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Mike wrote nine (9) C8 deposits in three hours while at his desk and more...
During that time, I sold our 2015 Z06 to Criswell’s used car dept (a pre-arraigned, sight unseen, price-agreed, seamless, five minute process). Then Mike & I formally entered my C8 order into the GM WorkBench Connect system. For new followers of my C8 history, our C8 deposit has been with Mike since Feb. 1, 2015. He showed me today a copy of my original check I wrote then.
Amazing how many of his new customers are a result of referrals from his previous customers — a significant measure of how his customers feel about him. I asked him about that and he said that all of his Corvette orders are repeat customers or are referrals, e.g., no wonder Mike Furman @Criswell keeps selling more and more. He has not had a single dealership walk-in Corvette customer in at least eight years.
Purchasing Process Notes:
*To specifically enter my order, it took us about half hour, doing the slowest, most-methodical way possible to insure 100% accuracy, to go from start to completion of our order — including the separate, second step of his General Sales Manager entering it in the Master ordering system — thus generating my actual C8 status 1100 order number. Mike initially printed out my draft order, told me to go over it slowly line by line, comparing it to my spec list I brought with me into his dealership. For those not physically in his office when he enters your order, this is done over the phone, email, and/or by a fax. Either way, Mike follows up with the customer reviewing the written draft specs — for the customer to methodically review, line by line, the entire order form. Then once the customer has confirmed those exact order specs, the customer then signs and returns its signature page (Mike of course retaining the final specs in his computer). This double-check insures that the then-submitted order is flawlessly accurate.
BTW, my status 1100 order is XGHTXG, which I now remember as: X-tra Great HT(for its HTO two tone blue interior), X-tra Great.
*If one were to try to enter in a “delayed availability” LPO accessory, it could not be done for it is not even on Mike’s computer screen. Just for grins even though we know two of my LPO Accessories were Gm declared as “delayed availability,” he scanned his screen a couple of times — but neither were there. It was an attempt to order my desired LPO Edge Red engine cover and my visible carbon fiber mirror caps ; so I would have to order them separately later when they are no longer constrained.
*However, if one enters in a regular (non LPO) constrained option, such as my Elkhart Lake Blue color, it will allow that option, and thus that order would be entered into the system as a 1100 status order; however that order will be an internal “priority 99” (constrained) code. If I had instead ordered one of the initial allowed six allocation colors today, it would have gone in today as a “priority 1” (allowed) order. In either case, like every other status 1100 order, all of them will remain sitting at 1100 status until Thursday, September 12th (1st day of official constraints). It would become matched with Mike’s 50+ C8 monthly allocations on that date, and then quickly become status 2000 by Saturday, September 12th.
*Alas, as my Elkhart Lake Blue is color-wise constrained until Thursday, Oct. 3rd, my specific order will sit in 1100 status limbo AND also in “priority 99” until then. On October 3rd, two things happen (one as a result of the other). First, it would be changed to “priority 1,” and consequently as a priority 1 and it being matched with Mike’s 50+ C8 allocations for also that second consensus, it would move from its entry 1100 status to status 2000 by Saturday, October 5th.
To summarize was what happening in the three hours I was privileged to be in Mike’s office while he worked, in between Mike answering “fresh” C8 calls and then almost always accepting those folks’ $1000 refundable deposits, Mike starting to call some of his top 60+ time/date stamped C8 priority list and then asking them to today or soonest they were comfortable to provide him their actual specs, Mike was busy lining up next week’s C7 deliveries, arranging for Plycon Trucking to pick up far-flung incoming trade ins, or in reverse setting up deliveries for just sold C7’s (and the other eight (8) brands he sells), and his conducting similar purchasing activities.
It was a BIG FUN three hours watching Mike helping his multitude of customers.
I was asked via email to show it in this thread as it is in the visualizer:
During that time, I sold our 2015 Z06 to Criswell’s used car dept (a pre-arraigned, sight unseen, price-agreed, seamless, five minute process). Then Mike & I formally entered my C8 order into the GM WorkBench Connect system. For new followers of my C8 history, our C8 deposit has been with Mike since Feb. 1, 2015. He showed me today a copy of my original check I wrote then.
Amazing how many of his new customers are a result of referrals from his previous customers — a significant measure of how his customers feel about him. I asked him about that and he said that all of his Corvette orders are repeat customers or are referrals, e.g., no wonder Mike Furman @Criswell keeps selling more and more. He has not had a single dealership walk-in Corvette customer in at least eight years.
Purchasing Process Notes:
*To specifically enter my order, it took us about half hour, doing the slowest, most-methodical way possible to insure 100% accuracy, to go from start to completion of our order — including the separate, second step of his General Sales Manager entering it in the Master ordering system — thus generating my actual C8 status 1100 order number. Mike initially printed out my draft order, told me to go over it slowly line by line, comparing it to my spec list I brought with me into his dealership. For those not physically in his office when he enters your order, this is done over the phone, email, and/or by a fax. Either way, Mike follows up with the customer reviewing the written draft specs — for the customer to methodically review, line by line, the entire order form. Then once the customer has confirmed those exact order specs, the customer then signs and returns its signature page (Mike of course retaining the final specs in his computer). This double-check insures that the then-submitted order is flawlessly accurate.
BTW, my status 1100 order is XGHTXG, which I now remember as: X-tra Great HT(for its HTO two tone blue interior), X-tra Great.
*If one were to try to enter in a “delayed availability” LPO accessory, it could not be done for it is not even on Mike’s computer screen. Just for grins even though we know two of my LPO Accessories were Gm declared as “delayed availability,” he scanned his screen a couple of times — but neither were there. It was an attempt to order my desired LPO Edge Red engine cover and my visible carbon fiber mirror caps ; so I would have to order them separately later when they are no longer constrained.
*However, if one enters in a regular (non LPO) constrained option, such as my Elkhart Lake Blue color, it will allow that option, and thus that order would be entered into the system as a 1100 status order; however that order will be an internal “priority 99” (constrained) code. If I had instead ordered one of the initial allowed six allocation colors today, it would have gone in today as a “priority 1” (allowed) order. In either case, like every other status 1100 order, all of them will remain sitting at 1100 status until Thursday, September 12th (1st day of official constraints). It would become matched with Mike’s 50+ C8 monthly allocations on that date, and then quickly become status 2000 by Saturday, September 12th.
*Alas, as my Elkhart Lake Blue is color-wise constrained until Thursday, Oct. 3rd, my specific order will sit in 1100 status limbo AND also in “priority 99” until then. On October 3rd, two things happen (one as a result of the other). First, it would be changed to “priority 1,” and consequently as a priority 1 and it being matched with Mike’s 50+ C8 allocations for also that second consensus, it would move from its entry 1100 status to status 2000 by Saturday, October 5th.
To summarize was what happening in the three hours I was privileged to be in Mike’s office while he worked, in between Mike answering “fresh” C8 calls and then almost always accepting those folks’ $1000 refundable deposits, Mike starting to call some of his top 60+ time/date stamped C8 priority list and then asking them to today or soonest they were comfortable to provide him their actual specs, Mike was busy lining up next week’s C7 deliveries, arranging for Plycon Trucking to pick up far-flung incoming trade ins, or in reverse setting up deliveries for just sold C7’s (and the other eight (8) brands he sells), and his conducting similar purchasing activities.
It was a BIG FUN three hours watching Mike helping his multitude of customers.
I was asked via email to show it in this thread as it is in the visualizer:
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