Fred Martin Superstore Too big to care about customer service! Barberton, Ohio

I couldn't agree more with the comments and one of the responses.  Our experience was very much the same but took place over the span of about 5 hours.  We (my husband and I) also did as much work over the phone, however, when we showed up we were herded from building to building.  Sat for most of the time "waiting" on our saleswoman.  When we finally looked at our cars, our saleswoman stood shuffling papers, rolling her eyes and drumming her fingernails on the cars, obviously upset that we were not looking at the car she recommended.  In addition, a major bait and switch was in play with us, as conveniently every car we looked at did not qualify for rebates, down payment matches or other incentives, although we very specifically asked those questions of the saleswoman prior to our arrival.  The monthly payments discussed over the phone and down payments also changed dramatically after we arrived.  We too have less then desirable credit, but certainly aren't stupid enough to know what was going on.  It was very clear to us that the saleswoman and financial guy had picked out a car for us well in advance of our arrival and were bound and determined to sell it to us.  I will never recommend Fred Martin and certainly will never waste time doing business with them again.

Unfortunately dealers like Fred Martin have become so big they are only interested in the money and not their reputation.  They would lie when the truth would sound better.  Hint:  you did the right thing and voted with your feet. 

After going through my experience and really thinking about what had happened in my two days there I got the feeling the girl upstairs and my salesperson were just following orders and guidelines from their supervisors and the policies of Fred Martin Superstore.

I in no way blame my salesperson, he was just doing what he was told. At one point his supervisor was rude and raised his voice when he gave a look of (what should I do) and was told to "JUST FINISH YOUR PAPERWORK". Might be he was just a secretary for the real money taker!

I am glad to hear you have cost them some customers. I have been doing my best to do the same. I hope by the time I'm finished I will have cost them hundreds of opportunities to run their game on others in the future.

Duane H,

I appreciate your apology, however, there was no reason to look into our credit. We were per-approved by the bank prior to our visit for up to $20,000. We can not afford payments on a car for $20,000, and I know it. We were looking for a car between $10,000 and $12,000. I am not in the habit of getting my budget over-stressed. The woman who escorted us to the "credit challenged" building said she wanted to see if they could get us a better interest rate. We knew what to expect as far as payments goes with our own financing, all we needed to do was find a car in OUR price range in order to get reasonable payments. I explained this over the phone to a representative and she said there was no reason why you guys couldn't help us.

Obviously your sales associate at the dealership (that we dealt with) was more concerned about her sales commission than finding us a car in OUR price range. I understand sales... I sold high priced vacuum cleaners for over a year... I know how the "game" works. I was very good at playing.  In order to avoid all the crap dished out by your sales reps,  I took care of the financial side of it PRIOR TO THE VISIT.  Yes the interest rate was rather high at 14% but it is much lower than our current rate of 24%.

I may not have spotless credit but I do know my limits and how to manage my money. I managed to keep making my house payments ON TIME (for over a year) while only drawing unemployment after losing my job. I do not try to live beyond my means.

My point is that all your people needed to do was point us in the direction of cars in our price range, we pick one out, you talk to our bank, we sign on the dotted line and drive home. Your sales rep screwed up. From my experience, she did what she was told. Big fancy commercials may bring you customers from far away but a bad rap here at home will drive away local customers... which you need! I've already cost you two sales. I know that is just a drop in the bucket, but if you don't change your policies there will be more where that came from. 

Hint: Respect your customers, ask what THEY want and need... don't lead them around like a dog on a leash! AND DON'T ASSUME ANYTHING. I knew a millionaire who drove a busted down Chevette!

Don't let your success go to your head.. success isn't always about the biggest commission.

First and foremost, wed like to apologize that you felt you were deceived or that your time was wasted. It was never our intent to make you feel this way; it was in fact the opposite. When we have reason to believe that a customer has challenging credit we like to get to know a customers financial situation prior to showing them vehicles. This allows us to avoid situations where a customer falls in love with a car, and then finds out they cannot get financing to purchase that vehicle . Until we figure out the exact credit situation, there is no sense showing vehicles to a credit challenged customer.

You were taken to our building that specializes in helping credit challenged customers. Being credit challenged is not a derogatory term. In an effort to avoid what happened in 2008, banks have become very strict with their lending policies, and many customers find themselves under similar circumstances. Being credit challenged may mean putting down a larger down payment, having less than desirable interest rates, or higher payments. At any rate, the building you were taken to has finance experts that regularly obtain financing for credit challenged customers.

I do apologize that you feel you werent given a fair opportunity to share your alternate financing options, such as putting down a sizable down payment. It is our practice to listen to all customer concerns while working on a deal. As for the state of the building, we agree, it is in need of some TLC. It is scheduled to be remodeled in mid-year 2012.

Again, we are sorry you felt you werent treated well. Thanks for your input.

Duane H