Ben Thompson

HenryB responded

I absolutely will. It would be great if he could contact me actually. My contact information is with Jose and Matt. Happy to offer my feedback and share how this experience could impact consumers that are misled, misinformed and hurt by this particular sales tactic.

HenryB responded

Here is my email to Matt B. I hope receives my email and understands my concerns and frustrations. I implore customers that are ill-informed about this dealership to really understand what they may be subject to based my honest and forthright response. Hi Matt, My name is Henry , I wanted to express my deepest dissatisfaction in the way your dealership is handling the sales of its new Toyota vehicles. On Saturday, February 1st , I had appointment setup through “Chrissy” who is your AI person. I had a series of email back and forth with Chrissy to setup a on-site visit to see the car I was interested in. I wanted to go through the process to secure this vehicle so much that I even reached out to your Internet Manager Ashley Jackson to learn best way to secure the ride that fit our family needs (black carolla xse hatchback which is in transit). At no time during the exchange between Ashley and I was I informed about your internet pricing restrictions for local area residents. That was issue number one- please be open, honest and transparent to your costumers right off the bat so that it doesn’t waste anyone’s time, destroying hopes and mislead people into thinking there might be an opportunity to purchase a vehicle at the advertised price. Secondly, the language on your internet is at the very bottom of the page and should be included in an asterisk that more clearly draws the customer to the fact that you have a specific criteria for your product pricing. And the language in your disclaimer is vague and misleading because as a Maryland resident that works in the local community, I would think I am eligible for the internet pricing if that is your dealership policy. Again, my point is your site and sales tactic isn’t really demonstrating honesty and full transparency. I wish it would elaborate on being a resident of the dealership within 50 mile radius and demonstrating proof at the time of sales. Nothing stated that. Third, and this is where it really hurts the most. My children saw me get turned away by your salesperson for a car that we talked about and they really liked. We traveled 1 hour up to the dealership with the hopes of getting a new ride. I had the money, was even willing to finance and get the warranty from your dealership boosting revenue and sales for your location. I explained to Jose V. my salesperson the situation and why and my willingness to buy because of my budget and family need. He immediately turned me away once he found out my zip code was 20639. His exactly words is that I am not eligible for the internet price because I wasn’t from the local area. In my 20 years of purchasing vehicles, I have never heard of this and felt this discriminated. Because I live in another part of the state, I was not eligible for a certain advertised price! Wow! That was not even expected. I thought I was coming to a place where I would not be judged for pricing by where I lived. I asked immediately to ask to the sales manager. Matt R. came and he gave me a detailed explanation as to why he couldn’t give me the sales price. Matt by the way is awesome! He saw my kids in distress about the whole situation even with me elevating my voice over frustration that he found a nice way to make me feel valued and appreciated before leaving your dealership. But here is thing, I can’t let this go unaddressed, I didn’t sleep good the last few nights and my 10 and 7 year old who witnessed what happened were astute to the whole situation. The first thing they noticed at their young age is how discriminatory your dealership is towards “people”. My 10 year asked me if it was because of our color we were turned away, my 7 year old felt that they just didn’t like us. Both young women saw and witnessed discrimination at its finest. When Matt explained we had to live in a certain proximity to the dealership to get the price we could afford and was advertised they were so shocked that this day in age we were forced into to a higher price because we didn’t live at your local area. It’s now my duty as a father to explain to them is is not right. You are not setting the right example. Also, sir, your way of forcing an extra 1,000 for lo-jack without warning of the upcharge is not right either. That is predatory behavior on the less informed and it really should be an option and not a mandatory price. That should be really re-examined especially when there is a limited supply of vehicles and we are expecting to see increase costs to cars due to tariffs and other costs to consumers increase over the next few years. A lot of other dealers sell the product as a standalone product and not force their consumers into to. Again, this gives your dealership a bad reputation. I mean I didn’t realize it until saw your Edmond reviews when I got home after my rejection of the aforementioned advertised price. Sir, please, do take this with the most professional and respectful feedback possible. Your dealership left a bad taste in our mouths. It felt so bad that I needed to tell you my story. And I will not stop at letting others know what they can expect at this dealership until you do right by the customer. I pledged to my daughters that it’s ok to handle this situation with kindness, by telling others your story with the hope that one day we will never be discriminated against again in terms of discounted pricing because of where we live, and how misled we were about the advertised pricing. Thanks for your time and consideration of this letter. Sincerely, Henry

tyreesepate responded

Yes