You may be familiar with a series of books called “The Darwin Awards” featuring true stories of ridiculous behavior resulting in the demise of those who practice the foolish act. One such story describes a car thief who chose to burn every vehicle he stole. He figured that this benefited the owner because they could collect on the insurance once the vehicle was determined to be a total loss. Unfortunately, he took his own life when he failed to recognize that the driver door handle was missing from a vehicle he lit on fire from the inside.

Big Chef, Little Chef:  Similar foolish behavior occurs in dealerships and even some manufacturers who attempt to skew sales or finance figures in order to impress the boss or their stockholders. This practice is known as “cooking the books” and it eventually ends up costing everyone a lot more than simply telling the truth in the first place. What’s surprising is how the dealers manipulate the books to appease the manufacturers, and the manufacturers – while threatening the dealers with legal action – manipulate their books to appease the stock holders and the public perception. But with the microscope being aimed at the failings of corporate America, is it really worth it to be dishonest?

Reducing the Heat:  The best way to avoid getting trapped by this practice depends on your current position. If you’re a salesperson, start your career by providing honest and up front information regardless of what your management is doing. If you’re a Dealer or General Manager, make it part of your mission statement that honesty, integrity and character will be part of all your business practices. That will allow the rest of your team to be free to tell the truth. Businesses that follow an honest approach are like sitting down to a good meal at a five star restaurant. The experience is great, and they leave you with a feeling of satisfaction long after you’ve gone home. And here’s the amazing thing: Those places are always busy and it’s pretty tough to get a reservation!  You may be looking for ways to improve your business with honest, customer focused processes. Why not let us help? Contact us.