SHELBY1 Posted June 15, 2006 Report Share Posted June 15, 2006 Will Ford's 800# VOPC ever recognize the T88 body code used for Shelby Coupe. The automated system is useless without it. It would be nice to use this automated system rather than bugging the dealer all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BadTony Posted June 15, 2006 Report Share Posted June 15, 2006 Who manages the VOPC anyway? Are they a part of AAI? Up to this point I don't think anyone has been able to provide a solid answer on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobraguy12 Posted June 16, 2006 Report Share Posted June 16, 2006 Who manages the VOPC anyway? Are they a part of AAI? Up to this point I don't think anyone has been able to provide a solid answer on this. It is an internal department meant to track all Ford NA production for dealers and field employees. Again.....not meant for customers. Hate to be a pain but please do not call and bug the OPC if your a customer. Just keep checking with your dealer. They can tell you if your unit has a build week yet. If your order is still unscheduled/clean then it is just an order sitting in th bank....nothing has happened to your car yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BadTony Posted June 16, 2006 Report Share Posted June 16, 2006 I must really be in a fowl mood today as I feel even another rant surfacing.. Yes, we all know (by reading this forum) what they (the VOPC) do, question is, is when/if are they are planning on fixing the T88 body code issue in the automated system? Not meant for customers? In my opinion, that response is the completely WRONG type of approach with regards to 'customer service'. Believe me when I say that no one here actually wants to "bug" anyone at Ford, taking them away from their jobs etc.., however, we the buying public DO DESERVE a reliable and recurring / up to the minute status on the products we are buying and as often as we wish. The main reason anyone other than a dealer ever contacts the VOPC is that they can't get proper info from their dealer for one reason or another. Besides, my guess is that no dealer actually needs to contact the VOPC by calling anyway because they all have access to online programs like Conceps (spelling?) that can provide them with current status. Many dealers treat their clients as if they (we) are burdon-some. I for one, cringe at the thought of having to contact my dealer as often as I want the latest info. So what is a customer to do? He finds a site like this one where information is shared freely and reads, and reads, and reads. After awhile of reading, he comes acoss a long thread on 'how to check the status of your order' that was most likely published by a Ford employee or someone in the know. He then follows the directions to find out his status. Why does he do this? Poor dealer customer service. So for many here, they really can't shop elsewhere because they have already put up a great deal of money for their purchase, already have spent alot of time waiting on lists etc.. and really can't start the buying process over by going to another dealer. If and when the VOPC ever gets fixed to accept the T88 body code, that will definately help improve the perceptions (of poor customer service) of the buying public. Even another idea could be to set up an extranet for clients to access their own info/ status with regards to their vehicles. PINs could be controlled by the dealer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlatinumLion Posted June 16, 2006 Report Share Posted June 16, 2006 Sometimes no news is just, no news. The GT500 is not a large volume car. Why would they want to put in place a whole new tracking system to provide instant access to no news. I think you misunderstand that most dealers do not access the order system unless they really need to add an order, check on an order or alter an order. Typically dealerships will just order the vehicle and wait for it to show. (Just because you keep pushing the button several times the elevator will not arrive any faster) It has been explained before that the order process is to service the dealerships as well as fleet customers, since they need a way to track distant deliveries. The dealer should be the one that should satisfy your customer service concerns. They should be willing to provide reasonable updates, however since the order process takes time they more often then not do not have anything to tell you. I think you should ask the dealer to notify you when the status changes and then be patient. It may take some time for news to arrive. Not everybody will be getting a car before the summer is over. This is something that many here need to come to grips with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobraguy12 Posted June 18, 2006 Report Share Posted June 18, 2006 I must really be in a fowl mood today as I feel even another rant surfacing.. Yes, we all know (by reading this forum) what they (the VOPC) do, question is, is when/if are they are planning on fixing the T88 body code issue in the automated system? Not meant for customers? In my opinion, that response is the completely WRONG type of approach with regards to 'customer service'. Why.......the dealer has all the info in the order bank. He can let you know the status. If your car is clean unscheduled then it has not been scheduled yet. The OPC is not used only for GT500...it is for every other car/truck we make. They are already short staffed as it is and taking GT500 calls is preventing them from doing other things. They are starting to request a dealers P&A code to prevent fraud. This should put an end to this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcthorne Posted June 18, 2006 Report Share Posted June 18, 2006 Jeeze, If they would just FIX the damn thing they would not have the calls going to the operators in the first place. Its BROKEN. Just FIX IT, add the T88 code. I am making a $50k plus purchase from Ford and have the right to know how the order is progressing on a long term order. Without the T88 code working, the dealer has to bother the staff with a manual inquiry as well and then 2 persons are not doing what they otherwise would to earn a living. Its not the customer's fault the status line is broken. Fix it and quit compliaining about it being understaffed. I am SOOO FED UP with this attitude that retail buyers are such a bother and are not ford's customers. This sets the tone for the dealer's attitude as well. ITS JUST FLAT WRONG. FIX IT. I am not asking to have ford provide any additional staff, just fix the automated system so that it works the way it was intended and the problem will be gone. I don't understand why this is so hard to understand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
68fastback Posted June 18, 2006 Report Share Posted June 18, 2006 Not to be too cynical, but if we could all find out the exact status of our orders at any point in time, then, when someone walks into a dealer and offers a $15K ADM on a GT500 that already has a $5K ADM, it would be difficult for the dealer to screw you and take the better offer, shuffling yours further down their list, without you kowing what had actually happened -- not that any dealer would ever do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BadTony Posted June 18, 2006 Report Share Posted June 18, 2006 Gee, I'm glad that I'm not the only person that thinks the in any business the "customer comes first" without exception, without questions and complaints or excuses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
68fastback Posted June 18, 2006 Report Share Posted June 18, 2006 Gee, I'm glad that I'm not the only person that thinks the in any business the "customer comes first" without exception, without questions and complaints or excuses. I'd rather buy the car directly from Ford and have online access to my order, just like any other business. Unfortunately, by contract, the dealer OWNS the retail sale, not Ford. And I suspect the dealer likes it that way. But I certainly do agree that forgetting that the customer needs to come first is a BIG mistake, in any business. I used to read Automotive Industries mag for many years (before it was 'stolen' by the europeans to work their own agendas in the Americam market) and Ford and others have been talking for years about how they would like their relationship to be directly with the customer -- on-line -- build-to-order in a few weeks. The deqaler in that scenario is merely the retail outlet and the custmoer can select the outlet they want to P/U at. The dealer gets a fee for prep and the retail transaction and still has the option to upsell (or try to upsell) other 'dealer' items, but basically the whole order process would be between the orderer and Ford. ANyhow, I've never heard anyting more on that approach -- and it was a goal talked about for a few years on and off and not just by Ford. Who knows, maybe there's some conflict with, and no realistic way around, the franchise agreements, because this whole subject of direct on-line orderig has been dead-cold now for a year or two... very strange in this age of the internet, don't you think??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JETSOLVER Posted June 18, 2006 Report Share Posted June 18, 2006 I'd rather buy the car directly from Ford and have online access to my order, just like any other business. The dealer gets a fee for prep and the retail transaction and still has the option to upsell (or try to upsell) other 'dealer' items, but basically the whole order process would be between the orderer and Ford. Who knows, maybe there's some conflict with, and no realistic way around, the franchise agreements Agree, however then the dealers would have no way to pay for thier stupid local commercials. If what I believe comes to pass, they are missing a heck of a revenue stream in individual niche customization. Suppose you could order your GT500 with one or all of the FRPP parts from the factory? And just because its all a dream, spec your own color from Ford's full palate. After all they all have the same charcol interior. :wacko: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
68fastback Posted June 18, 2006 Report Share Posted June 18, 2006 Agree, however then the dealers would have no way to pay for thier stupid local commercials. If what I believe comes to pass, they are missing a heck of a revenue stream in individual niche customization. Suppose you could order your GT500 with one or all of the FRPP parts from the factory? And just because its all a dream, spec your own color from Ford's full palate. After all they all have the same charcol interior. :wacko: I like your idea of niche customization. I think there's a bit of that already with a few Ford dealers that are also FRPP engine builders, but, for example, I think last time I checked there's only one in all NYState that both sells FRPP parts and builds engines. I think there's a growing demand that's not being adequately served. Re paint, unless things have changed (and they very well may have) you used to be able to special-order any vehicle from Ford in most any color you wanted (as long as that plant used that color). It was pricey and you might have to wait a long time, but you could -- possibly that's gone the way of the common sense dealer commercial ;-) What an online system might also do, I think, is encourage/enable dealers to compete more broadly by offering FRPP parts and possibly even engine builds (even if through other dealers).. maybe I'm dreaming too... (but it's a nice dream ;-) Our local dealer is fairly schizophrenic... service in the 70s was great, then it went to by not letting anyone talk directly to a mechanic and over the past 10 years or so, they've actually gone full circle. And they've been a PA dealer for five of the past six years! But besides a couple of folks who love cars, the rest are fairly clueless (though several of the mechanics are excellent). Up in sales, they're mostly clueless (with the exception of a couple of old-timers in the business management area who are still car nuts) but they are expert at 'managng' customer satisfaction to death, hence the PAs. Over the same period the owners have gone from friendly and real, to completely absent, and back to friendly but totally plastic. The overall manager is a really nice guy -- as a result he's had to be institutionalized (literally) at least once from the pressure of bridging the owners demands and the customers demands. So I guess I can understand dealers not wanting to get into things like FRPP and special offerings -- but it still would be nice and I do think there is real demand. Maybe there's a new op for FRPP to offer turnkey niche mods through all dealers and do the 'brokering' for the dealers as part of the fee? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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