DealerKnows
Where Do I Start?
  • Services
    • Training
    • Consulting
    • Creative Video
    • CRM Accountability
    • CRM Analysis
    • Professional Speaking
    • Bundles
  • Products
    • TaskTeacher
    • PriceMatrix
    • Dealer Forensics
  • Clients
    • Results
    • Reviews
  • About
    • Joe Webb
    • Bill Playford
    • DK Team
    • Ask the Experts
  • Blog
  • Videos
    • Funny Videos
    • Educational Videos
    • Dealership Videos
    • Conference Videos
    • Make Me A Star
  • Contact Us
  • Services
    • Training
    • Consulting
    • Creative Video
    • CRM Accountability
    • CRM Analysis
    • Professional Speaking
    • Bundles
  • Products
    • TaskTeacher
    • PriceMatrix
    • Dealer Forensics
  • Clients
    • Results
    • Reviews
  • About
    • Joe Webb
    • Bill Playford
    • DK Team
    • Ask the Experts
  • Blog
  • Videos
    • Funny Videos
    • Educational Videos
    • Dealership Videos
    • Conference Videos
    • Make Me A Star
  • Contact Us
Where Do I Start?

Diners, Drive-Ins, and Internet Sales

Share With:

As I grow older, I have found that my choices in dining out have changed considerably. When I was in college, fast food, delivered pizza, and family dining establishments sufficed when cafeteria food couldn’t. As I headed into my mid-20s (firmly stuck in YUPPY mode), fine dining was the only way to go. As I’m cresting my mid-30s, it’s all about finding authentic restaurants that are firmly off-the-beaten-path. All the hail the Greasy Spoon.

We all know Greasy Spoons. The wait staff is affable, the menus are relatively simpleDK Bacon, and most have specialty dishes that can only be found at that particular establishment. Orders are curtly barked-out in the kitchen, and the cooks operate with blazing military precision. The bacon always tastes best at a Greasy Spoon.

Now, let’s imagine a Greasy Spoon where the hamburgers are cooked to shoe leather. The eggs are served so runny that they remind you of snot. The fries are golden on the outside, and frozen in the middle. The pancakes are served with no syrup. Would you leave a tip? Would you recommend it to your friends? Would you ever go back again? Probably not.

Internet-lead responses are like orders for food. The customers who receive a response that’s way too late are getting overcooked hamburgers. A response that doesn’t add any value is a plate full of runny eggs. Getting a quick response with no-follow up is a basket of frozen fries. Receiving a response with insufficient information is a short stack of pancakes without any syrup. All of these situations can be solved with additional interaction with the staff. However, any chance of gratuity is likely gone, you’re more apt to tell your friends about the negative experience, and the likelihood of returning to that Greasy Spoon is pretty slim.

If the publicly traded auto groups are like McDonald’s, and the regional multi-rooftop dealers are like In-and-Out burger, where does that leave you? The Greasy Spoon.

The cure for an Internet hangover-DealerKnowsLike any order of food, every lead is on a timer. Every lead is a customer. The customer doesn’t know if the kitchen is short staffed, or if the oven is broken. They don’t know that the manager called in sick, or if the health inspector is there. All the customer knows is that the food is on the menu, and they placed an order. The only thing that matters is that the food comes out timely and it’s tasty. The rest is irrelevant.

Bill Playford • August 9, 2013 • Lead Management and Process

Tell Me About It

Click here to cancel reply.

  • Best Of
  • Most Read
  • 3 Important Questions That Need Answering for 2023
    By Bill Playford
    December 19, 2022
  • sales questions - DealerKnows4 Basic Categories of Sales Questions You Need to Know
    By Joe Webb
    October 24, 2022
  • Screen door on a submarine - Accountability , DealerKnowsAccountability and the Management Screen Door
    By Bill Playford
    May 1, 2022
  • improv comedyHow Improv Comedy Builds Companies
    By Joe Webb
    July 2, 2019
  • sales managementThe Manager Who Doesn’t: A Guide to Better Sales Management
    By Joe Webb
    June 2, 2016
  • sacred cowCan you Kill a Sacred Cow?
    By Joe Webb
    January 12, 2016
  • The LeftoversWhat Happens When They Disappear?
    By Bill Playford
    August 29, 2015
  • DealerKnows CurmudgeonsFamous Last Words: The Way We Have Always Done It
    By Bill Playford
    July 26, 2014

Categories

  • All About BDCs
  • Ask the Expert
  • Comic Strips
  • Competitive Edge
  • DealerKnows Data
  • DealerKnows Press
  • DealerKnows Testimonials
  • Digital Marketing
  • Digital Marketing Conferences
  • Gotta’ Share
  • Internet Strategy
  • Lead Management and Process
  • Leadership and Sales Management
  • Quotables
  • Sales Training
  • Small Business Consulting
  • Social Media and Reputation Management
  • Technology
  • Vendor Relations
  • Websites and Online Search

Search Posts

Sign Up for DealerKnews

There are craptastic newsletters, then there is DealerKnews. Get all of our posts without having to set up a RSS feed. Start getting a monthly megadose of geniusness. Its like steroids for your brain.

Latest from the Blog

Stop Searching for Home Runs in Your CRM and Start Putting the Ball in Playby Joe WebbRead blog post

Contact us

We really, really, really want to talk to you.

Get In Touch with Us

Sign Up for DealerKnews

There are craptastic newsletters, then there is DealerKnews. Get all of our posts without having to set up a RSS feed. Start getting a monthly megadose of geniusness. It’s like steroids for your brain.

© 2025 DealerKnows | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use