Maybe I'm just a little too skeptical, but GM's 60 day money back guarantee program is going to inspire a lot of "work the system" folks looking for a cheap rental car for a family vacation. Picture the Clark Griswold family headed to Wallyworld! Just keep it under 4,000 miles, don't spill ketchup or mustard, park way far away from everybody and we've got ourselves a brand new free rental car! Believe me, a lot of deviant minds will figure this out! Our dealership used to be next to Walmart when they had their "don't like it, just bring it back and we'll refund your money" program. We would be amazed during each change of season. In the fall you would see a line up of returned lawn mowers and bicycles. When spring came, snow blowers by the dozen were returned. Now granted, it is a minute percentage of the population who actually take advantage of such a situation, but it does indeed happen.
I agree with the GM message. GM now has a majority of their offerings that are excellent in quality, styling and reliability. They will more than hold their own in a "may the best car win" scenario despite what the media critics will lead you to believe. But come on now. Will the 60 day program really get non GM folks to consider purchasing a Chevy, Buick or Cadillac? Hardly. I just can't imagine a family sitting in front of the tv and this long, tall Texan comes on and makes the GM pitch for the 60 day money back plan causing Dad to say: "hey everyone, I know that we've been happy with our Camry, but let's run down to the Chevy store and pick up a Malibu. If we don't like it we can just bring it back!" The American consumer does a whole lot of research before considering a major purchase like a car. No one likes to think that they made a "wrong" decision. I can see the neighbors now. "Hey, Jeff, I thought you just bought a new Malibu a couple of months ago? What happened?" You'll have to spend an hour trying to justify why you made a mistake in purchasing a GM car.
So what would I do? Ditch the 60 day purchase plan and try this. How about a free car for a weekend? Instead of the long tall Texan, have some new Malibu owners talk about their car including what they used to drive and what lead them to purchase a new Chevy. Then make the invitation: "Folks, we know that it may have been some time since you considered a GM car. For some of you, it may have been an entire generation. At GM we understand that a lot of our products just didn't live up to your expectations. So here is what we'd like to offer. Do you have a trip to grandma's house next weekend? We'd like to offer you a new GM car of your choice to drive for the weekend with no strings attached. We think you'll be impressed. GM has come a long ways in the past 5 years. We had to because a lot of the competition had passed us by and many of you lost confidence in General Motors. We've changed for the better. Just give us a chance and we think that you'll agree."
That is my "if I ran the company" moment. I don't know about you, but I can't remember the last time that I brought something substantial like a refrigerator back to the store. Do you? Maybe it's an ego thing. None of us likes to feel that we made a mistake! I just have a bit of a credability issue with the GM chairman who has only been on the job a few months pitching products that I doubt he knows a whole lot about! I wonder if he actually drives to work or does he have a driver pick him up? CEO's don't have the trust of a whole lot of consumers lately, do they? My oh my how the auto industry has changed!
Monday, September 28, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
The "Father of the Bride" wedding experience!
It all happened when I first saw the "new" version of Father of the Bride. My wife thought it would be a great family experience for me to watch the infamous Steve Martin movie since I have 3 daughters! I remember it like yesterday. My girls and I whipped up a batch of chocolate chip cookies (as it turned out, we ate all of the raw dough during the movie and never put any in the oven!) and headed upstairs to make it a family event. The girls were in grade school and weddings seemed decades away. Little did I know how much influence that movie would have on my "first" wedding which took place this August.
George Banks is the father of the bride who just goes nuts during the planning stages of his daughter's wedding. With a keen eye on the family budget, George can at best be called frugal, a trait that I admire! Thank goodness that I didn't have to deal with a "Franc", the professional wedding planner. I only had to deal with 2 older sisters of the bride. That's right, my baby girl was the first to get married.
I've always been a believer in the "OK fine" doctrine. In my house of 4 strong willed women, OK fine has been my mantra to avoid conflict. Why waste the energy voicing my opinion when in the end, the vote will always be 4 to 1. I did manage a major concession, though with tremedous reservations from the girls, my only request: I just wanted 2 minutes of my own when it came time for the traditional "who gives this woman?". I was granted my wish with orders that it must not be embarrassing or stupid. I didn't have a clue what I was going to say other than I knew it wouldn't be "her mother and I".
The wedding was outdoors at our home. As our yard was transformed into a beautiful setting, visions of George and the swans entered my head. As the day approached, I was still at a loss of what to due when my one and only part of the wedding was at hand. As my daughter got out of the limo, I looked at her, fought back the tears, and headed toward my one co-conspirator, my good friend who was performing the ceremony. I also got apprehensive looks from the 2 sisters who knew that their dad was capable of totally embarrassing the family.
My mind raced as the inevitable question was about to be asked, and when it came, I took a deep breath and had my "moment"! Instead of mumbling the usual 4 word phrase, I turned around and raised my arms like a revival preacher! As it turned out, at the precise moment I turn around a photo was snapped of the 2 sisters as they glanced at each other and rolled their eyes confirming that once again their dad was about to do something stupid. It was a beautiful sight to see every one's faces in the audience react to a father of the bride who was not going to give up his daughter with one meek little phrase and slither away to his seat.
I actually don't remember my whole 2 minute dissertation. I do like to think of myself as a humorous guy and I managed to get the audience laughing. I thought that I was really "rolling" with the crowd and had visions of blowing right past my 2 minute deadline. I knew that I had to "give my daughter's hand" to the man of her dreams, a position that I held in each of my daughter's lives for what now seemed like a far too short amount of time. The little girls that I always took grocery shopping, riding on Jet Skis and jumping on the trampoline thought that I was the greatest guy in the world. I was the number one male person in their lives! And though all of my girls had dropped me from number one years ago, until this very moment, I had held out hope that I was still their number one. I had to let my little girl go and at least in my best George Banks moment, I was doing it my way. I really was intending on a longer speech. The only person who knew that I stopped short was my wife. She heard the emotion in my voice and knew that tears were just about to flow. My mission was a success. The wedding was wonderful and the only fall out was from the 2 sisters. Negotiations for my 2 minutes when they get married seem to be in jeopardy. We'll see. George Banks, this one was for you!
George Banks is the father of the bride who just goes nuts during the planning stages of his daughter's wedding. With a keen eye on the family budget, George can at best be called frugal, a trait that I admire! Thank goodness that I didn't have to deal with a "Franc", the professional wedding planner. I only had to deal with 2 older sisters of the bride. That's right, my baby girl was the first to get married.
I've always been a believer in the "OK fine" doctrine. In my house of 4 strong willed women, OK fine has been my mantra to avoid conflict. Why waste the energy voicing my opinion when in the end, the vote will always be 4 to 1. I did manage a major concession, though with tremedous reservations from the girls, my only request: I just wanted 2 minutes of my own when it came time for the traditional "who gives this woman?". I was granted my wish with orders that it must not be embarrassing or stupid. I didn't have a clue what I was going to say other than I knew it wouldn't be "her mother and I".
The wedding was outdoors at our home. As our yard was transformed into a beautiful setting, visions of George and the swans entered my head. As the day approached, I was still at a loss of what to due when my one and only part of the wedding was at hand. As my daughter got out of the limo, I looked at her, fought back the tears, and headed toward my one co-conspirator, my good friend who was performing the ceremony. I also got apprehensive looks from the 2 sisters who knew that their dad was capable of totally embarrassing the family.
My mind raced as the inevitable question was about to be asked, and when it came, I took a deep breath and had my "moment"! Instead of mumbling the usual 4 word phrase, I turned around and raised my arms like a revival preacher! As it turned out, at the precise moment I turn around a photo was snapped of the 2 sisters as they glanced at each other and rolled their eyes confirming that once again their dad was about to do something stupid. It was a beautiful sight to see every one's faces in the audience react to a father of the bride who was not going to give up his daughter with one meek little phrase and slither away to his seat.
I actually don't remember my whole 2 minute dissertation. I do like to think of myself as a humorous guy and I managed to get the audience laughing. I thought that I was really "rolling" with the crowd and had visions of blowing right past my 2 minute deadline. I knew that I had to "give my daughter's hand" to the man of her dreams, a position that I held in each of my daughter's lives for what now seemed like a far too short amount of time. The little girls that I always took grocery shopping, riding on Jet Skis and jumping on the trampoline thought that I was the greatest guy in the world. I was the number one male person in their lives! And though all of my girls had dropped me from number one years ago, until this very moment, I had held out hope that I was still their number one. I had to let my little girl go and at least in my best George Banks moment, I was doing it my way. I really was intending on a longer speech. The only person who knew that I stopped short was my wife. She heard the emotion in my voice and knew that tears were just about to flow. My mission was a success. The wedding was wonderful and the only fall out was from the 2 sisters. Negotiations for my 2 minutes when they get married seem to be in jeopardy. We'll see. George Banks, this one was for you!
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