MINI Sales Executive here for the banter :-)

[Shannon]

Hi Guys,

I work for a MINI dealer in Edinburgh and just wanted to pop myself on here and see what customers are chatting about and find out what they like/don't like etc :-) also if I can help with anything please do ask :-)

Let the banter commence!

Shannon x

[weefossy]

Hi Shannon, can I ask which dealer you work for? What mini do you drive?

[Gismo]

Hi Shannon, can I ask which dealer you work for? :thumbs up: :welcome:

[Craig]

I hope it's not the dealer that made a 50% markup on my car despite telling how my low mileage immaculate car was worth less than bottom book :argh:

If not, then :welcome: to NMS ;)

Also if you just here for the banter, is there a reason why in another thread your asking if someone is still looking for a car ??

[Shannon]

Hi Craig,

Maybe I should ask which dealer that was before I mention where I work :-S

I just find it interesting to know what channels people are using to look for cars at the moment, whether dealers are most popular or if people are more and more considering buying privately. It's a strange one because people sell privately to make money and buy privately to save money seemingly so just like to know when someone is looking for something quite specific like that if they consider all avenues, auctions, private traders etc or if they would only ever stick to approved cars. I haven't been in the motor trade long so I like to get all the information I can and it's also better hearing directly from the customers, from my point of view anyway. :-)

Thank you for your welcomes :-)

Shannon x

[stoney]

Where you the one chasing the rabbit by any chance ;) :welcome:

[stoney]

3931

Here you go ;)

[Shannon]

Hi Stoney, yes that would have been me! Genuinely the fright of my life! Ha ha!

Yes I work at Eastern MINI in Newbridge, have done for almost a year now :-)

Shannon x

[Craig]

Hi Craig,

Maybe I should ask which dealer that was before I mention where I work :-S

I just find it interesting to know what channels people are using to look for cars at the moment, whether dealers are most popular or if people are more and more considering buying privately. It's a strange one because people sell privately to make money and buy privately to save money seemingly so just like to know when someone is looking for something quite specific like that if they consider all avenues, auctions, private traders etc or if they would only ever stick to approved cars. I haven't been in the motor trade long so I like to get all the information I can and it's also better hearing directly from the customers, from my point of view anyway. :-)

Thank you for your welcomes :-)

Shannon x

Well it turns out you work for the dealer that treated me as I mentioned. Very short sighted as we (as a family) are now on our 11th MINI and are hugely into the MINI scene. As it is I'm looking for another one in the summer but ill never be back. :(

I wish you all the best on NMS as there are fantastic bunch of guys and girls here ;)

[stoney]

Hi Stoney, yes that would have been me! Genuinely the fright of my life! Ha ha!

Yes I work at Eastern MINI in Newbridge, have done for almost a year now :-)

Shannon x

I'm not surprised

take it was a wild on and not a pet :)

[ianking]

Welcome to NMS.

I have used eastern for years and havent had any problems.

I actually think its good that dealers are popping onto here to say hello.
If anything it will make the site busier.

[ELFMAN]

Hi Shannon :welcome:

I was going to say "We have a spy in our midst", but spies usually work incognito!

Quote: "I just find it interesting to know what channels people are using to look for cars at the moment, whether dealers are most popular or if people are more and more considering buying privately. It's a strange one because people sell privately to make money and buy privately to save money seemingly so just like to know when someone is looking for something quite specific like that if they consider all avenues, auctions, private traders etc or if they would only ever stick to approved cars. I haven't been in the motor trade long so I like to get all the information I can and it's also better hearing directly from the customers."
So this is basically a 'Dealership Survey' thread? :idunno:
I appreciate your honesty, but you might've learned more by being just "Shannon" instead of a 'MINI Sales Exec', and we could be us, and not "Customers"! :smilewinkgrin:
Anyway, FYI I'm on my 3rd MINI since 2001, all bought new and traded in at Douglas Park MINI in Hamilton. Reason? Decent Dealer, peace of mind and ease of execution - Simples.
Oh, and great cars of course! :motoring: :thumbs up:

There are so many MINIs (and so many models) around these days that people have a lot more options when it comes to buying 'used' than in the past. I suppose it comes down to the basic fact that they have to weigh up the 'extra cover' provided by buying a 'cherished' MINI from a dealer, but paying a premium for that peace of mind, against the possible "Caveat Emptor" ("let the buyer beware") pitfalls of a private sale, but probably saving a few £££ by taking that risk.

[Shannon]

Hi Craig,

I am so sorry to hear that I really am. I know the dealership would be hugely disappointed if they thought any customer feels they were treated unfairly. This is a real shame. If you want to message me some details I could have it looked into for you by the people at the top?

I only feel able to speak for myself personally on this site but I pride myself on my customer service and hope that I would never have a customer left feeling unhappy or let down, by myself, or the dealership. :-(

11?? I daren't ask how old you are :-P

Shannon x

- - - Updated - - -

Stoney, honestly, last thing at night, in the dealership myself and I went to pop a file behind a box at my desk (my version of filing) and saw...what I stupidely thought was a scarf or something haha...turns out it was a moving scarf with eyes and a mouth and all the other things that go with being a rabbit ha. I literally did chase this thing around for some length of time, had it not been me doing it, I would have found it very amusing to watch :-)

Ian, that's good to hear and I am glad you come back to us as we certainly value customer loyalty.

Elfman, ah yes, I did once apply to be a spy but failed as I couldn't remember my alias so i thought, best stick to what I know. I should clarify, I am not on this site to snoop, or to tout for business or anything of that sort. I am a young woman new to the industry and I wanted to be able to see what is important to customers, what annoys them, what impresses them and what we, as sales people can do better to improve the buying experience. MINI have the edge ver a lot of brands as customers get excited about buying them, most car purchases are a thing of dread to the majority of folk and I want to try, where possible to improve on this. I will say again, I am not here representing Eastern, all views are my own and the dealership has no involvement in what I post on here.

Hope this may help any questions regarding my intentions. Or maybe time will do that :-)

Shannon x

[ELFMAN]

I know you're not 'snooping' Shannon - otherwise you wouldn't have given us your background :smilewinkgrin:

To show good faith, and what a friendly bunch we are on NMS, I've added some info to my last post.

ps You'd be very popular if you could fix our Craig up with a wee sweetener though!!!! Especially with Craig :yes nod:

[Gismo]

More than happy to have dealers on board and not that i expect you will, but, please refrain from chasing people via PM if they show an interest in a vehicle, by that i mean if they don't request or contact you direct, no cold calling :lol:

Feel free to post up any offers that your dealer may be having :thumbs up:

[Craig]

Not afraid to give my age Shannon - only a few months away from the big 40 :thud: they say it doesn't hurt !!

Not sure going over the details will change anyone's mind as Hazel knew me from some time before at her last dealership and dealt with the transaction. Just felt really disappointed and let down that I was being told one thing and then the dealership profiteered on my misfortune as I had to put several thousand into the finance deal to hand the car back :(. Lesson learned I suppose.

[Gismo]

Actually, Eastern used to be a paying sponsor on this site..........no charges anymore, but.........if your company wanted to come back on board and offer our members some kind of deals on parts, services and sales then perhaps we could look into opening the dedicated section for you?

[ELFMAN]

Not afraid to give my age Shannon - only a few months away from the big 40 :thud: they say it doesn't hurt !!

:off topic: 3932
Craig, just in case, I got a 'general anaesthetic' for my 50th last December... that seemed to do the trick! :thumbs up:
If you listen carefully, you can hear Ian and Malcolm drooling over this picture.

[Craig]

Craig, just in case, I got a general anaesthetic for my 50th in December...

:lol:

[G17RDY]

Nice to see dealer representation on the forum, actually surprised there are not more people from dealers across Scotland on the forum.

Welcome along Shannon!

[JOHN MILNE]

welcome along shannon enjoy our forum
i buoght my mini from eastern

[RobSco]

Hi Shannon

Welcome to New Mini Scotland... :thumbs up:

:welcome:

[T5LLC]

:welcome: Shannon :)

I'm one of Susan's customers at Eastern, bought all 3 mini's from Susan there. can't fault sales department, always great with me! :)

[weefossy]

Euan, that's a much better investment than a mini. My bottle of 25year old Bunnahabhain is now selling at £225. Sioban bought it for me last year for £125. But of course the real win is when we "write it off"........ (decide to open it.) :drool:

[rosslamb]

Welcome Shannon. I was a regular in the dealership when looking for my Lou and also trying to convince the parents that a Countryman is a better investment than a BMW crossover.

[MINIme:)]

:welcome: nice to have you on board Shannon ;) Make yourself at home!

[N16SHP]

Hi Shannon, welcome to NMS!

I have bought two of my Mini's from John Clark Aberdeen and one from Blue Bell Wilmslow. I cannot fault the sales department at JC, have always been pretty decent with me, especially John and Mark. The service department on the other hand. They used to be terrible, and now I would say they were a solid average at best. Blue Bell was terrific, cannot fault them at all. If they were not so far away I'd do all of my business with them.

Looking forward to seeing your input on here from the sales side.

Neil

[Stewart]

Shannon, welcome to the site!

[KenL]

Welcome to the site Shannon.

Bought my first Mini from eastern in 2002 and my second in Stirling mainly because they were a site sponsor and their sales exec was active on here.

Bought my last 2 from Vardy. I found them much more straight forward and up front to deal with than Eastern when shopping for the S I bought in 2009.

[AndyP & Lenore]

:welcome:

A bit more feedback you can take back to management if you wish.

If a customer comes in asking about a £37,000 JCW Countryman and if you are going to get a demonstrator in, it might be better to take them seriously rather than virtually laughing at them and dismissing them as not worthy of proper attention.:ragin::frown:

Just sayin':shut up:

A.

[Shannon]

Hi All, thank you so much for all your welcoming messages, seems like a very friendly site! :-)

I am glad you have all had good experiences (mostly) with our dealership and with others. Contrary to popular belief, we don't relish in people slating our competitors, we just hope that all dealers are doing the brand proud as a bad name for one dealer can quickly become a bad name for MINI and that's certainly not what we want.

AndyP, I'm sorry to hear this, I'd be interested to know what happened if you felt you weren't dealt with correctly, if you can PM me that would certainly be useful for my manager to investigate.

On another note, who's taking the MINI to do some Dohnuts in the snow?? Or Snow-nuts if you like? Boom Boom :-)

Shannon x

[Neil - TXJ]

Hi Shannon and welcome along.

Anything that can be done to speed up the delivery and collection process when the car is in for service / repairs.

Everyone polite but I don't want to be asked if I want a coffee 3 times I just want in and out as quick as possible.

You know I am bringing the car in but don't seam prepared and you have to wait while you do things that you would have thought could have been done before.

Neil.

[Tam1314]

Hiya Shannon, hope you have a good time here 😄