Our experience with Atlantic Kia was incredibly - Gina.hx3
Our experience with Atlantic Kia was incredibly disappointing and, frankly, one of the most unprofessional dealership experiences we’ve had.
We visited the dealership on two separate days, and both times the atmosphere was chaotic and unprofessional. Employees were walking around seemingly ignoring customers, openly cursing on the showroom floor, and making comments about not wanting to work. For a business asking customers to spend tens of thousands of dollars, the lack of professionalism was surprising.
We worked with Alex, who specifically encouraged us to make an appointment for the following day so he could give us his “undivided attention.” We agreed and returned promptly for our 2:00 PM appointment. Apparently, “undivided attention” meant something very different here. Alex was working with several customers at once, and we weren’t even attended to until around 2:30.
Things only became more frustrating when we tried to negotiate.
Alex repeatedly described the negotiation process to my husband as a “see-saw” and told him he had to make it “appear” as though he was negotiating with us. That was an interesting choice of words when you’re trying to convince a customer that you’re working to get them a fair deal.
He then asked us to put together an offer for him to bring to his manager. While we sat there doing exactly that, Alex left (in the middle of our scheduled appointment) to take another customer on a test drive. So much for the “undivided attention” we had specifically been asked to make an appointment for.
When he finally returned, our offer was presented to management and essentially dismissed. There was no meaningful counteroffer and no genuine attempt to find middle ground. We were serious buyers prepared to purchase a vehicle that day, but Atlantic Kia seemed far more interested in juggling as many customers as possible than actually earning our business.
Ironically, Alex leaving us sitting there turned out to be the best part of the experience. While waiting for him to return from his test drive, we found a better deal at Smithtown Kia.
We went there instead and were treated with respect, professionalism, and transparency. They valued our time, worked with us on the numbers, and ultimately earned our business.
We understand that a dealership isn’t obligated to accept every offer a customer makes. That’s not the issue. The issue was the complete lack of professionalism, attentiveness, transparency, and respect for our time throughout the process.
Atlantic Kia had two separate opportunities to earn our business. Instead, they gave us every reason to take it somewhere else and that’s exactly what we did.
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