SeanyQ
01-07-2008, 05:55 PM
Seeing the "Where are all the Skoda?" type threads, has motivated me to post this.
The weekend before last, my partner & I were hunting for a new $25k - $30k car.
We decided to give the Skoda Roomster a go. Seeing as sales for this vehicle have been completely abismal (unless you call 80 sales in over 7 months of trying, anything other than disatrous!) & coinciding with the end of the financial year, we thought we'd be in for a good deal.
After 10 or so minutes of looking at the Roomster inside & out at the "Zupps" Skoda in Brisbane, we realised we weren't going to get any kind of customer service unless we asked for it (even though there was only 1 other couple in the whole lot. Who were looking at the Octavia's).
My partner went into the showroom to ask about the Roomster & was given a brochure (the cheapest & nastiest 1 page car brochure I have ever seen!), he asked how much they were selling them for "look at the website" was the response! Upon hearing this, I decided I wanted to see for myself. I went into the showroom and said "without having to look at the website, can you tell me how much you're selling the Roomster for?"
"26 to 30 grand, depending on the model" was the answer before he literally ran out the door, across the road & over to the Mitsubishi/Subaru part of Zupps.
I was left standing there flabbergasted. I then watched as the remaining two salesmen acted like a pair of bitches on heat towards the couple looking at the Octavia. I was almost tempted to wait & see if they would start dry humping the couples legs!
This lead me to the realisation that this is why Skoda sells next to no Roomsters in this country.
My partner & I are both early 30's. The couple looking at the Octavia were probably early 40's, with children. As a result we were completely dismissed without even taking the Roomster for a test drive. The dealers preferred to salivate all over the middle aged couple & hopefully settle on a sale to them.
We were extremely interested in the Roomster. I personally hoped Skoda would do well in Australia, to encourage SEAT back into the country (now there's a brand I'd even put up with this crap level of service for). It was stylish & modern (unlike the dated, 90's looking Octavia), only visible downside to the Roomster was the $2 feeling steering wheel.
Instead, I walked out of the lot knowing exactly why the Roomster is failing. How many Roomster buyers are going to be aged over 40? They've marketed the car with pic's of surfboards, bikes etc. Yet when that demographic walks into their showroom, they are completely snubbed.
The Octavia's never going to sell in big numbers either, because it is one of the most dated looking cars on the market & is way too over priced for what it is.
Within 2 days of this experience, we now have a brand new Citroen C4 Auto with a full glass roof for $25,990 on the road, on order.
The Citroen dealer was a good person, who was persistent & knew his job. At the end of the day, we'll end up with a much better looking, better value, higher quality car from a dealer who deserves our business!!
Good luck in Australia Skoda, if Zupps is the sort of dealership you want to have representing your company!
Quote from Zupps manager found on skoda.com.au:
"Our dealership is all about the experience for our customers. They can expect a warm and friendly welcome from a professional, knowledgeable team who are happy to go the extra mile.
- Peter Thompson"
Yeah, good one Peter. You just keep telling yourself that hey!
The weekend before last, my partner & I were hunting for a new $25k - $30k car.
We decided to give the Skoda Roomster a go. Seeing as sales for this vehicle have been completely abismal (unless you call 80 sales in over 7 months of trying, anything other than disatrous!) & coinciding with the end of the financial year, we thought we'd be in for a good deal.
After 10 or so minutes of looking at the Roomster inside & out at the "Zupps" Skoda in Brisbane, we realised we weren't going to get any kind of customer service unless we asked for it (even though there was only 1 other couple in the whole lot. Who were looking at the Octavia's).
My partner went into the showroom to ask about the Roomster & was given a brochure (the cheapest & nastiest 1 page car brochure I have ever seen!), he asked how much they were selling them for "look at the website" was the response! Upon hearing this, I decided I wanted to see for myself. I went into the showroom and said "without having to look at the website, can you tell me how much you're selling the Roomster for?"
"26 to 30 grand, depending on the model" was the answer before he literally ran out the door, across the road & over to the Mitsubishi/Subaru part of Zupps.
I was left standing there flabbergasted. I then watched as the remaining two salesmen acted like a pair of bitches on heat towards the couple looking at the Octavia. I was almost tempted to wait & see if they would start dry humping the couples legs!
This lead me to the realisation that this is why Skoda sells next to no Roomsters in this country.
My partner & I are both early 30's. The couple looking at the Octavia were probably early 40's, with children. As a result we were completely dismissed without even taking the Roomster for a test drive. The dealers preferred to salivate all over the middle aged couple & hopefully settle on a sale to them.
We were extremely interested in the Roomster. I personally hoped Skoda would do well in Australia, to encourage SEAT back into the country (now there's a brand I'd even put up with this crap level of service for). It was stylish & modern (unlike the dated, 90's looking Octavia), only visible downside to the Roomster was the $2 feeling steering wheel.
Instead, I walked out of the lot knowing exactly why the Roomster is failing. How many Roomster buyers are going to be aged over 40? They've marketed the car with pic's of surfboards, bikes etc. Yet when that demographic walks into their showroom, they are completely snubbed.
The Octavia's never going to sell in big numbers either, because it is one of the most dated looking cars on the market & is way too over priced for what it is.
Within 2 days of this experience, we now have a brand new Citroen C4 Auto with a full glass roof for $25,990 on the road, on order.
The Citroen dealer was a good person, who was persistent & knew his job. At the end of the day, we'll end up with a much better looking, better value, higher quality car from a dealer who deserves our business!!
Good luck in Australia Skoda, if Zupps is the sort of dealership you want to have representing your company!
Quote from Zupps manager found on skoda.com.au:
"Our dealership is all about the experience for our customers. They can expect a warm and friendly welcome from a professional, knowledgeable team who are happy to go the extra mile.
- Peter Thompson"
Yeah, good one Peter. You just keep telling yourself that hey!