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barrysharp
02-01-2003, 11:18 AM
Hi all Feb/Mar OSDers:

Have just got off phone with my Volvo sales person to make last minute sanity check on my XC70 order. The only item in question was the double billing for the wing profile load carriers which of course will be taken care of in final invoicing.

At end of the telephone call my sales person mentioned that various postings I've made in this forum/site have been used as documentation wrt other OSD orders requesting Jason Borsh to provide same favors/prices etc. My sales person was in no way getting upset with me, but has asked me to please tone down releasing my personal OSD order agreements/prices etc.

As far as I'm concerned I, and all others here, should be free to discuss the fine details of car buying be it via OSD or otherwise. If I've been of any help to others I'm pleased. Others have helped me get through my OSD process and so I certainly view it as a reciprocal arrangement.

My sales person said that VCNA (or simply Volvo) is getting a little annoyed at our knowledge exchange and has in fact Emailed/Faxed various things they've received to my dealership saying for them to talk with Barry and ask him to tone it down on the Chat forum!

As I've been a long time Volvo customer and have been with my dealership for over 25 years it's understandable that my dealership and VCNA have been treating me with respect and quite likely have given me favors that aren't necessarily being offered to others.

I've never contacted Jason directly and have always done my negotiations etc with my local salesperson and his management as I feel they stand up and argue my case(s). This has worked for me over the years.

At this point no one is too upset -- I'm not upset, my sales person isn't upset, my sales person's local management isn't upset and I'm sure Jason is doing his best to service everybody's needs as best he's able to. I think what has happened is that we have collectively brought some pressure on Volvo to treat OSD people in a consistent manner -- and IMO they should.

None of the above will alter me sharing OSD experiences of any kind with others in this forum -- and of course that includes guests of this forum so the numbers viewing our information exchange could be very large -- and it may be this fact that is causing VCNA/Volvo some grief!

I firmly belive in sharing facts/figures/experiences as I believe Volvo is better served by having a well informed customer base.

OK -- got that all off  my chest, and I feeeeeel GOOD.

Low Tide
02-01-2003, 12:04 PM
Barry,

Thanks for the post. This is a little disconcerting in a couple of ways to me. The OSD process is in many regards a fixed process. There are CERTAINLY favors granted in a lot of cases for people (like myself) who a repeat buyers. Over the last month I have pointd several people outside of this list to check into the OSD program- becausee of its value and unique experience.  That in itself should be the thank you that we pay back to our local dealers for the extra mile they go to make us happy.  

At the same time, we as the forum community have posted to varying degrees the differences across the OSD program, the knowledge and thouroughness of the sales staff to handle OSD orders for their customers, and the ability of Volvo (at any level) to get to the bottom of a question about the OSD program or the cars components.  This being said, the treatment of customers -whether first-time buyers or 50 year volvo customers- should be the same for the OSD program as far as VCNA is concerned.  If dealers want to offer other incentives, its within their grasp to do so... but so not fault Barry Sharp or Low Tide or Kersti or AutoMonkey... or _insert XC70.com OSD buyer's ID here_   For a company needing to increase visibility, sales volume, sales demographics etc... they should applaud our efforts to try to find consistancy- either the negative or (in the case of OSD) the positive and spread the word.  

That being said, there is an important point to be made. VCNA has an OBLIGATION to servce their OSD customers in a manner consistent with the reputation of VVC in Sweden. The program is the same for all, yet the knowledge of that program among VCNA employees and local sales staff is quite wide. It seems to amount to differences in training and foresight on the local sales teams to provide a consistent and wholly excellent experience. There is no excuse for asking you to tone it down or to do your best to educate fellows OSD participants into the in & outs of your experience. Volvo will grow into a more capable company with our feedback and knowledge. If there were regional differences on options, pricing, sales tactics- then fine... but there aren't. Differences are not published anywhere- nor is the program laid out in a consistent manner that is complete and totally forthcoming.  Miund you, we did not all sign oaths to VCNA to not share our respective experience with fellow and future Volvo enthusiasts.

There have been instances where ALL OF US, have used the cumulative knowledge of the forum to help us make qualitative and quantitative decisions. That is what a community of users do- right? If Volvo is perturbed by this, then fine- but they should call into question the training of there OSD representatives at the local dealers who either misinformed or misrepresented the program.  They should not turn into a Secret Volvo Police (SVP) asking us to stop talking about OSD or Volvo or whatever....

In all respects, we have praised the program and its official representatives- Jason included. We have also made every attempt to relay with accuracy information related to the OSD process. Barry, your name comes up because you share- they should also thank you for that fact since it is that shared experience that has driven others to take the OSD plunge. I would be angry if I were you, and i guarantee that if at any point I were asked to hide knowledge from other potential customers- I would be perturbed to say the least.  Now people will read about this and question exactly how they will be treated... not what VCNA wants.  Consistancy is all we ask.  

I'll go on and on, so I', hitting the reply button now!

Harrison
02-01-2003, 04:00 PM
Barry,
I commend your restraint with your dealer.
His request (and that of VCNA) was clearly unreasonable...and short-sighted.

He'd have you squelch information which might point a potential buyer in the direction of a Volvo purchase.

This, it would seem, demonstrates a contempt for informed buyers on the part of Volvo.
I'm sure your dealer will be none to happy with your disclosure on this thread either.
Too bad. You've a right to share information here, much as you might at a local pub over a pint with inqusitive mates.

The internet has opened more and more avenues of information for potential consumers along a broad spectrum of products. That genie is out of the bottle and it seems to be much to your dealer's shagrin.
I have little doubt that your candor here is being monitored with much hand-ringing and mumbled curses.
Again, too bad.

The truth is, Volvo has almost certainly sold more cars and
accessories for those cars as a result of potential consumers educating themselves on forums such as these...and they know it.

They are, in effect, biting the hand that feeds.
Petty and (more importantly) foolish.

A real black-eye for the folks at Volvo.

kersti
02-01-2003, 07:04 PM
I admit to being guilty of going directly to Jason with my requests, but only after by OSD dealer rep was not following through. In fact, I just received an updated order list and one item still was left off that I will have to correct on Monday. I am buying my first Volvo and spending more than I have ever spent on a car so I have approached this with trying to make this as good a choice as I could make it and have really appreciated all the assurances and help from this forum. I believe the only thing we have done is shared some of the possible options that were available and which ones they wouldn't budge on. In my case, no options were encouraged by the dealership. In the case of the $25 rear 12V that is the price that is listed in the OSD price list for the V70 which I pointed out to Jason and he agreed to, so we certainly did not try to untercut pricing. In this process, the only thing I was a little disappointed with is the inability to order exactly what suboptions we wanted when we were ordering it directly from the factory. And as so well said above, I believe several OSD cars were sold due to this active forum.

Kersti

stevel0923
02-01-2003, 09:44 PM
Barry,

I am sorry to hear how you were treated by the OSD office for your honesty and candor. The information you share and the questions you bring up are not only helpful but significant in deciding the means and the ways to purchasing a car through OSD.

I am a little miffed that there are so much back channel information concerning special incentives and quick promotions. None of these things are in writing and not all dealership are obligated to offer them. As a result they come and go as they please depending on the whims of the OSD office.

The only way we can keep up with the latest is through forums like these. By talking to other buyers and sharing our questions will we be able to discern the most current and accurate information. Besides the MSRP prices, why are all the other details with OSD purchases so secretive? Some people wanted the premium packages but couldn't get them after a while. Some people wanted direct shipment instead of European pickup. And others like myself wanted European pickup and not direct shipment. Thats half the fun of the OSD program!!

IN the end, I am really happy with my purchase and the money I saved through OSD. It was a little disconcerting when I saw how the promotions would change from week to week without prior notice. There...thats my 2 cents!

OH BTW....we just got our car at the dealership today! 9 days after it arrived in port in Los Angeles, we got paperwork for customs and a phone call from our salesman. Now, they will need a few days to prep it and put in a tank of gas. Now my wife's happy, I am happy, and my salesperson is really happy that I will not being calling every other day to check on the status of the car.... http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

Low Tide
02-03-2003, 12:10 PM
Hey there fellow OSD followers-

Just curious if:

1) Barry are you experiencing any post traumatic stress?
2) Anybody else had any fallout from the Volvo Secret Police?
3) Curious what the non-OSD folks and XC70 vets have to say about this?

-LT

barrysharp
02-03-2003, 12:37 PM
Low_Tide:

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">1) Barry are you experiencing any post traumatic stress?[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>

None whatsoever. I found it of interest that Volvo responded to me as they did -- it doesn&#39;t deter me from posting on XC70 issues, facts, dealership comments, pricing, and so on.

The *verbal* feedback to me was not specific so I really haven&#39;t a clue as to what they (who was not spelled out) requested me to tone down -- other than to quit posting altogether. What does &quot;tone down&quot; mean?

My OSD XC70 order is still in progress and hasn&#39;t been cancelled or altered in any way. http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

My guess is that some of my posted info wasn&#39;t what someone within the Volvo family of people wanted to see posted publically and caused some kind of internal grief for certain people (ie internal memos flying about). The outcome unfortunately could mean that Volvo employees may in future be less forthcoming or more reserved in releasing details to potential Volvo customers on/with special programs such as OSD. This aspect, if true, saddens me.