Remarr Sutton, author of the book "Don't Get Taken Every Time", appeared as a "consumer advocate" Friday night on NBC's Dateline. In his opinion, the hidden cameras following a customer named "Tori" proved that the dealer made "five to six thousand dollars" that she shouldn?t have had to pay. Said Sutton: "The entire dealership comes to a halt because this is the home run they've been waiting for?"

While what I saw of the report certainly showed wrong behaviors in the finance office; I've never ever seen an entire dealership stop what they're doing because they were about to make a $5000.00 gross on a car. In fact, most employees in a dealership rarely know what happened on a deal until they hear someone bragging about it in the break room after the customer has gone. But that's the way the media wants consumers to think about our industry. And it's all the more reason to commit to change at your dealership.

Not only do you need to employ customer focused processes, you also need to advertise them in order to combat the exaggerations placed on you by the media. If your dealership practices full disclosure and honesty, you need to make a mission statement out of it and post in the wall. And every salesperson should tell every customer that they are committed to providing them with honest information throughout the entire sales process.

We will never be rid of the liars and the cheats. Every business has them, but our industry has the worst reputation for it. Don't you think it's time we stop the nonsense and get on with treating customers with respect?

Auto University promotes processes that are customer focused AND help you make more money. Call us today to find out how!