Beware of the Bankers (long rant)

On Wed, 30 Apr 2008 08:38:17 -0400, Ree stomped through my brain
with:

>I have a feeling, from what I know of you, that you were probably ok.
>The nasty ones are difficult of course and the worst are the ones that
>avoid all the "bad" words but use tone of voice and sarcasm etc to
>create the same effect.

I tried not to imply that the person I talked to was at fault...
after all, they are just an employee doing their job. I tried
not to pass personal judgement on any of the people I spoke to,
but instead tried to make my point that the business practices of
the instution were less than desirable.

I've been on the customer service end of the line myself for
several years and I know that sometimes there's only so much you
can do and you just need to take a bit of verbal haranguing so
that you can do your job.

Anywho, picked up the new car yesterday... let me tell you a bit
of something about the dealership I worked with.

1) They are a rental agency, private, not one of the national
chains. They are VERY local, in fact the VP (whom I worked
directly with for the sale) is a local church attender and leader
in that community. So, they were the ones that handled our
rental replacement after the van was wrecked. They put us in a
nice car, worked directly with our insurance for the billing, and
made sure that we had a good experience with both the vehicle and
with their staff.

2) The vehicle we had gotten for our rental was a Subaru
Forester...and we fell in love with it. So, we checked the used
car lot at the rental agency (once one of their cars hits
something like 30,000 miles or so, they take it out of rental
circulation and put it up for sale). They had another Forester
for sale, same make, model, year, etc, for a very competative
price. So, we called them up and inquired about it. Since we
were interested in buying it AND since they have an "overnight
test drive" policy, they offered that they would switch out our
rental for the car we were looking at buying and just continuing
the rental that way. So, we got to test drive the car for about
3 days to make sure it fit us as well as to come up with a "gripe
list" of repairs that would need to be made before we bought.

3) When we decided to proceed, they switched us out yet again
for another rental while they exacted the repairs (very minor...
cigarette burn marks in the seat and a broken cup holder). No
additional charges for the switch.

4) They finance directly through the credit union so there was
no third party needed to be involved in the financing. All
application, etc, worked through Kulp. Got a GREAT rate on the
loan, too. (5.99% which is not bad in today's market).

5) When they found out about the mess with the bank they said,
"No problem. The paper work is all ready for the purchase. We
can do this three ways. Either we hold the paper work and sale
until you get the down payment from the other bank. OR, you can
write a post dated check and take the car now. OR, we can redo
the loan, finance the whole thing, and then you can work with the
credit union for refinancing once you get your money." We went
with the first option for the short term which ended up just
fine.

6) Finally, yesterday, we finalized the deal. They were VERY
personal and personable, dealing directly with me, working
through all the paper work clearly, making sure all "i"'s were
dotted and "t"'s crossed so there would be no mess. But what was
the REAL kicker was when we had to close the rental agreement.
Insurance company was only listed to pay $20 a day. Rental was
at $27 a day plus tax. The VP looked at the bill, knew this was
an insurance rental and said, "Close the contract at the
insurance rate and don't worry about the out of pocket balance."
In other words, they did NOT charge us the excess. I mean, come
on... what company REALLY does that any more these days?

So, if you are EVER in the SouthEastern PA area around
Gilbertsville, look up Kulp's Car Rental for your rental needs
and for good quality used vehicles, friendly service, and honest
dealing.

Tristaan

--
Beware Spam Trap!: "us" is an "ogre"
*******************************************************
Ogre-Monk, AIM TristaanOgre
"So good-bye for now and I'll see you again
Some way, some how
When it's my time to go to the other side
I'll hold you again and melt at your smile
Now I have all the ones that I am with
You taught me not to take for granted
The time that we have to show that we care
Speak into their lives and their hearts while they're here
And say I LOVE YOU!!"

~Disciple "Things Left Unsaid"

Theologian in training http://ballymennoniteblogger.blogspot.com/
*******************************************************
 >> Stay informed about: Beware of the Bankers (long rant) 

Tristaan wrote:
> On Wed, 30 Apr 2008 08:38:17 -0400, Ree stomped through my brain
> with:
>
>> I have a feeling, from what I know of you, that you were probably ok.
>> The nasty ones are difficult of course and the worst are the ones that
>> avoid all the "bad" words but use tone of voice and sarcasm etc to
>> create the same effect.
>
> I tried not to imply that the person I talked to was at fault...
> after all, they are just an employee doing their job. I tried
> not to pass personal judgement on any of the people I spoke to,
> but instead tried to make my point that the business practices of
> the instution were less than desirable.
>
> I've been on the customer service end of the line myself for
> several years and I know that sometimes there's only so much you
> can do and you just need to take a bit of verbal haranguing so
> that you can do your job.
>
> Anywho, picked up the new car yesterday... let me tell you a bit
> of something about the dealership I worked with.
>
> 1) They are a rental agency, private, not one of the national
> chains. They are VERY local, in fact the VP (whom I worked
> directly with for the sale) is a local church attender and leader
> in that community. So, they were the ones that handled our
> rental replacement after the van was wrecked. They put us in a
> nice car, worked directly with our insurance for the billing, and
> made sure that we had a good experience with both the vehicle and
> with their staff.
>
> 2) The vehicle we had gotten for our rental was a Subaru
> Forester...and we fell in love with it. So, we checked the used
> car lot at the rental agency (once one of their cars hits
> something like 30,000 miles or so, they take it out of rental
> circulation and put it up for sale). They had another Forester
> for sale, same make, model, year, etc, for a very competative
> price. So, we called them up and inquired about it. Since we
> were interested in buying it AND since they have an "overnight
> test drive" policy, they offered that they would switch out our
> rental for the car we were looking at buying and just continuing
> the rental that way. So, we got to test drive the car for about
> 3 days to make sure it fit us as well as to come up with a "gripe
> list" of repairs that would need to be made before we bought.
>
> 3) When we decided to proceed, they switched us out yet again
> for another rental while they exacted the repairs (very minor...
> cigarette burn marks in the seat and a broken cup holder). No
> additional charges for the switch.
>
> 4) They finance directly through the credit union so there was
> no third party needed to be involved in the financing. All
> application, etc, worked through Kulp. Got a GREAT rate on the
> loan, too. (5.99% which is not bad in today's market).
>
> 5) When they found out about the mess with the bank they said,
> "No problem. The paper work is all ready for the purchase. We
> can do this three ways. Either we hold the paper work and sale
> until you get the down payment from the other bank. OR, you can
> write a post dated check and take the car now. OR, we can redo
> the loan, finance the whole thing, and then you can work with the
> credit union for refinancing once you get your money." We went
> with the first option for the short term which ended up just
> fine.
>
> 6) Finally, yesterday, we finalized the deal. They were VERY
> personal and personable, dealing directly with me, working
> through all the paper work clearly, making sure all "i"'s were
> dotted and "t"'s crossed so there would be no mess. But what was
> the REAL kicker was when we had to close the rental agreement.
> Insurance company was only listed to pay $20 a day. Rental was
> at $27 a day plus tax. The VP looked at the bill, knew this was
> an insurance rental and said, "Close the contract at the
> insurance rate and don't worry about the out of pocket balance."
> In other words, they did NOT charge us the excess. I mean, come
> on... what company REALLY does that any more these days?
>
> So, if you are EVER in the SouthEastern PA area around
> Gilbertsville, look up Kulp's Car Rental for your rental needs
> and for good quality used vehicles, friendly service, and honest
> dealing.
>
> Tristaan
>

I may not remember the name but I'll ask you if I expect to ever be
there! Sounds like people who really work hands on to get the customer
a good experience for goodwill and recommendations! See, there was
someone who recognized that he was going to make a lot more money on the
sale and, eventually both other sales and goodwill, than he was going to
lose on a few days extra rental money. Sensible man!

Ree.
 >> Stay informed about: Beware of the Bankers (long rant) 

"Tristaan" <tristaanus.DeleteThis@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:28qg1452cc3rgl32g8rv831plh508c36m8@4ax.com...
> On Wed, 30 Apr 2008 08:38:17 -0400, Ree stomped through my brain
> with:
>

<<snippage>>

> 6) Finally, yesterday, we finalized the deal. They were VERY
> personal and personable, dealing directly with me, working
> through all the paper work clearly, making sure all "i"'s were
> dotted and "t"'s crossed so there would be no mess. But what was
> the REAL kicker was when we had to close the rental agreement.
> Insurance company was only listed to pay $20 a day. Rental was
> at $27 a day plus tax. The VP looked at the bill, knew this was
> an insurance rental and said, "Close the contract at the
> insurance rate and don't worry about the out of pocket balance."
> In other words, they did NOT charge us the excess. I mean, come
> on... what company REALLY does that any more these days?
>
> So, if you are EVER in the SouthEastern PA area around
> Gilbertsville, look up Kulp's Car Rental for your rental needs
> and for good quality used vehicles, friendly service, and honest
> dealing.
>
> Tristaan

Hold on to these folks! They are so rare they may be in Ripley's Museum
before too long!!

Be warned, my sister had a Subaru Outback a few years ago, she is a VERY
cautious driver (drives ME nuts to ride with her) and she managed to ROLL
her Outback at under 25 MPH. Admittedly there were icing conditions, but
still. Be VERY careful about how the four of you load up that vehicle!
 >> Stay informed about: Beware of the Bankers (long rant) 

"Tristaan" <tristaanus DeleteThis @yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:56og1498t0ird1d1c3uf8smhau8bo0v5nc@4ax.com...
> On Tue, 29 Apr 2008 19:12:42 -1000, "Anne Elizabeth Baldwin"
> <anneb @ aloha . net> stomped through my brain with:
>
>> Thank God it ended well! {SMILE} And thank Him for the friend who found
>>just the right information when you needed it! {BIG SMILE}
>
> Exactly. Of course, now I'm struggling with the guilt of whether
> or not I treated the people on the other end of the phone the way
> I should have...

Tristaan... you've got too kind a heart to have been mean to anyone.
{Warm Smile}

> ...but alls well that ends well, right?

Yes, alls well that ends well.

> Tristaan

Anne Elizabeth Baldwin
 >> Stay informed about: Beware of the Bankers (long rant) 

"Tristaan" <tristaanus.RemoveThis@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:28qg1452cc3rgl32g8rv831plh508c36m8@4ax.com...
> On Wed, 30 Apr 2008 08:38:17 -0400, Ree stomped through my brain
> with:
>
>>I have a feeling, from what I know of you, that you were probably ok.
>>The nasty ones are difficult of course and the worst are the ones that
>>avoid all the "bad" words but use tone of voice and sarcasm etc to
>>create the same effect.
>
> I tried not to imply that the person I talked to was at fault...
> after all, they are just an employee doing their job. I tried
> not to pass personal judgement on any of the people I spoke to,
> but instead tried to make my point that the business practices of
> the instution were less than desirable.

I knew you wouldn't treat anyone too badly. {WARM SMILE}

> I've been on the customer service end of the line myself for
> several years and I know that sometimes there's only so much you
> can do and you just need to take a bit of verbal haranguing so
> that you can do your job.
>
> Anywho, picked up the new car yesterday... let me tell you a bit
> of something about the dealership I worked with.
>
> 1) They are a rental agency, private, not one of the national
> chains. They are VERY local, in fact the VP (whom I worked
> directly with for the sale) is a local church attender and leader
> in that community. So, they were the ones that handled our
> rental replacement after the van was wrecked. They put us in a
> nice car, worked directly with our insurance for the billing, and
> made sure that we had a good experience with both the vehicle and
> with their staff.
>
> 2) The vehicle we had gotten for our rental was a Subaru
> Forester...and we fell in love with it. So, we checked the used
> car lot at the rental agency (once one of their cars hits
> something like 30,000 miles or so, they take it out of rental
> circulation and put it up for sale). They had another Forester
> for sale, same make, model, year, etc, for a very competative
> price. So, we called them up and inquired about it. Since we
> were interested in buying it AND since they have an "overnight
> test drive" policy, they offered that they would switch out our
> rental for the car we were looking at buying and just continuing
> the rental that way. So, we got to test drive the car for about
> 3 days to make sure it fit us as well as to come up with a "gripe
> list" of repairs that would need to be made before we bought.
>
> 3) When we decided to proceed, they switched us out yet again
> for another rental while they exacted the repairs (very minor...
> cigarette burn marks in the seat and a broken cup holder). No
> additional charges for the switch.
>
> 4) They finance directly through the credit union so there was
> no third party needed to be involved in the financing. All
> application, etc, worked through Kulp. Got a GREAT rate on the
> loan, too. (5.99% which is not bad in today's market).
>
> 5) When they found out about the mess with the bank they said,
> "No problem. The paper work is all ready for the purchase. We
> can do this three ways. Either we hold the paper work and sale
> until you get the down payment from the other bank. OR, you can
> write a post dated check and take the car now. OR, we can redo
> the loan, finance the whole thing, and then you can work with the
> credit union for refinancing once you get your money." We went
> with the first option for the short term which ended up just
> fine.
>
> 6) Finally, yesterday, we finalized the deal. They were VERY
> personal and personable, dealing directly with me, working
> through all the paper work clearly, making sure all "i"'s were
> dotted and "t"'s crossed so there would be no mess. But what was
> the REAL kicker was when we had to close the rental agreement.
> Insurance company was only listed to pay $20 a day. Rental was
> at $27 a day plus tax. The VP looked at the bill, knew this was
> an insurance rental and said, "Close the contract at the
> insurance rate and don't worry about the out of pocket balance."
> In other words, they did NOT charge us the excess. I mean, come
> on... what company REALLY does that any more these days?

WOW! Now that is a good rental company! {SMILE}

> So, if you are EVER in the SouthEastern PA area around
> Gilbertsville, look up Kulp's Car Rental for your rental needs
> and for good quality used vehicles, friendly service, and honest
> dealing.

I don't promise to get out that way, but if I do, I'll call and ask you
who to use. {SMILE}


Anne Elizabeth Baldwin


> Tristaan
 >> Stay informed about: Beware of the Bankers (long rant)