I Messed Up! How a Stupid Mistake Cost me a $50,000 Sale - Flying Wheels

[@sanitizer1234]

Hi Crig, can you help me get my whole sale license thanks

[@FlyingWheels]

Sure thing. Anything and everything you need to know is right here at www.StartYourDealership.com

[@lucygray6162]

The least you could do is get Craig's name right.

[@FlyingWheels]

@@lucygray6162 😅🤣

[@MrAaronchicago]

What's up Craig I've been buying and selling cars off and on over the last 15 years. Your videos have been so spot on. I just found your channel this month I wish I would have found you years ago!.

[@laughlikecharlie9040]

Takes a big man to admit when he’s wrong.. and you presented it to your whole audience.. you’re a good man Craig. We all learn from our mistakes

[@brianmaloney45]

The honestly and bearing of warts is great. Now go get yourself a great "executive assistant" and this won't happen again.

[@alexmabrok3932]

Well said Brian.

[@EL38ysuper]

I said that right before i read this 😂

[@drb996]

should probably just hire wife tbh

[@bill29456]

Hey Craig: Ive been following your channel for a while and you really seem to be an upright man. To admit when you dropped the ball when you didn't have to, shows integrity on your part. Looking forward to future videos.

[@nickuritu7301]

I can relate. My father started a roofing business about 25 years ago. In July 2020 I lost my father to COVID and me being the oldest son was left to continue the family business. I myself didn’t know the amount of things my dad went through on a daily basis juggling 2 business, 13 kids, 8 siblings back home, and most importantly the congregation at church. It’s been almost 2 years and I myself still need a lot more organized when it comes to my daily planning, which consists of putting to much on my plate for the day and some how some way I often sell myself short and having to cram it into my next day and after doing that a couple times middle to end of your week is a mess. I just take it that another day in this earth is another day that we can not only achieve something but learn something as well. Love the videos been following for a little over a year now and it’s awesome because my dad’s second business was buying salvage cars at auto actions and repairing them to state spec and resell them. Thank you very much and god bless!

[@joecool9739]

Find yourself some Mexicans They love doing good work But treat them fair

[@nickuritu7301]

@@joecool9739 here in Michigan all the Mexicans are in business of their own

[@jameslenox8229]

I would buy a car from you and I live in Nevada! We all try to handle more than we should. Hire me and I will help you with all the customer service!! Lol. Thanks for being honest!! Jim Lenox....

[@TheEnd-eg6wq]

13 kids, face palm!

[@nickuritu7301]

@@TheEnd-eg6wq my father didn’t believe in watching tv in his room at night 😂

[@roberttharp3650]

We all make mistakes your honesty is so refreshing Craig

[@josephremini7582]

I'm a small business owner with a huge following. I HATE it when I drop the ball & don't provide excellent customer service each & every time I work with someone. It literally feels like a punch when I would screw up. My mission statement is to be excellent at what we do & most importantly to be a bright spot in someone's day. I very much respect you making this video & sharing it. For me it's a reminder as I prepare for tomorrow. I'm sorry things got away from you and people were left disappointed. I know you're going to reap more business simply because you're "refocusing." I'm looking for a later model luxury vehicle in the next two months. I will reach out to you! Joe Fredericksburg Texas.

[@phil702x]

Craig, 1-all sales are final, BUT 2-gotta do what you say you’re gonna do. You say you’re calling them back, gotta call them back. I got too busy is not an excuse, ever. Love the channel. Best of luck.

[@dennisrobinson7587]

I absolutely agree.Whether it’s service in a restaurant or a major purchase customer service is key. I will deal with someone who’s product is more expensive than their competitors , just because they treat their customers the right way.

[@mikeschmalz5312]

Craig, you are a rare breed admitting you were wrong. I wish other car dealers would have an ounce of your integrity!

[@LFDC]

This video is why this channel is one of my favorites. In this day and age, honesty is hard to come by! Very refreshing!

[@JPAutoFleet]

Craig I love this. Owning your shit is what it's all about. I'm in the business myself and know all to well how things can slip through the cracks.

[@Pico-hq7ws]

Hey Craig, Great mea culpa video. It's SO easy to do this. What we need to try to do is remember Their perspective: "It's just a radio in a 20% discounted $6000 sweet vehicle" OR "It's my only car, I commute 1hr each way each day with no sound and the guy promised, failed, promised, failed.... (He thinks I'm worthless, maybe I am)". I know that's an OTT scenario, but we gotta try to see the other's viewpoint. Take care and keep up the good work!

[@ccnixon]

I have sold a few cars in my days. I am not a dealer, just a hustler on the side at times. Sometimes a person who doesn't even know that they will qualify for $50,000. line of credit on a used truck will look for something maybe newer or different once they learn a bank will give them the money. I have had that experience with buyers before. They brought up the first sale as an excuse to exit the deal on the Raptor.

[@jonathanatch]

I can understand the issue if getting so wrapped up in what you are doing that you lose track of things. I have the same issue and what I do is keep a notebook or scratchpad to keep track of all needed callbacks and important must-do, writing down meeting times and other promised times then looking at the list in any spare moment and beginning plus end of day checks before leaving.

[@TheBBodyBuilder]

Craig you provided an explanation not an excuse…at 50k the Raptor will still sell even with warts on its Title it’s way under the money. It’s unfortunate that the Compass buyer did not get looked after…but I’m sure the transparency will be appreciated by current and future clients.

[@johnhanselman6371]

It is good to be busy. Being too busy is not good and contributes to mistakes. Timely contacting the customer is crucial.

[@joecool9739]

I swear you and Aaron Marino (Alpha M) are long lost brothers Same voice, same face, same sense of humor, same dedicated customer service approach You guys should make a video together

[@yourfather5324]

Im glad I’m not the only one who saw a similarity 😂

[@gordonpeden6234]

I 'lucked' onto your site yesterday and have binged shamelessly. Love your work ethic and energy Keep the faith Bro.

[@4himsanctified]

me too

[@revilsdr]

Unfortunately this happens at a lot at dealerships after they sell you a vehicle they’re not nearly as motivated servicing the vehicle but that could make or break a future car purchase with the dealership.

[@leoruocco9128]

You are a good man don't be so hard on yourself you open honesty says what kind of a person you are. Thanks for sharing. It is very rare someone takes responsibility. You are a good car dealer but more important a good example for your son to follow... Bravo

[@carlosgarcia4505]

Love the honesty but you just confirmed the reason why people hate smaller dealerships. The pitty story was great but you got what you deserved. Glad you learned from this and glad you shared. I’m sure you won’t let this happen again

[@crz95]

In my country, a dealer wouldn’t think twice about this behavior. The sheer fact that you made a video of this shows what solid genuine person you are. Kudos!

[@MK7Volkzy]

Your honesty is incredible man, you’re in the car business for all the right reasons.

[@thepursuit1602]

No he isn't. He missed out on a huge profit from selling a damaged history truck. An airbag deployed vehicle is nearly impossible to find financing for - and yet he had a godsend from having a customer fall into his lap. He has been in this business long enough to know that he should care about customers, money is his objective. Not the customer. Or the vehicles. If it were the customer or the vehicle, a simple "fuse" for a radio would have been changed quickly. But I can guarantee it wasn't a fuse and he decided to ghost the customer because he didn't want to be straightforward telling them that it was a bigger problem. Snake oil salesman, pulling in all his youtube viewers. Lol.

[@tripcity752]

Also the man that wants to finance the truck is a viewer and he just wants the sale. Typical scum bag used car dealer

[@bbishoppcm]

We all make mistakes... it takes a strong person to admit them. It's refreshing to know that someone who sells used cars for a living is willing to admit fault, as you know all too well how the general public sees salesman in general.

[@gregdavis2364]

Short term loss and depending on the new sales price maybe no loss. I do agree though that you cost yourself future repeat customers and bad word of mouth advertising. Your integrity and honesty will win out. I enjoy your channel and thank you for the content

[@vintagetoys2490]

Brush off the 6k customer for the 50k deal..hey we all make mistakes. Don’t sweat it..more Papa Al and German!

[@brianmeegan6384]

Sorry to hear you came across as a more typical used car salesman, always focused on the sale rather than customer service. Better luck moving forward.

[@voodoo9777]

It’s good that you see where the fault was and try to improve from that . Takes a big man to admit where he went wrong.

[@omarzowila]

Don’t worry dude, nobody is perfect and we all make a mistake and at least you are an honest man

[@carlosquintana6930]

When a person is on a small business the only thing they keep you on Business is having a good customer service.. especially now on these days there is no more customer service🥺

[@ramza78]

Get somebody to do the follow ups? Maybe a family member? It’s easier when we all say it but even here in the west coast, it’s insanely hard to find workers/helpers! Good luck!

[@daviidee1]

To be honest Craig you dodged a bullet, if they were calling about a cheap car so much that you sold them at a good deal for $6k imagine the calls and headaches when something would have went wrong with the raptor. The phone calls and the messages and bring the truck back I wanted a new truck for $50k not one that has a few small issues… you got lucky they backed out. The next guy/gal who buys the truck will be the right customer! Love your videos and content you are a great guy! God bless.

[@bobthedude9322]

Good lesson but how much follow up are you expected to do on a cheap used car?

[@cheesecurd100s]

Well it's one thing if you gave them a deal on the car and are straight up about being as is, but he dropped the ball in saying he was gonna do something and then didnt.

[@jimmulderig743]

Follow up is the key 🔑 to all sales. Lesson learned.

[@A_Bone1972]

radio fuse wasn't pulled or memory saver wasn't connected on the $6k Jeep when the battery got replaced. just pointing out another small detail that could have been overlooked that may have pre-emptively avoided the problem

[@cesarsalvador1383]

I have a lot of respect for you taking the time and making this video, I hope you get to sell it soon and that those customers can go back to your shop again.

[@martinmostert8003]

That guy have all reasons to do what he did, if you leave my wife stranded I'll will leave you stranded, but you'll get the buyer for that truck it looks great get somebody to do follow ups it's a very important part of selling cars, enjoy your channel

[@richardloperena1608]

Very well put and said. Your point is absolutely correct. Thanks for sharing.

[@JRMagoo]

Don't beat yourself up over it too much. It happens. I run three businesses and recently I dropped the ball with two customers on one of my businesses. These were repeat customers also. I may have lost them. Only time will tell if they come back. But in the meantime I keep moving forward.

[@ryanjohnson8821]

Sounds like you just found another task that you need to delegate. You should have someone else doing the follow up for you, all you need to do in that situation is make the $$ decisions or step in on larger issues that get escalated. You can only do so much, taking on too much is how you slow the growth of your company and create bottlenecks that cause these type of issue bc you are juggling too much. You should make a list of everything you do in a week and any task that you can hire someone for $10-15/hour to do, you should not be doing it. Period.

[@bigchills7194]

Yeah sounds like maybe a customer service manager position might help now.

[@Julian-do7bv]

Stuff like this does happen but at least you are man enough to admit it and people will appreciate it im sure the truck will still sale

[@bigtalk7490]

Craig we run the same business here in Ireland. And this situation is common. The customer isn't always but they are a customer. The circule of are car business is people buy cars . If its there friends family next door neighbours. Word by mouth is always good business. Keep the head up craig

[@superczech69]

Heavy is the head that wears the crown. Lots to juggle, I get it. Nice to see a humble man from time to time.

[@anthonycolella7927]

I see your point, but u can still sell the truck just gonna take longer the money 💰 is still sitting on your lot

[@whollymindless]

The bummer is that German and his Finance person did their jobs. And the money didn't come in. That's the mistake.

[@humor62]

Did you think of possibly giving a discount on the truck to: 1) make the sale, and 2) Make it up to the customer, it may work. Nice Video though!

[@midwestfarm757]

The big dealer ships are also very busy, and the customer is finding out the hard way with staffing shortages that some shops have a 2 week lead time just to look at a vehicle for repairs.

[@goleafsgo8496]

Tough one Craig, never hurts to refocus yourself around the key elements of what has made you successful in the first place. Hopefully your apology and recognition of your failure may still save this customer? Not on the Raptor but on there next purchase. Cheers for sharing the good and the bad with all of your subscribers!

[@lil_cozy_]

I love your page and been following you for a while. I definitely hope to build my own dealership one day and will continue to follow. You do the right thing and you don’t find that often.

[@lshale7306]

I don't get it-when I purchase a used vehicle from a dealer I don't expect the dealer to pay for post-purchase repairs. It it either purchased "as is" or with a warranty. Yet Craig is going to repair a vehicle that was sold in less-than-perfect- condition. Is this an unwritten, non-legally binding expectation?

[@FlyingWheels]

Not at all but I'd be happy to take a look at something for somebody and help them wherever I can whether it is discounted labor or purchase of parts for them. Etc...

[@MrTimdtoolman1]

That is a tough one Craig, best of luck selling the Raptor, I hope you sell it soon.

[@jonr9234]

My grandfather always said that you learn from mistakes just try and make them small ones lol

[@tomklink6016]

Great to see you care for your customers glad that you told the world you made a mistake nice to see you have a heart good luck in your car sales

[@markwukoman6847]

Hey Craig. WRITE IT DOWN SOMEWHERE AS A REMINDER! Even a sticky note on a visor of a car! Guys need to be reminded constantly!.

[@johnputney8052]

Fell victim to something he has warned us about, always provide good customer service, even in a sellers market. So many dealers just don't care, collect the money...next sale...all sales AS-IS and FINAL. Very happy to see Craig point out what can happen when un-intentional poor service enters the scenario. With the Market, it's not a loss.

[@mph5896]

Wife is driving a $6k car but the husband is going to buy a $50k car? I call bull.

[@davidr6865]

Right they probably realized they’d go broke after buying the truck and flaked

[@miceinoz1181]

Suppose it all comes down to priorities. What number was customer service in your priority list those three days?

[@mach825]

I absolutely love this video! We all make mistakes. Taking responsibility for them is so honorable. So glad people are brave enough to step up!!

[@margaretwilkinson9140]

we appreciate your transperancy

[@thetechrando633]

Your intros just get better! Keep it up! By the way, very smart of you to acept your mistakes!

[@peterpeter6442]

We have all dropped the ball. You can still save the deal and get the customer back. We are all human and we all make mistakes.

[@petergarofolo9385]

Glad your back to your bread and butter videos Craig. 👍👍

[@hercules5549]

The spin around shots are killing me Smalls

[@tranquility2348]

Craig I'm so glad you went back to your roots! I resubscribed! This is why your channel is great...Not new cars..Not house flipping..Keep it up!

[@NorakTheDon]

Hey man, I RARELY comment on videos, but I totally respect your transparency.

[@mofomoco]

Keep it Craig. You are like the little bro i never had!

[@speakbigtruth9383]

the signage on your building is too small in my opinion. You need a giant flying wheel logo up there.

[@dukeshire09]

You have a staff of at least 4 . I watch lots of your videos very interesting topics . You’d benefit from micro management a bit let others make some decisions. Delegate customer issues and concerns German would be my go to guy . Set a bottom line for repair post sale of each car or have a cut off of 500 dollars but get your house in order . Your the face of the business just like I am mine . Your staff are your tools learn how to use and trust them with issues for better results . German could of taken car or the issue and given it the attention it needed you finance person could of closed the raptor deal and you could of been out supporting your business buying new cars . They say ABC here’s another one ABH always be hiring without good people to support your business and work flow and by trying your to constantly run things yourself you’ll run into walls I learned it the hard way years ago and it just cost you 50,0000 dollars!!!!

[@FlyingWheels]

All great advice!

[@gord2358]

I9t's been my experience that you can't satisfy every customer all the time. You just have to do your best.

[@nickhoffman5524]

Craig keep a daily check list of things to do on your phone and on paper especially when you get busy hope this helps love your videos

[@leevandyke8524]

Man ing up is tuff to do , good for you , you did the right thing.

[@Koala-Express]

Every business has a maximum limit of how much time you can devote to it. If you go over that limit, "hit happens! Sometimes it is better to stay small and focus on quality.

[@ryanjohnson8821]

Or scale up, eliminate or delegate the small tasks that take up time but don't help grow your business.

[@dannycrooks8462]

You need to get an assistant so this doesn't happen again things like this can ruin your business as word of mouth of a business not helping them spreads quickly it doesn't look good for your business it doesn't matter if it was a cheap car or dear car they should be treated well you really did drop the ball now they will tell others not to buy a vehicle from you a major screw up well done for admitting it

[@BillyT531]

Lessons well learned. Read Joe Girard's "I Can Sell You Anything". At one time, he was the number one Chevy salesperson in the country. Some great sales and customer service examples in his book.

[@loveovereverything3004]

The devil is in the details, you sort of are coming off as that prude small town car dealer only worried about the bigger sale. At least you manned up and addressed you messed up.

[@joesmith9483]

We all make mistakes when we are busy and rushed.

[@josepacheco1115]

Wish all sales person were like you.

[@Gonzo_Bubb]

I wouldn't worry about it. They should have more patience the way things are right now. Someone else will pick up that Raptor.

[@soyeux27]

How did you solve the radio and light cluster issue in the Compass ? Did you try to offer the client a (even) better deal for the Raptor, considering you forgot to answer her wife's requests ? What reason/excuse gave the Raptor client to let you know he would not buy the truck ?

[@malcolmstephenson556]

Nothing trumps Honesty! Great video! Thanks for Posting 👌

[@aleksandarbabic1554]

That's why I stay away from cheapy cheapy cars nothing but issues , in my dealer I always do extra mile for customer .It's hard sometimes but it's worth it long term

[@bigd9848]

I totally understand but you were busy. I know you can’t do everything. I see why the guy doesn’t want the Raptor but I don’t think he really wanted it. I guess you learned something ✊

[@michaelparker2225]

Good video and I think you learned your lesson. We have all bought a used car from a dealer and jumped through hoops. After the Corvette scenario where you were treated like a customer I think you get it now.

[@davidporter2770]

Just found your channel. As a car nut , especially Alfa, I love it. Good wishes from South Africa 🇿🇦

[@Tablesaw818]

So….what did you end up doing with the compass? Did you take care of the issues?

[@tuck6464]

Did you notice how , he couldn't resist, half-shaming the customer in the middle of the confession/explanation, accusing them of getting to good of a deal/price on the Compass to justify his lax service performance ? (a half-hearted KZbin apology, with a side order of shame on you, for buying a car the first day I listed it at such a good price) Sorry I ignored you / strung you along, but it's still kinda your fault. Again , typical used car dealer mentality, he could not take full ownership of the situation. Again, more than likely, we're not getting the whole story on the Compass transaction. We worked so hard getting you the financing on on that expensive Raptor, most dealerships couldn't get you a finance deal like that, YOU BASTARDS !!!!

[@Tablesaw818]

@@tuck6464 Yep. Noticed all of that. That’s why I asked if he took care of the compass customer. Not really surprised he didn’t address it though.

[@Maddo_Aussie]

Refreshing honesty!

[@dieseltech139]

Great content! 👍 The service after the sale means a lot. Good learning experience.

[@nickg9321]

I'm not buying the $50,000 Raptor because you didn't fix the radio in my $6,000 AS-IS Compass? They clearly didn't want the Raptor to begin with! Just my opinion.

[@coasttocoast-bn3yi]

Great content thankyou I'm in England flipping cars from home just been doing jobs on all my cars it's never ending 😂😂😂😂

[@thecarsurgeon529]

i think you need to find an employee/maybe teach them the ropes to help you with keeping track of the cars/office work. Will give you lots of space for bigger ideas

[@JeffXram]

I saw the previous video showing what you did to make the Acura TL ready for sale. I would love to see a full detailed video just about the process for deodorizing (cleaning) the inside of a vehicle with tons of cigarette/vape odor. Details of the how steps, video of the process, and products (soaps and other) you use to remove that type of odor..... carpets, headliner, seats, etc. That odor is so hard to take out of a vehicle.

[@muskokamike127]

While I agree, that a customer is a customer and should be taken care of, there is a point that you just can't continue jumping through hoops for. She bought a beater. If she expected it to be perfect she was kidding herself. The radio? If I (or anyone with any common sense) found out something like that didn't work I'd check the fuse if that wasn't the issue I'd say "ok, it's a bum radio, how much is one from crutchfield or some other aftermarket seller" and go on my way. For the record, man or woman, if you don't know how to check a fuse on a vehicle, you don't belong behind the wheel. PERIOD. The most expensive vehicle you will ever own is the one you didn't pay much for. You took care of the check engine light by saying yeah, it's a long way for you to come back here, why don't you get it checked out locally and have your mechanic call me? That's the big issue with their beater...... Yes, people get busy (I am swamped at the moment myself) and people have to understand that. I do. I had to order some lumber from a local mill and I normally get it within a couple of days and when it wasn't ready after a week, I didn't get pissed off, I just kept after them. They eventually opened up a slot for me and got me my order like 12 days after I ordered. They apologized, I said "no problem" and went on my merry way. Will I buy from them again? HELL yes..... BTW: this mill? They mostly sell to builders who will spend $40,000 on an order, I order maybe $200 every 3 months and have been doing that for 6 years...I'm a small fish to them and I realize this.

[@brandonmorris2513]

Heck of a story and pretty dang big of you to admit it. I wanna do business with you just because of these videos. Keep up the good work Craig!!

[@electromejia3889]

Hey Craig!!! Can you make a video about how far you go helping people after a sale?? I mean if you sold it as is, why would they still call you to fix the radio and the light ????

[@DaBaltimoron]

I didn't even know they had short cab Raptors. Cool.

[@minimcewen]

Wow...appreciate your honesty. Always do and I like your videos. I have that truck and if its similar to mine, mileage etc., then $50K is a good price and the truck is awesome--worth every penny. Hard to come by.

[@seanwalsh999]

You probably have a daily planer book, but I would add a daily log book of all the phone calls that come in and that you make, then at the end of each day you can see what has to be carried forward into the next day, stroke off those events that have been taken care of, ii helps when you have a lot on the go.

[@douglynch7285]

Easy fix … if you have an iPhone just say’Hey Siri set a reminder to call …you can even do a specific date and or time …. I do this for my real estate business and it works great!

[@blocheadz]

I’d love to buy that Raptor. Crew cab would be perfect.

[@gavincherrie8554]

Lesson learned !