GUEST SPEAKER
Getting Rid of Those Sneaky Weeds by Eric Johnson — Hudson & Cook, LLP 2020 NMEDA CONFERENCE & EXPO SPEAKER
I
may be a little old-school on this,
are going to “tear someone’s head
not careful to pluck this weed from
but I still like to pick weeds in the
off” (make a huge profit from a car
your dealership, it will grow rather
yard. It’s good exercise, makes the
sale).
quickly, dig in deep, overpower your
These immoral employees may be the
ethical employees, and take over your
yard look nicer, and gives my brain a little down time.
bad weeds who have infiltrated your
dealership.
There’s a particularly pernicious
dealership. They may compete with
Open your email inbox on any given
type of weed in our area known as
your ethical employees and do deals
day, and you will see articles about
goosegrass. One of the things that
that couldn’t, or maybe shouldn’t, be
dealership owners suing former GMs
makes this type of weed so devious
done. They may be engaged in such
and F&I managers, alleging that
is that, from far away, it looks like any
scams as payment packing, power
they falsified credit applications
other typical blade of grass.
booking, faking credit credentials,
with nonexistent trade-ins and down
Goosegrass spreads by seeds that
requiring a service contract as a
payments, listed the manufacturer’s
condition of getting financing,
rebate as a customer’s down payment,
fanning, fluffing, or changing the cash
inflated incomes, and faked utility
price of a vehicle when they learn that
bills used as proof of a customer’s
control it. And, if you don’t pick this
the buyer has bad credit.
residence for finance sources.
weed from your yard quickly, it will
It’s difficult, at best, to determine if
You’ve probably also read about
grow rather rapidly, dig in deep, kill
you have an unethical employee at
FBI raids on a dealer’s home and
the other grass, and take over your
your dealership. That person may
dealership and indictments for
yard. Plus, you have to pull the weed
appear on the surface to look and act
conspiracy, bank fraud, and wire fraud.
up from the root, or what you leave
like your other ethical employees, but,
One such indictment alleges that
behind will continue to spread. It’s a
on closer inspection, you can discern
the dealer and his finance manager
daily battle, one I fought, somewhat
that he or she isn’t ethical.
falsified down payments, inflated
That employee’s type of thinking
incomes, sold service contracts
germinate later in the season than other annual grasses, so you can’t use pre-emergence herbicides to
unsuccessfully, all summer long and even into the fall.
and negative behavior can spread
You may be wondering what weed
throughout the dealership like my
pulling has to do with your dealership
goosegrass. But, once you learn you
and compliance. Well, during my last weed-pulling session, I was thinking about how these sneaky weeds have so much in common with unscrupulous and unethical employees. You know the ones I’m talking about—those who may refer to a customer as a “fish” (sucker), a “roach,” or a “rat” (a customer with really bad credit) and who say they
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NMEDA Circuit Breaker
“
have an unethical employee, if you’re
without remitting the paperwork and payment to the service contract provider, reported sales of vehicles to the manufacturer for vehicles that
...once you learn you have an unethical employee, if you’re not careful to pluck this weed from your dealership, it will grow rather quickly, dig in deep, overpower your ethical employees, and take over your dealership.”
