Genesis Dealer Experience

[grtday]

Hats off to Genesis Corporate for OWNING the Houston news hour/prime-time airwaves. In light of their over $100 million advertising budget, I'm not surprised by the plethora of television and digital ads is very impressive. From the numbers I have seen, it seems to be working for them and my dealer, West Houston Genesis is showing it in their inventory and the number of cars (both Hyundai and Genesis) they are moving. More hats-off to my dealer, Ben, Matt, Avi, and Gordon for gearing up to move into their new mega-location, just a mile east on the Katy Freeway. Steel is up and soon, the concrete will go down!
I know that Genesis is Hyundai's luxury vehicle division, and while fairly new, every new Genesis model is made with precision engineering to deliver unrivaled levels of reliability and set a new standard for sophistication. My G90 is a prime example of that engineering.
HOWEVER, from what I read on here and in my own experiences, the Genesis DEALER experience is severely lacking. I went to another dealer just to shop them. I walked in about noon, slapping my checkbook, touching Genesis vehicles, opening their doors and NO ONE even acknowledged my presence, much less tried to sell me a vehicle. HUGE fail!
At West Houston Genesis, IF they know you are a Genesis driver, they will make a concerted effort to treat you as a Genesis driver expects. However, it is a LONG way from the (to use a term from "Pretty Woman") 'suck-up' factor delivered in a Mercedes, Lexus, Audi, Porsche, or BMW dealership. Even the lounges are spartan and strictly vanilla. I expect those amenities will be significantly enhanced when WHG moves into their new store, but since my first Genesis in 2009 to date, the Genesis ownership experience has been mostly good, but not as exceptional as the their esteemed competitors. I
I have 2 PRIME Genesis customers (they are knowledgable 'car-guys', driving Porsche, Audi, BMW, and Mercedes, are financially comfortable, and would be magnificent Genesis owners.) But, I'm not eager to take them to my dealer as that experience is a far-cry from what they have experienced and expect. Sadly, I doubt they will ever make it into a Genesis dealership. I can certainly understand WHY Genesis is demanding dealers build separate stores. Let us hope they follow through and make sure the Genesis -experience segment is fulfilled!
To do my part, I will offer to take my dealers current service managers with me when I take my Mercedes in for service, allowing them to experience that 'suck-up' factor and extra quality effort they exude. I hope they will all do this before opening their new stores. (Let's also hope they do not learn "Mercedes speak's 2 phrases: $500 and $1000.)
I'll keep you all apprised.
Thanks for reading my rant!

 

[dgdrew00]

I completely agree. Having owned four Jaguars, three BMWs, and a Mercedes my recent experience buying a GV70 was like purchasing a Chey Vega in the 70s. They have a LONG way to go.....

 

[Tau]

Hyundai retailers earn it everyday!

 

[mtrot]

Hyundai retailers earn it everyday!

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How is Lincoln even on that list. Last year, I thought I'd stop in to the local Lincoln dealer to check out the Aviator and Nautilus. They only had one vehicle on the floor, and there was no sales person in sight. It turned out the sales guy was on the other side of the building, which is the Honda side of the dealership. He finally came over and spoke with me, but I was not real impressed with his knowledge of the vehicles.