[eastbaymini]

Quote:

Originally posted by phattbam
Hi Sejanus, I was wondering if you got any confirmed info on the added accessories at Eastbay MINI??

We went ahead and deleted the CD changers from customer spec cars. The only cars that will have them are the demo models we have.

[helava]

Thanks, jarid - I've got a mini S on order from you, and I appreciate not having to buy the CD changer.

Just on a more general note, I see a lot of people out there writing letters of complaint to Mini USA about dealerships like Niello and such - I'd encourage people to also do the inverse, and when dealers do things that are in the customer's interest, that those actions generate feedback as well - in a positive light.

seppo

[eingy]

I will definitely drop a letter of commendation to MINUSA about East Bay MINI!

thanks!

[Juanello]

I've been reading the messages posted in this thread regarding the lack of customer support at Niello MINI of Sacramento.
I want you all to know that my experience with Niello differs enormously from many of the experiences most of you have described.
I contacted Niello on March 22nd, the very opening day. They did not even have the showroom ready, it was still under construction. But I noticed a very good attitude on the sales advisors to rely all information they had to every one who was present.
They told me since that day that they were going to sell MINIs on the First Come, First Serve basis. Of course they did not have any idea what options or colors the cars were going to have or when the they were arriving, but I got the idea. It was just a matter of time. They invited me to join their mailing list and offer me to test drive a MINI on Saturday. On Thursday April 4, I got an e-mail from Lisa Niello notifiyng me and all the others in the mailing list, that they had received 9 MINIs. Tjey were going to have them for sale the next day, Friday. Instead of satying home and reply to every one in the mailing list, who were complaining for the $995.00 dealer added paint and interior protection pacakge, I got up early on Friday April 5th and was able to buy my Silver/Black MINI that day.
Just as they promised, they sold those cars on the First Come, Firs Serve basis and their service was very polite and respectful.
Now I am the proud owner of the MINI of my dreams.
I hope all of those who have not yet gotten their MINIs, get them soon. MINIs are fun and exciting. I love my MINI very much and I Thank Niello MINI for all their help!!!

[Sejanus]

I'm glad you were treated well Juanello and congrats on the new MINI. I admit that my experiences with Niello's MINI staff (as opposed to the BMW folks) have been pleasant. I guess for me Niello has two failings. First of all is the mark up in the price, I might be willing to pay the extra cash if I felt I were receiving something of value for it, but not for paint protection. Second, (and a bigger deal to me) is the lack of willingness to take custom orders. I could live with the first come first served policy for prespecced cars, but they are yet to get in a single car that meets my minimum requirements. By their policy I'm supposed to wait around on the off chance that one of these days they'll get in a car that will have some, but not all of the features I want and that I'll be able to get there in time to purchase it. (In other words who knows how long or even if ever I'd be able to get a car?) On the other hand at East Bay MINI I'm paying less, getting exactly the vehicle I want and I have a pretty good idea of how much longer I have to wait. That to me is good customer service. Anyway, I'm glad they worked out for you. Enjoy your MINI!

[lotatoys]

Well I have to agree with Sejanus...The sales people at Niello Mini are fine. I know that they did not create the bad policies in effect but are only doing what they're paid to do.
As for the "Contact Us" feature on their website which leads you to believe they'll locate the car you want, it's actually a basic feature on all their websites. In case nobody noticed, they also feature the entire Niello BMW used car listing and the Contact feature is not really for Mini's. Trust me, I filled out the request for purchase information on a Cooper S and all I received was a very curt and useless e-mail response:
"Xxxx, the Mini S is not out for sale yet. Keep checking our web page for updates on our inventory to see when they come available.
Dave"
As you can see, they really are sticking to their policy of first come, first served. Like Sejanus, I've put a deposit down elsewhere and although it may take a while longer, I'll be getting the custom spec'd car I want from Mini of Murray in Salt Lake City. As an example of their concern for customer support, I received a phone call this past Sunday from Debbie Horton, who came in on her day off just to contact and provide updates to their waiting list customers. If anyone is looking to buy a Mini from a dealer who values the customer, I highly recommend them.
Oh by the way, I'm not surprised Juanello was treated so well. After all, he was a paying customer who walked in and bought a Mini. No special requests, he wasn't on their waiting (I mean "contact")list and didn't mind paying way too much for useless add-ons. He's the kind of customer they count on, the one they use as justification for their "fair chance" sales policy.
Don't get me wrong Juanello, I'm happy you have a car you like and you didn't do anything wrong. It's Niello that has alienated so many others with their bad business practices.

[Sejanus]

Actually, I must admit since they're sticking with first come first served, I think I prefer the website list of cars to the e-mail announcements. It would be nice if they gave more availability info out on incoming cars than just "on the way" though. Oh, and they have one Indie/White in available in stock if anyone is interested.

[Sealevel]

So Niello's idea of customer service has devolved into a free-for-all, and the first person who shows up after the email cattle call waving the most money gets a MINI? Swell.

[mixdman]

I know I posted this in the MINI USA response thread, but I also wanted to keep the Niello thread alive and kicking. The following is a response from MINI USA followed by my original blog. The analogy is kind of funny and pathetic at the same time. Even though MINI has no control over what dealers do with their product, they really should worry about the millions of dollars they spend to create an image and then have crappy dealers like Niello destroy all they have created.


Hello Mr. xxxxx,

This isn't a form letter, and it isn't scripted. (If it were it would be very badly done.) We are really sorry that your dealership experience didn't meet your standards. We are very attentive to our customers comments, and we do listen. Please understand the relationship with our
MINI dealers is as an independent franchisee, and like most car dealers in America, they are independent businesses and we cannot restrict their trade.

To oversimplify, a rough analogy of the independent business relationship can work with lemonade stands. If you went to a roadside lemonade stand somewhere, and they wanted to charge you $5 for a lemonade, and
then another stand down the road may be selling the exact same brand and size of lemonade for $1.50. The lemonade manufacturer sells it to all the stands at the same price of $1. Then again, if it's really hot out,
some people are pretty thirsty and want the lemonade right away from the $5 stand. (Then again you might just buy iced tea.) Would you never buy that brand of lemonade because of the $5 stand?

Moral of the story: As a consumer, if you are dissatisfied with a sales offer, you have the right to refuse purchase and shop, if you choose. Each dealership is an independent business that has different sales
policies. Like any consumer product, we sell to the dealers at the same price, and set MSRP.

We're really sorry, we are trying very hard to improve our customer experiences. We care very much that we may have lost you as a customer. Is there anything we can do? Write back or call us at 1-866-ASK-MINI if you'd like to talk about it.

With deepest apologies,
Wayne
MINI Division



--Original Message--

I can see that MINI USA really does not care about
their image. Nothing has been done, talked about,
responded to, etc, regarding dealers losing customers
due to dealer add-ons and poor customer service. This
really does not make MINI a unique car company. It was an unfortunate decision to choose Niello BMW to represent your company and I am seriously considering not buying a MINI. But of course, you don't care if only one little customer is lost, and that's really a sad state of affairs for a company....it seems to be all to
common these days.
xxxxx
ex MINI lover


------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Sejanus]

Hmm, given that lemonade analogy I wonder how MINIUSA feels about one stand urging another to raise it's price to $5 because all the other stands are doing it, or another stand refusing to sell lemonade to anyone who doesn't live on their street? We seem to being seeing both these behaviors in tha Bay Area.

[helava]

My guess is that BMW would be fine with one stand asking another to raise its price. My impression from their e-mail is that basically once the cars are at the dealers, it's out of their hands. This is a mistake, IMO, and my feeling is that they *should* be selling their cars like Saturn - one price, no haggling. That would certainly fit the image they're trying to sell.

It's sort of a bummer that they are being so hands-off in their approaches - I'd much rather hear that they were at least going to take some action against those dealerships that consistently get negative feedback, and that they would be rewarding the dealerships that treat the customers right.

After all, a good dealer will build brand loyalty, thus rewarding BMW in the long run, despite the tradeoff in immediate profits. In a sense, the dealer that treats the customer well does so, particularly in a situation like this, helps fuel long term success at the expense of their personal short term success.

Since that sacrifice isn't rewarded monetarily, BMW, as the parent company, and the biggest recipient of such long-term loyalty, should have some moral responsibility to see that the dealerships that forge long lasting relationships are rewarded.

Just a thought, in an ideal little world.

seppo

[mixdman]

Check out this link
http://www.aplg.com/rate/index.phtml

There is a rating for Niello BMW...surprise, surprise.
If you're not happy with the service, maybe fill this out too?

[sdmidget]

Interesting site - but not a lot of "raters"

Good site to bookmark for "future reference" though.

[mixdman]

Just posting to keep the Niello thread near the top of the list...they need the "attention".
BTW, I have yet to hear from Lisa Niello or the big guy Rick Niello. They haven't replied to my e-mail asking them to justify the pricing for Scotchguard and paint protection.

[koopers]

We really did try to work with Niello. Went last week to test drive Cooper and Cooper S. Niello explained their new policy of posting incoming stock on website but it was still a first come first served basis. Two days later we saw an incoming Cooper that fit our needs. Called Niello and asked if there was anyway we could put a deposit on that Cooper (we live 120 miles away so first come first served is difficult). Was told that there was no exception to that policy (which I agree with--it was sort of a test). Two days ago that particular Cooper disappeared from the list! Fortunately I had written its VIN # down and tracked and saw it wasn't due to arrive in Port Hueneme until April 22. Called Niello on it and was told "an employee wanted it". What???? Where went their policy that you can't buy it until it is at the dealership?? The shady part of the whole thing is that that VIN # doesn't show as "SOLD"--it just completely disappeared from the website. Wouldn't be surprised to see that Cooper on eBay.

Needless to say we've given up on Niello. Talked to Debbie Horton at Salt Lake City MINI yesterday and was told we could have an MSRP owner-spec'd Cooper by late July. Debbie made a surprise call this morning and said we could have it late June. Of course we placed the order. She's great!!

Sacto to SLC - $206 one way
SFO to SLC - $147 one way
vs Niello markup $995 plus no owner-spec'd cars
Duh!!

[mixdman]

Like I said, Niello sucks. Now they are selling cars to employees before the car is there? Great service!

[lotatoys]

Hey Koopers! I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who's made the decision to enjoy a little road trip in their new Mini. Debbie Horton is great, as you know and I hope Mini of Murray gets more good recommendations from other satisfied customers.
I would ,however ask that you take the time to e-mail Mini USA and inform them on Niello's latest disregard for fair play. I would normally say smoething like "I can't believe they would do that" but it comes as no surprise. If Mini USA keeps getting the negative feedback about Niello, maybe they'll do more than just "contact them".
In the mean time, enjoy planning your trip!!

[Sejanus]

Quote:

Originally posted by koopers
Two days ago that particular Cooper disappeared from the list! Fortunately I had written its VIN # down and tracked and saw it wasn't due to arrive in Port Hueneme until April 22. Called Niello on it and was told "an employee wanted it".

You know I really haven't been as upset as some with Niello up to this point, but that really reeks! I can't say I blame the employee in question, but when they make such a big deal about the "fairness" of their policy...

[eastbaymini]

Hey guys,
Here is a senario. You work at Walmart....Its almost Christmas time and Tickle me Elmos are out!! Boy are they a hit! Luckily you work at a store that sells them and before they go on the shelves the management lets employees get one or two. Same with any store that sold playstation 2 or any other hot selling item. Its just a perk of the job. One car doesnt make them sneaky or anything. At my dealership I ordered a car without a spot in line. One car out of 25 a month doesnt seem that bad. Now if they started taking five or six out of their allocation for store use I could see that as a problem. Just my two cents..

Jarid Perry

[mixdman]

Jarid,
It's not quite the same with Niello. East Bay Mini has been above board and stuck to it's waiting list and Niello did not honor theirs and actually dumped it...East Bay Mini allows customers to spec order cars and Niello does not. East Bay MINI listened to customers and offered valued items as dealer add-ons or took them off and Niello will not. East Bay MINI responds to customer complaints and Niello doesn't. Big difference. And Jarid....you got to ORDER a car.
I have worked for places like Macy's on Union Square and when they carried limited edition items at times ,employees did not have "perks" like first dibs. I have worked for service oriented firms for many years and still do at this time and I can tell you that when policies are put in place, they should be adhered to and preferential treatment is unacceptable. This is just not good customer service and self destructive business practices. I will not give Niello a break for what they have done and what they continue to do. As I have said before, they never should have been chosen by MINI to handle the realease of this car. They did the same thing with the New Beetle. So Jarid, I would not place you in the same league with Niello....East Bay MINI has done an excellent job from what I've heard. Keep doing it .