glad to meet with you personally. I am also confident that the other members of our BMW dealership would be pleased to reach out to you as well.

Don Flow

 

[KAP8]

The posting regarding how we should have engaged the customer addresses my earlier question about what is the appropriate way for us to engage with a customer on an anonymous blog or network. The members of my organization who were aware of the thread did not know the best way to engage in the conversation. Ultimately, that is clearly my fault.

They did keep the conversations because they were trying to figure out who the customer was so that they could address the issues. While this might sound idealistic, we are dedicated to every customer trusting us and to creating the benchmark for a positive customer experience. When we don't do that, we try to immediately respond. When we have broken trust, we believe that we have to be willing to disadvantage ourselves to prove that we are trustworthy (Isn't that what friends do?).

So, in that spirit, let me say once again.

I apologize for the variety of interactions that have not demonstrated that we respect you or that we value you as a person. You do not have a history with us so that I recognize that we have no equity to demonstrate our sincerity and our commitment to be a place that customers can trust that will always strive to do what is right for the customer.

If you would like to email me, please contact me directly at dflow@flowauto.com and I will be glad to meet with you personally. I am also confident that the other members of our BMW dealership would be pleased to reach out to you as well.

Don Flow

You are a stand up guy, Mr. Flow. Thanks again for getting involved and hopefully you and Zach can put this behind you.........actually behind all of us.

 

[BMWFM1]

The posting regarding how we should have engaged the customer addresses my earlier question about what is the appropriate way for us to engage with a customer on an anonymous blog or network. The members of my organization who were aware of the thread did not know the best way to engage in the conversation. Ultimately, that is clearly my fault.

They did keep the conversations because they were trying to figure out who the customer was so that they could address the issues. While this might sound idealistic, we are dedicated to every customer trusting us and to creating the benchmark for a positive customer experience. When we don't do that, we try to immediately respond. When we have broken trust, we believe that we have to be willing to disadvantage ourselves to prove that we are trustworthy (Isn't that what friends do?).

So, in that spirit, let me say once again.

I apologize for the variety of interactions that have not demonstrated that we respect you or that we value you as a person. You do not have a history with us so that I recognize that we have no equity to demonstrate our sincerity and our commitment to be a place that customers can trust that will always strive to do what is right for the customer.
If you would like to email me, please contact me directly at dflow@flowauto.com and I will be glad to meet with you personally. I am also confident that the other members of our BMW dealership would be pleased to reach out to you as well.

Don Flow

Thanks a lot for this post. Much clearer and to the point.

I am not directly involved in this dispute but commend you for your professional attitude.

Hopefully Zach will accept your apology and this will close the matter.

Best to both of you.

FM

 

[superstock]

I think you are missing the Gestapo interrogation tactics. That is the issue.

No matter what Coontie said on the internet, he should not expect or accept those tactics from any business.

I admitted early on that I would have gone ballistic in that room. Anyway, the interrogation method used is the issue.

He said/she said. I didn't miss the point, i just don't think it was as bad as the OP said. Everything is exaggerated on the internet so I take it with a large grain of salt. The dealer has apologized even though the OP was clearly in the wrong initially. It appears that the dealership is bending over backwards to try and placate the situation. His comments were directly affecting their business and livelihood and they had every right to question him about that. If someone was hurting your business and taking money out of your pocket you would question them as well; especially if the comments were so outrageous.

I have no idea why anyone would "go ballastic". They called him out for underhanded comments and slanderous remarks. If you bad mouthed someone and it got back to that person would you attack them if they confronted you? Or would you be ashamed and realize you were wrong? The illusion of anonymity on the internet gives people license for all sorts of slanderous attacks they would never make in real life.

 

[erdoran]

The posting regarding how we should have engaged the customer addresses my earlier question about what is the appropriate way for us to engage with a customer on an anonymous blog or network. The members of my organization who were aware of the thread did not know the best way to engage in the conversation. Ultimately, that is clearly my fault.

They did keep the conversations because they were trying to figure out who the customer was so that they could address the issues. While this might sound idealistic, we are dedicated to every customer trusting us and to creating the benchmark for a positive customer experience. When we don't do that, we try to immediately respond. When we have broken trust, we believe that we have to be willing to disadvantage ourselves to prove that we are trustworthy (Isn't that what friends do?).

So, in that spirit, let me say once again.

I apologize for the variety of interactions that have not demonstrated that we respect you or that we value you as a person. You have never purchased a vehicle from us so that I recognize that we have no equity to demonstrate our sincerity and our commitment to be a place that customers can trust that will always strive to do what is right for the customer.

If you would like to email me, please contact me directly at dflow@flowauto.com and I will be glad to meet with you personally. I am also confident that the other members of our BMW dealership would be pleased to reach out to you as well.

Don Flow

In the spirit of being helpful in the Internet age--in my opinion the appropriate way to engage a customer and explore feedback would be to PM (private message) that customer through the forum, clearly identifying oneself as a dealership employee. It is possible that the PM could end up posted publicly, so it's important to keep that in mind when responding. Certainly one could request that the conversation remain private, but there is never a guarantee. The customer may, or may not, choose to identify himself but I firmly believe that a legitimate, positive PM contact after someone posts a negative experience will go a long way towards defusing the situation: the dealership will most likely get the facts they need as to why the customer is dissatisfied, and hopefully the customer will at least appreciate the contact. Even if there is ultimately no sale because you are too far apart on pricing, which is conceivable, the customer will feel well-treated and threads like this won't happen.

And again--for those who take personal offense to a price--no dealership would stay in business if there wasn't a market for their vehicles at their price. Just because they won't sell to YOU at YOUR price (and I started off in this forum being really bad about that!) doesn't make them bad guys. They can charge whatever they want, and you can choose not to buy from them. It doesn't need to become personal on either end. If your price is reasonable sooner or later you'll find a dealership who will sell to you at your price. If it is unreasonable then either you won't buy the car at all, or you'll figure out what is a reasonable price and be able to make a deal. No need to go ballistic! (and apologies to the dealerships I gave a hard time to when I was shopping, the above is a hard-learned lesson for me!)

 

[The BoatMan]

This thread initially caught my eye because although I have never been to Flow, my father-in-law bought his BMW from Flow. He lives in Charlotte and drives to Flow for service. I have no idea what kind of price he received but he loves their dealership enough to drive there from Charlotte.

Im not sure what else you expect from Don Flow. He has apologized for the acts of others whom he unfortunately is ultimately responsible. I consider this issue resolved. This isnt a witch hunt folks.

 

[jmcrtp]

In the spirit of being helpful in the Internet age--in my opinion the appropriate way to engage a customer and explore feedback would be to PM (private message) that customer through the forum, clearly identifying oneself as a dealership employee. It is possible that the PM could end up posted publicly, so it's important to keep that in mind when responding. Certainly one could request that the conversation remain private, but there is never a guarantee. The customer may, or may not, choose to identify himself but I firmly believe that a legitimate, positive PM contact after someone posts a negative experience will go a long way towards defusing the situation: the dealership will most likely get the facts they need as to why the customer is dissatisfied, and hopefully the customer will at least appreciate the contact. Even if there is ultimately no sale because you are too far apart on pricing, which is conceivable, the customer will feel well-treated and threads like this won't happen.

And again--for those who take personal offense to a price--no dealership would stay in business if there wasn't a market for their vehicles at their price. Just because they won't sell to YOU at YOUR price (and I started off in this forum being really bad about that!) doesn't make them bad guys. They can charge whatever they want, and you can choose not to buy from them. It doesn't need to become personal on either end. If your price is reasonable sooner or later you'll find a dealership who will sell to you at your price. If it is unreasonable then either you won't buy the car at all, or you'll figure out what is a reasonable price and be able to make a deal. No need to go ballistic! (and apologies to the dealerships I gave a hard time to when I was shopping, the above is a hard-learned lesson for me!)

I agree that a PM is probably a great starting point to resolve these issues. This way you are engaging the customer in the setting where the comments were made and not confronting them by surprise in person.

Thank you for your replies to this thread Mr. Flow!

 

[KAP8]

He said/she said. I didn't miss the point, i just don't think it was as bad as the OP said. Everything is exaggerated on the internet so I take it with a large grain of salt. The dealer has apologized even though the OP was clearly in the wrong initially. It appears that the dealership is bending over backwards to try and placate the situation. His comments were directly affecting their business and livelihood and they had every right to question him about that. If someone was hurting your business and taking money out of your pocket you would question them as well; especially if the comments were so outrageous.

I have no idea why anyone would "go ballastic". They called him out for underhanded comments and slanderous remarks. If you bad mouthed someone and it got back to that person would you attack them if they confronted you? Or would you be ashamed and realize you were wrong? The illusion of anonymity on the internet gives people license for all sorts of slanderous attacks they would never make in real life.

See my post #4 after Coontie recounted what went on in that room.

The guy said you "can't come here anymore!!!" That is insane. And I definitely would have gone ballistic about it.............there are no other BMW dealerships in the immediate area. Besides, this is/was the United States of America. We can can have our cars serviced anywhere that takes our currency.

And by the way...........why do you suppose the Dealer is bending over backwards? It couldn't possibly be because this thread could have an affect on business could it?

 

[BickUW89]

I apologize for the variety of interactions that have not demonstrated that we respect you or that we value you as a person. You have never purchased a vehicle from us so that I recognize that we have no equity to demonstrate our sincerity and our commitment to be a place that customers can trust that will always strive to do what is right for the customer.

Don Flow

EPIC. Absolutely freaking epic.

Don, major props for coming on here and setting it straight.

Major props to Bimmerfest for giving us customers a voice.

A great day for the Internet.

 

[chrisinvermont]

Thank you Mr. Flow for the apology. Not to keep piling on, but there is one thing that hasn't been stated recently. What actually went on in the back room is only truly known by 3 people. I don't know what the tactics were or what was said. The important thing that did come out of the conversation is that Zach was under the impression that he was not welcome back to the dealership for any reason.

My question to you Mr. Flow, is whether or not Zach is "banned" from your dealership or not.

Thanks for you time, you are doing a good job wading into this mess!
Chris

 

[TackleburyUk]

I take my hat off to you Mr Flow. You've gone above and beyond what was needed and speaking from my own experiences you seen to be genuinely interested and what’s more, proactive in maintaining customer satisfaction.

This thread has the makings of a blockbuster movie.

It started with a tense action packed stand off, progressed into a tense outpour of anger and finished with the baddie winning everyone over and saving the day!

Brilliant

 

[Don Flow]

Thank you for your help

The comments regarding using PM were very helpful. Thank you. This is the approach we will use in the future. In fact, we are going to assign a person at the dealership to review the sites on a daily basis with the intent of duplicating our commitment "that the sun will not set on an upset customer." We want to try to respond to these issues immediately.

I have spoken to the General Sales Manager at length about the conversation. He is adamant that he never told the customer that he was not welcome to come back to the dealership and in fact, he has volunteered to take a lie detector test to prove. I have told him that is riduculous and that if the customer will allow us to meet with him, I am confident that we can start over again.

I do not question that the customer felt that he was not welcome. This is one of those great examples where we did not put ourselves in the customer's shoes. That lack of empathy resulted in us completely alienating a customer. Again, we have learned an enormous amount from this.

I sure wish there was an opportunity to engage this community on a regular basis. I am sure you guys could direct us to best practices at other dealerships. Additionally, we are trying a number of different approaches in the sales process that will create a more symmetrical relationship with the customer. For instance, in our appraisal process, we are going to go on line with the customer to look at black book, edmunds, and blue book so that the entire process is transparent.

Again, thank you for allowing me to engage in this conversation.

Don Flow

 

[harjothundal]

The comments regarding using PM were very helpful. Thank you. This is the approach we will use in the future. In fact, we are going to assign a person at the dealership to review the sites on a daily basis with the intent of duplicating our commitment "that the sun will not set on an upset customer." We want to try to respond to these issues immediately.

I have spoken to the General Sales Manager at length about the conversation. He is adamant that he never told the customer that he was not welcome to come back to the dealership and in fact, he has volunteered to take a lie detector test to prove. I have told him that is riduculous and that if the customer will allow us to meet with him, I am confident that we can start over again.

I do not question that the customer felt that he was not welcome. This is one of those great examples where we did not put ourselves in the customer's shoes. That lack of empathy resulted in us completely alienating a customer. Again, we have learned an enormous amount from this.

I sure wish there was an opportunity to engage this community on a regular basis. I am sure you guys could direct us to best practices at other dealerships. Additionally, we are trying a number of different approaches in the sales process that will create a more symmetrical relationship with the customer. For instance, in our appraisal process, we are going to go on line with the customer to look at black book, edmunds, and blue book so that the entire process is transparent.

Again, thank you for allowing me to engage in this conversation.

Don Flow

beautiful response, what more could you ask for? :thumbup:

 

[dugbug]

: popcorn: More popcorn... must have more.... cannot stop reading : popcorn:

 

[BickUW89]

I sure wish there was an opportunity to engage this community on a regular basis. I am sure you guys could direct us to best practices at other dealerships. Additionally, we are trying a number of different approaches in the sales process that will create a more symmetrical relationship with the customer. For instance, in our appraisal process, we are going to go on line with the customer to look at black book, edmunds, and blue book so that the entire process is transparent.

Again, thank you for allowing me to engage in this conversation.

Don Flow

Become a Bimmerfest Sponsor and offer killer ED deals. That'll get ya more engaged. :thumbup:

 

[BickUW89]

I wanna be a century number! Post whoring!

 

[BickUW89]

crap, almost missed it.

900