Miata Mailing List: August 1994, Message #147
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   From: buck@claude.ma30.bull.com (Kenneth J. Buck)
Subject: re: Bum Dealers
   Date: Fri, 5 Aug 1994 07:32:16 -0400

> From: a.mccombs3@genie.geis.com
> Subject: Bum dealers (was A Spin Story)
> 
> It would be neat if we could have some central source in print for dealers-
> to-avoid, but I doubt that the Miata Mag. would want to do such a thing.
> [...] I contacted a local enthusiast publication [...] 
> The publication called me and said that they declined to print my
> letter due to possible problems with libel.

i think this is kind of a problematic issue for *anyone* to deal with...

the problem is complicated because you want accurate and
fair evaluations of dealers and service shops.

for example:
 -everybody has their own opinion on what's acceptable and what's not.
  some treatment is clearly unacceptable to all, but in many cases,
  there are some grey areas that seem clearcut to one person,
  and less so to others, especially considering all the circumstances.
  let's face it, everyone is different.
 -most people have very limited experiences with a given dealer,
  particularly the sales department (you tend to have more interaction
  with service depts.).  this affects the usefulness of a single statement.
  for example:
  dealerships employ numerous salespeople, service people and managers,
  some may be fine & others not.
  if one is particularly bad, they reflect poorly on the dealer.
  if the dealer gets complaints and knowingly ignores them, then they
  deserve to get trashed.  but if the dealer acts on complaints and
  fires the person, then we should all be glad.
  problem is: our experience doesn't usually cover a continuous
  period of time or a large selection of the employees, so we can't
  fairly evaluate the staff for trends, etc.  many of us probably don't
  make formal complaints to the dealer about a lousy experience, and
  even when we do, we probably don't follow up to see what, if anything,
  is done about it.


in summary, a list of anecdotal experiences has *some* value,
but we have to realize the limitations, and it's probably best
managed by an informal, non-profit group like ourselves
(i.e., someone needs to volunteer for the task :-)

to have _real value_, a database of complaints (and compliments!)
for or against dealers would be more useful and more fair, then one
could evaluate if complaints for dealer X are frequent and/or serious,
and how the rates and seriousness compare to other dealers.
if i published a publication that was going to announce to the world
a list of dealers that received particularly good or bad marks,
i'd want to be able to substantiate my claims with significant evidence.
otherwise, me an' the lawyers will probably be having extended
conversations :-(

unfortunately, all this involves non-trivial effort to maintain,
and i'm *not* volunteering!

--                                             
Ken Buck                                          /|
Internet: k.buck@ma30.bull.com                \'o.O'    ACK!
Mail:     Bull, MA30-833A                     =(___)= THPTPHH!
          300 Concord Rd, Billerica, MA 01821    U