Nobody starts out their business or career and says, “I want to strive to be a mediocre success.”  The initial goal sets a target for a higher level of achievement, profitability, and implementation of some great marketing tactics to connect with and build an audience of loyal followers. 

When a business is in its early stages the founders are looking for ways to stand out and make a difference in the market. They push the envelope and try new and exciting things; mainly because they have little to lose at that point.   As a company grows, becomes profitable, and creates a corporate hierarchy ; the creativity, the ingenuity, and the appetite for risk starts to fade. 

Think about break out businesses.  Look at Snapchat, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Tesla, or Oculus Rift.  How many of these were created by large entrenched corporations?  NONE!   It was the true entrepreneur(s) who said, “Hey what if we . . . . ,“  and then they went and did it. 

Today most dealers are at a point where they are playing it safe.  Owners, managers and employees seem satisfied with just doing enough to get by. Yes some customers leave happy or satisfied . . . but most are not excited.   The customer experience was okay, but not stellar.  Some of this can be attributed to the markets where dealers operate. 

A majority of dealerships (about 11,800 rooftops) sell 62 new units a month or less.  8,300 dealers sell 33 new units or less per month (NADA 2015 Data).  Clearly many of these dealers don’t have a large advertising budget and rely on the standard (mediocre resources) of the OEM and their co-op approved vendors who lock down software and only allow what the OEM wants. 

OEM rules mean many dealer websites look like every other dealer website; in other words- mediocre. I am not saying this is bad or good, only that the OEM and dealer have chosen a mediocre marketing solution.  If every dealer website looks the same then prospects and customers think every dealer is the same; and it’s hard to argue with that logic.  The better dealers don’t stand out in the market.

Here are a few ways to tell if a dealership is mediocre:

1. The dealership uses the OEM website with little or no modification and looks like every other website from the same OEM.
2. The dealership doesn’t use localized or promotional URL’s and landing pages to create, market, and track various programs or coupon offerings.
3. The website About Us page talks about vehicles, includes a lot of local cities, but little or no information about the background of the business, their people, or place in the community.
4. The website inventory has a “Call for Internet Price” or just a “Call for Price” button
5. No staff page on the website, or if there is a staff page there are missing photos or those annoying silhouettes that just say to the visitor, “this person is not important enough to warrant a photo.”
6. If one of the first questions a dealer/manager asks a prospective vendor is “Can I co-op your fees with my OEM?” When price trumps value to the business you insure mediocre results.
7. If the dealership does not use their CRM software consistently every day and make sure every manager does too.Lack of following a process dooms you to mediocrity.
8. If all the testimonials on a website are positive. No one is perfect and if you only show perfect reviews you have just confirmed you cannot be trusted to be open and honest. Good dealers don’t hide behind manipulated reviews.
9. If the manager/owner wants information on a product or service and asks the vendor to call back early next week, instead of setting a specific day and time for a phone appointment.Would you drop in on your lawyer or doctor without an appointment?  Setting and keeping appointments shows a level of professionalism not found in mediocre dealers. Doesn’t a dealership strive to set appointments for their prospects?
10. When the Owner/GM doesn’t create an environment where all employees are comfortable bringing new ideas on generating more business to them each week.An incentive for ideas that get better than average results should be implemented to encourage more ideas.  

Being a smaller volume dealer puts additional pressure on management to watch the pennies and also time constraints on what they have the resources to accomplish in a day.  When you are too busy running your business you don’t have time to grow your business.  Dealer principals and their General Managers who want to break out from mediocrity need to carve out time each week to focus on how to stand out in the market, grow community support, and how best to drive more traffic to their showroom. If their best suggestions are direct mail and inflatable gorillas, they need to bring in a marketing catalyst (outside person) to put some new life back into the store.

There are resources available that are very cost effective and it’s not a question of can you afford a virtual VP of Marketing; it’s a question of can you afford not to hire someone to help with marketing.  This is not an expense; it’s an investment in future growth. And it will put the dealership on a path to rise above mediocrity.

Dealers need to look into marketing and advertising co-ops that provide big city promotional ideas, and local dealers can pick and choose from a menu of services and budgets for top tier marketing and engagement promotional activities.  This gives a dealer the opportunity to break from mediocre marketing programs and often budgets can be $5,000 a month or less.

There is no doubt that auto dealers today have a dizzying array of challenges and marketing channel confusion.  More media channels, the pressure to maximize digital marketing, and to buy-into the next shiny VDP traffic promise is all very alluring.   The trend I see in most stores is an adaption of the “inertia marketing strategy.”   That is dealers, rather than wade into some new uncharted waters will stick with what they’ve been doing for the last thirty years. 

While there is no shortage of “experts” telling dealers how they need to run their business on this site and other auto networking sites, until you are actually in the shoes of an owner or general manager you really don’t understand the pressures they deal with every day.  I just want to share what my previous boss called, "A blinding glimpse of the obvious."

Let’s just look at things from the perspective of the customer and glean some insights that might help us build better relationships and grow our revenues.

No Customer Ever Said:   “I shopped around at a few dealerships but this one had the largest inflatable gorilla, so I bought the car here.”

No Customer Ever Said:   “I was just stopped in to pick up a brochure, but when I smelled the popcorn, I just had to buy a vehicle.”

No Customer Ever Said:   “No I didn’t mind pressing “1” if I was a new customer or “2” if I was an existing customer, I’m sure you have your reasons for treating people differently.” 

No Customer Ever Said:   “The service department is okay, but I really bring my truck in for service because the coffee at the dealership is so good!”

No Customer Ever Said:   “I was so happy to see that their website looked just like every other website I visited; it just made me feel comfortable and I knew I would have an average car buying experience.”

No Customer Ever Said:   “I was just driving by and saw this inflatable tube type wavy arm guy and just had to stop in and buy a vehicle.”

No Customer Ever Said:   “I went to their website and saw all 5 star reviews, so since everybody loves them, and they’re perfect, I thought I would buy there too.” 

No Customer Ever Said:   “Honey, I never saw so many balloons on cars. We have to buy a car right now.”

No Customer Ever Said:   “I love spending time in the customer lounge and the smell of tires doesn’t give me a headache anymore.”

No Customer Ever Said:   “As soon as I walked in the showroom I knew it would be a great customer experience.”    (Note: This is the “About Us” boilerplate text on a gazillion dealer websites.)

No Customer Ever Said:   “Hey Ralph, lets buy a car here, the salesman said he wanted to earn our business.”

No Customer Ever Said:   “I just had to buy a car here. Your TV commercial with that fat guy yelling about all your deals just got me so excited I rushed right down to buy a new car.” 

No Customer Ever Said:   “I enjoy reading all your helpful and informative posts on Facebook, and knew you were the place where I wanted to buy a car.”

No Customer Ever Said:   “I was sure I had the lucky number to win that 60” Television, but since I didn’t, and I’m here, I may as well buy a car.” 

No Customer Ever Said:   “I used your contact form on the website and enjoyed spending 15 minutes to enter all my personal information just to ask you a simple question. And no I didn’t mind those 25 follow up calls from your salesman.”

No Customer Ever Said:   “Sure, I don’t mind waiting 40 minutes while you try and find the keys and get gas for the car I want to test drive. I’ll just have some more of your wonderful coffee.”

No Customer Ever Said:   “It’s nice to see all new sales people every three months.  I guess it keeps things fresh.” 

Putting ourselves in the customer’s seat gives us some amazing and obvious insights.  Improvements to a business location or process are oftentimes very simple to implement and there are a great number of resources to help dealers on limited marketing budgets to expand their business and avoid the clichés of the past.  Just because you might be a small town dealer doesn’t mean you have to be locked into small town thinking.

Just tap into some new or sometimes old fashioned strategies to build relationships and expand your business.

Mark Dubis

After a rocky start announcing his candidacy for the Presidency of the United States, Donald Trump has amazed the pundits and blew away a field of Republican candidates that brought an extensive track record to the race for the White House.

Every time Donald said something politically incorrect, the media anticipated he would implode and lose his followers.  It never happened.  While Trump is not without his flaws, the public knows he performs, has accomplished some incredible business goals on a global basis, and will speak his mind.  Yes, the Donald has had some big failures too, but in the real world if you don’t take risks you’ll never fail.  Even Steve Jobs had his failures; remember the Apple Newton and NeXT computers?

Let’s recap: Within less than one year a wealthy businessman, reality TV star, and someone who has never held elected office, is on track to become the Republican candidate for President of the United States. 

How did it happen?  The answer is simple! The political systems in our country and our elected officials have shown a blatant disregard for the principles that our country was founded on.  Their ineptness, disregard for the taxpayers, and burdensome regulations and taxes on business caused a frustration level in the American public not seen since the days when we dumped King George’s tea in the Boston Harbor.  Make no mistake; the revolution has begun to take back our country. 

Auto Retailing in a Fishbowl

What does all this mean for our industry? Many consumers are tired of the traditional auto buying process, crass advertising, insincere auto sales people who say they want to “earn our business,” high pressure finance office practices, and a service department process that rewards people for selling customers products and/or services they may not need or want.   Dealers like politicians in Washington D.C.  need to listen to and observe the trends and shifts going on in the industry and respond to them in order to remain relevant. The internet has made everything transparent so dealers are operating in a fishbowl where very little remains hidden. Every consumer now has a voice!

Auto dealers are not in a comfortable spot. The OEMs have goals that are often vastly different from their dealers. The OEM customer is the dealer who purchases their vehicles, parts, and other services.  While OEMs advertise their products on TV and other media channels they are not focusing on helping or maintaining profitability for any one dealership. The Volkswagen issue highlighted the fact that profits come before ethics. Now the damage is not only a financial loss, but a loss of trust from consumers toward the brand.

The Disruption Continues

Third party solutions like TrueCar and other start-ups are working to devalue the many services provided by local car dealers. Tesla is riding the level of consumer frustration to bypass the franchise system and sell directly to the public. Watch for more disruptors to emerge this year.

Danger of the Status-Quo

When a consumer goes to virtually any new car dealers’ website it says they put the customer first; however surveys still show that 90% of the public do not trust auto dealers.  Why the disconnect? Clearly most dealers have not changed their sales strategy in the last 20 years. Except for adding a Facebook page and an OEM provided website with missing content and a “call for internet price” button things are still the same.

Most dealers ignore these warning signs and trends on social media, because for many, sales are up and profits continue to roll in month by month.  Their attitude is “business is good” why change anything?  Yes it is good, for now, but like folks in Washington found out, the winds of change are coming.

Make the Tough Choices

We need to recognize the changing landscape and adapt our business processes and marketing to bring in customers and retain employees for more than 6 months.  While having a presence on social media channels is a fact of life, spending inordinate amounts of time and money on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram will not help you build your sales and brand on a local level.  They will only drive you away from connecting with your core customers that are right in your own backyard.   

Implement engagement marketing programs, leverage local and regional relationships, re-engineer your sales and service team hours and compensation, and treat everyone with respect.  Initiating these steps along with utilizing technology will insure many more years of growth and profits.

I encourage dealers to take these steps, and remember that your happiest customers are not the mini-deals but folks where you made a good profit.  And since that's the case why are you still focusing on price?

Become a good neighbor and you'll have more happy customers.

Mark Dubis
Carfolks.com

(I recently entered a time warp which took me two years into the future.  While there I read this article in the March 2016 issue of Automotive News and wanted to share it with you.)

This week Google and The Walt Disney Company announced their partnership to establish a new company which has arranged to purchase 100 new car dealerships in five states.  They plan on announcing these locations over the next month as legal documents and filings are completed.

The franchises include domestic, Asian, and European brands and are located in large markets or within 30 miles of metro areas.  Disney long known for their focus on the customer experience saw an incredible opportunity that auto dealers failed to capitalize on, even though many dealers completed the Disney Experience Training programs.

Don Duckhouser, Chief Communications Officer for Disney said, “In our opinion it was pretty clear that the majority of auto retailers were hiding behind technology and not focusing on extending relationships to build networks of customers and prospects. Their high employee turnover and lack of respect for their associates indicated to us that implementing a “Disney Process” could retain the best employees, provide a great work environment and still provide personalized service to the auto buying public.”  He continued, “If we can get folks to pay $100 a day to ride a few roller coasters and have them wait in line for an hour for a four minute ride, then selling cars and trucks and providing them with a stellar experience is a no-brainer.”

Ken Searchwright from Google Automotive Marketing division shared his vision of the new stores; “We have designed a simple, friction-free, transparent process that will excite customers, attract a new class of employees, and restore the reputation of auto retailers. Our marketing will be local, organic, socially conscious and not reliant on price or promoting ridiculous trade-in values.”

He continued, “While our operations rely on the latest technology the work environment will be very attractive to employees, offer a powerful home/work balance, and create generous incentives for revenues from repeat customers, their friends and family members. A ramped up level of networking will replace most of the traditional advertising and all media messaging will be consistent across all channels.”

Existing media properties and online channels of Disney and Google will feature interactive advertisements promoting these dealerships; and other tie-ins will be rolled out over the coming year. Naturally Google's team will handle the search optimization and online ads.

When this reporter spoke to auto industry executives many would not speak on the record, but one individual shared, “For years we have tried to encourage, push, and cajole our retailers to improve their sales process and employee retention.  Many just didn’t seem to want to move in that direction, so as manufacturers with a brand to protect we are aligning with companies that value the customer experience and transparency.” 

Article written by Mitch McFly (mcfly@autonews.com) 
(note- this email will not exist until two years from now)

(I recently entered a time warp which took me two years into the future.  While there I read this article in the March 2016 issue of Automotive News and wanted to share it with you.)

This week Google and The Walt Disney Company announced their partnership to establish a new company which has arranged to purchase 100 new car dealerships in five states.  They plan on announcing these locations over the next month as legal documents and filings are completed.

The franchises include domestic, Asian, and European brands and are located in large markets or within 30 miles of metro areas.  Disney long known for their focus on the customer experience saw an incredible opportunity that auto dealers failed to capitalize on, even though many dealers completed the Disney Experience Training programs.

Don Duckhouser, Chief Communications Officer for Disney said, “In our opinion it was pretty clear that the majority of auto retailers were hiding behind technology and not focusing on extending relationships to build networks of customers and prospects. Their high employee turnover and lack of respect for their associates indicated to us that implementing a “Disney Process” could retain the best employees, provide a great work environment and still provide personalized service to the auto buying public.”  He continued, “If we can get folks to pay $100 a day to ride a few roller coasters and have them wait in line for an hour for a four minute ride, then selling cars and trucks and providing them with a stellar experience is a no-brainer.”

Ken Searchwright from Google Automotive Marketing division shared his vision of the new stores; “We have designed a simple, friction-free, transparent process that will excite customers, attract a new class of employees, and restore the reputation of auto retailers. Our marketing will be local, organic, socially conscious and not reliant on price or promoting ridiculous trade-in values.”

He continued, “While our operations rely on the latest technology the work environment will be very attractive to employees, offer a powerful home/work balance, and create generous incentives for revenues from repeat customers, their friends and family members. A ramped up level of networking will replace most of the traditional advertising and all media messaging will be consistent across all channels.”

Existing media properties and online channels of Disney and Google will feature interactive advertisements promoting these dealerships; and other tie-ins will be rolled out over the coming year. Naturally Google's team will handle the search optimization and online ads.

When this reporter spoke to auto industry executives many would not speak on the record, but one individual shared, “For years we have tried to encourage, push, and cajole our retailers to improve their sales process and employee retention.  Many just didn’t seem to want to move in that direction, so as manufacturers with a brand to protect we are aligning with companies that value the customer experience and transparency.” 

Article written by Mitch McFly (mcfly@autonews.com) 
(note- this email will not exist until two years from now)

Few would dispute that training to become a Navy SEAL is one of the most rigorous and challenging processes in the world. Adm William H. McRaven recently gave a commencement address highlighting the life lessons from that training. Here are some of the highlights, a few which I have adapted for this audience, but I would like to invite you to read the full article to see all his comments.   http://bit.ly/navyseallessons

 Life Lessons Highlights from Navy SEAL Training

1. If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed. If you can't do the little things right, you will never do the big things right. And if by chance you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that is made—that you made—and a made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better.
2. If you want to change the world, find someone to help you paddle. You can't change the world alone—you will need some help—and to truly get from your starting point to your destination takes friends, colleagues, the goodwill of strangers and a strong coxswain to guide them.
3. Nothing matters but your will to succeed. Not your color, not your ethnic background, not your education and not your social status. If you want to change the world, measure people by the size of their heart, not the size of their flippers.
4. Sometimes, no matter how well you prepare or how well you perform, you still end up on the losing side of the situation. It's just the way life is sometimes. If you want to change the world, don’t focus on the failings but keep moving forward.
5. Life is filled with consequences and crappy outcomes. You will fail. You will likely fail often. It will be painful. It will be discouraging. At times it will test you to your very core. But if you want to change the world, don't be afraid of those failures.
6. If you want to change the world sometimes you have to find new solutions to old problems. Take the risk; it might work out well.
7. There are a lot of bullies and hurdles (sharks) in the world. If you hope to complete the journey and reach your goals you will have to deal with them. So, if you want to change the world, don't back down from these hurdles.
8. Every SEAL knows that at the darkest moment of the mission, is the time when you must be calm, composed—when all your tactical skills, your physical power and all your inner strength must be brought to bear. If you want to change the world, you must be your very best in the darkest moment.
9. If I have learned anything in my time traveling the world, it is the power of hope. The power of one person—Washington, Lincoln, King, Mandela and even a young girl from Pakistan named Malala—can change the world by giving people hope.
10. Quiting is a simple process, you can walk away anytime.  If you want to  change the world; quitting is not an option.

http://bit.ly/navyseallessons

Suceeding in auto retailing is certainly not tougher than being a Navy SEAL team member, but if you and your dealership really want to compete and win, there are lessons here we can all learn. 

Few would dispute that training to become a Navy SEAL is one of the most rigorous and challenging processes in the world. Adm William H. McRaven recently gave a commencement address highlighting the life lessons from that training. Here are some of the highlights, a few which I have adapted for this audience, but I would like to invite you to read the full article to see all his comments.   http://bit.ly/navyseallessons

 Life Lessons Highlights from Navy SEAL Training

1. If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed. If you can't do the little things right, you will never do the big things right. And if by chance you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that is made—that you made—and a made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better.
2. If you want to change the world, find someone to help you paddle. You can't change the world alone—you will need some help—and to truly get from your starting point to your destination takes friends, colleagues, the goodwill of strangers and a strong coxswain to guide them.
3. Nothing matters but your will to succeed. Not your color, not your ethnic background, not your education and not your social status. If you want to change the world, measure people by the size of their heart, not the size of their flippers.
4. Sometimes, no matter how well you prepare or how well you perform, you still end up on the losing side of the situation. It's just the way life is sometimes. If you want to change the world, don’t focus on the failings but keep moving forward.
5. Life is filled with consequences and crappy outcomes. You will fail. You will likely fail often. It will be painful. It will be discouraging. At times it will test you to your very core. But if you want to change the world, don't be afraid of those failures.
6. If you want to change the world sometimes you have to find new solutions to old problems. Take the risk; it might work out well.
7. There are a lot of bullies and hurdles (sharks) in the world. If you hope to complete the journey and reach your goals you will have to deal with them. So, if you want to change the world, don't back down from these hurdles.
8. Every SEAL knows that at the darkest moment of the mission, is the time when you must be calm, composed—when all your tactical skills, your physical power and all your inner strength must be brought to bear. If you want to change the world, you must be your very best in the darkest moment.
9. If I have learned anything in my time traveling the world, it is the power of hope. The power of one person—Washington, Lincoln, King, Mandela and even a young girl from Pakistan named Malala—can change the world by giving people hope.
10. Quiting is a simple process, you can walk away anytime.  If you want to  change the world; quitting is not an option.

http://bit.ly/navyseallessons

Suceeding in auto retailing is certainly not tougher than being a Navy SEAL team member, but if you and your dealership really want to compete and win, there are lessons here we can all learn. 

If you could not attend Digital Dealer 16 in Atlantic City this year, let me sum up what the attendees learned at this year’s event. Here are the main tips and advice that many paid thousands to hear.  I have also thrown in a few tips their professional speakers may have missed.

• Treat customers with respect
• Guide customers through the sales process and solve their transportation and financial issues
• Provide  social proof you can deliver a great customer experience
• Never ask a customer to post a review for you while in the dealership. If they liked you to that point, standing over their shoulder while they type the review will blow it for you.
• Stop being sexist and treat women fairly in the sales and service departments
• Sales people need to be online and build their personal brand
• People like watching videos. Use them to inform and educate prospects and customers.
• Everyone is on mobile devices to be sure to be present in this new mobile environment
• Use SMS-Text messaging but be sure to have a software solution that keeps you compliant as the penalties for non-compliance are huge
• Keep your website updated.  Empty staff pages, boilerplate About Us pages show visitors you do not care about them.  It’s your site; make it the best you can.
• Do not require a complete dossier before someone can submit a contact form on your website
  • All they need is name, email and/or phone number
• Managers need to publicly recognize employees that do a good job. It keeps them engaged and boosts morale
• Avoid the candy machine in the dealership as much as you can
• Managers: Never ask an employee to do something you would not do yourself
• Never use slang, derogatory terms, or curse in the dealership as it shows you are either ignorant, rude, stupid or all of the above. Act like the professional you hope people believe you are.
• Drink lots of water. Hydration is good and you can use the bathroom breaks too
• Use technology to enhance relationships not to take the place of them
• Use and depend on your CRM system. It is the foundation for professional success.
• Use, do not abuse social media channels like Facebook and Twitter.  Be a good neighbor online.
• Try not to spill catsup on your shirt when you eat at the local burger joint, and if you do have a spill, keep a spare shirt in your car or truck
• Tell people your dealership guarantees NOT to meet or beat any price.  They will look at you in awe and then you can explain that at your dealership there is more to making a customer happy than the price. Then tell YOUR story!
• Don’t look for gimmicks to bring in those extra ten deals a month. 
• Don’t promise anything you cannot deliver!
• Work Hard, Be Nice to People.

The rest is all common sense stuff that you already know.  And by the way if you can save up the money I highly recommend attending these events. You will learn as much if not more from conversations in the hallways than you will from the presentations.  I ought to know because I organized and coordinated the first two Digital Dealer Conferences in Nashville way back when and they have only improved since then. 

If you could not attend Digital Dealer 16 in Atlantic City this year, let me sum up what the attendees learned at this year’s event. Here are the main tips and advice that many paid thousands to hear.  I have also thrown in a few tips their professional speakers may have missed.

• Treat customers with respect
• Guide customers through the sales process and solve their transportation and financial issues
• Provide  social proof you can deliver a great customer experience
• Never ask a customer to post a review for you while in the dealership. If they liked you to that point, standing over their shoulder while they type the review will blow it for you.
• Stop being sexist and treat women fairly in the sales and service departments
• Sales people need to be online and build their personal brand
• People like watching videos. Use them to inform and educate prospects and customers.
• Everyone is on mobile devices to be sure to be present in this new mobile environment
• Use SMS-Text messaging but be sure to have a software solution that keeps you compliant as the penalties for non-compliance are huge
• Keep your website updated.  Empty staff pages, boilerplate About Us pages show visitors you do not care about them.  It’s your site; make it the best you can.
• Do not require a complete dossier before someone can submit a contact form on your website
  • All they need is name, email and/or phone number
• Managers need to publicly recognize employees that do a good job. It keeps them engaged and boosts morale
• Avoid the candy machine in the dealership as much as you can
• Managers: Never ask an employee to do something you would not do yourself
• Never use slang, derogatory terms, or curse in the dealership as it shows you are either ignorant, rude, stupid or all of the above. Act like the professional you hope people believe you are.
• Drink lots of water. Hydration is good and you can use the bathroom breaks too
• Use technology to enhance relationships not to take the place of them
• Use and depend on your CRM system. It is the foundation for professional success.
• Use, do not abuse social media channels like Facebook and Twitter.  Be a good neighbor online.
• Try not to spill catsup on your shirt when you eat at the local burger joint, and if you do have a spill, keep a spare shirt in your car or truck
• Tell people your dealership guarantees NOT to meet or beat any price.  They will look at you in awe and then you can explain that at your dealership there is more to making a customer happy than the price. Then tell YOUR story!
• Don’t look for gimmicks to bring in those extra ten deals a month. 
• Don’t promise anything you cannot deliver!
• Work Hard, Be Nice to People.

The rest is all common sense stuff that you already know.  And by the way if you can save up the money I highly recommend attending these events. You will learn as much if not more from conversations in the hallways than you will from the presentations.  I ought to know because I organized and coordinated the first two Digital Dealer Conferences in Nashville way back when and they have only improved since then. 

Is this kind of activity acceptable at your dealership or in our industry?  

Do we just have to accept this as part of the status quo of auto retailing?