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Cadillac Executive Says Dealerships Are Part Of The Problem

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#1 ·
Cadillac Executive Says Dealerships Are Part Of The Problem
carbuying.jalopnik.com
December 18th, 2014
By: Tom McParland


Poor Cadillac can't catch a break, sales are down 5.9% this year while other luxury car companies are having record numbers. The problem, according to General Motors, is not the lack of competitive product, because Caddy is making some damn good cars. The problem is the dealerships.

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#2 ·
Personally, a lot of shared franchise Cadillac stores need to be taken way and just have stand-alone stores and the sales staff needs to be retrained all over again. Most sales associates that I encountered with recently don't bother going over the features enough with you.

The Mercedes test drive was the opposite. The sales associates went over every detail (mostly Command System) with me over the S-Class regardless if I was buying the car or not. On top of that, he gave me a bottle of water when I was test driving it. That kind of experience want me to come back to the dealership, not so much with the Cadillac dealership.

So, I agree that Cadillac experience needs a total revamp ASAP.
 
#5 ·
Oh look, they've got another excuse already in the chamber...........

The other issue that de Nysschen brings up is the sales staff. He feels that Cadillac dealers struggle with attracting a top-notch sales staff that can represent the brand as it should be. Often the folks on the floor lack the talent and the knowledge to pitch their car against the default choices from BMW, Mercedes, Audi, and Lexus.
 
#16 ·
For new vehicle sales, Cadillac dealerships rank above BMW and Audi, but below Mercedes-Benz and Porsche:


For customer service, Cadillac dealerships are best in class:
 
#17 ·
The premier Cadillac dealer here switched from the area's premier luxury store (MB, LR, Jaguar, Infiniti, Lexus, Audi, BMW, and Fisker under one roof) to a combined Chevy/Cadillac store on a busy strip.

I walked into the new Cadillac store to briefly look around, maybe grab a cookie and a cup of coffee, and left. After I was out the door a sweating, large fellow (okay, it was a hot day and summers here are painful) chased me down and said "SIR! SIR! SIR! CAN I HELP YOU! SIR!"

I knew what was happening so I picked up my pace a bit. He then caught up to me, finally, and I told him I was just browsing.



The whole experience came across as cheap and unprofessional.
 
#20 ·
I kind of get how Cadillac dealers shouldn't share the same space as other brands, but like here in Grand Rapids, Harvey Cadillac is right beside Harvey Lexus.

If we're talking about luxury brands, I bought my Forester at a Subaru/Audi/Porsche dealer
 
#21 ·
On one stretch of highway...

MB dealer:

BMW dealer:

Cadillac dealer:


It's an older picture, but just take down the STS signs and swap the cars and it's the same dealer.

The STS signs were still up (all faded) at least til the ATS got there. Same old logo in Crown Cadillac is up there. Generally staffed by JOs. Nice people, though.

On another highway...

MB dealer (the flagship dealer in a Jaguar/Land Rover/Porsche/Mercedes/Infiniti dealer complex, best dealer ever... might still sell Aston Martins):




Pictures don't do it justice, so check it out in Street View. It's pretty huge. Room in the back with the big money cars. The S65 and matte G63 were what caught my eye there. He used to keep his Maybachs, SLRs, AMGs and Black series cars there. Upstairs is a private collection.

https://www.google.com/maps/search/...ata=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1su5xDaD5cRitAA_fzp91VJg!2e0

BMW dealer (JOs):

Audi dealer (phenomenal dealer):

Cadillac dealer (also staffed by JOs):
Couldn't find and pictures, but the exterior is updated from what's in Street View.

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.567...!1e1!3m2!1sunESU-xuvD2D57U696Ez4g!2e0!6m1!1e1

It's about the size of a postage stamp. Everyone who works there is a jerk.
 
#25 · (Edited)
Why are GMi people touting Cadillac's excellent dealership scores and not Cadillac's top guy? Why not say "I am not happy with our dealership network as it is today and we need to change it; however, despite the shortcomings in our strategy and buildings / locations, our dealers manage some of the top satisfaction scores in the industry. We clearly have hardworking dealers, and now that we are producing some of the best vehicles we have ever built, we need to support them and help them offer the best possible dealership experience."

Imagine being a Cadillac dealer today, waking up and reading this story. Way to kick them in the nuts, especially the ones who have very happy customers today despite low-quality, out-dated buildings and training. I think that de Nysschen gets a boner every time he shares one of his 'harsh realities', and has forgotten that he needs to work with these people to get Cadillac where he wants them to be.

Why not:

"Imagine what our satisfaction scores are going to be like once we fix the issues with our buildings and product knowledge! We are in the point of a huge shift in how we do business at Cadillac, and our dealers are key players. They are the first and only contact the general public will have with Cadillac, and we are going to give our dealers the tools they need to turn this public into loyal customers."
Or:

"Lets be honest, Cadillac has a way to go to match the competition with respect to dealership experience. Many of our showrooms are outdated, and we know that we can no longer sell a luxury car the way we would sell a lower-priced vehicle. Luxury buyers want more, and we are going to give it to them. We have proven that we are on the right track with our excellent, award-winning ATS, CTS, and Escalade models, and are now working with our dealers to put in place the world-class buying experience they deserve."
Or:

"Cadillac consistently ranks at the top of dealer satisfaction surveys. To be quite frank, this surprises me, when I see the state of many of our dealerships, which clearly aren't up to the level I expect for Cadillac. Using the experience of our strongest dealers, who clearly know a thing or two about selling luxury vehicles, and our understanding of how the luxury car market has evolved over the past decade, I have no doubt we can blow people away with what we have in store. Stay tuned!"
It's pretty basic stuff. You never present a negative point without also providing a positive point. You don't belittle the people you count on, especially when it's your fault (GM management) that they were allowed to get to such a sorry state. You highlight what works, and congratulate people for what they ARE doing right. Management 101. You don't blow smoke up people's backsides, but high satisfaction scores don't happen by accident, and these dealers aren't doing everything wrong. They need to be taught that you can't sell a CTS like you sell a Sonic, and that is GM's responsibility.
 
#26 ·
Because he can't get the Audi out of his system?

Originally Posted by paul8488
Why are GMi people touting Cadillac's excellent dealership scores and not Cadillac's top guy? Why not say "I am not happy with our dealership network as it is today and we need to change it; however, despite the shortcomings in our strategy and buildings / locations, our dealers manage some of the top satisfaction scores in the industry. We clearly have hardworking dealers, and now that we are producing some of the best vehicles we have ever built, we need to support them and help them offer the best possible dealership experience."

Imagine being a Cadillac dealer today, waking up and reading this story. Way to kick them in the nuts, especially the ones who have very happy customers today despite low-quality, out-dated buildings and training. I think that de Nysschen gets a boner every time he shares one of his 'harsh realities', and has forgotten that he needs to work with these people to get Cadillac where he wants them to be.

It's pretty basic stuff. You never present a negative point without also providing a positive point. You don't belittle the people you count on, especially when it's your fault (GM management) that they were allowed to get to such a sorry state. You highlight what works, and congratulate people for what they ARE doing right. Management 101. You don't blow smoke up people's backsides, but high satisfaction scores don't happen by accident, and these dealers aren't doing everything wrong. They need to be taught that you can't sell a CTS like you sell a Sonic, and that is GM's responsibility.
Based on de Nysschen’s initiatives at Infiniti, we can probably predict where Cadillac is headed. During his two years at Infiniti, de Nysschen oversaw the brand settling into new headquarters in Hong Kong after leaving Tokyo, overhauled the product plan, broomed the old model nomenclature in favor of one entirely based on the letter Q, killed V-8 development, sponsored Red Bull’s F1 team, hired Sebastian Vettel as the brand’s “director of performance,” and hinted through a couple of concept cars at a high-performance sub-brand to take on AMG and BMW M. Over the next two years, Infiniti products planned under de Nysschen will appear, including a compact Q30 hatchback, a direct competitor to the Audi A3 and Mercedes-Benz CLA-class.

A general globalizing and sprucing up of Cadillac can thus be expected, with more initiatives aimed at putting the brand on a world stage. So, expect products positioned to sell internationally and particularly in China. The problem is that Cadillac has already tried a number of those ideas over the years, including replacing its historic names with three-letter alphanumerics, creating a performance V sub-brand, re-skinning Saabs for sale on the Continent, and racing at Le Mans. All have delivered no more than mixed success, no doubt because they were executed haphazardly. Expect de Nysschen’s first contribution to be an organized strategy.

Robinson is more optimistic about this guy than your friendly neighborhood Neanderthal, thank you very much. Lectures from The Gods aka The Snob Squad don't accomplish much expect peeooossss off lots of people and inspire some folks to take your knees out from under you one fine day.

http://blog.caranddriver.com/ex-audi...s-at-cadillac/
 
#27 ·
^^Something's screwed up with the "Go Advanced" and "Edit" functions again.
 
#29 ·
If you guys want to edit your post but can't, I figured out a way around it.

1.) Hit "Reply with Quote" on your own post.
2.) Remove the parts.
3.) Edit the parts of the post you want to edit.
4.) Copy the entire post now that you've edited it (CTRL+C/Command+C).
5.) Hit "Edit Post".
6.) Paste it in (CTRL+V/Command+V).
7.) Hit "Save Changes".

Boom, you've edited your post!
 
#36 ·
The true test is if or when Cadillac decides to shut down the Caddy, Chevy, Buick dealerships combos that are in small towns all across America. What percentage of Cadillac sales come from these combo dealerships in small towns? The rancher in Texas who buys the Silverado HD for himself, buys his wife a Cadillac Escalade or XTS. Is Cadillac willing to write off that customer?
 
#42 ·
One massive problem they have had for years are lousy service departments. I know a ton of people that have or do still own a Cadillac. The service department is the one single largest area of complaint. From having to bring the vehicle in 3-4 times before anything will get done to the common lazy response "we can't find anything wrong" to not making loaners readily available and playing games with ordering parts etc.

It's also comical going into these modern cookie cutter dealerships that look all massive modern and high tech and I know far more than the salesman knows about the products he is selling! it feels like more smoke and mirrors to me than anything.
 
#51 ·
I've mentioned a few times over the years, I think it would behoove GM to shake every exec out of his/her office for some two-week summer camps from time to time, as secret shoppers visiting every GM dealership in the nation.

Check the sales experience. But perhaps most important, get a car serviced/repaired there. I won't bore you again with my Buick experience some years back with a GP GXP radio issue.

Suffice it to say if I hadn't found a GM Case Manager, I'd have been at the mercy of the dealership's chain of command which most likely would've proven as uncaring and incompetent as their service department.

Those folks really had no freakin clue, in so many ways.

Until GM brass get some hands-on experience getting s#!t on by the GM professionals who are SUPPOSED TO BE on their side, they can have all the brasso meetings, powerpoint presentations, and lectures from Meester Beeg, they will not get it until they have been screwed, blued, and tattooed by some cretins in the "service" department and are sufficiently peeeooosssed off to do something about it.

screwed, blued, and tattooed
adjective phrase
Thoroughly cheated; victimized; maltreated

[1940s+; in the first sense, blued is probably fr earlier blewed, ''robbed''; tattooed has the standard sense ''struck rapidly and repeatedly'']

The Dictionary of American Slang, Fourth Edition by Barbara Ann Kipfer, PhD. and Robert L. Chapman, Ph.D.
Copyright (C) 2007 by HarperCollins Publishers.
Cite This Source


One massive problem they have had for years are lousy service departments. I know a ton of people that have or do still own a Cadillac. The service department is the one single largest area of complaint. From having to bring the vehicle in 3-4 times before anything will get done to the common lazy response "we can't find anything wrong" to not making loaners readily available and playing games with ordering parts etc.

It's also comical going into these modern cookie cutter dealerships that look all massive modern and high tech and I know far more than the salesman knows about the products he is selling! it feels like more smoke and mirrors to me than anything.
Amen to that. Quit the freakin lectures, don't target "hick" dealers until you know more about them, and figure out how to make the customer experience A#1 which I think I can safely state is not that at many GM dealers.

And when it comes down to it if there was a little older Cadillac dealer that had friendly sales staff that knew what they were talking about and selling and there service department was competent then that is where I would go. Huge many windowed cookie cutter modern auto dealer stores do not guarantee you are always going to walk out a satisfied customer. I will go where I get the best deal and treatment as long as the dealership isn't dirty or unkempt. Smoke and mirrors does nothing for me. It's how I'm handled as a customer that means everything
Well said. While there are always some who are impressed by glass houses, I'm not one of them. I hate glass buildings, to call them "architecture" is IMO a vast overreach of that term. How smart do you have to be to make a building out of windows?
What happens when someone screws up and a sonic boom goes BOOM!?
 
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#43 ·
In my city one guy has a Nissan dealership on one corner, diagonal from it he has a VW dealership.
Now he is moving his Cadillac/GMC/Volvo/BMW dealership from a couple of miles away to right across the street from his Nissan lot.
So he will have all of that on three corners of the same intersection.

Not sure if that is good strategy or not.

He will now have everything located between the Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep dealer a couple of miles to the north and the Ford dealership and Toyota/Chevrolet dealership a couple of miles to the south.
So maybe it makes sense after all. If you are shopping between Chrysler/Dodge, Ford/Lincoln and Chevy you have to pass by him.

Don't know that it will increase his Cadillac sales though.
 
#45 · (Edited)
Nearest Cadillac dealer near me in the St. Pete area.



Tied in with an Aston Martin, Bentley, Land Rover, Mclaren, Rolls Royce dealer

http://dimmitt.com/

Nice place.

Now back home in RI there was Herb Chambers Cadillac which was sad, they placed it near Inskip which is a mulitbrand dealer that sells all the German, Rolls, Bentley, Mini, Acura, Infiniti, and Lexus cars but no Cadillac or Lincoln since I guess those brands are beneath them? haha. HC Cadillac always looked like red headed stepchild being near Inskip but I guess they just redid the dealership.


 
#46 ·
I'll chime in. We have a stand-alone dealership here in the NOLA area that just completed a big renovation and is a very nice place, Murphy Cadillac. I also used to peddle wheels to dealerships and there's some really nice Cadillac stores in Birmingham, AL, and San Antonio, TX. I can't remember their names, but there's a really cool, old building in the downtown area that has a lot of charm, even if it's not all modern and glass. Having said that, there's a lot of crappy ones out there as well.

Anecdotally, I'm sure we can all give both good and bad examples of Cadillac dealerships and their German competitors. I suppose we can all agree that there are inconsistencies in the dealership experience among all brands. That, alone, I'd like to see fixed, regardless of brand. If not, let the cream rise to the top!
 
#47 ·
I agree with you. Stop the finger pointing; it's not constructive.

But Chevys need to be 'sold' differently than the Caddys. That's not a dig at Chevy dealers or salesman. Just like the experience should be (and is) different at Target compared to Nordstroms. I shop at both and both can be excellent at what they offer.

Many Cadillac dealers need to up thir game; whether it's in their physical plant or sales and support people. That's been an old story. I would hope that the situation is improving. Likely not fast enough. The number of dealers isn't the isues; it's the quality of those dealers. The experience at the dealership in Palm Beach should be matched at the store in Billings MT.
 
#52 ·
Not sure why people are calling these excuses, they are observations. Forget moving to NY for a moment...

Names out of sync...true
Starving for product...true
Should be developing their own premium products, engines and technology...true
Dealers need a massive overhaul...true

The experience of my last two Cadillac purchases are perfect examples. Not to bore everyone but the short of it is that dealers that share space and service, do not concentrate on the luxury customer as they pretty much blend in. As I said before, I really liked my sales person but he thought the Verano and ATS were on the same platform...
 
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