TGI Friday and Random Thoughts

TGIF! Have I told you lately how much I love weekends? No? Well I do. Don't get me wrong I have a pretty awesome job all things considered, but there is nothing as wonderful as coming home on a Friday night (especially if I was industrious and did some housework during the week).

For the next two days I can sleep in, wear my jammies all day or I can drag my poor husband out to watch the latest chick flick at the local theater. There will be no keyword lists, no bid tracking and most importantly (at least today) no spreadsheets to occupy my mind. There will be itunes at full blast on my laptop all weekend long, dinner out with my wonderful in laws and many hours spent catching up on my blog reading.

Do you ever wonder what is running through someone else's head? Here is a quick list of the things I have been thinking since I started this post:

1. I really should add links to the blogs I read regularly

2. Why is everyone so obsessed with how Britany Spears looks in skimpy undies?

3. Why does the lead singer for Matchbox 20 always look stone and homicidal at the same time?

4. I wonder if my boss will let me make "Crazy Bitch" by Buck Cherry my ring tone at work?

5. Should I go buy the new Radio Head cd just to give them props for being brave enough to self market and let people pay what they think the cd is worth...and just in case I actually like them now.

6. Is "The Dude" really trying to attract all the vampiric, World of Warcraft playing car dealerships?

Have a great weekend :)

Parts and Service Leads

Why is it that so many dealerships don't want parts and service leads from their PPC Campaigns? Every couple of weeks I hear from a disgruntled client who is upset that they are getting contacted for their parts and service centers, but I just don't understand why. To me this is like my little brother being upset that people are coming into his bakery for whoopie pies but not peanut butter balls. Eventually all of those whoopie pie eaters are going to be adventurous enough to try the peanut butter balls. No one can resist all that chocolate covered peanut buttery goodness forever...right?

Someday those people who need parts/service are going to have to buy a new car (usually sooner rather then later), and it seems to me that getting someone in your front door is a great way to be added to the list of places to buy cars from. Occasionally, you will even find the golden customer who brings their vehicle in for repairs and realizes its cheaper to buy a new one. Is there a new school of business that says money is bad? No? I didn't think so either...well just in case you are feeling adventurous here is my little brothers peanut butter ball recipe (shhh it's a secret)....

PEANUT BUTTER BALLS

2 lb. peanut butter

3 lb. powdered sugar

1 lb. butter, melted

2 tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract

Mix well in large bowl. Make small balls (approximately 150).

COATING:

2 (12 oz.) pkg. chocolate chips

1 block paraffin wax

Melt together in double boiler. Dip balls and put on waxed paper to "dry".

And for those who don't know what a whoopie pie is :


For cakes:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup well-shaken buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 large egg

For filling

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened

1 1/4 cups confectioners sugar

2 cups marshmallow cream such as Marshmallow Fluff

1 teaspoon vanilla
Make cakes:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a bowl until combined. Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a small bowl. Beat together butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes in a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a handheld, then add egg, beating until combined well. Reduce speed to low and alternately mix in flour mixture and buttermilk in batches, beginning and ending with flour, scraping down side of bowl occasionally, and mixing until smooth. Spoon 1/4-cup mounds of batter about 2 inches apart onto 2 buttered large baking sheets. Bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until tops are puffed and cakes spring back when touched, 11 to 13 minutes. Transfer with a metal spatula to a rack to cool completely. Make filling: Beat together butter, confectioners sugar, marshmallow, and vanilla in a bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Assemble pies: Spread a rounded tablespoon filling on flat sides of half of cakes and top with remaining cakes. Makes 8 individual desserts

Don't Ignore Me Because I Am A Woman

For those of you who don't know this, I hate my car. More than I hate my car, I am beginning to hate the franchise dealership that is responsible for repairing it.

After many attempts to make a service appointment and failing my car broke down. This was a few weeks back but my car lost its clutch with less than 30,000 miles. I was stranded on a hill in the middle of Friday rush hour, which made me late to dinner with my in laws and I loathe being late. So I called the dealership and freaked out about the clutch dying, the car leaking fluids and the paint falling off. I also complained about the fact that the clutch (a fairly important piece of the drive train if you ask me) was not covered under the warranty after 1 year. We also found out that I need a new steering arm as mine is defective. That part was ordered nearly a month ago today but no one called to tell me the part was in (as promised). Instead the parts guy said he sent me a post card that looks like junk mail.......

This whole thing has been a terrible experience right from the get go. The dealership doesn't return my calls (which I have to leave because they never answer the dang phone) or emails, and when I do reach them they ignore my concerns. Now I may be a woman, but I do know that if you have to hit the clutch twice in order to get in reverse then there is a problem.

The Internet says my synchronizing is off and that could lead to the gears stripping....and that means a new and expensive transmission on a two year old car. I have told the dealership that this is happening in every single call and voice mail I have left in the past two weeks, and they still have not called me back. If they were not the only franchise dealership in town I would have gone somewhere else a long long time ago.

Want to know what really irks me? If my husband reports a problem they fix it immediately!!! When they replaced the clutch the car made a funny buzzing sound, and when we took it in the dealership tried to brush me off until my husband said he had heard it too. Once Josh chimed in the technician was all over getting in the car and going for a ride!

Why does Josh have to chime in for something to be broken? Why isn't my assessment of the situation enough? I know more about cars, engines, and troubleshooting then my sweet husband ever will, and yet he is the one they listen and respond to. This very same dealership has relied on me to resolve highly complicated technical issues for them on multiple occasions , but when it comes to the car itself I am ignored.

The end result is that our new car is a Nissan (not the same as my car) and it was bought from a different dealership just down the street. The new dealership was fantastic to close the deal with. Their staff were helpful, courteous, efficient and gave us a very fair deal. The GM even came in to say hi to us a couple of times while we were in signing paperwork. Oh? and if I tell them something needs to be fixed they fall over themselves to find out the source of my concerns. The new dealership even answers the phone!

What A Girl Wants

The new marketing hype is that women buy more cars, and have a larger influence in the car buying process then ever before, but what does that really mean to a dealership? Search Engine Marketers are driving tons of high quality traffic to your website but how do you convert them?

Women buy relationships as much as they buy cars. I remember when my now husband and I were looking for my car I was that salesman's best friend. At every point of contention that my husband offered I countered for the salesman even though it was costing us money! Why? I liked him. He was a little on the cute side and didn't talk to me like I was a "girl". He answered my questions directly and didn't seem bored with us. Now a few years later I hate my car but I would still buy from that same sales guy again.

Another thing women want is safety. We want proof that the car we are buying is going to be safe to put our loved ones in. Most guys think we care more about color (well OK sometimes we do.... burnt orange is *NOT* the new black) then we do about anything else. We can have pretty colors in our home where our children won't be flying down the street at 60 miles an hour separated by just tires and some fiberglass. We would like to go to your website and get all the information we need (safety ratings, community posting area where we can ask information questions, price, color, options, contact us forms) quickly and without a high pressure sales pitch. Oh and if you can share Gram's recipe for monkey rolls that would be great too :)