Who: David
What: Financial Services Manager
Bio: David is one of the people customers meet when it is time to arrange for financing and/or leasing options. David has been part of the Surrey Honda team for 18 years and started in sales so customers are always in good hands. The fact that David spent time in the sales department makes him even more specialized in the entire process. He says his role in the process can be a very personal part of car buying – talking money and budgets.
Q: How to you get people to be comfortable with you within minutes to do the money part of the deal?
A: “This is the one stop where we have to build instant rapport with customers as this can be the most personal part of car buying – the financial process. I try to keep this light as possible and having a sense of humour helps them smile or laugh and that releases any stresses instantly. I also work out options that work for them. Whether it’s interest rates or terms, I help customers look at their entire expense sheet of having a car – gas, insurance etc. We work with the overall budget – not just payments and I find that is the best and most helpful process for our customers. This way they feel they have covered all the bases.”
Q: Are people surprised at how in-depth this process is?
A: Some people are really grateful to be able to get a vehicle. We help them figure out payment plans that work better with their needs such as bi weekly payments and we also discuss how much some features on the newer Hondas will help them save on gas and that goes towards the car payment too. We do all the number crunching so there are no surprises. The only surprise is customers who think they won’t get approved and we make it happen.”
Q: Give us an example?
A: “Well today – there was a couple who thought they couldn’t get approved and got it instantly. They had great credit but didn’t know until we looked at their credit history with them. Money naturally stresses people and we try to take the stress out of that part of car buying. The favourite part of my job is the reactions and surprises from customers when they realize the affordability here at Surrey Honda and how happy they are.”
Surrey Honda 