good will

As some of you may know, I work at Automobile Atlanta. As some of you may also know, we don't have the best reputation, especially on the internet.

I am hoping to change some of that. I am starting small, but you have to start somewhere.

Here is a new facebook page that we have dreamed up to offer quick and accurate tech advice to Porsche owners. The techs in our service department have been working on Porsches for several years now, and they are more than capable of answering whatever questions anyone may have. (Before you ask, I am not trying to sell anything through the site, just trying to proffer some good will.)

If this is an inappropriate use of my Forum privilages, feel free to remove it, or inform me and I will immediately.

I know almost nothing about P cars. Or, let me say, all I know about P cars is from the few articles in GRM that I have read on them.

Now, exactly why do you not have the best reputation, especially on teh 1ntr4n3t, yo? If word has been circulating like that, chances are fair to good that there is some reason behind it. That is what you need to be focusing on, not a facebook page with techs giving out advice. Now, I understand that you can't please everyone all the time, and there are people out there that think they are getting the shaft every time they turn around. Like the guy that was biatching that his tire chunked when he tracked it and Tire Rack wouldn't just give him a free one, sighting their racing excludes the tire warranty policy (which is certainly fair).

So, what's the "word on teh n3t, yo" about Automobile Atlanta? Why have people been bad typing you? What specifically are you doing to correct that? Good will in a business means next to nothing if you haven't corrected the underlying problem. I realize that you may not be in a position to fix the underlying problem, or even discuss it, but if you want my opinion, there it is. Fix your underlying problems, not just try to put a nice front up on facebook and you might survive.

I am a fan.

I like everyone at AA except for the dick that sold me the spare tire powered wiper washer cap, that guy is an A-Hole.

Dr. Hess wrote: Now, exactly _why_ do you not have the best reputation, especially on teh 1ntr4n3t, yo? If word has been circulating like that, chances are fair to good that there is some reason behind it. That is what you need to be focusing on, not a facebook page with techs giving out advice. Now, I understand that you can't please everyone all the time, and there are people out there that think they are getting the shaft every time they turn around. Like the guy that was biatching that his tire chunked when he tracked it and Tire Rack wouldn't just give him a free one, sighting their racing excludes the tire warranty policy (which is certainly fair). So, what's the "word on teh n3t, yo" about Automobile Atlanta? Why have people been bad typing you? What specifically are you doing to correct that? Good will in a business means next to nothing if you haven't corrected the underlying problem. I realize that you may not be in a position to fix the underlying problem, or even discuss it, but if you want my opinion, there it is. Fix your underlying problems, not just try to put a nice front up on facebook and you might survive.

The good Doctor asks some very pertinent questions and the answers won't come from a new source on the internet. Goodwill does not come from Facebook, it comes from the heart.

For any company that has a PR problem, the first task is to determine "why" and fix it. The person/people who set policy are responsible. Until/unless they recognize "they" are the root-cause, nothing else matters - the company pretty much deserves the reputation it has earned.

I'm not a Porsche-person, but I've sold parts and services to them; yes, they can be shiny, happy people. But that is true for any customer base and it's how a company responds to customer "issues" that determines how a company is perceived.

It's difficult to erase a bad image and opening a Facebook page should only be one of many changes.

Step 1: Fake George's death.

Step 2: Create press release stating "under new management".

Step 3: Rebuild company image.

George worked long and hard to build his reputation. His attitude for years was "you can't buy it anywhere else, so you'll dance how I'll tell you" didn't help. He is the 914 guy and he knows it, too bad he used that position to screw his customers instead of become part of the community. It didn't help that most people I know who went to the place in person almost all left after being ignored (or never found anyone to help them at all). I know I walked in once and didn't see a soul for 10 minutes. I could have walked out with tons of stuff from the showroom and nobody would have known.

Good luck on rebuilding the image, the biggest hurdle will be proving that George's previous business practices are no longer in place.

Unfortunately, Slefain is correct.

It has become my burden to change this, and I am doing my small part to do this. As are alot of other employees here. Even in the time that I have been here, I have seen improvements. It starts with the foundation, but the house has to look pretty too.

There was a guy in a town I lived in that owned a dealership. Let's just say a motorcycle dealership. Large motorcycles. The guy was known to the local large motorcycle community as "Motherberkeleyer." There are some things you can't fix.

Now, as the Metal Doode sez, "George" needs to stop having all contact with customers. If the place is big enough, put him in the back room and have someone else be the new "face" for the business. A new attitude of "We're gonna help you and NOT rip you off" needs to show up, versus the current attitude.

Unfortunately, I don't see that happening. What's George's opinion on changing his business practice from "shiny happy person" to "help the customer"? Is it "I don't give a damn about them, they can go to hell"? Or is it "Man, I've been an shiny happy person for xx years and I need to get my shiite together if I want to stay in business"? If it ain't the latter, start looking for a new job now, 'cause that one ain't gonna last anyway.

maroon92 wrote: Unfortunately, Slefain is correct. It has become my burden to change this, and I am doing my small part to do this. As are alot of other employees here. Even in the time that I have been here, I have seen improvements. It starts with the foundation, but the house has to look pretty too.

It's not your burden, it's George's.

If he can't fix himself, you're going to be busting your balls and getting a kiss on the cheek.

maroon92 wrote: Unfortunately, Slefain is correct. It has become my burden to change this, and I am doing my small part to do this. As are alot of other employees here. Even in the time that I have been here, I have seen improvements. It starts with the foundation, but the house has to look pretty too.

Place your first ad here: http://www.mdjonline.com/pages/news_obits

slefain wrote:

maroon92 wrote: Unfortunately, Slefain is correct. It has become my burden to change this, and I am doing my small part to do this. As are alot of other employees here. Even in the time that I have been here, I have seen improvements. It starts with the foundation, but the house has to look pretty too.

Place your first ad here: http://www.mdjonline.com/pages/news_obits

That's funny, Brian!

Brutal, but very funny.

Apart from the Motherberkleyer reputation, you have to consider the fact that one of your main competitors actually built the business around a web community that includes technical information and a forum.

Notice I said web community, not web site. It's kind of like this place. You can't exactly hire a design firm and pay them money to build something like this. This is something that a Porsche enthusiast who knew how to design web sites came up with and he built the kind of web community he wanted to see as a Porsche enthusiast. You can't hire an MBA and a couple of programmers and graphic artists, survey the buying habits of the owners of certain models of Porsches, put the numbers on a spreadsheet and come up with a solution. This stuff has to come from the heart.

...and this is coming from a guy who has a graduate degree in business.

I appreciate all of the comments. I agree with most of you, and Slefain...we have actually done just that. There once was an ad that stated George died.

(I will leave it at that.)

Interestingly, I read an excerpt of a book just today that is germane to your question. You might find it helpful to read. The one sentence description is that how you do things in business (and life) means the most, not what you do.

Here is a link to the book. I have not read the whole thing, but plan on buying it, as I'm a big believer in treating clients like gold.

Dov Seidman's new book

I sold my P car , otherwise I would be a fan.