New Car Dealership Salesperson kidnapped and beaten in Houston, TX

[XDCX]

News reports indicate a 22 year old salesperson who was working on a day he was scheduled to have off was kidnapped and beaten during a test drive.

For a link to the full report - click here

To his credit the salesperson was able to free himself from the duct tape that was used to bind his hands and he fought back when the kidnappers opened the trunk to see why he was making so much noise. The salesperson even managed to shoot one of the kidnappers with the kidnapper's own gun.

The salesperson also intentionally left his I-Phone in the car so he could track the vehicle from his MacBook.

I'm happy to hear that the salesperson is healing and plans to go back to work once he has recovered. The suspects, at the time the story was written, are still at large.

[XDCX]

Here's another news report - click here

The report indicates the test drive became tense when the salesperson quickly noticed they were being followed by two other cars. One of the cars forced the car that was being test driven to stop and at that point the salesperson was outnumbered when multiple suspects emerged from the vehicle that forced them to stop.

[XDCX]

I remember several years ago one of our members indicated that his store didn't have salespeople go on test drives with their customers. The customers went on a test drive by themselves and it seemed to be a win-win. (The customers liked going by themselves and the Dealership didn't see any drop off in their closing ratio.)

While the concept first seemed odd to me at the time I've grown to think it might be a better way to do business.

In a perfect world it would be great to see a credit report on a customer before they went on the test drive so the dealership would know if they had the ability to buy.

[steve_biegler]

Originally Posted by XDCX

I remember several years ago one of our members indicated that his store didn't have salespeople go on test drives with their customers. The customers went on a test drive by themselves and it seemed to be a win-win. (The customers liked going by themselves and the Dealership didn't see any drop off in their closing ratio.)

While the concept first seemed odd to me at the time I've grown to think it might be a better way to do business.

In a perfect world it would be great to see a credit report on a customer before they went on the test drive so the dealership would know if they had the ability to buy.

Just a thought, but what if you had a piece of electronics that could be placed in the vehicle without the test drivers knowledge that shows the location, speed and if it goes out of a set perimeter?

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by steve_biegler

Just a thought, but what if you had a piece of electronics that could be placed in the vehicle without the test drivers knowledge that shows the location, speed and if it goes out of a set perimeter?

Seems like a great idea to me.

I know that Verizon already offers a cheap device with a monthly service that's designed to snap into the OBDII port and provide the information you mentioned.

[XDCX]

It's no secret that the retail car business is dominated by men and part of me wonders if stories like this is part of the reason more women don't want to work as salespeople at car dealerships.

[#3INTIMIDATOR#3]

I think the dealership has to accept some accountability for events like this. Having a process in place to help prevent or deter situations similar to what happened to this salesman.

Interested in hearing thoughts on No test drive until customer brought into dealership, copy of a license, mgr. turnover all happening first?

[mryan55]

Originally Posted by XDCX

I remember several years ago one of our members indicated that his store didn't have salespeople go on test drives with their customers. The customers went on a test drive by themselves and it seemed to be a win-win. (The customers liked going by themselves and the Dealership didn't see any drop off in their closing ratio.)

While the concept first seemed odd to me at the time I've grown to think it might be a better way to do business.

In a perfect world it would be great to see a credit report on a customer before they went on the test drive so the dealership would know if they had the ability to buy.

Over the last three to four years our sales staff have gone from accompanying clients on about 50% of test drives to less than 10% these days -- I normally only require it when it's a performance vehicle, and salespeople will also go from time to time when it is with a long-time repeat customer.

With the abandonment of the salesperson going on the demo drive we haven't seen a measurable difference in closing ratio. In fact, it might allow us to have more opportunities per salesperson per month. Of our six salespeople, the average is 20 units per month at the CDJR store. Group-wide, with approximately 90 salespeople and similarly lax test drive rules, the average is 16 units per month Even if the average demo is only 15 or 20 minutes, add that up over the number of test drives that occur each month and the salesperson might be gaining enough time to sell a few more vehicles over the course of the month.

That's just my view. Not to mention, if someone truly has sinister intentions to steal the car or if they're just a plain bad drive who might get in an accident, we might as well protect our personal capital versus a piece of metal and plastic that is insured if something does go wrong.

Over the last few years we have had a couple customers get into minor accidents on demo drives, but nothing major.

And I've only mentioned the benefits to the store...
I would also say that customers probably enjoy not having a guest in the back seat or the trial closes when pulling back into the dealership.

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by #3INTIMIDATOR#3

I think the dealership has to accept some accountability for events like this. Having a process in place to help prevent or deter situations similar to what happened to this salesman.

Interested in hearing thoughts on No test drive until customer brought into dealership, copy of a license, mgr. turnover all happening first?

Wow, welcome back, I just noticed it's been over four years since your last post.

Concerning your question, at about this time last year my Dad was shopping for a new car and I went with him on a few trips he made to the local dealers. It was very interesting to see how different stores handled the test drive process and what info they required before leaving the store.

In my opinion the best process I observed was at a Mercedes store. The store had a receptionist and she kept all of the Dealer Plates. The salesperson had to go to the receptionist with the customer and the customer had to present a valid Driver's License. Data from the Driver's License was entered into a computer and the receptionist handed the salesperson a Dealer Plate.

I liked the process because it made it easy for the salesperson to explain to the customer. The store had a policy in place and the only way to get a Dealer Plate to demo a car is to get one from the receptionist. The salesperson couldn't sidestep the process and the dealership management team had great data on how many test drives were offered, how long they lasted, etc.

By contrast, the worst process I witnessed was at a Chrysler/Jeep store.

My Dad was interested in looking at a Chrysler 300 and for some reason the store we visited had almost nothing in new car inventory. The salesperson who greeted us knew that there was a fresh trade in the back lot that was waiting for recon so he walked us back to the service parking area, got the keys and we went on our test drive.

He didn't know our names, he didn't look at our Driver's Licenses and no one in the store knew he was taking us on a test drive. Granted, neither my father or I look like ax murders but if we were, they would have never found the body...

[#3INTIMIDATOR#3]

Thank You. I have been paying attention to all the post but, haven't chimed in.

I do like the idea of having a receptionist & may have to implement a process similar to that.

[XDCX]

Originally Posted by #3INTIMIDATOR#3

Thank You. I have been paying attention to all the post but, haven't chimed in.

I do like the idea of having a receptionist & may have to implement a process similar to that.

I really liked the process the Mercedes store had.

I'm thinking for smaller stores that don't have a receptionist (or for after hour situations) that keeping the Dealer Plates at the Sales Desk and keeping a log would be a good process.

I think that a customer who is really in the market to buy a car wouldn't object to showing a Driver's License before going on a test drive.