Larry H. Miller - Toyota, Utah Shark, sales tactics alive and well in Larry H. Miller's Auto Sales Dept. abused & mistreated Murray, Utah

Note - this is a copy of a letter which was forwarded to Larry H. Miller's sales associates. There is a very disturbing trend in the manner in which large automobile industries (in Utah) are treating consumers ......

Larry Miller Toyota
Attention General Manager,

I want to describe to you the most unpleasant experience of my entire consumer life. I stopped by your lot yesterday (26 July, 2002) at 5800 So. State Street, Murray Utah. My wife and I are shopping for SUV's We wanted to try different models before we made a final choice So driving a 4-Runner seemed like an obvious choice for us. A young sales person James Martin, greeted us James was facilitative and polite. We indicated that we were not going to buy today.

He did a good job doing the sales-person thing. He tried to understand our lifestyles and match that with products that he could offer. We took a short test drive and returned to the lot. We chatted for a few moments We thanked him for the information and indicated we needed to leave. He said he needed a sales manager to check everything before we left. He started inside and turned to invite us in.

I indicated that we were done that if the sales manager wanted to talk to us he could come outside. I felt the pressure around us increase exponentially. There was some confusion about going inside or leaving - I indicated to my wife that we should leave. At that time one of the other sales people that were hanging around in front of the door tried to get involved with the sale. He wanted to know why we were leaving and that your company just wanted to talk to us.

He was very forceful and persistent. I felt uncomfortable. I thought he was going to physically attack my wife and myself He was so aggressive that I had to tell him to back-off!! He took that as a threat to his ego and he approached my wife and I in a hasty manner. I indicated that I would get the police involved if he came any closer. He said go ahead and offered me his phone. At this point the other 6 or 8 lot sharks that were sitting in a group started heckling my wife and I. I was so embarrassed and frustrated. I had come to your business to do some pleasant research on automobiles and your sales staff was verbally abusing us.

I thought that I could resolve this situation through the sales manager. I went inside to talk to Brian Crane He greeted me by insinuating that I had a gun. I said that I was insulted/ basically verbally assaulted by one of his sales person. Brian was very condescending and in a laughing way He indicated that he trains his people to be aggressive and that I should be prepared to deal with the harassment that is just the way it is- I left very frustrated, feeling harassed and verbally assaulted by your sales staff.

I noticed that your company's web page indicates that your approach to sales is a low-pressure approach. Seems to me that your pratice does not match your mission statement. Your approach was the harshest form of sale technique I have ever been expose to Is your motto Don't let the customer walk off the lot at any cost Even if that means physically and verbally assaulting that customer

By the way My wife and I were in our casual clothes so your staff probably assumed that we were not potential customers I say this because the blond, heavy-set sales person (the one who harassed and insulted me) insisted on knowing what I do ??? I did not see the relevancy in this question But for your information I am a 20-year professional engineer with a local aerospace company. I have a degree in physics and an MBA. I'm not sure that your sales person was on the same level I gave him the benefit of the doubt He obviously did not give me that benefit.

Your sales approach has motivated me to write that book that I was always going to write. I think I will use your company as a model to work with.

The focus of the book is to teach the automobile consumer how to deal with unrealistic sales tactics of modern day auto dealerships. Your business will provide a nice test-bed.

Maybe things can be changed for the better. We do not need aggressive sales people making our lives miserable

Michael
Brigham City, Utah

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