Thanks for your help! Now what?

April 6, 2008 1:21 PM

Writing a thank you letter to a car dealership.

After recently having had an outstanding buying experience purchasing a new car, I wanted to thank the involved employees with a letter. I have a few extra questions/details about this:

• There are two specific people I dealt with that I'd like to write separate letters to - the employee who sold me the car (business card states his title as "Fleet Manager") and the employee who handled my financing (business card states his title as "Finance Manager").
  
• Is there a big boss I should also address a thank you letter to, to praise the employees I worked with? I don't know who exactly is the big boss, so should I just address it to the dealership itself or is there some specific title the boss would go by?
  
• I was referred to the dealership by some friends who were able to get me some nice discounts. Should I mention these people in my letters too?
  
• I do not mind writing multiple personalized letters so long as I have my bases covered and the people I worked with get some credit for their part as employees at the dealership.

Besides their professionalism, what other things should I thank them for in their letters? What kind of things does a car dealership owner (manager? Big Boss!) look for in thank you letters that would benefit the specific employees who helped me? Any other advice on thank you letters in general?

posted by zippity to work & money (5 comments total)

What kind of things does a car dealership owner (manager? Big Boss!) look for in thank you letters that would benefit the specific employees who helped me?

The one thing that Big Boss probably won't like hearing is, "Your employees sold me a car really cheap," which means that Big Boss gets less money. So in your letter to him, be sure to tell him things he'd like to hear -- you were very pleased with your purchase and the employee's professionalism and dedication, and that you will recommend the dealership to friends / come back for future purchases.

Who the Big Boss is, I don't know. You might try calling and ask for who's in charge, explaining that you'd like to know who to address your thank-you letter to. If you're unsuccessful with that avenue, you could always be funny and just address it to, "Zippity's Car Dealer, Attn: "The Big Boss," 123 Main Street..." It'd probably end up in the right hands.
posted by fogster at 1:38 PM on April 6

When I recently bought a car, the dealer told me the single biggest thing I could do to show my appreciation was on the comment cards/surveys I was asked to fill out. She told me that -and number of sales- is basically how the higher ups judge them.

If it's not already know, I'd mention the referrals. Not for your friends sake, but rather it shows that your dealer has a good word-of-mouth reputation.
posted by jmd82 at 2:30 PM on April 6

Compose one letter naming the individuals you had good experiences with and send that letter to the "general manager" of the dealership and also to the customer relations department of the car maker (GM, Chrysler, etc).

Big Boss won't mind hearing that you feel like you got a good value for your money- they simply aren't going to sell you a car if they aren't gaining something from the sale.
posted by gjc at 3:26 PM on April 6

I would write to the sales manager. He is the boss of the person who sold you the car and is ultimately responsible for all the cars being sold by the dealership. You can probably find his name on the car dealership's web site.
posted by LightMayo at 5:48 PM on April 6

The want referrals more than anything else in the world. Just tell everyone you know about your experience and help them drum up business.
posted by ZackTM at 8:56 AM on April 7