As a journalist, I welcome unguarded remarks. But loose comments can get dealerships into trouble. Here’s a recent caution for finance managers from veteran F&I trainer George Angus of Team One Group:
“Measure your words. In this day of the Internet, it is easy to go online and post some kind of offhand remark that you might later regret, or brag about how you ‘got over’ on some customer.”
Specifically, Angus said in his latest weekly “Saturday Message” e-mail that he knows of a dealership that shows its customers a rival store’s posts. The rival posts the remarks on the belief it’s participating in a closed online forum that customers never see.
I, too, have seen F&I managers vent about difficult customers or brag about a big sale in online posts. I’m positive they wouldn’t want competing dealerships to share those remarks with customers.
Warns Angus: “If you wouldn’t say it in an employment interview, don’t post it.”
