My wife and I were excited to place an order for the cargo van we planned to customize and use to travel the country. Lots of planning, discussion and dreams went into the final choice. Unfortunately, it turned into a nightmare. We placed our order in August of 2020 and gladly wrote the $5,000 deposit so Spitzer FORD could place our order. Spitzer said it would be 8-10 weeks, but we added a few more and thought we would have our dream vehicle sometime in November. LOL, what dreamers. As the date approached my wife started calling for updates. She would leave voice mails and nobody would call her back. She kept calling and eventually was able to get someone on the phone. They could not provide any information on our van but said they would look into and get back to us. After a lot more back and forth they said the van was built and on the way. Then they quit giving us updates, uh oh. More calls and left voice mails we finally got someone on the phone and learned that our van was sold to somebody else. Many calls later, dealer thought it was funny that our van had even been in for an oil change.
GM said he would rush another order and do what it takes to make it right. Some time goes by with no updates so we reach out to them again. Once again we do the dance, leave VM with no response and keep trying until we get someone on the phone. They finally told us the van was delayed until June. This is 10 months after we gave them $5,000. At this point I called the GM, left him a voice mail requesting the order and VIN number. Over a week goes by and he has not bothered to return my call. My wife and I discussed and agreed to cancel the order and go to another dealer. Three weeks later and I still have not heard from the GM.
Wonder, thunder, blunder is the classic evolution of a company run by multiple generations. Wonder is the person that has the inspiration to start the business. You never know when thunder (grow it to the next level) or blunder (bleed it dry) will happen. You can have any combination after wonder and sometimes they repeat. Back to back thunder is known to happen. George Sptizer was the wonder and the first of four generations to run Spitzer automotive. His son Del looks like he was definitely a “thunder” taking the company to the next level. Leann learned something interesting in her discussions with the dealership, the owner is never in the store, ever. Sounds like BLUNDER to me, I don’t know if it is 3rd, 4th or both generations.
Update from Spitzer: Leann kept thinking about how we were treated and decided to call the corporate office and log a complaint. They listened, said they would call the GM and get back to her. You guessed it, over a week later and we have not heard back.
I plan to discuss with FORD customer service. FORD is also a multiple generation business. I will let you know if they are wonder, thunder or blunder.
April 12, 2021 Ford Update: I called FORD customer service to register a complaint about one of their dealers. I talked to customer service, explained everything that happened. She listened asked some questions and said they would look into it. Well at least she didn’t promise to call back. I am fairly confident we will never hear from them again