BMW of Roanoke: A dealership where the GM tells customers... - Shingik
BMW of Roanoke: A dealership where the GM tells customers to accept shoddy service without complaining or he will “send them packing”! BUYER BEWARE! Looks like you get OK service if you purchase a new vehicle. But then again, who can mess up selling a brand new beamer? Where this dealer completely falls apart is when you buy a used car. Used bmws are not cheap either. Their salesperson Starr, was incompetent and had to refer everything to the manager. He lied and said the price they had up on Cagurus was the absolute best the price the car could ever be sold for. Yet, just a few weeks ago the car was 1500 cheaper. They reluctantly had to agree that I caught them in a lie and gave me the lower price. After the sale was complete, and the car came from being cleaned we noticed a bunch of long dog hair in the car. The problem was still there after they supposedly cleaned the car out again. When the finally GM came out, after they made me wait outside for almost an hour, he looked at the vehicle and he agreed that the car was indeed filthy and that there was indeed dog hair all over it. In his words: “I see the dog hair and I would be very unhappy if I was in your shoes”. But then he inexplicably added - “well I will have them vacuum it again and if you are still not satisfied I will cancel the deal and you can go and buy somewhere else.” So I asked him why he had to put it across as though I was being unreasonable. I had not expressed a desire to go elsewhere.. I simply wanted a fairly clean - not perfect car. He had no answer to that and repeated the same statement. I started to get annoyed and told him if he wasted my time by offering me the vehicle with dog hair still in it I would walk out of the deal, write a bad review and contact the owner of the dealership. At that point his ego got the better of him and he said to me verbatim “ I am the one of the owners of this company and no one threatens me like that buddy. If you do it again, I will send you packing!!!!” I was both surprised and amused by his visceral and childish reaction to such a simple request. I am not sure if the fact that I am a black man had anything to do with his trying to belittle me. However this is not my first encounter in which I have received inordinately rude and harsh treatment for simply standing up for what is fair and just. Still I will give this man the benefit of the doubt and assume that he is just an egomaniac. I took a few minutes to compose myself but but the words “I will send you packing” rang in my head like loud sirens and made me see red. Who does this man think he is? I made the decision to rescind the deal and get a car elsewhere, and got my money back. To Mr. Mike Maddox the GM and owner of BMW Roanoke: I am a/was a customer, not your employee or a beggar off the street and you cannot “send me me packing” anywhere. Instead know that yours is not the only dealership on earth. There are others who will treat ALL customers regardless of race color creed or status with the respect and kindness they deserve. Ultimately, it I as the customer who sent YOU and your sorry customer service skills packing.
Afterwards I tried to reach out to Gary Duncan who is listed as the owner of the company to explain the situation to no avail. I am currently making arrangements to buy the car elsewhere and will do so in the next couple of days.
Lastly, Mr. Maddox please make sure that your salespeople are honest about the car, a 2016 BMW X5 gas/electric i40e, not having a basic and expected feature like a backup camera. Also, please make sure to point out the filthy dog hair all over the vehicle before you sell it to anyone. If Gary Duncan reads this, I am open to dialog. (You may have heard a lopsided biased and probably untrue side of the story.) If you are not interested, and trust that you heard the unadulterated truth then then that is OK too. I already have several options lined up. If things are made right, I will write a follow-up accordingly. Right now as it stands, this was how my short relationship with BMW Roanoke ended.
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