Very poor experience at Granville Toyota

[seph]

I just want to share my experience at Granville Toyota (located at Fraser and Marine) so that readers can make an informed decision when deciding which dealership to go to. I would not recommend this dealership at all. The salesperson I dealt with was wonderful and I would give him five stars, but he was let down by his colleagues and bosses.

I'll skip my whole car shopping experience and go directly to the part where things started to go downhill (sorry it's still a long story). When I decided on leasing the a car from this dealership, I was sent to the Financial Services Manager to go over the paperwork for credit application. After I left the dealership, I had some questions, so I gave her a call. I wanted to know if there is GAP insurance in the lease contract (at this point I haven't seen the contract yet), and she told me “I don't think there is such clause in the contract...but I think you should be covered.” This wishy-washy answer made me really uncomfortable. I told her that I was concerned about such an important clause not being written down in the contract. She did not offer to provide other form of assurance / comfort / explanation on this matter, but simply told me if I was really worried I should get additional new car insurance from ICBC. I was not impressed with this answer. I think as a manager who routinely advises customers, she should know what's in the contract. If she wasn’t sure, she should offer to confirm with someone who knows. I later found out from another dealership that Toyota does provide GAP coverage on its leases, but it's not written into the contract because this coverage is automatic and does not require the customer to pay. So, apparently this information is available to finance managers at Toyota dealerships, but this particular person had no desire to find out more to better service her customers.

The Financial Services Manager was supposed to send some documents to my insurance agent the day before our meeting. However, an hour before our scheduled appointment, I gave the Financial Services Manager a call and she told me at that point that nothing had been sent because the office fax machine was broken. How was my insurance agent supposed to get his work done in time for our appointment if he hadn't received anything?

When I arrived at our scheduled appointment time, the Financial Services Manager told me uncaringly, “I’m with another customer right now.” It turns out someone with a later appointment time showed up during my appointment time, so she took him in instead of keeping to our pre-arranged appointment. I think this was a very poor decision, as it only showed her complete disregard and lack of respect for her customer who had the courtesy of showing up at the agreed-upon time. I waited for about 25 minutes and decided to voice my concern to the Sales Manager. When I told him that I’d been waiting for a while, he apologized but brushed me off. I could not sense any sincerity in his apologies. From his attitude, I could tell that he really didn’t think that making his customers wait and wasting their time is a big deal. I also told him how I was not comfortable with the Financial Services Manager's answer on the GAP insurance. He told me that’s not something that people would know, as he himself didn’t know the answer. I think this was a very poor excuse and also showed incompetence. In a way, he was telling me that he didn't know his job.

I wanted around for another 25 minutes or so and there was still no action, I decided to walk. When I asked for my deposit back, the Financial Services Manager responded, “what’s the problem??” She’s made it very obvious that she simply didn’t think her customers’ time is important, and didn’t care for customer service at all. When the deposit was returned to me, she had forgotten to return my insurance paper to me at the same time. I was almost out the door when the Product Advisor caught and reminded me to make sure I had my insurance paper. My sister was with me at the dealership, and she made a comment to the Sales Manager about this oversight by the Financial Services Manager, and the Sales Manager harshly replied to my sister, “I’m done with your comments! They are getting stale!” I was in awe, as I’ve never seen a salesperson, not to mention a sales manager, being so rude to his customers.

Before I left, I requested to see the General Manager. The GM came to talk to us, but he was not interested in hearing what we had to say. He came into the office, threw his hands in the air, and declared, “I know you are upset, but my staff has tried.” His tone and body language conveyed the message that he was not interested and didn't care. Not once did he offer to do anything to make me feel better. The Sales Manager was standing behind the GM and kept making remarks such as “I warned you”. I found these comments very immature and highly unprofessional.

After I got home, I wrote a detailed letter to Toyota Canada. I described the sequence of events in detailed and offered my comments on what could have been done better. I just got a call from Toyota Canada today, and they did not make me feel any better. Essentially they told me that the dealerships are independently owned, so there isn't much Toyota Canada could do. They told me that they've already forwarded my letter to the dealership's management (which is rather useless, considering that the GM was a part of the complaint) and communicated with them. I requested that my letter be sent to the owner of the dealership so at least he is aware of what's happened and the poor quality of the people working for him. Toyota Canada couldn't even do this for me. They just kept telling me that the letter has been sent to management and that's all they could do. Toyota Canada did not give me the feeling that they were taking my complaint seriously at all. The representative who called me kept implying that she didn't think the dealership did anything wrong. When I offered my recommendations on how to improve, she kept wanting to cut me off, as if she was not interested at all. This call just made me even more upset. To the customers, Toyota boasts how they value customer satisfaction and customer feedback. When a complaint really happened in my case, Toyota just stands with its own and takes its side to protect its dealerships.

I've read some other posts in this forum and realize that my experience wasn't the worst that could happen. However, hopefully by sharing my experience I can help people avoid this kind of unpleasant experience. The people at Granville Toyota have no respect for customers and don't know what customer service is about. I would strongly suggest everyone to stay far away from Granville Toyota, unless you want to pay lots of money to be treated like a “nobody”. If you’re not buying an expensive car, I don’t think they care about doing business with you. Save your time and go elsewhere.

[xilley]

I tried.. but i couldnt finish reading it..

[z3german]

Thanks for the write up, we should have a stickied list of dealers to avoid that link to stories like this. Will avoid this dealer!

[dlo]

weird, my family and friends bought over 5 cars there, and my current car came from granville toyota also.. The GM and even the sale managers were great, never had the female fiance manager before though, is that all to the story? I can easily give them the thumbs up and even direct others to buy their cars from that location..

[Harvey Specter]

We need coles notes....

[inv4zn]

Dealerships are a strange place.

There can be amazing salespeople/managers that make the experience hassle-free and enjoyable, while others (at the same dealership) will provide terrible experiences that drive customers away.

That being said, the stereotype does hold true, as evidenced by your story. Too bad there aren't more legit people who do their job well.

[SpeedStars]

Hmm... Just went there today to checkout the new Camry and Sienna lol, staff were quite nice to me...

[HondaGuy]

Wow thats some reading. Disappointing to hear that they were rude and didnt aim to please your concern.

My family and I purchased both our toyota work cars from that same location in 2002 and 2005 had good experience with our salesman (who we knew as friends prior) and when dealt with finance manager, everything seemed ok to us. But possibly now theres a new finance manager? Or new in charge guy? So maybe things arent as par as before?

I know their service reps are very nice and customer oriented, either Kevin or To-Anh are super nice.
Customer service is very important and oftentimes ppl tend to forget that or maybe cant reach to one's standard. But best of luck with your problem!

Offtopic, but my salesguy whose been there for over 10 years got fed up with management and left as well... Surprisingly over 6months ago and now hes happy at another dealership.
Anyone remember the freebie thread where granville toyota was giving away $25 vouchers for service appts? I got mine haha...

[RicePanda]

This is what I gathered from OP's post. Correct me if I am wrong or am missing something important.

• OP wants to lease car, sent to Finance Manager to do paperwork
• OP is concerned about GAP insurance, FM (Finance Manager) does not 100% know if covered, gives unsatisfactory answer
• OP is concerned about unsatisfactory answer, FM tells OP to get additional insurance with ICBC if concerned
• FM was to fax documents to OP's insurance agent, fax machine broken, paperwork could not be done before actual scheduled meeting
• OP shows up for scheduled meeting on time but FM has decided to help a customer who had a meeting scheduled for after OP's meeting
• 25 minutes pass, OP speaks with SM (Sales Manager) to voice his concerns about the wait and GAP insurance.
• SM comes off as uncaring about OP's wait, does not know about GAP insurance
• OP waits another 25 minutes before asking for deposit back. FM does not understand why. OP feels FM is uncaring of customer's time/customer service
• OP is almost out the door forgetting about his insurance papers but Product Advisor reminds him of his insurance papers.
• OP's sister makes remark to SM about oversight in not being handed his insurance papers. SM responds with supposed hostility
• OP meets with GM (General Manager) to discuss the lack of customer service, GM expresses that his "staff has tried", but does so with a lack of sincerity
• OP writes letter to Toyota Canada. Toyota Canada forwards to dealership management as that is "all they can do".

So, I don't really know what exactly happened over there, but my family has been buying cars from them since I was a baby. Corolla in 1990 -> Camry about 10 years later -> 4Runner soon after and now my own Celica last year. Never have we gotten any problems like this from their staff, but should also note we've also never dealt with their finance manager so I can't speak about her.

I don't take my car over there for service, but my dad has always told me to talk to Kevin at the dealership if there was a problem I couldn't deal with, so I guess at least their service people are doing it right.

As for your comments regarding the dealership and how you perceive them in terms of customer service reps, Granville Toyota has been in business for a VERY long time. There's no way they could've stayed in business if this is how they treated customers. This is the first time I've heard anyone say anything negative about the dealership.

Again, I hate to be the guy to try and call BS on everything, but there really is a second side to every story. Maybe the body language and tone of voice were taken in the wrong context and things got out of hand. Who knows? If OP is 100% correct on all accounts, I hope this is not a new trend for the dealership.

[bing]

"What is Guaranteed Asset Protection or GAP protection?

GAP protection is automatically included in all Toyota Care Leases.If your vehicle is declared a total loss, GAP will cover the difference (the gap), after you pay the deductible, between what you owe on the remainder of your lease and the amount of your insurance settlement. You are only responsible for excess kilometre charges and any pre-existing damage to the vehicle."

I looked this up in about 2 seconds and you could have too. You should have actually read the contract before you signed it and if you had a copy with you, you could have looked at it yourself as well.

[GLOW]

“I’m done with your comments! They are getting stale!”
"I warned you"

i seriously hope you're para-phrasing i mean who talks like that...oh wait i know...someone at richmond subaru that hands customers cards and tells them they don't want to see their face anymore after handing them a card

[donjalapeno]

Originally Posted by bing

"What is Guaranteed Asset Protection or GAP protection?

GAP protection is automatically included in all Toyota Care Leases.If your vehicle is declared a total loss, GAP will cover the difference (the gap), after you pay the deductible, between what you owe on the remainder of your lease and the amount of your insurance settlement. You are only responsible for excess kilometre charges and any pre-existing damage to the vehicle."

I looked this up in about 2 seconds and you could have too. You should have actually read the contract before you signed it and if you had a copy with you, you could have looked at it yourself as well.

^ This.

Time is money with anything sales related.... Read the contract know your shit, Sign for the car, and drive away.

[tiger_handheld]

post this stuff on Yelp / Facebook / twitter if they have any of these. Social Media is the new way to get attention from big corps.

[FOB Mainlander]

You should report this incident to BBB instead of Toyota Canada

[Rich Sandor]

EDIT, I just noticed the above post about Toyota including GAP insurance in their lease contracts.

In my 5 years of car sales, I've never ever had anyone ask about "GAP" insurance.

I think it's sad that they screwed up your appointment time, and there's no excuse for that.

Just an FYI to everyone here: In my experience, if a customer gets 'blown off' at a dealership, or any place of business, it's probably because your business is not worth the headache you are giving the staff. You might not even realize it, but maybe your tone of voice, or your choice of words, may have set them off as not wanting to deal with you. Remember, there are two sides to every story, and in this market, every dealership will try like hell to get every deal they can. If they seriously blew you off the way you describe, there must be a reason why.. and I'm guessing it's simply because they had enough of you.

[acetrix]

Seems like some very minor issues. Leaving your sister at home may have helped.
I've purchased 5 cars from there without any problems.
They have excellent sales and service staff from my experience.

[melloman]

Originally Posted by Rich Sandor

Just an FYI to everyone here: In my experience, if a customer gets 'blown off' at a dealership, or any place of business, it's probably because your business is not worth the headache you are giving the staff. You might not even realize it, but maybe your tone of voice, or your choice of words, may have set them off as not wanting to deal with you. Remember, there are two sides to every story, and in this market, every dealership will try like hell to get every deal they can. If they seriously blew you off the way you describe, there must be a reason why.. and I'm guessing it's simply because they had enough of you.

Definately agree.

Yet if I were the OP and had to wait more then 10 minutes for my appointment, (because my appointment was overtaken by someone else even though I showed up on time) I'd ask for my deposit and leave. If I were questioned as to why, I'd say I changed my mind on this dealership and that's all.

[RabidRat]

Originally Posted by seph

When I arrived at our scheduled appointment time, the Financial Services Manager told me uncaringly, “I’m with another customer right now.” It turns out someone with a later appointment time showed up during my appointment time, so she took him in instead of keeping to our pre-arranged appointment. I waited for about 25 minutes ...

[then] I waited around for another 25 minutes ...

Yeah I don't care how many sides to this story there are, I would've walked as well, based on that alone.

[Rich Sandor]

All that said, I've been that salesperson who worked 100% to close a deal only to have the business office screw it up completely. It sucks even more for the salesperson than it does for the customer.. believe me, I know!!!

Business Manager is one of those jobs where you have NOTHING to do allllll day, and then suddenly you have 6 people who all want to take delivery of their car at 3pm on Saturday all at the same time.. You've already got a 2pm, 3pm and 4pm appointment, and then you have a sales guy come in who says his customer needs to pick up the car at 3pm or else he'll buy it at another dealer.. well that completely fucks everything up so you wind up trying to squish in 2 appointments, which means you do not have enough time to try to sell financial services or warranties (which is where you make your bread and butter) and so you just wind up getting frustrated even more and more as people are asking you for shit that can wait till Monday. Meanwhile you can see people are sitting outside getting annoyed but there is nothing you can do until you are finished with the current customer.

And then the computer system goes down.

LOL.

[Jsunu]

Originally Posted by RabidRat

Yeah I don't care how many sides to this story there are, I would've walked as well, based on that alone.

Just weird that the OP knew the person that took over their appointment was scheduled later than them, unless the dealer told him, which makes very little sense. In all likelyhood it was an earlier appointment than the OP that got delayed

[vafanculo]

Originally Posted by Jsunu

Just weird that the OP knew the person that took over their appointment was scheduled later than them, unless the dealer told him, which makes very little sense. In all likelyhood it was an earlier appointment than the OP that got delayed

Well, if that's the case, you definetly don't want to argue with god

Edit.. Damn you ninja edited

[BEEB]

Originally Posted by Jsunu

Just weird that the OP knew the person that took over their appointment was scheduled later than them, unless the dealer told him, which makes very little sense. In all likelyhood it was an earlier appointment than the OP that got delayed

Toyota service department has a TV screen with appointments listed to the public. You can actually see who's appointment at what time.

[AstulzerRZD]

Originally Posted by BEEB

Toyota service department has a TV screen with appointments listed to the public. You can actually see who's appointment at what time.

I'm pretty sure OP was headed in for an appointment with the finance manager and not a service appointment

[tofu1413]

Originally Posted by Rich Sandor

All that said, I've been that salesperson who worked 100% to close a deal only to have the business office screw it up completely. It sucks even more for the salesperson than it does for the customer.. believe me, I know!!!

Business Manager is one of those jobs where you have NOTHING to do allllll day, and then suddenly you have 6 people who all want to take delivery of their car at 3pm on Saturday all at the same time.. You've already got a 2pm, 3pm and 4pm appointment, and then you have a sales guy come in who says his customer needs to pick up the car at 3pm or else he'll buy it at another dealer.. well that completely fucks everything up so you wind up trying to squish in 2 appointments, which means you do not have enough time to try to sell financial services or warranties (which is where you make your bread and butter) and so you just wind up getting frustrated even more and more as people are asking you for shit that can wait till Monday. Meanwhile you can see people are sitting outside getting annoyed but there is nothing you can do until you are finished with the current customer.

And then the computer system goes down.

LOL.

+1... rude business manager in the box.... customer ended up walking. Followed up and was told it wasnt my fault, but it was how ridiculous it got in the box.....

[belaud]

Heres a good thing, at least this happened before you bought the car