Strickland Chevrolet

Over the past month I've been looking for a vehicle to ship to New York for a snowplowing business that I have and have had for the past 12 years. I was diligently searching the Internet for the right vehicle when I came across 2002 GMC Sierra 2500 HD diesel that was on the Strickland Chevrolet website. On Monday of last week I called and spoke with David in pre-owned sales. After speaking with him on the telephone and going over the basics of what I was looking for, David invited me in for an appointment to test drive the vehicle and talk further about it. I made an appointment with David and he subsequently made numerous phone calls throughout the week to shore up the appointment. Upon arrival David showed me the truck; we looked it over and took it for a test drive. We had a multitude of various conversations in regards to the SLT package that was present, the stereo, the Interior and other attributes. Again I had mentioned on many occasions that this truck was being shipped to New York to Plow SNOW. I mentioned many times that it would have a 650 pound plow on it and would be dealing with snow and ice. In the excitement of the condition of the truck I was obviously taken off task. I failed to notice that the truck was not the four-wheel-drive vehicle. In the interest of closing the deal however, David made it very clear of his experience in the industry, the reputation of your dealership and the fact that it was a great truck. While negotiating the price however, I mentioned to David that it was a truck in Florida that I had been looking at for $3500 cheaper. Again, in the interest of ONLY closing the deal, and not paying attention to what I was looking for or any part of the customers wants and needs and just looking to make the deal close, David insisted on showing me the attributes that his truck had and the other didn't. “The truck in Florida is only an extended cab and it indeed was an LS package as opposed to an SLT package”. This meant that David's truck had a lot more bells and whistles than the one that was online. The one attribute that the truck in Florida had that David's didn't, was four-wheel-drive. David immediately and conveniently omitted this attribute in his comparison and never included the fact that his truck did not have four-wheel-drive and closed the website. After thinking about this over the weekend It was apparent that David is a calculated and somewhat devious sales person and took full advantage of me and took $11500 from me for personal financial gain. His only interest throughout this whole process was closing the deal. He never did any type of wants and needs analysis to make a concrete solution for what I (the customer) was looking for. This shows that his only interest was only in the financial aspect of the transaction. What makes me further feel this way is; the fact that David, time and time again mentioned his tenure in the company and in the car business? For a good, moral salesperson not to do a wants and needs analysis to figure out what the customer needs, is incomprehensible to me.. My excitement and my trust with David were diluted after thinking about the tactics that he used to close the deal. This is something that I felt needed to be brought the GM’s attention as it will be a direct reflection on the dealership and the integrity of the dealership. The GM has not responded to ANY of my 4 emails or 4 phone messages. I went to the dealership on Saturday 3/7 to pick up the truck. Again, David made no light of the fact that this vehicle was not four-wheel-drive. Instead, David allowed me to drive off with that vehicle knowing that he made a deal. After driving for about 3 miles, I noticed that there were no switches or levers for the Four-wheel-drive. I called David and mentioned this to him. David's reaction is what sent me over the edge. He said we never spoke about four-wheel-drive. His response was inconceivable. David being in the industry for so long, and after me expressing to him exactly what that truck was going to be used for, there is no way that he did not know that it would not fit my needs. He instead closed that deal. Morality and integrity foregone. He had played the customers excitement and took total advantage of the emotion of the customer, omitting pertinent information for financial gain. After that short conversation on the phone with him once it was found out that four-wheel-drive did not exist, I came back to the dealership to try to resolve the issue. The only thing that David was interested in was informing me of the law. He expressed to me that: "the law states once you leave my lot, the car belongs to you". Well I immediately felt my blood pressure rise and couldn't believe that he had the audacity to say that considering the chain of events. He then went on to tell me that I could take it to a local Texas direct Auto and get exactly the same amount that I paid for it. Although this wasn't sitting well with me, I decided to take on his suggestion and did just that. Again, David did anything to redirect the true issue here by sending me to this place where I wasted yet another two hours of my life to get a quote. The quote they gave me was an embarrassing $8000 and $8500 if I bought something from them. Another redirection by the sales rep to skew the fact that he ripped me off. Prior to leaving the lot however, David told me to calm down, we will work it out. He told me he would speak with his director Chris and we would come to some sort of resolution. Again reminding me of the law. I explained to him that I'm not doing well when it comes to being calm knowing that he was ok with his suggestion and stealing my $11,000. He then explained to me I would need to be calm or I would be escorted off the property. At this Point I became a bit infuriated. I could not fathom the fact that he was willing to jeopardize the integrity of the business, the truth and the obligation to his customer or any future customers for profit. It was at that point, I explained to David I was not comfortable driving the car home because I felt that I had been misled and that your company has been misrepresented in the whole transaction. He proceeded to tell me "it doesn't make a difference, once it left the lot it was mine." Again… astounded. Again he explained that Monday would be the day that Chris would call me and we would come to a resolution. He even went as far as to suggest me purchasing a $23,000 vehicle. This was absurd. I believe that in sending me home was yet another well-organized tactic to be sure that the law could be enforced and his tactics would somehow be less important or in his eyes less deceptive. At this point it's not a question of the law or not. It's more of a question of good business, trust, integrity, and just doing the right thing. Being in business for 30 years, I've always put the highest importance on my customers, the integrity of my company and the reputation that I have in the community. I always strive to do the right thing and the best thing for each and every one of my customers. I do not dictate the law that protects me and the things that I may or would do for a dollar. Making sure that my customers were /are satisfied and properly informed to make the correct buying decisions from beginning to end of the experience. This means making sure that I did my job properly, never omitting anything for my financial gain. Especially untruths. I have always and will always be sure that I do a thorough investigation of their wants and needs to be sure that I am absolutely giving them the right products for their needs.This is what makes any good consumer goods business successful. This is the basic foundation of accreditation from the BBB I would hope that most businesses operate under these basic fundamentals when dealing with their customer base. Especially if they have BBB Accreditation!!!!! It is apparent however that this is not David's approach, nor the approach of Lee Mehta (The General Manager of 34 yearsI The BBB not only needs to suspend you of this accreditation, they need to down grade you letter grade as your business is a disgrace to our community. The fact that you advocate, and by your lack of resolve, allow lies and deception dictates your revenue is discusting. I feel the way David handled me as a customer is appalling. I would never expect to be treated that way, nor would I expect or allow any one of my employees to disrespect or treat any of my customers that way.