A Sad Farewell to Saturn

It is with great remorse that I must say that after almost 3 years of
working for Saturn, I resigned yesterday. I am very heartbroken over the
decision but I felt that I had no choice.

I have been working for a major dealership in South FL until last month. I
had a great relationship with my customers and service was always sure to
take good care of everyone, including my family, who are almost all Saturn
owners.

Due to the Hurricanes, my family decided to move from WPB, FL to a small
town in South Carolina. The only Saturn facility w/in 200 miles is in a town
called Florence. Florence is the armpit of the south. Now mind you, I am a
true southerner, and it breaks my heart to discover the southern stereotypes
alive and thriving like a fungus in SC, especially in 2006.

What I experienced is beyond words, and in 1 month, I encountered more than
I can say in one post. Managers behaving inappropriately in front of
customers, untrained sales staff, filthy conditions, filthy and broken new
and used, yes new cars on the lot and a general lackadaisical attitude of
the whole thing. And the people of this town, most are dirt poor or credit
criminals (refuse to pay their bills), ergo, I couldn't even sell them a car
if I wanted to.

The last straw was the weekly stabbings. You heard me right. Saturday, there
was blood all over the sinks, customer bathroom, customer sink where the
free coffee and doughnuts are, the floor, etc. I seemed to be the only one
to notice it. When I inquired about who is bleeding so profusely, I was
given a "mind yer own dang bizness look" and told that it was a regular
occurrence as one of the mechanics girlfriends comes onto the premises and
stabs him or beats him bloody at least once a week. Iwas told that the Mgr.
knows about this! I was told this with the nonchalance as if they were
telling me the time of day - THIS IS NORMAL TO THESE PPL!?!? Violence is an
acceptable way of life in the deep south in certain (poor) circles
unfortunately. Needless to say, I freaked out and went home.

Monday, they had a scheduled group trip to Columbia after hours which would
return at lip that night. My family pleaded with me not to ride alone with
these people, alone at night through the cornfields 200 miles from home.

I decided then and there, to quit. I have been losing money since I started
there so nothing lost. These will most likely be the last Saturn's my
family will own, unless we buy used ones. If you look up my last post on
Service Cleanliness, you'll understand. These ppl simply don't hold the same
values in treating their customers as I do.

Well, sorry for the long post. I am broken-hearted about this decision, but
I feel it was a safer decision than staying. I'll be here in this board. For
now, its onward and upward, I hope to stay with GM and will be looking at my
opportunities elsewhere.

with much sadness in my heart,
marx404

 

Monday, they had a scheduled group trip to Columbia after hours which would
return at lip that night.

should be 11pm.

 

You know - I have to say my heart does go out to you.
I know what its like to have to deal with absolute dregs in the
workplace and it is very tough to change jobs.
I recently went from making good money working with absolute slimeballs
to a better job making much less money. Now after only a month working
in a better environment - I'm looking to moving on to the unknown. Its
a very stressful position to be in.
-WaV

marx404