Talk of The Villages Florida

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-   The Villages, Florida, General Discussion (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/)
-   -   Phillips Toyota Leesburg beware of this dealership under new GM (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/phillips-toyota-leesburg-beware-dealership-under-new-gm-318675/)

PennBF 04-16-2021 08:21 AM

Understand
 
I also had a bad experience at Phillips! I won't get into detail about it other than being told something that was not true in order to convince me to buy. I ended up leaving with no fuss, going to another dealer of a different make and model of car and buying with cash. In reading the Dealer's response to this customer it only makes me glad that I didn't buy a car there and then face his wrath during maintenance/warranty activities. There is no justification for ever treating a customer in this way. There is a famous food Market up north in Conn. which was featured on 60 Minutes quite a while ago. It had 2 rules for all of it's employee's. Rule 1, "the customer is always right" Rule 2, Refer to rule 1 !!:ho:

DAVES 04-16-2021 08:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bellavita (Post 1930444)
Tony Viero
Phillips Toyota
8629 US HWY 441
Leesburg, FL 34788
April 11, 2021
Dear Mr. Viero,
My husband and I have been a client of this dealership since 2008. I currently own a 2013 Prius and was looking to upgrade I searched online and found a limited at your dealership. Soon a man named Al called and told me all about it, he emailed a price to me and we made an appointment to come into the dealership to look at the car.
We were in the middle of yard work stopped took a shower and went 30 minutes’ drive to the dealership. Asked for Al, he had assigned a salesperson to us the man said he would look for him.
We waited.
We waited and then I finally called Al and said, “Al I came here to look at the Prius and there is no one to help me. “by then I was outside looking at cars, my husband was out in the parking lot. A couple sales guys came up, but I said Al had hooked us up with a salesperson, still no one.
Finally, the “manager” came out and said this guy could help me, I said great we came to look at the 2021 Prius Limited. Ok he will get the keys. They both walked into the building.
They came out a few minutes later and said the car was sold 2 hours ago.
Really?
Is this the way you handle sales? Not only was the “manager” rude, telling me you sell 40-60 cars a day and that they cannot keep track of what they sell. “Yeah, we are human we make mistakes” he told us sarcastically. I told him that he should have a system to tell Al in internet sales so we would not have made the trip. Over an hour of wasted time.
He asked us if we wanted to drive a new Prius because they are all the same and I could order the car.
Seriously do you think I would ever spend $35,000 at your dealership after this fiasco?
I called to complain to Al, oh he was really sorry about that, but it was still in his system as available. You have some serious problems when one hand does not know what the other is doing. Al said the sales department and he make hundreds of calls a day. Obviously not one to each other.
I am the client; I am not even sure if I want to get my car serviced there after this kind of treatment. I really like the new Mustang Mach E. maybe I will give a Ford Dealership a try. Wonder if they know what they have in inventory.
Your commercials make you look like you are on life support, with this kind of treatment it is no wonder.
I would suggest if you hired people in sales that they have more people skills then what we witnessed on Saturday.
Sincerely
Nancy Jordan Blackmore

Cc: Brandon J Phillips
12550 Castlemain Tr
Orlando, Fl 32828
Takeshi Uchiyamada
Toyota Motor North America
6565 Headquarters Drive
Plano, Texas 75024

General Manager Reply 4/11/21

Hello Nancy,

I am overly aware of your visit to our dealership as it will be the very last one. The way you and your husband spoke too and treated several employees is abhorrent.

Let me be extremely clear. You are not welcome at our dealership for anything for any reason ever again.

We also have nothing to do with Japanese whaling so stop sending us emails in regards to such matters.

Sincerely,

Tony Viero
General Manager
Phillips Toyota

Sent from my iPhone


We only see one side of every story. That experience where you drive to see a car and are told it was just sold is unfortunately common. Is a scam-perhaps. When, they have you there they will of course try to sell you something else.

That general manager, I do not know him but basic business skills you should never send something like that in writing. If, you tell someone off on the phone you can claim
they misunderstood what you said.

I was amused that Ford was mentioned. I had a Ford Taurus when they had many transmission issues. At 30,000 miles the transmission failed and they put in a rebuilt
one at n/c. That one failed after about 20,000. Oh they charged me about 100,000 to tell me what I told them on the way in-the transmission is no good. They wanted me to pay like 2,000 to have them replace it yet again. I had a GM credit card at the time. Some kind of deal where you would earn credit against buying a GM car. I loudly paid that repair bill with my GM card. The fool behind the counter asked me if I was attempting to tell him something. My reply loud and clear in front of his packed with customers repair section was, no I am not trying to tell you something-you have been told. My two most recent cars have been GM and I have been happy with them both.

I no longer drive nearly as much as I used to. There is a shortage of new cars. With the rise in gas prices as happened before, I will bet you can get a great deal on a used car that does not get particularly good gas mileage. No my car is not a big GM. I have a Chevy Malibu 31-32 mpg on the highway.

Topspinmo 04-16-2021 08:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MandoMan (Post 1930618)
I think you over-reacted on this. Mistakes happen. It’s annoying that the left hand didn’t know what the right hand was doing, but it happens all the time. For example, in real estate here at The Villages, I’m sure it’s very common for a sales agreement to be signed an hour before an advertised open house that is then cancelled. (Oh, wait, I did that a year ago when I bought my house here.)

And before you rush to the Ford dealer to buy a Mustang instead of a Prius, let me tell you about my girlfriend taking her Ford F-250 to the Ford dealer for an oil change and finding out three hours later that it hadn’t yet been taken in for the service. (That one was comped.) Then they needed to install new weatherstripping on a door, and they ordered the wrong piece—which was installed! The torn piece was pinned together! It will be replaced tomorrow. She’s annoyed, but she’s not saying she’ll never buy another Ford.

There are some annoyances that don’t deserve people trying to damage a business’s reputation or get a person fired. Things go wrong on occasion.


I got several horror stories at several brand of dealerships. Ford, Chevy, Honda, Dodge and yes the famed brand Toyota. Usually it not the brands, but level of training and putting customers first. experienced this at large city dealerships. Small town dealerships are usually much better. But, majority went away with mom and pop stores.

I’ve had several fords and chevy’s only once was Ford was repaired by dealer for recall, it wasn’t broke till they recalled it, after that fuel pump when out ever 10,000 miles. Chevy was horrendous in 80’s, 90’s and early 2000’s Only problem I ever had with Honda or Toyota was servicing.

Few people actually follow up on servicing. How hard is it to pull dip stick and check level or look spots after you move you’re car? I willing to guess that more than half servicing at dealerships are above the dipstick full mark.

If you find good dealership IMO that’s rare, but if you don’t follow up on work you never know.

Marty94 04-16-2021 08:34 AM

Similar Experience
 
My husband and I went to the same dealership in January after seeing the car we wanted on their website. We were required to have an appointment and did so. We called about 30 minutes before leaving to confirm the car was still there and available. When we arrived, the manager met my husband and said they did not have that car on the lot, but tried to offer him a sports car instead. My husband was polite and we left. It wasn’t necessarily a waste of time. It simply eliminated that car dealership as one we wanted to do business with. This happened a few more times with other dealerships in the area. Their objective was to get us to their lot and attempt to sell us something from their inventory.

Dealerships must be somewhat successful as many play this game, but there are also those that do not. In the future, I would take the high road. Vote with your feet like we did.

OrangeBlossomBaby 04-16-2021 08:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PennBF (Post 1930732)
I also had a bad experience at Phillips! I won't get into detail about it other than being told something that was not true in order to convince me to buy. I ended up leaving with no fuss, going to another dealer of a different make and model of car and buying with cash. In reading the Dealer's response to this customer it only makes me glad that I didn't buy a car there and then face his wrath during maintenance/warranty activities. There is no justification for ever treating a customer in this way. There is a famous food Market up north in Conn. which was featured on 60 Minutes quite a while ago. It had 2 rules for all of it's employee's. Rule 1, "the customer is always right" Rule 2, Refer to rule 1 !!:ho:

The customer is not always right. Whether they want people to believe the hype about that catch phrase or not. Customers are customers. Some of them will lie, cheat, and steal in order to get something for nothing. They will demand that you give them a free item because the store has to give it to them if the price rung up is not the price marked on the shelf. But the security camera catches them red-handed switching tags on the shelf.

The customer does NOT have the right to put their puppy in the shopping cart and claim it's a service animal. The rules for service animals are: 4 on the floor (all 4 paws must be on the ground at all times), 6' NON-retractable leash, and the dog isn't allowed to sniff at the products or the other customers. If the customer insists otherwise, then the customer is WRONG.

The customer does NOT have the right to walk around the supermarket barefoot and shirtless. The customer who does that is WRONG.

The customer who cuts in front of a line because he only has 3 things, and proceeds to complain that the cashier is an idiot for not accepting their gas card for payment, in a supermarket, is WRONG.

The customer who complains that the cashier questioned an expired coupon from a different store, just because the customer knows that the manager will give her the discount if she yells loudly enough, is WRONG.

It is that "customer is always right" nonsense that causes people to become Karens and Chads. Because too long, in too many places where employees have to deal with them, the management has insisted that these people should be treated with dignity and respect that they haven't earned.

In StuVille, my store's policy would be "treat the customer like family. You don't have to like your family. You might even have a fight with family. You WILL roll your eyes at the crazy drunken uncle with the lampshade on his head at weddings and funerals. You WILL take the keys away from that uncle, and you WILL kick him out of the party if he starts dumping the punch bowl on Sissy's head. But if he comes in sober the next time and just wants to be remembered kindly, and treats the employees with that same kindness he expects, then give him that kindness."

Spalumbos62 04-16-2021 08:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gpsma (Post 1930569)
Can we all say...ENTITLED

Entitled! ???? Who, the customer? You're crazy....yes we heard the story and maybe there was some nastiness said to the dealership, which by the way, I would of been all over that. Other than that..poopoo on them...I would NEVER go back ! Lots of other dealers to go to.
You really need to mail all these post to them,so they can see all the possible customers they lost!

PugMom 04-16-2021 09:23 AM

all i can do is offer some advice. find a dealership & work with ONE person only--all the time. i use plaza lincoln, & if my gal has a day off or isnt in, i wait until another day when she is. she knows everything about lincoln like the back of her hand, & in turn -she knows what i expect on each visit. be friendly-mistakes can happen, it's how they deal with it that counts. life is too short to be upset over things like this, and yeah, i'm waiting on paul harvey:icon_wink:

Larchap49 04-16-2021 09:26 AM

Squeaky wheel
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Bellavita (Post 1930444)
Tony Viero
Phillips Toyota
8629 US HWY 441
Leesburg, FL 34788
April 11, 2021
Dear Mr. Viero,
My husband and I have been a client of this dealership since 2008. I currently own a 2013 Prius and was looking to upgrade I searched online and found a limited at your dealership. Soon a man named Al called and told me all about it, he emailed a price to me and we made an appointment to come into the dealership to look at the car.
We were in the middle of yard work stopped took a shower and went 30 minutes’ drive to the dealership. Asked for Al, he had assigned a salesperson to us the man said he would look for him.
We waited.
We waited and then I finally called Al and said, “Al I came here to look at the Prius and there is no one to help me. “by then I was outside looking at cars, my husband was out in the parking lot. A couple sales guys came up, but I said Al had hooked us up with a salesperson, still no one.
Finally, the “manager” came out and said this guy could help me, I said great we came to look at the 2021 Prius Limited. Ok he will get the keys. They both walked into the building.
They came out a few minutes later and said the car was sold 2 hours ago.
Really?
Is this the way you handle sales? Not only was the “manager” rude, telling me you sell 40-60 cars a day and that they cannot keep track of what they sell. “Yeah, we are human we make mistakes” he told us sarcastically. I told him that he should have a system to tell Al in internet sales so we would not have made the trip. Over an hour of wasted time.
He asked us if we wanted to drive a new Prius because they are all the same and I could order the car.
Seriously do you think I would ever spend $35,000 at your dealership after this fiasco?
I called to complain to Al, oh he was really sorry about that, but it was still in his system as available. You have some serious problems when one hand does not know what the other is doing. Al said the sales department and he make hundreds of calls a day. Obviously not one to each other.
I am the client; I am not even sure if I want to get my car serviced there after this kind of treatment. I really like the new Mustang Mach E. maybe I will give a Ford Dealership a try. Wonder if they know what they have in inventory.
Your commercials make you look like you are on life support, with this kind of treatment it is no wonder.
I would suggest if you hired people in sales that they have more people skills then what we witnessed on Saturday.
Sincerely
Nancy Jordan Blackmore

Cc: Brandon J Phillips
12550 Castlemain Tr
Orlando, Fl 32828
Takeshi Uchiyamada
Toyota Motor North America
6565 Headquarters Drive
Plano, Texas 75024

General Manager Reply 4/11/21

Hello Nancy,

I am overly aware of your visit to our dealership as it will be the very last one. The way you and your husband spoke too and treated several employees is abhorrent.

Let me be extremely clear. You are not welcome at our dealership for anything for any reason ever again.

We also have nothing to do with Japanese whaling so stop sending us emails in regards to such matters.

Sincerely,

Tony Viero
General Manager
Phillips Toyota

Sent from my iPhone

Kudos to you Tony for kicking one of the one percenters to the curb. After 20 years as a service manager I know how the business has changed and how many people misuse social media to squeeze businesses these days. I find it a shame how bad customers get their way and end up with better treatment than the good customer because they have figured out that squeeking on social media puts pressure on a business that relies heavily on survey results to give them what they don't deserve. Knowing the car business and the pressure for good surveys I can only assume these customers were way over the line to elicit that response from you.

CFrance 04-16-2021 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jswirs (Post 1930614)
I had something a bit similar happen at Ocala Ford / Lincoln, on the service side. The service was complete but no one told us, so we sat there for oven an hour, while the car sat in the "completed " area. Yes, we ask about it and were told it would be done ASAP. Finally after an hour I walked outside and saw the vehicle waiting there for us, with completed service.
We complained to the manager who promised nothing like this would ever happen again, but the repair they did was not complete, so, back to the dealership.
Bottom line, I wrote a letter to the owner, and that really got results. I find writing a letter is so much better than a phone call, and I mean a "snail mail" letter, not e mail.
Just my experience.

Except for one thing: Don't be a jerk in your letter.

CFrance 04-16-2021 09:36 AM

My husband went to look at his beloved Magnum 16 years ago. He walked into the dealership, read the month's sales-by-associate report on the whiteboard through an office window, and asked for the sales associate with the least amount of sales. He was very polite in refusing the price due to it having a sun roof he would never use. After several polite back-and-forths, they took the price of the sun roof off, and he bought the car.

As they say, you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.

The Magnum has 200,000 miles on it, and DH is now extremely polite to Bobby at Accu-Tech. Frequently.

Larchap49 04-16-2021 09:39 AM

Squeeky wheel
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Mortal1 (Post 1930531)
YUP...BAIT and SWITCH. Notify the BBB and make a formal complaint. Might not do anything, but you never know. Hit all the social media platforms. It those platforms can fool millions and cause folks to think like a lemming then it couldn't hurt.

Sounds like you are one of those who use social media to get what you don’t really deserve. To get that response from a business that relies so heavily on customer surveys not only for ratings but for discounts and give backs from the factory that customer had to be so far out of line the next step was probably going to be a call to the police. Been there and lived it. The down side and misuse of social media to get what is not deserved is rampant.

Sportsguy1 04-16-2021 09:40 AM

Buying a car from a dealership can be a miserable experience for sure. But the thing that stands out to me is you said to Al ‘we are coming to look at the car’....you didn’t say ‘we will buy it, or hold the car until we get there in an hour or let me PayPal you $500 to hold the car until we get there’....you said you were coming to ‘look’ at it. A car dealership is in the business to sell cars. If someone walks in the door 2 hours before you get there and buys that car that is the way it goes. Car salesman get paid to sell cars so when they have a chance to sell it they are going to. What’s the old saying...a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush’! Well they had a buyer in hand with two in their car headed their way but they didn’t know if you were coming for sure or coming to buy for sure so they took the sure thing. They are a business trying to make sales so can’t really blame them.

Sailohio 04-16-2021 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bellavita (Post 1930444)
Tony Viero
Phillips Toyota
8629 US HWY 441
Leesburg, FL 34788
April 11, 2021
Dear Mr. Viero,
My husband and I have been a client of this dealership since 2008. I currently own a 2013 Prius and was looking to upgrade I searched online and found a limited at your dealership. Soon a man named Al called and told me all about it, he emailed a price to me and we made an appointment to come into the dealership to look at the car.
We were in the middle of yard work stopped took a shower and went 30 minutes’ drive to the dealership. Asked for Al, he had assigned a salesperson to us the man said he would look for him.
We waited.
We waited and then I finally called Al and said, “Al I came here to look at the Prius and there is no one to help me. “by then I was outside looking at cars, my husband was out in the parking lot. A couple sales guys came up, but I said Al had hooked us up with a salesperson, still no one.
Finally, the “manager” came out and said this guy could help me, I said great we came to look at the 2021 Prius Limited. Ok he will get the keys. They both walked into the building.
They came out a few minutes later and said the car was sold 2 hours ago.
Really?
Is this the way you handle sales? Not only was the “manager” rude, telling me you sell 40-60 cars a day and that they cannot keep track of what they sell. “Yeah, we are human we make mistakes” he told us sarcastically. I told him that he should have a system to tell Al in internet sales so we would not have made the trip. Over an hour of wasted time.
He asked us if we wanted to drive a new Prius because they are all the same and I could order the car.
Seriously do you think I would ever spend $35,000 at your dealership after this fiasco?
I called to complain to Al, oh he was really sorry about that, but it was still in his system as available. You have some serious problems when one hand does not know what the other is doing. Al said the sales department and he make hundreds of calls a day. Obviously not one to each other.
I am the client; I am not even sure if I want to get my car serviced there after this kind of treatment. I really like the new Mustang Mach E. maybe I will give a Ford Dealership a try. Wonder if they know what they have in inventory.
Your commercials make you look like you are on life support, with this kind of treatment it is no wonder.
I would suggest if you hired people in sales that they have more people skills then what we witnessed on Saturday.
Sincerely
Nancy Jordan Blackmore

Cc: Brandon J Phillips
12550 Castlemain Tr
Orlando, Fl 32828
Takeshi Uchiyamada
Toyota Motor North America
6565 Headquarters Drive
Plano, Texas 75024

General Manager Reply 4/11/21

Hello Nancy,

I am overly aware of your visit to our dealership as it will be the very last one. The way you and your husband spoke too and treated several employees is abhorrent.

Let me be extremely clear. You are not welcome at our dealership for anything for any reason ever again.

We also have nothing to do with Japanese whaling so stop sending us emails in regards to such matters.

Sincerely,

Tony Viero
General Manager
Phillips Toyota

Sent from my iPhone

As an unbiased reader who would never, ever buy a Prius, I agree with Tony. You were rude, unreasonable and quick to pass judgement. If I were Tony, I would ask you to never return as well. You remind me of the liberal young people who go out of their way to be offended. Please do not move to my neighborhood.

Stu from NYC 04-16-2021 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sportsguy1 (Post 1930780)
Buying a car from a dealership can be a miserable experience for sure. But the thing that stands out to me is you said to Al ‘we are coming to look at the car’....you didn’t say ‘we will buy it, or hold the car until we get there in an hour or let me PayPal you $500 to hold the car until we get there’....you said you were coming to ‘look’ at it. A car dealership is in the business to sell cars. If someone walks in the door 2 hours before you get there and buys that car that is the way it goes. Car salesman get paid to sell cars so when they have a chance to sell it they are going to. What’s the old saying...a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush’! Well they had a buyer in hand with two in their car headed their way but they didn’t know if you were coming for sure or coming to buy for sure so they took the sure thing. They are a business trying to make sales so can’t really blame them.

Very well said think you nailed it.

nevjudbaker 04-16-2021 10:16 AM

Don't buy a mustang. FORD Fix & repair Daily. We had a mustang big mistake. Toyota & Honda are excellent cars. Did you know that AL being online probably worked from home or not at the dealership? He should have called the dealership to make sure the car was available to drive & buy. Then given your name & told them you were on your way to see the car. He would have found at time the car had been sold. It was his error especially after he said it happens. If the car was sold 2 hours before it probably hadn't had time to be deleted from the inventory on the computer.
The salesman at the Toyota dealership didn't know what had happened & were trying to find out. I know how frustrated & upset you would have been but taking it out on people not knowing the situation with AL were just trying to help. It was AL you should have been angry with. Therefore management was defending his salesman. Management should have apologized to you & stated the online salesman don't coordinate with the dealership as they should have which would have saved you a trip to the dealership. Then he should have said "As I explained our personal had no idea what had happened therefore they were guite upset getting your verbal abuse & answered you accordingly. After he should have apologized for the mishap & offered you a free oil change or something.
In today's world customer service is very limited. In our day they knew how to appease an irrate customer. Today everyone working feels they are doing you a favor for working & we should be honored even if they no nothing ir can't help you.


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