Need to Vent
 

Had a guy from out of town call yesterday,he was coming thru Jasper on business,wanted to look at 240's and 260's today.I remember the guy,been by 2 or 3 times over the past year,has us uncover everything,classic time waster maybe but you can never be sure. I did not make an appointment,just told him to come by and look at the boats. After the 4th we are hammered,getting a 370,a 330, and a 292 ready,and I had to leave at noon to demo a 353. The guy shows up,wants to know why I wasn't there,we uncover 3 boats,he is upset cause we don't use Volvos. When he leaves,Karen calls and says she was glad I was gone,this guy was a genuine jerk,absolute smart aleck,plus he had a Cobalt tag on the front of his car (you know Cobalt is mostly Volvo) :rolleyes: I told Karen to forget about it,I remember his attitude. Well, a few minutes later the guy calls me on his cell phone,wanted to let me know how disappointed he was that I was not there personally (I never said I would be)and that we were very unproffessional cause one of the crew showed him a boat and had his shirt off. I respectfully replied that it was 95 degrees,he had been washing a sold boat,sorry if he was offended. Then he started into a rant about Volvo,I tried to explain why we don't do Volvo,he kept on and on and called my guy a smarta**(furthest thing from the truth) and then I just lost it. My reply was "Since you said that,let me tell you what Karen said about you,she said you were a smarta** and a jerk and she was glad you left". I told him to have a nice day and buy a boat somewhere else,and I hung up. I expect he is so mad now that he will call Formula and complain,and that's fine. Sorry for the rant,after being nice to customers for 40 years I occasionally lose patience. The success of our business does not hinge on the sale of one boat to one jerk. OK,I feel better now :drink: Thanks for listening.

Re: Need to Vent
 

I am very glad to be out of retail just for the issues you mention. I actually had a man walk into my shop and throw a computer accross the floor that we did not even build. The parts were purchased from us and a fly by night person put it together wrong. Glad I was not there because he would be wearing what was left of the system up his Ass...

Re: Need to Vent
 

I've called you for a few things in the last 2 years......I would LOVE to have a local performance boat dealer that treated people like you do! Don't worry about it and don't change.

Re: Need to Vent
 

Robert,

Your solution to the issue was the correct one, in my opinion.

What you need to do now is relax...think about water....have a cocktail....sell that 353 that you demo'd to make up for the azzhole that didn't buy....have another cocktail....breath.....relax.....


Better now? Hope so. Keep up the good work!

Dave :drink:

Re: Need to Vent
 

hee...hee...hee...Its always nice to see that even the nice guys have a point.....Makes me feel like less of an azz....... :D :D

Re: Need to Vent
 

Hey Robert .... I sent my Brother-in-Law by to look at 240/260's ....has he arrived yet ?????? :drink:


I think even if he does call formula ... they know who you are .. and how you deal with people ... Fu-get-about-it ............m

Re: Need to Vent
 

If he calls Formula, they will probably tell him that they would take your word that he is a smartazz! :drink:

Re: Need to Vent
 

I cannot,on a public forum,tell you what Karen said about this guy :D I always worry when I feel that I have offended someone,but after talking to Karen,Dano,Jeff,and Betty,I am certain I did the right thing. I don't want this guy as a customer. Thanks for letting me vent. Robert

Re: Need to Vent
 

Robert... Glad you told the jack azz off so now maybe he will learn something from it but I doubt it. I put up with the same kind of bs everyday,they think you have all day to chit around. :(

Re: Need to Vent
 

I heard from my accountant and my attorneys "Not all business is good business"...even though we would like to please them all we cant, and to walk away from a tool like him will make you feel better...You did the right thing Robert..Rob

Re: Need to Vent
 

I don't understand why people have to act that way.
This guy comes in several times, obviously just tire kicking, is treated fairly, and then goes off in a tantrum.
I would have stopped him and ask what he was up to. When I see people doing similar stunts I can tell they're up to no good. Snooping, sniffing, around for some reason. At that point I'd ask him politely to leave the premises and not to return.

You did the right thing under the circumstances.

Re: Need to Vent
 

Robert,

Don't lose any sleep over this guy. You are a very valuable resource to Formula owners everywhere and I am glad to continue to do business with you.

Chris

Re: Need to Vent
 

I don't understand, I am really not that bad of a guy and you should not have hung up on me and talked to me that way :evilb: :evilb: :drink: :drink:

Re: Need to Vent
 

Everyone is entitled to get mad Once in their life Robert! :drink: He lost out.....No Formula boat and no pulled pork either :evilb:

Re: Need to Vent
 

As the saying goes "those who say they love dealing with the public, have never dealt witn the public".

It would seem from the OSO forms you are doing a great job...........don't let one jerk ruin your day. :drink:

Re: Need to Vent
 

One jerk won't ruin my day,had an interesting thing happen Friday. We had recently sold a really nice 1989 311 that was traded in on a new 353.Very clean boat, and I sold it locally. New owner decided to freshen up the engines and when his shop pulled them out they found completely rotten stringers. I paid to have them replaced as I had not expected this on such a nice boat. Friday the original owner called me with a question on his 353 and in conversation asked how does the owner like my old 311? Couldn't lie to him,told him about the rotten stringers. He could not believe it,he had bought the boat new,how could that happen? I explained that it's a 17 year old boat,things happen. Then he offered to reimburse me for my expense on the stringers,as he had no idea of a problem. I refused,but his offer to do that meant more to me than the $2800 I spent. Just as there are honest dealers,there are honest customers,and it gave me a good feeling.My customers are the best :drink: Makes it all worthwhile. Robert

Re: Need to Vent
 

Hey Rob,

There;s a bad apple in every barrell.

You know you are fair, thats why you felt the need to vent on here. That guy must have issues & im sure you are not the only one being treated unjustly by him.

Look forward to doing business with you again in the future.

Jon.

Re: Need to Vent
 

Robert, You can't please them all, And the people that know you know what type of person you are, Obviously this guy was just a tire kicker trying to bust your chops, So you handle it the right way, he would have never bought a boat, you usually can tell what type of a person somebody is by the way they conduct themselves. Sounds to me that he had a severe case of a disease that we refer to people like this called Jacka@@itis, It can be very contagious and spreads quickly..... :drink: :drink:

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Some customers are just too expensive to have! I would have told him the same thing. The first time they are in I'll show them everything and spend some time letting them know what i'm all about. The next time they come to tire kick , they can look around all they like but I won't try too hard to sell or push them into something. Some peeps think I don't want to sell them something , some like the no pressure sale. This guy is just busting your stones to see how far you will bend over. If you sell him anything you might as well marry him cause he will never be happy unless he is the only customer you have! Don't let him get to you!

Re: Need to Vent
 

I do not know if Formula even reads those letters. They are a great company but I sent them a "RANK" letter regarding Darryl Moore and this sale of my 05 382. They did not respond to me so do not sweat it.