Car Dealers Sunday Opening?

McSpud

Is there some sort of unwritten rule that car dealers should not open on Sundays? I would have thought in the current climate some would open full hours Saturday & Sunday? 9-3 on Saturdays strikes me as outdated view of sales.

How many Sales do they make on Mondays? Do people actually take time off work mid week to look at cars? In Dublin traffic is insane during the week if try to get across the City.

fricatus

Very true... would make more sense to shut on Mondays and Tuesdays from a sales perspective. Maybe there's more to a dealership than car sales?

Berty

They say a Wednsday in the rain and the end of a month is the best time to shop for a car and also during June.

Weekends are a pain because people are bored and go to shops and places for no apparent reason. A couple in a dealership midweek are more likely to buy.

-Chris-

Absolutely - anyone who comes in mid-week is serious about buying a car. Someone who comes in at the weekend (especially Sundays) is less likely to be at an advanced buying stage.

Also, it's barely busy enough to make it worth being open 5 or 6 days a week, if salespeople had to come in on Sundays too, I'd expect there'd be mass hangings!

galwaytt

I've an even simpler question - why aren't they open on Saturdays?

When do garages honestly think people get time to buy stuff like this ? - it's not the weekly shop in Tesco we're talking about. Outside of your home, this is the biggest spend you'll make in your lifetime.

I bought and E-class a few years ago, on a Sunday. Told him that too, otherwise, it'd never have happened.

Darragh29

McSpud wrote: »

Is there some sort of unwritten rule that car dealers should not open on Sundays? I would have thought in the current climate some would open full hours Saturday & Sunday? 9-3 on Saturdays strikes me as outdated view of sales.

How many Sales do they make on Mondays? Do people actually take time off work mid week to look at cars? In Dublin traffic is insane during the week if try to get across the City.

I'd hold my breath, I see another thread here on Motors started by a poster who e-mailed 3 authorised dealers about a service and he hasn't heard back from one of them! There would appear to be an unwritten rule that you as a customer are not valued so you must fit in with the dealership's schedule, and not the other way around.

pburns

AudiChris wrote: »

Absolutely - anyone who comes in mid-week is serious about buying a car. Someone who comes in at the weekend (especially Sundays) is less likely to be at an advanced buying stage.

Also, it's barely busy enough to make it worth being open 5 or 6 days a week, if salespeople had to come in on Sundays too, I'd expect there'd be mass hangings!

Yep, a saleman told me last year that anyone serious about buying a car will take a day off work & come in on a weekday. This was after I'd called into him on a Saturday, test-drove his demo and taken him to task about then forthcoming VRT changes so he was having a bit of a dig I think!

Darragh29 wrote: »

I'd hold my breath, I see another thread here on Motors started by a poster who e-mailed 3 authorised dealers about a service and he hasn't heard back from one of them! There would appear to be an unwritten rule that you as a customer are not valued so you must fit in with the dealership's schedule, and not the other way around.

It's gonna take a long time for that attitude to change. In an ideal world the cream would rise to the top (salespeople & garages) but in reality the staff will be fired and it'll be the useless sons & daughters who are kept on!

McSpud

I accept mid weekers are more serious but when you have tons of stock & can't shift maybe need to also drag in some browsers as they might not be aware of the deals,

IMO by opening 9-3 on Saturdays that limits the time average person can shop for a car. I am looking now but would only take time off work to make final test drive as traffic is too bad in Dublin.

galwaytt

AudiChris wrote: »

Absolutely - anyone who comes in mid-week is serious about buying a car. Someone who comes in at the weekend (especially Sundays) is less likely to be at an advanced buying stage.

Also, it's barely busy enough to make it worth being open 5 or 6 days a week, if salespeople had to come in on Sundays too, I'd expect there'd be mass hangings!

That's some outlook: i.e., if I don't come in on your timetable, that I am a de facto tyre-kicker. If you think like that, you don't deserve the sale in the first place. Will your after-sales suck, to the same level, i.e., so long as it suits you, and not I, who had paid you Eur XX,xxx ??

If not busy Mondays, but don't want to lose a potential walk-in, why not roster to work 1 Sunday in.........4?...or something. Even if it's only for, 4 hours ?

My SO has worked in Customer Service, on Sundays, for 15+years, so it's not exactly a new practice, now is it........?? And Sundays for them (retail) is now, usually, the busiest day of the week.

Saturdays is a day I'd buy a car - she, and 1000's of others, work shift during the week, and no-one, but no-one I've ever met, bought the car without the SO in tow........however in Galway, most garages close at lunchtime, if open at all. Ridiculous.

...so Sat afternoon's are free.........which is probably why I end invariably in the motorbike shop. Which is probably why I have more bikes than cars (and I have too many). And is how I ended up spending 22k on this: http://www.sip-energy.com/JM/rk1.JPG late on a Saturday afternoon - it was actually after 16:00, actually. The visit wasn't planned, and a purchase definately wasn't. But there again, we're dealing with impulse buys, aren't we. And the only way to get those, is to be, well, open, for a start. Giving me, at that late hour, and taking them out of the shop, 4 different ones to ride, and the promise of another on the following - yes, a Sunday - morning, meant a deal was done.

I work in consruction/housing (www.sip-energy.com) , and I work Saturdays and Sundays too. If a client is interested in buying one of our houses, and has to travel, or can only arrange a Sunday, or Saturday to visit, I always, always, make myself available. And a lot of our houses cost less than a lot of your cars.......

The car business has a lot to learn.

-Chris-

Darragh29 wrote: »

I'd hold my breath, I see another thread here on Motors started by a poster who e-mailed 3 authorised dealers about a service and he hasn't heard back from one of them! There would appear to be an unwritten rule that you as a customer are not valued so you must fit in with the dealership's schedule, and not the other way around.

I've seen a strong trend in the US towards dealers having dedicated internet sales departments. As per usual with everything internet related, Ireland will be several years behind the trend.
Read any of the magazines here and you'll see reams of information about internet and email strategy.

That being said, I don't think this phenomenon is confined to the motor industry. I'd bet if I emailed Smyth's Toystore or Woodie's DIY it would be hit-or-miss as to whether I received a response within a reasonable period.

pburns wrote: »

Yep, a saleman told me last year that anyone serious about buying a car will take a day off work & come in on a weekday. This was after I'd called into him on a Saturday, test-drove his demo and taken him to task about then forthcoming VRT changes so he was having a bit of a dig I think!

I'm not sure what "taking him to task" involved, but he was pretty much correct in what he said.
My experience so far is that people will come in on Saturdays for a browse or to collect brochures and pricing etc. They'll come in with their partner or as a family.
When it comes to actually staring eyeball-to-eyeball to buy a car, they'll come in on a weekday or very early on a Saturday. This is because they want to be able to negotiate the purchase without having to worry about their kids slamming their fingers in car doors or standing on the seats of the showroom cars.
It can be very hard to be sure you've gotten the best deal out of the salesperson while your daughter tugs your sleeve and says "daaaaaddy, I'm huuuuungry and I'm booooooored" .

I try and treat it that way - Saturday is a good time to let people say "no thanks, I'm just looking" or show them colours etc. and see if their gear will fit in the boot.
(Historically) Saturday's are too busy to spend proper quality time with customers anyway...
If someone comes in mid-week, then they're (probably) in their suit and in a business frame of mind. I'll deal with them differently then as they will inevitably be "more serious" as a) they've taken time off work, b) they're not distracted by their kids and c) they're in a different mindset then they were on Saturday.

-Chris-

galwaytt wrote: »

That's some outlook: i.e., if I don't come in on your timetable, that I am a de facto tyre-kicker. If you think like that, you don't deserve the sale in the first place. Will your after-sales suck, to the same level, i.e., so long as it suits you, and not I, who had paid you Eur XX,xxx ??

I don't believe my comment was inaccurate, but my "7days a week = mass hangings" was tongue-in-cheek.
I hope my subsequent post made my intent clearer.

galwaytt wrote: »

If not busy Mondays, but don't want to lose a potential walk-in, why not roster to work 1 Sunday in.........4?...or something. Even if it's only for, 4 hours ?

My SO has worked in Customer Service, on Sundays, for 15+years, so it's not exactly a new practice, now is it........?? And Sundays for them (retail) is now, usually, the busiest day of the week.

It depends what you're selling. I wouldn't take a day off work to buy an XBOX, but I would to view a house, make a major furniture purchase or buy a car - I would do this because I want the undivided attention of the best salesperson and I know I won't get that at the weekend.

galwaytt wrote: »

Saturdays is a day I'd buy a car - she, and 1000's of others, work shift during the week, and no-one, but no-one I've ever met, bought the car without the SO in tow........however in Galway, most garages close at lunchtime, if open at all. Ridiculous.

I don't agree with closing at lunchtime - I think Saturday opening hours should be 9-5, or at the very least 10-4.
That being said, I work in a garage that's open from 9-5 on a Saturday, and I can count the number of cars I've sold between 4 and 5pm on a Saturday on one hand...

galwaytt wrote: »

...so Sat afternoon's are free.........which is probably why I end invariably in the motorbike shop. Which is probably why I have more bikes than cars (and I have too many). And is how I ended up spending 22k on this: http://www.sip-energy.com/JM/rk1.JPG late on a Saturday afternoon - it was actually after 16:00, actually. The visit wasn't planned, and a purchase definately wasn't. But there again, we're dealing with impulse buys, aren't we. And the only way to get those, is to be, well, open, for a start. Giving me, at that late hour, and taking them out of the shop, 4 different ones to ride, and the promise of another on the following - yes, a Sunday - morning, meant a deal was done.

I don't think a car will ever be considered an impulse buy except by the exceptionally well-off. Add to that that I sell a car that has a massive amount of permutations and customisation options, and you'll understand why it usually takes 2 or more visits before you get a buying decision.

galwaytt wrote: »

I work in consruction/housing (www.sip-energy.com) , and I work Saturdays and Sundays too. If a client is interested in buying one of our houses, and has to travel, or can only arrange a Sunday, or Saturday to visit, I always, always, make myself available. And a lot of our houses cost less than a lot of your cars.......

If a client wants to meet me on a Sunday to view a car, and I felt they were genuine, I'd have no problem with that. It's not the same as properly opening on a Sunday.
I've met people on the opposite side of the city on a Good Friday, and I'd regularly use a part of my mid-week day off (we get a day off mid-week in lieu of Saturday) to show a car to a customer.

galwaytt wrote: »

The car business has a lot to learn.

You'll get no argument from me on that one.

McSpud

AudiChris wrote: »

My experience so far is that people will come in on Saturdays for a browse or to collect brochures and pricing etc. They'll come in with their partner or as a family.
When it comes to actually staring eyeball-to-eyeball to buy a car, they'll come in on a weekday or very early on a Saturday.

I would say that following that logic if you don't get the Saturday browser you limit the amount of mid week serious customers.

If car retailers happy with limited weekend openings then fair enough but when I hear moaning about drop in sales I won't take it seriously.

Owen

AudiChris wrote: »

I've seen a strong trend in the US towards dealers having dedicated internet sales departments. As per usual with everything internet related, Ireland will be several years behind the trend.

The garage I work for has me working purely from an online perspective, I don't sell cars, but I make sure amongst other duties, that every single eMail into the group is followed up and logged. It'll take years for most garages to adopt this though And I wouldn't mind, but the ratio of genuine eMailers to time wasters is quite good, compared to the amount of time wasters who walk in the door - online sales are excellent once done correctly.

And opening Sunday? We did that too. Complete waste of time, banks aren't open, so if a prospective customer needs finance it can't be arranged until Monday anyway, Insurance companies are closed so you can't transfer insurance if a guy really wants to take it away and has cash in his pocket. We found that there was an extraordinary amount of people who would just bring the kids in for the sake of something to do, and they'd openly admit it when asked if they needed help. Most sales staff ended up just reading the paper for the day, and perhaps one Sunday in 8 they might get a deal. It just wasn't worth the hassle.

Berty

AudiChris wrote: »

If someone comes in mid-week, then they're (probably) in their suit and in a business frame of mind. I'll deal with them differently

Mental note to self. Audi Chris will only deal with people dressed in business attire. Must keep my proliatriate ar*e out of his dealership. *

:D:D:D:D:D:D







*tongue in cheek

mumblin deaf ro

I emailed six dealers last week and got two responses - the two I got were prompt and to the point.

The real benefit of initial emails contacts are that those of us who work in offices can make some enquiries without the whole office knowing that we're looking to buy a car on company time. Also, it's good to have a record of contacts with the dealer, what was said etc. I backed out of a deal at the last minute last year after a dealer reneged on a promise made to me in a previous email (he had promised a free pre-NCT service) - had that promise been made over the phone there could have been a dispute over what was said.

This is an interesting thread - I think I'll try and do my serious shopping during the week next time.

Del2005

It's the old chicken and egg problem. My father works for a main dealer on a busy main route, and they've tried weekend opening to try and shift cars. I think for most of the weekends the only people in the show room where being paid to be there. No sales where made and very few people came in.

People don't expect car dealers to be open on weekends so don't go looking to buy cars. Dealers can't afford to pay to heat, light and staff for a maybe sale, when they can hardly shift when they are open midweek.

It'll take a while but I'm sure that they will start opening weekends, because everything is now open weekends. But if dealers do start opening on weekends they may do what Motorbike dealers do and close Monday(or any day of the week). Then we'll have loads of threads here going I went to buy a car on Monday and all the garages where shut:D

-Chris-

Berty wrote: »

Mental note to self. Audi Chris will only deal with people dressed in business attire. Must keep my proliatriate ar*e out of his dealership. *

:D:D:D:D:D:D







*tongue in cheek

:rolleyes: :D

Sure you're barred anyway. If you want to buy a car from my dealership, you'd better be wearing a fake moustache, big sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat...

MichealD

This thread comes up every few months.

People don't seem to want to listen to guys's who work in the industry telling them as it is - people (as a rule) don't buy cars on Sundays.

We have opened on Sundays from 2-5 since last October. During that time we have concluded one deal that could genuinely be called a fully Sunday deal. We've had a couple of enquiries which have turned into deals but they would not cover the overheads involved.

Salesmen work on commission - if Sunday was a good sales day the showrooms would all be open.

Darragh29

ned78 wrote: »

The garage I work for has me working purely from an online perspective, I don't sell cars, but I make sure amongst other duties, that every single eMail into the group is followed up and logged. It'll take years for most garages to adopt this though And I wouldn't mind, but the ratio of genuine eMailers to time wasters is quite good, compared to the amount of time wasters who walk in the door - online sales are excellent once done correctly.

I often wondered how you could be on boards so much during the day working in a dealership! Nice move! :D:D

Darragh29

Del2005 wrote: »

It's the old chicken and egg problem. My father works for a main dealer on a busy main route, and they've tried weekend opening to try and shift cars. I think for most of the weekends the only people in the show room where being paid to be there. No sales where made and very few people came in.

People don't expect car dealers to be open on weekends so don't go looking to buy cars. Dealers can't afford to pay to heat, light and staff for a maybe sale, when they can hardly shift when they are open midweek.

What I've seen dealerships doing is opening on Sunday or Saturday, not getting the marketing strategy right or not having one at all, and throwing in the towel after a month as the idea has been seen to fail, where in reality, they just didn't communicate the idea effectively to potential customers.

omega man

Berty wrote: »

Mental note to self. Audi Chris will only deal with people dressed in business attire. Must keep my proliatriate ar*e out of his dealership. *

:D:D:D:D:D:D







*tongue in cheek

+1. I cant believe some sales people still have this attitude. I earn good money and will dress 'down' at the weekends or if i was buying a car during the week i would take the day off anyhow so would probably be overlooked by him. I had this experience in a VW dealer so i walked and spent my 40K elsewhere. On topic my wife bought a car last Sunday. The young sales guy was wearing jeans and a hoodie, shock horror! Surely sales would be better on a Sunday then say a Monday??

-Chris-

omega man wrote: »

+1. I cant believe some sales people still have this attitude.

Some may have this attitude, I don't.
The richest people in Ireland recently have been the ones who are involved in building things. They'll come in in boots and jeans.
Hopefully the salesperson who "judges a book by its cover" is the exception rather than the rule.

omega man wrote: »

I earn good money and will dress 'down' at the weekends or if i was buying a car during the week i would take the day off anyhow so would probably be overlooked by him. I had this experience in a VW dealer so i walked and spent my 40K elsewhere.

That's a pity and a poor reflection on that dealership. The way to reduce this behaviour is to vote with your feet, which you did. Fair play.

omega man wrote: »

On topic my wife bought a car last Sunday. The young sales guy was wearing jeans and a hoodie, shock horror!

I wouldn't agree with this practice - it may be Sunday, but as long as you're customer facing and doing your job, then you represent your employer and should look and act professional.

omega man wrote: »

Surely sales would be better on a Sunday then say a Monday??

Unfortunately not.

ToxicPaddy

AudiChris wrote: »

Hopefully the salesperson who "judges a book by its cover" is the exception rather than the rule.

Unfortunately, this isnt the case and not only in the car industry. The amount of stories I heard of people going into stores, dealerships, estate agents etc, got looked up and down and then basically ignored is unreal because they werent dressed up.

There are bound to be a lot of dealerships out there that are in trouble, whether they want to admit it or not and everyone knows it. So their attitude better start changing fast as the good times have come to an end and they better start learning customer service and learning it quick!!

Back on the note of dealerships opening on Sunday, I can see what they are saying about tyre kickers coming in droves on a Sunday, but lets face it, if it became the norm and people got used to it, I know people would prefer to go buy a car at the weekends on their own time not have to give up a days holidays to do so, well I would anyway.

Banks are always going on about doing more stuff online and over the phone, so why dont they do the same with car finance, like dealerships they cant really afford to be fussy anymore.. especially after the f*ckups they have made over the past few months.. :rolleyes:

Tox

galwaytt

Darragh29 wrote: »

What I've seen dealerships doing is opening on Sunday or Saturday, not getting the marketing strategy right or not having one at all, and throwing in the towel after a month as the idea has been seen to fail, where in reality, they just didn't communicate the idea effectively to potential customers.

We have a winner - hit it on the head.

We're so used to not getting service when we want it, and the trade is so used to not giving it when it suits them, is it any wonder it's not working yet ?

AudiChris - what I meant by Sat lunch is not that they close for lunch.........they close for the day AT lunchtime !!! FFS :eek: Now that is just plain daft.

I've had an experience lately where the sales guy, inside the plate glass window, despite me parking with dims and fogs on outside (facing in)...walked nonchalantly to the glass door and locked it for the day.......:rolleyes: Now, the SO, with me at the time, thought I was hallucinating........when she tried to open the door she soon found out otherwise.......She Was Not Happy. Believe me. And if she's not happy, oh LOL, WE'RE not happy.........

long weekend, that.:rolleyes:

Considering she really, really, wants one of the models on the other side of said plate glass window............and that we've bought from them inside the last 12 mths..........oh, not good. Not good at all......

Guess what though ? She wants a H-D for her 4xth Now, on a Sat - I just KNOW where to get one of those !!

mumblin deaf ro

galwaytt wrote: »

despite me parking with dims and fogs on outside (facing in)...

Maybe it was too foggy for him to see you?

CharlieCroker

McSpud wrote: »

Is there some sort of unwritten rule that car dealers should not open on Sundays? I would have thought in the current climate some would open full hours Saturday & Sunday? 9-3 on Saturdays strikes me as outdated view of sales.

How many Sales do they make on Mondays? Do people actually take time off work mid week to look at cars? In Dublin traffic is insane during the week if try to get across the City.

Come to cork. I've worked for 4 different dealers and every one of them opened on a sunday, the last one was 1-5pm. But to be honest, most of the time it was pointless cos fcek all happened!!

ninty9er

There's ONE in Limerick open on a Sunday and ONE that used to be....the used to be figured out it's pointless, the current one....well, lets just say I don't expect he'll last very long.

If you want to buy a house, you take a few days off, the same applies if you are BUYING a car. Shopping for a car with the possibility of maybe, kinda, I haven't looked into it yet, will probably get you a sale for every 1 in 20 people that walk in on a Sunday.

Most places have staff on 2/3 day weeks just so they can afford the electricity bills at the moment, between the extra outlay of opening and the legislative requirement for a Sunday premium, it would honestly not be worth the bother.