ANOTHER customer lost

Probably the same chance but for 2 exceptions.

The rich rapper will take out a roll and peel off C notes until someone puts him high on the list. It might take another trip to the dresser drawer to get enough C notes but you get the idea.


The OCWD (ordinary clod with dough) does not have the well developed sense of entitlement that put the brick wall in the sports stars path to Ferrari nirvana. And here he thought fame and a check for MSRP was enough.

 

Never heard of him.
....but then,I don't consider baseball a sport,I'm sure most Europeans do not either........

 

I believe SC gave me the run down on that one. Masta P, right?

 

You've seen that movie.

Or at least the preview.


A lot of brief cases leave lighter than they enter.

 

In being an OCW/OD can only say I'd try if I could come through with the dough:

a. walk into the showroom with checkbook and iphone in pockets and financial guy at wait by his phone.
b. pick out a car.
c. see what happens.

I look like an old hippie but the local Mercedes dealership had no problems with selling me a car.

 

At least Wilson had enough sense to keep the CGT!

 

He's McLaren's problem now.

 

I've met CJ and know his race team, actually drove with them in the past. He's a good guy.

God love them, they like cars and racing, and want to go racing. I give them credit for earning their way in; I'm sure he could have bought right into an LMP2 team but my sense is he (and they) understand the "minor leagues lead to the majors" concept.

As for his 360 story, I have had wildly different experiences with dealers. This sounds more like the dealer than Ferrari itself. Our local dealer is awesome; welcoming, inclusive but also straight up about it all. Maybe we're more relaxed, we sort of expected to wait for a car. I think he (and maybe Leno) would have been treated differently in a different place.

I've bought 4 Ferraris now, yet I walked into a different dealer on a trip a few weeks back to look and thought the receptionist was going to call security to have me tossed. The brand my be global, but customer experiences are always made locally, and sour experiences sort of stick.

 

All I can say is, it's a good thing Enzo isn't alive to hear this. He never would have treated a customer that way!

 

Yes but the concept of having to "pay your dues" is what is ludicrous here. It's not Ferrari's preoccupation to treat others "fairly"... "Hey everyone, sorry but only millionaires who have paid their dues can buy our cars - it really is the only fair way to do this...except for Justin Bieber he can have one...but everyone else, stay in line... or buy a used Maserati and we'll see what we can do..." ... No, Ferrari - and dealers - are very subjective about who they will let buy their cars. It's been like this for a long time, though which is why I said, if he were really a car guy he must've known about this... Porsche, on the other side of the spectrum, will sell to anyone who is willing to buy. And when they do come up with a exclusivity program, it's completely laid out and properly explained so all can know what it takes to be a Porsche VIP. That's fair. Unsurprisingly they were criticized by some on this website for that... Strange world.

I'd say it's more a dealer thing than a Ferrari thing, but that Ferrari will never publicly shun one of their dealers for acting in such a manner. It seems to be positive publicity to them no matter what. It's like those Hermes Birkin bags women love so much. You gotta get in line to buy one....unless you know someone..........

 

Something that never seems to be brought up (in cases such as this and with Jay Leno's widely publicized "shun" by Ferrari), is that we have no objective information about the "other side" of what may have really happened. Meaning, how do we know that both Leno & CJ did not waltz into those Dealerships and act like they were "entitled" and spouted off to everyone within ear-shot when they were not immediately accommodated ?!

If so, is not the "we reserve the right to refuse service to anyone" edict still justifiable for ANY retailer of a consumer product ---- even a car ---- and, even, especially a Ferrari ???

Hell, just off the top of my head, I can think of at least 5 people I know of personally.....whom I wish did not own Ferraris --- makes us all look bad as a stereo-typed group and cheapens the experience, IMO.

This is one of the primary reasons why I have not had a Lamborghini for a long, long, time

 

Like I've said before, it's a double edged sword.

I've bought 3 new Ferrari's and one new Maserati. Now, in LA, there are probably 5000 other guys who have bought more than 5, maybe more than 7.

Do I complain that someone else higher in the pecking order-- who also asked for his car before I did -- gets a car before me? Well, if I do, I'm not being very realistic.

I have 2.5 million miles with United Airlines. If someone who has not been a steady, long term customer got a free upgrade instead of me, do you think I might be a little upset?

If you go to your favorite restaurant and the owner recognizes you and gives you a free dessert, should the guy at the table next to you who walked in for the first time get upset he doesn't get that free cake either?

Paying your dues is one way to say it. Another way is become a long term customer like so many good customers.

 

CJ? I ain't saying' a damn thing.

 

OK, I understand the loyalty aspect of it, what I don't like is the terminology because it implies that you need more than just money and willingness in order to own a Ferrari. Like it's not a company that relies on sales of their products to succeed, which it is. Don't forget the guy in the restaurant may not have gotten a free dessert, but he was allowed to eat there in the first place. Perhaps that's what the FF and California stand for, these days.

In any case, I still think if the guy really wanted a Ferrari he could have bought a used one, from a dealer, and be enjoying his car right now.

 

Same scheme Madoff used on his pigeons. "I only accept the most elite richest most fantastic clients" People were lined up blocks long to kiss Madoff's but & give him checks for $ Millions

All about people preying on others w low self esteem using reverse psychology.

La Ferrari is ok but I will live on just fine if I cannot have one

 

Since you live in Illinois I completely understand your position as your state does not have a real professional baseball team.

 

It's funnier if you consider the Cubs have been professional the longest without winning the WS. The worst professionals is funnier than the best amateurs.

 

Talked to person a while back who had purchased 2 new, and 2 used Ferraris from the same dealership. He brought along a buddy that wanted to purchase a new Ferrari. The idiot salesman not only would not give the new customer a ride in the Fcar, wouldn't even let him SIT IN THE CAR! Then the saleman made the snid comment that the new customer couldn't afford a Ferrari! WRONG MOVE! The new customer had more money to spend, than the guy that brought him there(and had already purchased 4 different off the dealer. The F-car owner told the moron salesman in no uncertain terms, they would never be back to look at Ferrari. They left, and the same day went and purchased 2 brand new Aston Martins. Really sad that Ferrari has such a go to Hell policy with their customers.

 

That salesman was an idiot. I have never had that experience or heard of it before.

I asked once a well respected long term F car salesmen what his typical customer looked like. He said if they walk in with jeans and tennis shoes, there's a good chance he's a real buyer. If he comes in a suit, he's just as likely to be a poser.

Basically, don't judge the book by the cover.

BTW: In Vegas it's the same in the gaming business. The most ordinary people can be the biggest gamblers.

 

It is too bad that CJ was put off. He was the perfect customer for Ferrari and it is a massive missed opportunity. A celebrity and one that is passionate to race as well.

This was one guy they should have cultivated. He would have been Corse Clienti for decades.

 

I agree.

If he was "just" another baseball player, no biggie.

But he's a die hard car guy and racer,with BIG plans for his sports car racing team. missed opportunity by Ferrari IMO.

 

What other road do they have available to them?

The long lines for availability, the snooty service, the Take It Or Leave it Manufactured Exclusivity is all they have, and they know it.

Strip away the phony social aspect of the brand, and Ferrari would be right where they were in the off days...begging for customers while their cars rusted on dealer lots while longer lines formed at McDonald's at lunch than their dealerships ever had.

 

Exactly.

 

So after reading the article, I was left with the impression that CJ has an entirely different problem - a spending problem.

Sure, he's in his prime and is making money now. I really hope he's saving/investing a lot of it. Because it would be a shame if he had to sell his autograph for $10 a pop in the years to come to pay for maintenance for his P1.

My 2 cents.

 

I learned one of the best lessons of my life in 1986 while shopping for a Jaguar XJS with my dad. He had always dreamed of owning that 12 cylinder coupe and decided the timing was right. My dad was a successful business owner who liked to dress casually in jeans and sneakers. We walked into the Jaguar dealer that was closest to our home and he spotted a black with tan XJS parked right in the showroom. He was sold before anybody even spoke to him. Unfortunately not one salesperson of the four sitting there ever even got up. They weren't busy or on the phone, they just simply decided my dad was probably not a serious buyer. We stayed there for 20 minutes while my dad checked out every square inch of that car and not one salesmen came over to help. I could see that my father was getting angrier and angrier. We finally started to walk to the door and he said to me "I guess we will go to another dealer and buy this car." He said it loud enough so that all the sales people could hear it and that's just what we did. We got in the car and drove 40 minutes to the next closest Jag dealer, where he promptly walked in, was greeted by a sales person and bought it. When we took delivery a few days later he did the coolest thing I ever saw. He drove directly from picking the car up back to the original dealer, parked right in front and walked in. Asked for the sales manager and told him exactly what had happened there a few days before and then showed him the car he had just picked up at their competitor. All of the salesmen were sitting up front just as they were days earlier. When the manager heard the story he quickly went out to the showroom and blasted the salesmen while my dad and I walked out the door. Taught me one of the best lessons of my life , which was never to judge a book by its cover...