Tonight on our way home, Edmund and I were talking about someone we thought was a friend but unfortunately we realized just today that he was never our friend. We have high respects for him and my husband was particularly magiliw sa kanya. Lahat ng grand launching namin, he makes it to my husband’s VIP list. Not anymore, beginning today.
We didn’t know that he has issues with his vehicle. When he brought it to Makati Ford service center, our people recommended complete replacement of a particular part. They based it on the manufacturer’s manual— when this is broken, it should be replaced, not repaired. There are parts that could be repaired. Some need outright replacement based on the guidelines set forth by the manufacturer. Because our people recommended replacement instead of repairing, he is now accusing us of inventing so we could collect more money from our customers.
We are extremely disappointed and hurt. That’s a sweeping statement that is baseless, offensive and dangerous. If we are cheating our customers, we will not last this long in this business.
We’ve already been a dealer a few years before my son came into being. That means we’re in this business for almost 30 years. Nay ko, baby pa kami ni Edmund.
I started counting and reminiscing. 27 years ago, I was home feeling restless, uncomfortable, uneasy. I was naglilihi. I called Edmund a few times because I wanted him to come home. But he, didn’t think that I was suffering from the pains of motherhood, he chose to stay in the office until night time.
We thrive on integrity. We will not last for 3 decades if our objective is to dupe customers. If our intention is to cheat people to earn tons of money, then selling and repairing cars is not the business that can give us that because the profit is minimal. You can sell a thousand cars and still get a loss.
To accuse us of thinking of ways to dupe customers is very offensive and insulting.
We are blessed to have a daughter that is willing to make personal sacrifices to continue what we have started. We don’t teach her to do bad things. She spends many hours daily thinking of how to improve our processes, how to better serve our customers. She doesn’t instruct our people to cheat. We didn’t send her to Immaculate Concepcion Academy and Fordham University to learn how to earn money by overpricing and duping customers.
After almost 3 decades, we are still learning how to best manage this type of business. Why? Because we deal with people. And people are unpredictable and oftentimes cruel.
To customers, their car is a toy, a gadget, a utility, a thing to be used. Maybe a possession to be proud of. To the officers we deal with, this is just their job. A stepping stone for a higher position or promotion. They are not attached to their work because it’s just a job for them. After a few years, they are reassigned or they move on to a better job. But for us, this is not a mere job. Our dealership is our life. This is our family.
We thank God every single moment for the opportunity to be in this business. We deal with the many tough challenges but still remain grateful.
