We are certainly not the only ones pointing to the dealer problem:
Online pressure from all sides didn't budge the dealership
jalopnik.com
... In relevant part:
And telling him that they’ll help him get another reservation at another dealer instead of doing the right thing and selling him what he ordered at the right price just adds insult to injury. Removal of the negative reviews is exactly what happened though. The negative reviews that went up on Yelp during the debacle are gone. Google’s negative reviews are still up with dealer responses.
All of this is a prime example of both how and why the dealer model needs to die and how Ford screwed up the Bronco’s rollout with its reservation system. Ford should have done a better job of explaining to customers how reservations work. In a perfect world, Ford would’ve explained to dealers that the price that reservation holders see online after they spec’d their vehicles is the price they’ll pay at the dealer. But this world isn’t perfect. The company almost enables dealers to overcharge people that have waited over a year for their vehicle at the last minute with a useless price protection clause.
Update: It looks like Sherminator is getting his Bronco! Both Mike Levine, head of product communications at Ford, and Sherminator himself reached out to me to update me on the situation.
“I have come to an agreement with the dealership that they are reordering a 2022 MY Bronco for me, since they approached me in good faith after the incident. Ford is expediting the order for me and I will be receiving a signed purchase agreement at MSRP once the order is placed. I currently need to get in contact with my Sales guy (who I’m not sure is in today) to place the updated order.”
So be careful what you wish for, you might get it. My bet is, that if sherm had asked for only honest reviews from actual purchasers, or for forum members to call and explain why they won’t be purchasing from the stealership, he’d have been on solid legal grounds. Bombarding the stealership with promises to never buy there due to their unethical ’sales’ practices would have been perfectly fine. false reviews, and even the tacit acknowledgement you had anything to do with that made him financially vulnerable to at least a nuisance lawsuit by the stealership. Even if he eventually won, he’d have lost $ defending himself.
If you own a business, you know: “You may not be interested in cancel culture, but cancel culture is DEFINITELY interested in you"
It’s pretty obvious Ford corporate knew about the situation and then the ensuing bad publicity. The stealership absolutely did not reach out this former customer that they just F*cked, to offer them a re-order out of the kindness of their hearts, they did so under orders or threats from the ‘franchise’ owner.
That’s a pretty slimy example, and I could not be friends with someone working for that stealership.
