One of our own Fchatters makes it to Jalopnik!

Nothing more than the article growing fast in popularity.

 

Great story Mark! That GTO was never for sale but just think, had you bought it you too could have got the cool 'mil' it fetched a year or two ago at RM

 

Easy now, your cheque is in the mail

My very personal opinion is this - I haven't had any issues with this dealership simply because Im not shopping for a new Ferrari. Ive heard the stories but rather see for myself if need be.

I've heard by many that the parts dudes are top notch. I also know that an old co-worker of mine is now sales & leasing manager there and he's a cool bloke too. Last but not least, Remo is an old boss of mine (BMW) and I was always treated well, in fact the only time he got upset with me was when i anniunced that i wanted to leave to do something else. But this is just me and my experience which is in a different light than most. Just my .o2

 

"I showed up in a brand new 2012 Range Rover Sport Supercharged, picking up parts for my Ferrari from the part department and wearing a limited edition Audemars Piguet Chronopassion watch. Still not good enough. Four years, same old story again and again."

What kind of journalism is this? Bob...no offense but I'm sure you looked like every 21 year old dude from Woodbridge or Kleinburg that day.

What did you expect? Because you drive a RR and have an AP watch, you expect that the sales guys were going to slobber all over you?

News flash....dozens of my friends (including myself) drive RR, Benz... and have AP, Breitling, Rolex watches...and guess what? they aren't shopping for a $350,000 Ferrari yet...The odds of them getting attention at FOO are very slim.

Maybe you don't realize that most of Ferrari sales are for men over the age of 45? And during your visit, they notice a much younger guy walking in with
with the cool watch and all the salespeople collectively look at eachother and laugh at the sight of another "young entrepreneur" with too much time on his hands ?

Pfaff McLaren, Audi, Porsche, etc. have a much younger demographic...(and are much more affordable) So they know what their target age group is, and will gladly chat up a young window shopper.

And another note....many FOO purchasers that I know barely even go to the dealership, they ordered most of their cars over the phone, and will go to the dealership only to finalize the interior/exterior details and then sign the deposit.

 

If you read it in it's entirety, it's a statement against the stereotype that sales people care about how you're dressed, what you're driving, etc. I even wrote later that I was in shorts and a tshirt, not suited up, just chilling.

Not a statement towards "Look at me"

But that's also the point. If you are stuck in a certain mindset that everyone remotely young is just browsing punks, then the competition that cares to take the time to chat and make those "kids" feel welcome, will be in line to benefit in the future.

 

Yes, I agree....but we are now comparing apples to oranges. (Ferrari to Mclaren). You have definitely touched on an interesting subject here...I am not trying to discredit you, or the article, but there are many underlying details which have not been addressed. (By details I mean corporate policies, management directives, commissions, etc.) Each company (Ferrari/Mclaren/Audi/Porsche) have different agendas when it comes to business practice.

The supply/demand factor is much tighter with Ferrari; Mclaren is very lucky to have sold as many cars this year. When the recession eventually hits Ontario, I would like to see which dealership will still have its lights on....Will it be the "old money" buying the Ferraris? Or will it be the "new money" buying the Audis, Mclarens ?

 

Which is the premise of the article, where I felt like Ferrari of Ontario due to their general approach to business is alienating an entire generation of buyers.

And that generational divide is most definitely happening and is evident at every event that gets posted on this forum.

 

Your outlook on FOO is generally true, however it is only your opinion. The yearly net $$ profits of FOO can only speak the truth on whether they are alienating their customers or not.

 

It's clearly an opinion piece, so yes it's just my point of view on things. It's also hard to address everything in less than 800 words.

Also I don't think the effects of current business practices can be determined on a singular annual basis. It's something that shapes over time and is very hard to break if a slope begins.

 

I walked into a Honda dealership once to buy a Civic for my girlfriend and the sales folks sat around and chatted amongst themselves paying us no attention at all. We walked out and bought a Mazda.

Conversely, I went into FoO to look around and the sales person was very professional, and even offered to take me downstairs to look at a Stradale they had in storage. In both cases I was in my mid-30s. I've heard stories about the attitude at FoO but I've never experienced it personally.

Pfaff has great customer service IMO. I had an issue with PCNA and Chris got personally involved when he didn't really need to. Not saying the authour didn't, but if you treat people well they usually do the same I find. Sales people who go out of their way to be dicks usually don't do too well.

 

"and people will be in complete agreement with the general tone of the article"

"Complete agreement" you say. Yet you have individuals who attended said events and likely heard the hearsay, but still decided to spend hundreds of thousands at FoO. One recently included the following words at the start of their post: "the great guys at Ferrari of Ontario". His experience and opinion is just as valid. I have no doubt that you could find a number of recent FoO customers who would also be in complete agreement with his remark.

Different people I'm sure have different reasons for dealing with different companies. It's great that you are defending your opinion. Just saying it would have been nice if FoO had the same opportunity. As noted above, opinions do differ.

 

+100

I understand HHogan's context of the article..it was meant to show the sales practices between an "old establishment" such as FOO, and a newer, modern dealership like Mclaren.

Unfortunately, I believe he should have written the article as a documentary piece showing the different people, history and market of both dealerships, instead of doing an "undercover sting" attack on FoO.

 

Lol @ thread title change. Guess someone wasn't happy about the "negative" publicity.

 

On my visit to Toronto, the people at the McLaren dealership were super nice to me. I was very impressed.

Nudie bars are nice too.

Chris

 

Hi all I am a little confused on the basis for this article. We all have bad experiences with sales people. Heck I had bad experience with a frkn shoe sales person once and left the shoes in the middle of floor when I walked out.
We also have had Great experiences, which in most cases I have. I am in sales big time and I can tell you, that myself on some days, I am probably not the nicest guy to talk to. A lot depends on the circumstances and what other disasters are going on. It is not the best practice but it simply happens. I have been to other dealerships of much,,much lower brands and the sales staff have been absolutely terrible, regardless of how I was dressed and what watch I was wearing.
In this case and I have mentioned it here before, I had and have had NO ISSUES with FOO or any of his other brands, including BMW and MINI. This is my 6th purchase with the group. I can tell you that if the service and sales sucked I can and would go anywhere else I wanted. Anyone can spend their hard earned dollars anywhere they want and with whoever.
This company went out of their way to have my car delivered. Hell they flew it here at their cost!! They gave me carte blanche for the Marque D'Elegance event for any car I wanted to be at the show on Aug 19th. This is not done by a company that does not care about its image, reputation or its customers. Remo didn't have to do anything when I asked him. But as soon as I did he was all over it. And this was while he was walking out the door to catch a flight to Monteray on the same weekend. He had 3 guys and 1 truck and trailer bring the 3 cars down. This his staff on a Sunday on his dime for the full shot. FOO also gave a donation to the show for the charity. In my mind you can't get any better than that.
I am not sure how bad an experience the writer had. But there are 3 sides to every coin.
The Remo Ferri group has my business guaranteed.

 

Very nice to hear!
Thank you for sharing this here.
CH

 

Excuse me for a sec; what?

 

I don't post that often but felt i had to today. As GRZEPAPA put it, i as well am in sales and know some days are better than others. As a business owner as well I would appreciate someone telling me of a bad experience they had with one of my staff. To criticize and entire company based on one employee’s reaction or non-reaction to you is laughable. If your unhappy with an experience you have had it is your duty to go and speak to someone in a position that can help. And I’m not talking about leave one or two messages or an email because in today’s world people are so inundated that it often takes more than just a call or two to reach that person. I say this from experience as our company specializes in Lead Generation and when we are calling for our clients we make over 2000 calls to reach and speak 15-20 people. think of your own days and how crazy it gets.

If you want results keep calling until to get them...someone is bound to respond.

 

Thanks for sharing GRZEPAPA, those are the stories no one ever hears about FoO, or should I say don't want to here. For what ever reason I'm seeing this bashing of successful people and companies like FoO going on much to often around here.... As well let's not forget all the work Remo and FoO do year after year to raise millions for Sick Kids Hospital.

 

well said!

 

You state that you just celebrated your 31st birthday. You bought your first Ferrari, a 360, when you were 27. You state you bought it private because "of the inability to fill the order in the time I wanted it".
So Ferrari was taking orders for 360's four years ago?
Strange, the last 360's were made in 2005, or seven years ago.

 

People were trading in their 360s to buy 430s, I knew what I was looking for and they couldn't get it for me.

Anyways, I'm not posting any more about this because no matter what people form their own opinions and it's not worth retreading water over.

I just happen to be the lightning pole in this case, and deservedly so.

 

I don't adhere to the "keep calling" theory. I think any decent person or decent business should be able to respond, return messages and answer emails consistently.

I've been running my own business for 12 years and made sure every request gets answered within a reasonable timeframe and, guess what, I'm busy too.

I don't think it's right to leave people hanging or igore them. Whether it's a phone message, email or walking into a showroom.

 

What was the original thread title? I got here late...

 

Great to hear, Angelo. FoO definitely treated you well.