I'm kind of digging this tangent on the notorious surveys since they are a pet peeve of mine. It is not merely my perception - it is my expectation that a top score should be given for an "exceptional you-held-my-hand-through-the-whole-process and I-also-had-an-orgasm, type experience" as Suzanne so aptly described it. Why should it not? It is the top score. It's supposed to be the best. The various pleas for "fives" I receive always talk about a superior customer service experience. So it ought be the absolute nadir - not just as good as everyone else. He!!, I spent $30,000 on this car - treat me like I did! Better yet, treat me like you own the car. If I bring it in for a rattle, look around for other stuff that's wrong and fix those things too. If you wash the car, dry it and leave no water spots. Return the car in better shape than I left it!

Unreasonable? Maybe - but that's what a 5 is in my book. In any event, most of the questions in the survey aren't really about the quality of the service they are about meaningless peripheral matter like "How long did it take you to drive to the dealer using a scale of 1 to 5" and "Did the MA or service technician successfully avoid smacking you in the face or spitting on you using a scale of 1 to 5". OK. I'm lying about the second one - but not the first. Of all the questions, I think only one related to whether they delivered what they promised - which is key.

I also like Rev. Limiter's idea about disposing of surveys which were "coached".

Anyway, I have ranted enough. Back to the original topic.

I, too, am quite sure that not all MINI car salesmen are evil.

 

I liked by MA. I really did. He was very helpful. He even talked me out of options he thought were a 'waste of money' or not appropriate for my needs. He was good until he got "promoted" up to BMW a month or so later. And not long after left the dealer.

The 10 year old that replaced him was alright too...until he left a month later.

His replacement? I reckon he was there two months or so. He never seemed like he was in the same room as you. You know...thinking of other things.

Very helpful......well...he would've been if he listened to anything you said to him and knew anything about the product he was selling.

That's ok...his replacement was ok.....until he left..

I think you get the picture. Our dealer, Rolfe Classic Mini Garage, in Canberra, Australia, has an incredible staff turn-over. Whether they are good or not, it's pretty useless if the staff are ALWAYS new...

 

I've purchased two MINIs (one in August 2002, then Wanda in April 2003) from Long Beach MINI in SoCal, and dealt with both MAs (Tony and Matt). Both transactions were absolutely the most pleasant experiences imaginable. They are a great team and their support team has always been very helpful, as well. I would go in and ask them questions about certain things, they'd laugh at me and say, "Clover, you know you know more about MINIs than we do!" But, since those early days, they both own MINIs now, which says so much to me about how they feel about the MINI.

I think we need to differentiate between the Sales and Service departments at each dealership. The Service situation started out a bit sketchy at Long Beach, but since they reconfigured their MINI Service area, rolling it into the sales showroom, I would absolutely give LB MINI all 5s. Their Service Advisors have been fantastic and explained everything done in great detail in a clear and concise manner. I absolutely recommend the Service Department, as well as the excellent Sales Department, of Long Beach MINI to the SoCal MINI enthusiast!