Have you ever had such a great customer service experience that you just need to share? I haven’t had many, but today (August 20, 2016) I had an awesome experience at Pallotta Ford Lincoln in Wooster, Ohio.
The saga that led to my being at Pallotta’s started a few weeks ago when my husband, Bobby and I met our niece, Ashley and her boys at the Mansfield Art Center. When Bobby saw and heard Ashley’s car, he got real nervous. It seemed to be his focus. He would tell me often, “Ashley needs a new car.”
I love Bobby and his generous spirit, which he gets from his mother. He is truly a man who will give to anyone if he has the ability. I, too, agreed that Ashley could probably use a new car, but wasn’t sure what we could do about it. One thing about Bobby, once he gets his mind on something, it is like a dog with a bone.
He started looking at used cars on the internet and through The Daily Record’s website. Then he put a “call” out (really a Facebook message) to family to see if they might be willing to assist in purchasing Ashley a car. The generosity was amazing. My parents, Bud and Dolores, and my sister and her husband, Randi and Shaun, helped out financially at levels we would not have imagined.
This is where Pallotta Ford Lincoln comes in. Even though we were all pitching in, we still had a very limited budget. None of us wanted to go into debt. Bobby saw a vehicle that he was interested in at Pallotta’s and called the salesman. That car, a Jeep Liberty had sold before Bobby had connected with him. Then a he saw a van on their website and he called again. He explained that he was looking for a safe and affordable car for his niece, a single mom of two,
Ryan Angle, our salesman, was more than willing to work with us. He met us late in the day Friday to show us what he had. The van that we had considered wasn’t going to work, but there was another vehicle a listed a little higher than we could afford. Because we were late for another appointment at a different dealership, Bobby asked Ryan to check with his sales manager, Larry Wood, to see what they could work out. Ryan promised he would and that he would give Bobby a call with the information.
On Saturday, August 20, 2016, Ryan called with the amount Pallotta could accept for the vehicle. Turned out that they reduced the price quite a bit so that it was something we could afford. Bobby accepted and made plans to got to Pallotta later that morning. (I was participating in the United Way of Wayne and Holmes Counties Heart and Sole 5k.) We met my parents there to work out the details and pay for the car.
Bobby had a magic show to get to (he performed at the Orrville Ribfest), so my parents and I remained to sign papers and wrap things up. It turned out that there was an issue with the car we had agreed upon. Both Ryan and Larry told us they couldn’t sell the car to us because of the issue (one that I can’t describe because I’m not a car person). It sounded serious. At that point, they could have just ended things at that, but they didn’t. They both worked really hard to get a vehicle for the same price. We ended up selecting a Chevy Trailblazer. It had been listed much higher than what we could afford, however, they sold it to us for our original agreed upon price! Something they didn’t have to do.
For Bobby, the day turned out to be tiring, taxing, exciting and emotional. Bobby’s mom, Carmen, raised four children by herself with the help of extended family and friends. He has watched how Ashley treats her boys, DeAveon and Noah, and it reminds him of how his mother raised her kids. For Carmen and Ashley, the kids come first. Because of the similarities with his mother that he sees in Ashley, he really wanted to see her in a newer, safer vehicle.
When Bobby went into an office to thank owner Mike Pallotta and sales manager Larry Wood for offering such a good deal, he became emotional. For him, he was not just helping to purchase a car for his niece. As tears welled in his eyes, he thanked Mike and Larry, telling them it meant a lot to him. “My mom raised four us by herself, and my niece is raising two.” For Bobby, he wasn’t buying a car for Ashley, he was saying thank you to all of those people who helped his mother over the years.
We (my whole family) are so thankful for the time the staff at Pallotta Ford Lincoln spent to make sure that we would be able to bless Ashley and her boys with a nice, safe vehicle. They didn’t have to work with us as much as they did. It was like they, too, wanted to make sure this blessing could happen. Before we left, my mom, thanked Mike Pallotta for his generosity and that of his staff. They were amazing people to work with, people who hold honor above the sale.