A few weeks ago I took my 2025 Chevy Equinox in to - scott@scottbourne.com
A few weeks ago I took my 2025 Chevy Equinox in to Sisbarro GMC for service. There was a recall on my car that the service department tried to execute, but it failed.
Service Manager Chuck Armstrong was very apologetic and took me to Hertz to pick up a rental car which Sisbarro, GMC agreed to pay for.
As we went back and forth, it became apparent that there was going to be a month's long delay in getting my car up and running again. I was disappointed but I didn't get angry because everyone I dealt with was honest, open and transparent. It would have been easy for the employees at Sisbarro to become argumentative or defensive over the situation. That has in fact been the kind of behavior I experienced in similar circumstances at other dealerships.
It's clear that Sisbarro is different. The dealership made a mistake but it was just the start of the story. Once I contacted Michael Yoke, Customer Service Manager - Sisbarro immediately stepped up and started trying to rectify the problem. That was helpful but it was made more notable because everyone involved tried to help and remained kind and understanding. Everyone I met at Sisbarro had a smile on their face.
Eventually, we discussed me trading in my Equinox against a GMC Acadia. I wasn't really looking to get another car. My wife and I paid cash for the Chevy and it was only 18 months old. But it seemed like the best way to resolve the situation quickly and easily, so Michael went to work on trying to help me work out a trade.
I made it clear that I would only move forward if this was a spectacular deal for me. I was getting a new car - an additional 18 months of warranty - and an upgrade in vehicle - but I was giving up a car that was paid for and taking on extra cost for the new car. I had planned to keep the Chevy for a while.
My biggest concern was that I didn't want to go sit in the dealership for hours haggling and arguing. I felt that Sisbarro had the burden of working this out to my benefit and to my great surprise - that's exactly what they did.
Everyone was professional, helpful and friendly throughout the process. I was impressed by the fact that this place didn't feel like a traditional car dealership where everyone is out to hustle. It is a family owned business and one of the few family owned dealerships in this part of the country. While many companies will market themselves as a family owned business, that usually doesn't mean much. In the case of Sisbarro, it does.
Michael Yoke was in touch with me multiple times each day as we started working towards a solution. He assured me that he would smooth over the process - and that he and he alone would make the deal with me - no back and forth with sales managers, etc.
I have experience in the car business and I did a great deal of research to determine the value of my Chevy. I told Mike what I wanted for my car and that's exactly - without any haggling - what I got. I told him what I wanted to pay for the new Acadia. I asked for a significant discount off of the selling price and got exactly what I wanted. Once again, no argument. Just a team of people working very hard to make sure I was happy.
Master salesman, Danny Chavez was appointed by Michael to handle the house deal. He did a spectacular job of demonstrating the GMC Acadia to me. We took a test drive. He carefully, and completely explained everything that I asked about.
Once the numbers were agreed upon, Chuck Armstrong took me over to service to collect the stuff out of my old car. He even helped. Then I sat down with a wonderful young man named Luis Tovar, who works in F&I. He handled all the final paperwork and didn't try to hard sell me a bunch of products I do not need. I asked him for Wheel & Tire coverage and he even gave me that at a discount. The paperwork was simple and fast. Our conversation was enjoyable.
Michael Yoke oversaw all parts of this transaction and without him, I am not sure this would have ended as well for either part
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