During the first week of JUL2024, my 19-year-old son discovered Sterling Motorcar had a 2017 Volvo S60 listed on their website. My son loved this car and had been saving his money to purchase a car. During the second week of July, my son called Sterling a couple times expressing interest in the car. My son asked the dealership if we could take the car to a local mechanic on Saturday 13JUL2024. The employee said that wasn't a problem. My son told the employee we would be driving 4 hours to the dealership that Saturday, 13JUL, specifically to see this car.
At 8:00am, on Saturday 13JUL2024, my son and I headed out on the 4-hour drive to Sterling Motorcar. We arrived at the dealership at noon. We met with an employee, explained why we were there and asked if we could look at the 2017 Volvo S60. After walking around the car, we went back inside and asked if we could take the car on a test drive and have our mechanic look at the car. The employee said yes.
We arrived at our local mechanic around 12:45-1:00pm. The mechanic began his inspection, and after about 30 minutes he said he needed to show us some error codes on the car. Our mechanic showed us approximately 12 different error codes, some were battery related, others were not. Our mechanic also noted the front rotors needed to be replaced. Our mechanic said it was possible the error codes were not cleared, and with the car sitting for an extended amount of time, it's possible the car never had a chance to reset. Our mechanic advised us to drive the car on the freeway for a while and see if the codes would reset. Our mechanic gave us a scanner to use for our test drive.
My son and I headed out and drove all over town, on the freeway, etc. After an hour of driving, the scanner said the codes were still there. My son was devastated but felt we could speak with the dealership and see if we could negotiate during the sale. My son really liked this car.
We drove back to the dealership and sat down with an employee. As I began describing the issues with the car, another employee interrupted our conversation to ask if we were talking about the Volvo. I said yes. He stated the owner of the dealership had sold the car. I was bewildered. My son asked if they would reconsider, but the employee said no, the car had been sold. I asked how was it possible to sell a car while it was on a test drive with another customer? I answered my own question my stating what they had done was a, "b**ch move." One of the employees started laughing. I then made another snide remark by mentioning their reviews seemed to be accurate about selling cars out from underneath people.
I was absolutely furious with Sterling Motorcar's lack of morals. It is clear these issues stem from the top as employees tend to mimic their leadership. How does someone sell a car while it is out on a test drive with another customer? Granted there probably isn't a law forbidding a dealership to practice such deplorable behavior, but clearly this dealership is unethical. A man is only as good as their word, and clearly, Sterling Motorcar has shown their word is useless.
A company cannot sustain its business when they treat customers with such blatant disregard and immoral turpitude. It is clear, based on numerous customer reviews over numerous websites, Sterling's customer service and questionable ethics are not up to par. Additionally, as I read the complaints on multiple websites, this company has been lacking for an extended period of time. Clearly, something needs to change. According to Francis (2017):
Good customer service keeps customers coming back. Bad customer service keeps customers away. It is important that a business have effective and pro-active customer service personnel and a good policy. Keeping customers happy and getting them to tell others about the great service they received, will propel a business forward, whereas a company's lackluster customer service policy will damage the reputation of the company in several ways. Ultimately, bad customer service can cause the closure of a business.
Obviously, Sterling Motorcar will survive without my family's business, however, this company will not sustain longevity if all customers are left unsatisfied and constantly questioning its ethics and morals.
Reference:
Francis, K. A. (2017, November 21). How lack of customer service can impact a business. Small Business - Chron.com. https://smallbusiness.chron.com/lack-customer-service-can-impact-business-2088.html read more
