The Finance Plaza Inc

I work with Neil's on a regular basis. I have always found them courteous and professional. Not only are they able to process loans in a timely fashion, they also have a large selection of vehicles to chose from. I also know they really try to help you get credit. I recommend Neils highly.

Pam called me to tell me over the phone I had been "pre-approved" to buy a car. Pam asked me on the phone if I had any money to put down. I said, "I may have $300 on Friday when I get paid." She immediately gave the phone to a salesman, who offered to send someone to drive me to the

dealership, across town from where I live -- I thought, to look at

what they had to offer. So a couple days later, Wednesday, I took them up on it.



What happened was totally bizarre. Everyone -- a room of about six or

seven idle people sitting in close proximity in makeshift desks --

greeted me with weird smirks on their faces, and a guy brought a

Saturn up for a test drive. This was apparently the only car that was "available" (hence, the car I was "pre-approved" to buy, I guess). So I test drove it. The guy who rode with me was Mexican American and could not speak English or answer questions. That was odd. Doesn't one, if accompanied, usually have the salesperson with him just for

that purpose -- to ask questions, discuss the vehicle? The transmission sounded a little bad. I wasn't impressed, but the car was

clean.



When I got back a tall white-haired guy, maybe Neil (not sure), ran out the door. He did not introduce himself nor shake my hand. He snapped, "is it okay?"



I said that the transmission sounded bad.



He said, "hell, I dunno, I've never driven it, come on inside."



I went inside to discuss the car...what I've done at other dealerships on other occasions, bargain, talk about the financing, treat each other like human beings.



No deal. He sat me down and started filling out paperwork in silence. I was shocked. No discussion of price? What kind of salesmanship is this? He was assuming that I wanted to buy the car. It was totally absurd. He asked me for $300, and I told him, like I told the woman on the phone, that I didn't have $300, that I wouldn't have it until Friday. He jumped up, this guy who never shook my hand nor told me his name, and said, "can't help you," and announced to everyone there I didn't have the money. "Can't get a car without a

down payment," he said more than once, shaking his head, and walked

off in anger.



"Yup, can't get a car without a down payment," everyone kept repeating like they were characters in some bad, surreal television commercial.



I was still in a state of shock. I had never even said I wanted the

car! No one had ever suggested or mentioned a price! No talk of

interest rates or the bad transmission or anything else! I was waiting for Ashton Kutchner to jump out and say I'd been Punk'd, but it didn't happen. I said, like an idiot, "maybe I'll come back Saturday." Yeah, right.



"Be sure to call first to see what we have available. Oh, and here's

what you'll need," Pam, the unhelpful woman I had spoken with on the phone told me, giving me a list of other things I would have needed to buy the car (which of course I didn't bring) such as pay stubs, etc., a list she had neglected to give me previously. I apologized lamely for the apparent miscommunication, and sort of stood there. How could they treat their customers so terribly, and communicate so badly?



"Um, how do I get home?" I asked, quietly.



Pam grimaced. "I dunno, the bus? I've never taken the bus."



I was in a daze. I motioned, "can I leave by this door?"



She said, "yeah, thanks."



"Yeah," I said, and threw the list she had given me on the floor. I

pushed the door open and went to the bus stop. I found just enough

change, fortunately, perhaps serendipitously, to pay the fare.



The people were all incredibly rude, presumptuous, unprofessional, and treated me horribly, like scum, as if I had no dignity.



On their website they credit Jesus for their success. I suppose that

should have been a red flag, an attempt to gain trust from the

credulous from the outset. Since, they credit Christ with helping them to run a legal loan shark scam, add "blasphemy" to the list of bad customer service skills.