I was just done filling out the third survey that was sent to us since we got Sexie. It’s been almost four months since, and I haven’t quite gotten used to some of its features. One thing’s for sure however, it’s been fun driving this 8 speed automatic AWD driving machine.

Going back to the survey, I have to emphasize that these were not sent to us by the dealership. In fact, we only got one phone survey from BMW USA, and that was it. There were only a few questions and basically it was just a call to ensure that we were satisfied with our purchase. From the dealership, we communicated with our efficient and dependable Client Advisor a couple of times only. The first survey came from J. D. power And Associates replete with a crisp $1 bill as their way of saying “thank you” for accomplishing the survey. The second survey came from Maritz Research and the third from Auto Pacific. I must say that these surveys took a lot of time to accomplish, they are way too comprehensive and intrusive. As such, I wound up doing them in spurts. I didn’t want to be pressured, they were sent out when I was done with them at my leisure. What’s the rush anyway? The crisp $1 bill sent by one of the survey companies surely was not commensurate to the amount of time required to do the survey. Not that I’m complaining, I’m just saying.

There’s one establishment that I wished I’d be given the chance to do a review , but unfortunately it is impossible. But since I have this blog, I figured that this is the perfect avenue to write about what transpired at the first dealership that I walked into to check out the make and model of the vehicle of my choice in person. Yes, I walked in one afternoon alone, clad in my most comfortable outfit and bundled up as it was freezing cold. I was received by Security and was asked to wait for a good 20 minutes because all the Client Advisors were engaged at the moment. I didn’t mind the wait, what I didn’t appreciate was the fact that I was not taken seriously (maybe because I was alone , a woman – Asian looking at that, or I didn’t look like I can afford to buy a car). This BMW dealership is closest to home and it was just wise to give the business to them. Or so, that was what we thought we were going to do, but no, we wound up driving 30 miles to get Sexie. I must have presented myself badly that the CA thought I was just ‘window shopping.’ Duh… That was the last thing on my mind. We lost our car – thanks to Hurricane Sandy, and all I wanted was to drive my own car and return our rental car as soon as possible. Regardless, all customers have to be taken seriously, right?

So, what the first BMW dealership’s lost, was the second dealership’s gain. Learning from that experience, I made my fingers do the walking, set up an appointment and husband and I went one Saturday afternoon. The showroom was bustling with customers, obviously we were all on the same boat (buying to replace a vehicle lost from the hurricane). As soon as we were taken in by the Client Advisor, everything went down seamlessly. From the test-drive to the negotiation. We signed on the dotted line, made the deposit and we walked out smiling and happy. All it took was three hours to finalize the deal. It took us a few weeks to wait for Sexie (all the way from Germany) but it was all worth it. On the day of the turnover, we could not ask for more although, I was not too thrilled to go that early in the morning but we did, anyway. Our Client Advisor was very professional. We were more than pleased. He was very thorough. The dealership and  the Client Advisor  surely deserves repeat business.

In this day and age when business is tough, no customer should settle for a less than stellar customer service. Right?