TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE!!

[MoonageMin]

Ended up being longer than I wanted but I think I made it clear. Removed real names to protect privacy.

Dear Mr. Butler,

I am writing to express my dismay at the service at your Porsche Centre South London on Wednesday 14th June, and Saturday 17th June.

The intention behind my email is less so as a complaint, and more in the hopes to raise awareness on what a customer may experience at your branch with the hope that future customers that come after me may avoid similar dissatisfaction, and I hope you would also read it as such.

Whilst your branch is not my nearest Porsche Centre as I live in xxxxxxx, it has come with a glowing recommendation from a dear friend of mine, having had a good experience with his recent purchase, so after speaking with xxxx over the phone on Saturday 10th June, we arranged an appointment to have a test drive and to place an order on Wednesday 14th of June.

As I understand it, the lead time from order to delivery is quite significant, so I arrived for my appointment on 14th June with the full intention to place an order, frankly with or without a test drive to get a spot on the waiting list as soon as possible.

However, I was kept waiting for over an hour, with no explanation as to why I was kept waiting, other than the receptionist going to check a few times and each time telling me that he would be here in a minute.
For the record, I have given the receptionist cxxxx’s full name (just in case you have other Robs who work there) and have also given her the time of my appointment and the purpose of my visit to avoid any potential confusion.

At 11:05 I left your showroom and asked the receptionist to let xxxx know that I am leaving and might reschedule.

Subsequently, when I returned home I found an email from xxxx, received at 11:05 saying he came to get me and I was gone.
I can't help but think that he valued his time over mine, and he had better things to do than to keep our appointment in a punctual manner, and only emailed me the moment I left as a potential sale just walked out the door. Given the time stamp of the email I would still have either been walking back to my car, or at the car park, so had he called me instead of leaving me an email, I could have quite easily walked back in.

Understandably, an order was unable to be placed that day but having returned home, xxxx gave his excuses and I decided that everyone deserves a second chance, especially given the recommendation your centre came with from my friend.

It was however very off-putting when the entire blame was placed on the receptionists, I would have much preferred and would have respected him for doing so had he owned up and given any other excuse or just apologised instead with no excuses given. But I decided to take his word for it and we agreed to give it another go, and to his credit, he has also offered me an extended 48-hour test drive in a Macan S or the GTS (the 2 models I was interested in) to make up for the incident which I did appreciate.

A new appointment was now rescheduled for Saturday 17th June at 2:30 pm, for a test drive in a Macan S, to place an order on a new Macan (S or GTS), and for me to take home a Macan GTS so that I can compare the two with a return date and time of Monday 19th June at 10 am agreed in writing.

My re-visit on 17th June to his credit started off much better, he popped over in person this time (I was 10 minutes early), introduced himself, shook my hand and apologised for needing 5 more minutes with the previous customer, to which I replied that it was no problem and to take his time. This was the least I expected the first time and would have happily waited on 14th June almost indefinitely had he done the same back then.

However, once we got started it was very off-putting again when the blame was re-iterated saying the receptionist last time simply forgot to tell him and that was the "honest truth" and that they are much better than that normally. I, and I assume most others would much prefer, and respect someone who owns up to issues regardless of fault and takes the blame even if it was genuinely not his, and protect those that are in lesser positions, that would have been a massive plus for me at least.

However, the bigger issue came later when there was no recollection of the 48-hour test drive, and I was given a look of disgust as if I expected things to magically happen. It wasn't until I showed our email exchanges of him offering this (unprompted by me) and later confirming the plan he seemed to remember what I was here for. I have even sent him photos of my driving license in advance, and I fail to understand what exactly we are confirming a drop-off time on Monday for, if not to drop off the car for the extended test drive that was offered.

In fairness, I did get to test drive a Macan S for 30 minutes, and the car was lovely I may add, but there was neither a GTS available for me for the extended test drive, nor a quick drive on the day. And no other cars in any variation for me to take and honour the offer of this elusive extended test drive.
He did to his credit offer me a 30-minute test drive in a 911 instead, to again "make up for this mix-up", to which I politely declined.

I came to your dealership on Saturday with the full intention again to place an order and pay my deposit, even despite the new car sales manager also ganging up to put pressure to place a deposit, by this point, I lost any desire to purchase from the South London centre and suffice to say this did not happen.

Finally, in the middle of our conversation, I was asked what did I do "Oh I worked at xxxx" ??? "it's a tech company, so you might not have heard of it".
Until this point, I just thought it was small talk/chit chat, but then when I got probed further, "Yes, but what is your title there?", I replied to him saying it's Director of Business Development, but I got a very weird uneasy feeling.
Is what I do and my title really any importance, and am I being looked down upon by not being a high net worth individual?

One positive I may add to my experience though, I thought xxxx from reception on Saturday was wonderful, and both my kids loved her while they were there.

I am sorry that this is coming across as a massive complaint, but I hope by bringing this to your attention there is a chance to improve and remedy so that future customers may be able to avoid similar experiences that I had and have a more pleasant time ordering from your dealership.

As for myself, I am unfortunately going to be placing my order at another Porsche Center after this experience.

Thank you for your time.

Yours sincerely,
Xxxxxxxx

[Jon A]

Have you sent this?
If so, good email. If not, I would take out the last line about ordering elsewhere (even if you are) as this rather takes away any incentive for them to offer any redress?

[MoonageMin]

Have you sent this?
If so, good email. If not, I would take out the last line about ordering elsewhere (even if you are) as this rather takes away any incentive for them to offer any redress?

Yeah sent it last night

[Tracky]

And surely it is a complaint!

[Col Lamb]

Send it to Porsche GB

Include a note that you require their response within 28 days after which you will forward the matter to Porsche HQ

[Cobnapint]

Have you sent this?
If so, good email. If not, I would take out the last line about ordering elsewhere (even if you are) as this rather takes away any incentive for them to offer any redress?

I agree. The OP would have been set up for the red carpet treatment upon ordering and had the ammo for a couple of cheaper options thrown in as dealer deductions on the order.
Never mind.

[wab172uk]

Thanks guys for the positive support.

I’m debating over it, part of me agree that the dealer principle or maybe even Porsche GB should be informed so that they can improve their future customers experiences, as I basically ended up wasting two days being let down each time. I did end up getting a test drive on the Macan S for half an hour as I mentioned, and I’m not expecting some VIP treatment or anything but in this day and age everyone has busy lives and everyone’s time is valuable. I for one have turned up early on both occasions as to uphold my part of being considerate not wanting to waste the OPC/SE’s time either.
First time, I know I might be making a bigger deal than it’s worth and being a Karen about it, but I think being made to wait over an hour (when it’s not even an unscheduled walk-in) with zero communication, and to top it all off to blame the receptionist shows there is no consideration on other people’s time. Also emailing me the second I left (probably a “oh shit, my commission just walked out the door”) was another point of annoyance as I was still in the car park or walking to the car park at the time, and had he called me instead I could have still walked back in. I’m one of those who’s not constantly glued to his phone, and having had nothing better to do than be on my phone for an hour, I didn’t think to check my email after I left and before I drove off.

Regardless, I though maybe something did go wrong, and I’m overtly being sensitive, blaming the receptionist is major Yuk, but maybe there was something there, I decided to take the SE’s word for it and give the benefit of the doubt, second chance and whatnot and give it another go. I also admit the 48 hour test drive that was offered would have been a great way for me to compare the S and the GTS and also a chance for wife and kids to experience the car and give their feedback from their position in the car before we commit 80 grand.
So made the journey back, but despite me virtue signalling about second chances, had it not been for the 48 hour offer, and if it was just that 30 minute test drive I would not have drove all that way in such a hurry nor would I have done it over a weekend either.

Got there, second time was a bit better to begin with, he popped over (I was 10 minutes early) and introduced himself, shook my hand and said he will be 5 more minutes, to which I replied no problem take your time.
But it went all down hill from there, firstly he reiterated the blame on the receptionists saying last time the receptionists simply forgot to inform him and that’s the honest truth and that they are normally better than that. And then comes the disappearing offer on test drive that I felt lied to, I might be wrong, but I feel like there never was an extended test drive on offer and it was just a way to get me to come back and spend my money with them, oh and one more thing I didn’t mention was the Head of new car sales also joined for a bit pushing me to place a deposit on the spot.
Although I did go there with every intention to place my deposit and lock in my spot on the waiting list, I was never doing that after the second let down and being lied straight to my face until the evidence was there in black and white.

So yes, the immature side of me did consider escalating this, and not just seek sympathy from fellow members here on this forum.

But then I’m all for karma, paying it forward and all that. And do volunteer work when I can etc.
Part of me feel like deserved or not, an escalation could be spiteful and not worth potentially ruining someone’s employment over when in the grand scheme of things it’s inconsequential and once I have my Macan in hand in the future, I would have probably forgot all about this already.

So right now I’m leaning towards the direction of keeping it classy, forget and move on, find elsewhere to place my order, and just ignore all calls and emails from them going forward.

P.S. I found it a little off putting when I was asked what do I do, and I told him the company I work for thinking that was that. And he asked again yes, but what is your title there? Felt that was a bit odd why he felt that was necessary info, and that little look I got… I guess a Director of XYZ is probably like a worm to them given who they probably normally deal with.
Or maybe I’m just seeing everything through red tinted glasses after the sour experiences and biased.

Asking for your job title is very strange. Confirms my suspicions he only likes dealing with high net worth individuals. Probably trying to asses if he thinks you can actually afford to buy one, or just chancing it for a test drive. Whatever his intent, it was out of order. We all get asked what we do. All part of conversation and building rapport with someone. But asking for title? N’ah, that’s not right.

I don’t think writing to the dealer principal will get the guy sacked, but it may then lead to him having a word with him on customer service. And his lack of it has resulted in the dealership losing an order. Which they care quite a lot about as, just like with the likes of Ford, monthly sales figures count for a lot in terms of perks and financial incentives from Porsche. The principal will want to out perform his nearest OPC’s.

So I would write a letter or email, but keep it short and simple. Like you say, you don’t want to come across as a Karen. But bad Customer service should be brought to the dealer principals attention, as the SE will probably do the same to the next person who he deems not worth his effort.

[FirstSeaLord]

This guy sounds like a right BS artist. Shame you didn't get the contact that your friend (who recommended South London) had dealt with. Unsurprisingly, have found that there can be a big difference in individuals within the same dealership / group

If you get a decent reply, maybe say you'd like to start again with a different salesperson. As others have said here, you'll likely get some great treatment from a more professional contact - and some goodies thrown in when you order.

[wab172uk]

Ended up being longer than I wanted but I think I made it clear. Removed real names to protect privacy.

Dear Mr. Butler,

I am writing to express my dismay at the service at your Porsche Centre South London on Wednesday 14th June, and Saturday 17th June.

The intention behind my email is less so as a complaint, and more in the hopes to raise awareness on what a customer may experience at your branch with the hope that future customers that come after me may avoid similar dissatisfaction, and I hope you would also read it as such.

Whilst your branch is not my nearest Porsche Centre as I live in xxxxxxx, it has come with a glowing recommendation from a dear friend of mine, having had a good experience with his recent purchase, so after speaking with xxxx over the phone on Saturday 10th June, we arranged an appointment to have a test drive and to place an order on Wednesday 14th of June.

As I understand it, the lead time from order to delivery is quite significant, so I arrived for my appointment on 14th June with the full intention to place an order, frankly with or without a test drive to get a spot on the waiting list as soon as possible.

However, I was kept waiting for over an hour, with no explanation as to why I was kept waiting, other than the receptionist going to check a few times and each time telling me that he would be here in a minute.
For the record, I have given the receptionist cxxxx’s full name (just in case you have other Robs who work there) and have also given her the time of my appointment and the purpose of my visit to avoid any potential confusion.

At 11:05 I left your showroom and asked the receptionist to let xxxx know that I am leaving and might reschedule.

Subsequently, when I returned home I found an email from xxxx, received at 11:05 saying he came to get me and I was gone.
I can't help but think that he valued his time over mine, and he had better things to do than to keep our appointment in a punctual manner, and only emailed me the moment I left as a potential sale just walked out the door. Given the time stamp of the email I would still have either been walking back to my car, or at the car park, so had he called me instead of leaving me an email, I could have quite easily walked back in.

Understandably, an order was unable to be placed that day but having returned home, xxxx gave his excuses and I decided that everyone deserves a second chance, especially given the recommendation your centre came with from my friend.

It was however very off-putting when the entire blame was placed on the receptionists, I would have much preferred and would have respected him for doing so had he owned up and given any other excuse or just apologised instead with no excuses given. But I decided to take his word for it and we agreed to give it another go, and to his credit, he has also offered me an extended 48-hour test drive in a Macan S or the GTS (the 2 models I was interested in) to make up for the incident which I did appreciate.

A new appointment was now rescheduled for Saturday 17th June at 2:30 pm, for a test drive in a Macan S, to place an order on a new Macan (S or GTS), and for me to take home a Macan GTS so that I can compare the two with a return date and time of Monday 19th June at 10 am agreed in writing.

My re-visit on 17th June to his credit started off much better, he popped over in person this time (I was 10 minutes early), introduced himself, shook my hand and apologised for needing 5 more minutes with the previous customer, to which I replied that it was no problem and to take his time. This was the least I expected the first time and would have happily waited on 14th June almost indefinitely had he done the same back then.

However, once we got started it was very off-putting again when the blame was re-iterated saying the receptionist last time simply forgot to tell him and that was the "honest truth" and that they are much better than that normally. I, and I assume most others would much prefer, and respect someone who owns up to issues regardless of fault and takes the blame even if it was genuinely not his, and protect those that are in lesser positions, that would have been a massive plus for me at least.

However, the bigger issue came later when there was no recollection of the 48-hour test drive, and I was given a look of disgust as if I expected things to magically happen. It wasn't until I showed our email exchanges of him offering this (unprompted by me) and later confirming the plan he seemed to remember what I was here for. I have even sent him photos of my driving license in advance, and I fail to understand what exactly we are confirming a drop-off time on Monday for, if not to drop off the car for the extended test drive that was offered.

In fairness, I did get to test drive a Macan S for 30 minutes, and the car was lovely I may add, but there was neither a GTS available for me for the extended test drive, nor a quick drive on the day. And no other cars in any variation for me to take and honour the offer of this elusive extended test drive.
He did to his credit offer me a 30-minute test drive in a 911 instead, to again "make up for this mix-up", to which I politely declined.

I came to your dealership on Saturday with the full intention again to place an order and pay my deposit, even despite the new car sales manager also ganging up to put pressure to place a deposit, by this point, I lost any desire to purchase from the South London centre and suffice to say this did not happen.

Finally, in the middle of our conversation, I was asked what did I do "Oh I worked at xxxx" ??? "it's a tech company, so you might not have heard of it".
Until this point, I just thought it was small talk/chit chat, but then when I got probed further, "Yes, but what is your title there?", I replied to him saying it's Director of Business Development, but I got a very weird uneasy feeling.
Is what I do and my title really any importance, and am I being looked down upon by not being a high net worth individual?

One positive I may add to my experience though, I thought xxxx from reception on Saturday was wonderful, and both my kids loved her while they were there.

I am sorry that this is coming across as a massive complaint, but I hope by bringing this to your attention there is a chance to improve and remedy so that future customers may be able to avoid similar experiences that I had and have a more pleasant time ordering from your dealership.

As for myself, I am unfortunately going to be placing my order at another Porsche Center after this experience.

Thank you for your time.

Yours sincerely,
Xxxxxxxx

Sounds a bit "Karen" to me !!!!!

Only joking. Good email.

I disagree with others regarding taking the bit out about placing an order elsewhere. It's Porsche, not Ford or BMW. They'll not suddenly offer you X% discount on a new GTS. For me, once you've given them 2 chances, that's it. They could chuck in free paint protection, but why should you then give that dealership, and that salesman your business? They've treated you badly, and every action has a reaction.

Even if the dealer principal phones you up begging for another chance and he'll deal with you personally, I'd still decline. They'll learn more by the lost business than chucking in a few incentives to get the sale on the third attempt.

[Skyway]

Great response