Kickbacks,Persuasion,Spiffs

[SGT]

I am guilty as sin....All of my dealership/fleet accounts get the same kickbacks

1. I am honest & reliable
2. I do very good work
3. I am faily priced
4. I always try to accomadate

In return I get kickbacks as well...

1. When there is work, I get it
2. They will call when I am needed
3. I get paid for my services

I do have arrangements with garages and glass replacement shops. I send them replacement work and I get a referral fee and they send me repair work and they get a referral fee.

What are you doing?

[maxryde]

Originally Posted by SGT

What are you doing?

I have 1 shop that I refer for replacement's and receive a fee per each, they refer cracks to me. The dealers haggle with me but I always stand firm. If they want the $10. dollar guy that is an option here. For the time being.

I would go T U in a hurry doing that. Our wholesale is at the price of what the local replacement shops do for retail on repairs. Oh and the glass shops call me for tough breaks that they weren't able to up sell.

[splitpit]

Most large companies have policies in place that ban acceptance of kickbacks, gifts, persuasions or so called incentives. It used to be a common practice but is not nearly as prominent as it used to be. It can result in both personal and tax liability if knowledge of it gets to the wrong person who may perhaps have a bridge they are willing to burn.

[Blind Squirrel]

I have an account with a car rental company that has branches in several car dealer service departments. Naturally, I've approached the "preowned/used car/reconditioning" managers of these dealerships for business and have secured some of them as additional accounts.

One of these is a very large multi franchise dealer where I went in and introduced myself to their "reconditioning manager" and told him that I was doing windshield repair for the rental car company and wanted to see if he had anyone doing chip repairs for his used car inventory, well, this guy said he would refer me to their "preowned" marketing manager who he said would have all the necessary paperwork and fill me in on the "kickbacks". I asked him, "are you saying that there is a "kickback" in being a service vendor for your business?
He said yes, and I stood up and thanked him for his time and added, "at no time and under no circumstances will I do business in that manner" and I walked out.
This was 5 years ago and I'm still servicing the rental cars and don't give a rat's ass who's doing their used cars!

[jayjacque]

I've been servicing used cars for dealers in recon work for over 25 yrs now. And I've seen almost everything imaginable. (that could be a whole thread of its own). Everything from UCM telling the sales people out and out lies to make the sale (well, nothing surprising there) to dealers wanting me to go to their own house, work on their wife's car and charge it out to one of the vehicles on the lot! (working on the dealers own car right at the lot and charging it out is a little more common)

May sound unethical and a kickback, but I've always accomodated; here's the reason: I don't know one car from another. For all I know it's a trade-in that hasn't been stocked in yet. As long as I get the manager's signature on things like that, then I'm covered and it's his business what he does with his inventory.

I had a body shop owner once tell me he wanted me to write 2 bills, one at a lower amount for him to pay me and the other bill at a much higher amount so he could soak the insurance company. That I flatly refused. Funny thing he seemed surprised like other companies he used in the past did that all the time

[StarQuest]

I have one for ya!

A year ago UCM handed me a $300 hockey donation form for the GM's 2 kids and said I hate asking you for this but I have too. My response was I couldn't afford to support both his kids hockey clubs but was willing to donate the $150 for one which I did. A week later, when I went to get a P.O. for work performed from parts manager, he told me their system was down and couldn't issue one. I said OK I'll stop back tomorrow. Went their the following day and was told the same thing, system is still down. Third day I showed up again while another vendor just got issued his P.O.'s I was told again "Systems Are Still Down". I then asked PM if he could call me when system was back and running. He said he would as soon as it's fixed. Following day I get a call from him which I recorded!!! He said I needed to donate the other $150 for GM's hockey kid if I wanted to continue as a vendor. I then replied, oh really, that sounds like extortion to me! No response from him.

What they didn't know is from a previous business I operated in cellular sales, the dealership owner and I had a long term friendly business relationship. Needless to say after playing the phone tapes back to owner, shortly after both the GM and PM lost there jobs!

I personally don't do kickbacks and never will for anybody!

[screenman]

I live by my saying for every bad customer there is a good one around the corner I am not servicing yet! hence I also do not do kickbacks.

Because I am lucky enough to be in the higher tax bracket and kick backs are not tax deductable over here, for me to give £100 would cost £140 no way am I going there.

At Christmas I am just as likely to receive a gift from a customer as I am to give one.

Am I right in what I do? I am by my code but there again you can all do it whichever way you wish. Thats why this game is good fun.