Having just spent 5 months in sales at Charlie Obaugh Staunton, I need to let you know how awful this Staunton Virginia auto dealer treated me. I had heard from a very reliable source down the road that this dealership has the highest sales turnover in Virginia. While I was there I saw 5 of the original 8 leave, not including their F&I manager who's now knocking it dead over at Toyota.
Initially I was told:
Selling cars is fun work and where else can you make $500 in a day? No it is not fun to work here & yes maybe you will make $500 on a used car...every few months. But read on...
"You can make $53,000 a year just sleeping here, we were told by our GM." B*******...at $200 a new car (yes that is what you make) the best sales people might make $40k in 2014. The average '5-7' car salesperson will reap a whopping $15K a year! Food stamps anyone?
They call you 'family' in the sales meetings. No you are not! You are a disposable tampon. They burn & churn. There were ocassions I didn't talk to anyone for 3-4 days. But Eric Obaugh said, "Guys, I'm hiring another 5-6 salespeople because I see cars driving through the dealership and I want to sell them a car and if you can't do it then someone else will." So they starve you out. You are paid a minimum wage draw here and work 50-60 hours a week.
"You will run your car sales business like it's your own little dealership, we just give you the tools to succeed." Ugggggggg the training is endless, their weekly 'new' innovative methodologies come and go...You spend 50% of your time training or moving vehicles on the lot. The rest of the time they have it down so they know exactly what I was doing day by day. They listen into your incoming & out going calls.
A normal car sale for me took an average of 4-5 hours. Why? Because the place is so disorganized and so may screw-ups occurred! I never knew what to expect but knew it was never going to be a smooth closing...When my customers left they were usually tired, disillusioned and hungry!
As of this writing, there are 8 sales people (3 new arrivals the day I left). At 5 salepeople there wasn't enough business to survive. "Why is there such lackluster business? I asked..."People hate Charlie,'" was the normal response.
There were usually two prices for each used car. The internet price and the lot price. So if you were elderly and not computer-literate you most likely ended up paying more. This is how you make those $500 commissions! we were told.
In October of 2014, Charlei Obaugh sold a LAUGHABLE amount of cars! One top salesperson confided in me that he was contemplating killing himself so his family could collect the insurance money! And he hustles with the BEST!
The immature kid who runs their CRM (Customer Report Management Dept) was in charge of internet leads and most incoming calls. She gave the incoming internet & phone leads to the people 'she' liked. If she didn't like you then you got no leads or the leads she gave you were bogus. All the managers knew this was happening but turned a blind eye. Meanwhile, her 'buddies' kept moving cars.
"You are expected to work on your day off or lose the sale." While at the same time we are told get a 'buddy' to help you out on your day off. They will give your sale to any salesperson that finalizes the deal. You are shit-out-of-luck. It happened to me twice in Dec.
It snowed & sleeted on the morning of my day off and I did not come into a GM training for a truck they won't have on the lot until late this month. Charlie Obaugh was livid. It was then that I was moved up to Kia to a very nasty and angry sales manager, Kevin Hahne.
Three days went bye without a visitor to our lot...The place was like a freakin' morgue. I knew then that working for Charlie Obaugh was not in my future.
So I gave my notivce. When I gave my one week notice, I was told by Hahne that Eric Obaugh asked him: "Shall we launch him?" (It means get rid of him now). Hahne said, "no".
Now...two weeks earlier, a well-liked, female sales person gave her manager a two weeks notice; but when Charlie Obaugh heard this he threw her out of the dealership. So it does not pay to play nice with this dealership.
Anyhow, I was not launched until the next day...
A new Kia on the showroom floor was sold but wouldn't start and I was asked to jump it. I opened the hood and saw a battery terminal painted with a heavy red line. I hooked the red to red line and the sparks flew..apparently the car's computer was blown.
I was fired and was told I was not getting my weeks pay (I actually worked longer) in an email dated Jan 6th from accounting:
"Hey Beek,
I was informed that you were responsible for a $688 service bill regarding a Kia so that was deducted from your paycheck."
B W
HR/Acct Rec'v
Charlie Obaugh Buick GMC Mazda Kia RV
410 Lee Jackson Hwy
Staunton, VA 24401
Well, I was never told I would be responsible for the repairs (if I was to be I would never jump a car or move one). I never saw a copy of the bill. I emailed Hahne and asked if they had insurance (as every dealer does). Hahne won't respond. I'm suing...And...
Charlie Obaugh Kia Reviews
Having just spent 5 months in sales at Charlie Obaugh Staunton, I need to let you know how awful this Staunton Virginia auto dealer treated me. I had heard from a very reliable source down the road that this dealership has the highest sales turnover in Virginia. While I was there I saw 5 of the original 8 leave, not including their F&I manager who's now knocking it dead over at Toyota.
Initially I was told:
Selling cars is fun work and where else can you make $500 in a day? No it is not fun to work here & yes maybe you will make $500 on a used car...every few months. But read on...
"You can make $53,000 a year just sleeping here, we were told by our GM." B*******...at $200 a new car (yes that is what you make) the best sales people might make $40k in 2014. The average '5-7' car salesperson will reap a whopping $15K a year! Food stamps anyone?
They call you 'family' in the sales meetings. No you are not! You are a disposable tampon. They burn & churn. There were ocassions I didn't talk to anyone for 3-4 days. But Eric Obaugh said, "Guys, I'm hiring another 5-6 salespeople because I see cars driving through the dealership and I want to sell them a car and if you can't do it then someone else will." So they starve you out. You are paid a minimum wage draw here and work 50-60 hours a week.
"You will run your car sales business like it's your own little dealership, we just give you the tools to succeed." Ugggggggg the training is endless, their weekly 'new' innovative methodologies come and go...You spend 50% of your time training or moving vehicles on the lot. The rest of the time they have it down so they know exactly what I was doing day by day. They listen into your incoming & out going calls.
A normal car sale for me took an average of 4-5 hours. Why? Because the place is so disorganized and so may screw-ups occurred! I never knew what to expect but knew it was never going to be a smooth closing...When my customers left they were usually tired, disillusioned and hungry!
As of this writing, there are 8 sales people (3 new arrivals the day I left). At 5 salepeople there wasn't enough business to survive. "Why is there such lackluster business? I asked..."People hate Charlie,'" was the normal response.
There were usually two prices for each used car. The internet price and the lot price. So if you were elderly and not computer-literate you most likely ended up paying more. This is how you make those $500 commissions! we were told.
In October of 2014, Charlei Obaugh sold a LAUGHABLE amount of cars! One top salesperson confided in me that he was contemplating killing himself so his family could collect the insurance money! And he hustles with the BEST!
The immature kid who runs their CRM (Customer Report Management Dept) was in charge of internet leads and most incoming calls. She gave the incoming internet & phone leads to the people 'she' liked. If she didn't like you then you got no leads or the leads she gave you were bogus. All the managers knew this was happening but turned a blind eye. Meanwhile, her 'buddies' kept moving cars.
"You are expected to work on your day off or lose the sale." While at the same time we are told get a 'buddy' to help you out on your day off. They will give your sale to any salesperson that finalizes the deal. You are shit-out-of-luck. It happened to me twice in Dec.
It snowed & sleeted on the morning of my day off and I did not come into a GM training for a truck they won't have on the lot until late this month. Charlie Obaugh was livid. It was then that I was moved up to Kia to a very nasty and angry sales manager, Kevin Hahne.
Three days went bye without a visitor to our lot...The place was like a freakin' morgue. I knew then that working for Charlie Obaugh was not in my future.
So I gave my notivce. When I gave my one week notice, I was told by Hahne that Eric Obaugh asked him: "Shall we launch him?" (It means get rid of him now). Hahne said, "no".
Now...two weeks earlier, a well-liked, female sales person gave her manager a two weeks notice; but when Charlie Obaugh heard this he threw her out of the dealership. So it does not pay to play nice with this dealership.
Anyhow, I was not launched until the next day...
A new Kia on the showroom floor was sold but wouldn't start and I was asked to jump it. I opened the hood and saw a battery terminal painted with a heavy red line. I hooked the red to red line and the sparks flew..apparently the car's computer was blown.
I was fired and was told I was not getting my weeks pay (I actually worked longer) in an email dated Jan 6th from accounting:
"Hey Beek,
I was informed that you were responsible for a $688 service bill regarding a Kia so that was deducted from your paycheck."
B W
HR/Acct Rec'v
Charlie Obaugh Buick GMC Mazda Kia RV
410 Lee Jackson Hwy
Staunton, VA 24401
Well, I was never told I would be responsible for the repairs (if I was to be I would never jump a car or move one). I never saw a copy of the bill. I emailed Hahne and asked if they had insurance (as every dealer does). Hahne won't respond. I'm suing...And...