Reason for Visit: Sales (New)
I recommend this dealer: No
My Review of Herb Chambers Honda of Westborough:
Ugh, what a disappointment. I stopped in to research/test drive/hopefully start to get an idea about potential '09 CR-V inventory. I arrived at approximately 5:15PM on a Saturday (the sales floor closes at 9PM) - walked in just behind a couple who were immediately matched with a salesperson. When the receptionist paged for a second salesperson to assist me, no one initially came to the front. A salesperson walked nearby and the receptionist called out to him, saying, "David, do you have a moment to help this guest?" - he obliged.
Without doing a full blow-by-blow, suffice it to say that I was made to feel oddly unwelcome at points, given this salesman's impending party plans after work. Once we did a quick walk around the car and started the test drive, David noted that his 50th birthday had been the week prior, and he had "sort of been hiding", and was leery of taking on a new customer at that hour, given the fact that he and his wife were hosting a big card game/party at their house a bit later that evening, and that he -had- to leave right at 6. Wow.
David then launched right into a strange backpedal - he must have thought better of his rather rude comments (not exactly welcoming, considering the fact that I walked in knowing precisely which car, and even which trim level were of interest!!!) He specifically asked me to not mention that whole "card party thing" to his Manager, as he wouldn't want him to take it the wrong way, or to think that (this guy) was rushing a customer through their visit to the dealership. I attempted to break the wild awkwardness of the moment by joking that it sounded as if he hadn't invited his Manager to the card party, which he had most certainly had not! I told him that I wouldn't tell his Manager, but would just get in touch with Herb Chambers himself instead. HA! I was kidding, of course, but now in retrospect, perhaps I should!
The real fun began when we were back and I had asked about specific current inventory in my preferred trim level, to see if there were any current incentives, and also to run some hypothetical #s, to get a sense for pricing.
David did the typical, "Hmm, let me go talk to my Manager" song and dance and then left me at his desk for what felt like EONS (so much for him being in a big rush to leave??!) Upon his return, he handed me a worksheet full of numbers based on their 'Invoice Price', their 'Minimum Required Profit' (umm....) and then a wildly high monthly payment, even though I had noted that we would be paying a minimum of 20% down. I realize that they can't get specific without checking our credit, but these 'potential monthly payments' were very high indeed and a great way to get people to walk right out the door and down to Bernardi. He then handed me a quarter sheet of scrap paper and 'invited me' to jot down as many #s as possible while he sat there staring down the process. Has he never heard of a xerox machine?
I certainly didn't appreciate the whole sense that David was somehow letting me in on privileged information, and things got even more pressure-tactic-ridden when I noted that it seemed that it would be helpful to return when he had more time and when the Business office could run #s based on our credit, so that we could then make an informed decision between one trim level and perhaps upgrading our purchase to the next trim level higher. He flatly noted that this wasn't possible unless we had designated a car as our car of choice, at which point (and only at said point) 'they' would initiate purchase paperwork. Um, WHAT?!?!
As if things couldn't get more fun, at 6:10PM, when I was leaving David's desk area, he said, "Oh, did you hear that?" and retrieved a cell phone from his pocket, looked down and said, "Yup, it's my wife, making sure that I have left for home!" As if he hadn't repelled me enough by that point...
I realize that my experience of feeling so unwelcome/rushed may have been entirely different with another salesperson -- but such poor behavior should absolutely be noted. David's behavior when it came time to crunch some #s, which was unrelated to his schedule and more indicative of his slimy approach in general, was utterly unappealing and a throwback to times that I had hoped were long GONE. See you later, Herb Chambers...
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