The privately owned store is not part of a dealership group. It is located about 17 miles southwest of Philadelphia, and it’s small. Robin Ford has just 35 employees, and last year it posted sales of around 600 new and used vehicles, down from the store’s usual annual volume of 700-800.
White, who worked as a field service manager for Ford for 33 years, said personal relationships and combating problems quickly help keep his customers from drifting to larger stores close by. When White spots a serious complaint, especially if it is an issue that he doesn’t want the store to be known for, he’ll often call the customer to try to resolve it. And any customer that calls the store and asks to speak to the general manager immediately gets routed to White.
Robin Ford does have negative reviews on DealerRater, CarFax and other Internet platforms. However, White said, those reviews often don’t tell the whole story.
“What concerns me most about the surveys the factory sends is that it doesn’t always address a customer’s immediate issue or what they are really concerned about,” said White, who is also a certified technician.
White said surveys from Ford tend to elicit comments about the design of the vehicle or some other aspect that the dealership has no control over. Recalls and other quality issues, for instance, often cause customers to lash out at the dealership.
“We were getting survey results that involved dissatisfaction with the product, which in most cases is out of our control to resolve. We were receiving a grade from the survey that was not reflective of customers’ concerns, so we decided to provide a personal touch,” added White.
