Walser Polar Chevrolet

“My wife and I purchased a used vehicle here on a weeknight in early November. We arrived in very good spirits, but frankly our buying experience was uncomfortable and unfortunately left us with a sour memory and a distrust of this organization. 1. LITTLE RESPECT FOR CUSTOMER TIME - Our financials were as straightforward as it gets and we walked in with a specific used vehicle picked out — yet we spent nearly 3 hours mostly waiting to receive sales pitches. Our salesperson had to split their time between us and another customer, which I can understand; however, if that’s the staffing situation the dealership is in, it would be good, responsive customer service to minimize the pageantry that they’d otherwise force upon you and instead focus on speeding up their process. We kept being told “then I’ll give you a tour of everything” and we assumed it was our paperwork. No, we had been sitting around waiting to be given a mandatory tour of the service center followed by more upselling. We were never asked, “Would you like to…?” or even given an overview of what they’d be putting us through before we could finally pay for the vehicle. 2. AGGRESSIVE SALES BEHAVIOR - Whenever we declined an upsell, we were pressured. Our salesperson’s tone of voice, body language, and phrasing made us both uncomfortable. At one point, we were met with a blunt “Why?” (gave me a shock) When we returned a few days later to have the Pulse brake light removed (see below), we were asked by the same salesperson, “So you don’t care about that added safety?” This was a day after we had spoken with a manager and made our thoughts on the Pulse sensor clear. We drove across town to get the equipment removed — why are we being challenged yet again about our decisions? Perhaps customers have a great experience at this dealership if they’re nodding along with the upsells, but I expect to also be treated with respect as a customer when I decline. 3. LACK OF TRANSPARENCY - When we finally got to the purchase agreement, I was informed — for the first time — of a $400 charge for Pulse brake lights that this dealership installs on all of their vehicles, new and used. This cost was not disclosed in the web listing and was an added $400 on top of Walser’s advertised sticker price. In the 3 hours we spent at the dealership prior to us seeing the purchase agreement, Pulse was mentioned once without a word about cost. Cost aside, we weren’t given a choice — this was presented as “we do this for all our vehicles and it’s already in yours.” If asked, I would have promptly declined this device, which makes the vehicle less safe and is not street legal. The Walser marketing emphasizes “no surprises, up front pricing, no gimmicks” and “transparency” and “integrity” are written in huge letters on the dealership wall — and yet here we are. It’s bad enough to pre-install your upsells and take away customer choice. I would never knowingly patronize a dealership that pulls that predatory scheme on its customers. Failing to disclose a $400 added cost until your customer is looking at the purchase agreement, until your customer has been at your dealership for 3 hours, and presenting that add-on as a mandatory — all of that is really something else. As I mentioned above, we contacted a manager, and to their credit they removed the device and reimbursed the cost. However, the thought of other customers falling prey to this scheme makes me very uncomfortable. Hardworking people don’t deserve to be preyed upon so a dealership can boost its margins. This is not integrity, Walser…it’s shameful.”

“After stopping at other dealerships during the day, this one was a breath of fresh air.! Their sales team is on salary, so there's no pressure tactics. Our salesperson, Essence, was excellent with a great personality. It is possible to enjoy buying a vehicle! We felt comfortable with each person we met in the process. Walser's style of business is one we would recommend, and we already did. 10 out of 10 from us!”

“I wasn’t planning on coming into Walser Polar Chevrolet in White Bear Lake, Mn because I have a Chevrolet dealership closer to where I live, but I was in the area and so I stopped in. Immediately upon entering I was greeted by a person at the greeters desk and they called someone over. I will tell you having someone acknowledge me right away is not what I was used to at other dealerships, and right away it set the tone and gave a good impression. I was assigned to Quinn and he was very warm and welcoming , and his knowledge, patience, compassion, and professionalism became what ultimately was the best vehicle shopping experience I have had in the 38 years of purchasing cars. He by far has been the best salesperson I have dealt with… I will follow him to whatever dealership he works at. One of the best things I liked about Quinn on a personal level was how he was not aggressive or pushy in trying to sell me a vehicle. It took me a long time to purchase a vehicle from the time of my initial visit to my purchase, and never once was he pushy. Had he been, I would have at taken my business elsewhere. Quinn also LISTENED to me, and trusted me when I told him my car buying process. As a woman, he never talked down to me. and I never felt less important or not deserving of his time. I had a great experience at Polar Chevrolet thanks to Quinn.”

“We saw a Sterling Grey Metallic Silverado 3500HD Diesel at Gilleland Chevrolet. We were so excited, ready to purchase and it's sold, but "no sold sign". We were so disappointed and found Walser had the same exact 1, all the features and a sunroof. Got there, asked for a sale person, front desk go grab Trip Ellis while he was on lunch break and still eating. Trip cut his lunch break short and came out to help us. We told him why we're here and it turns out the truck had a sold sign. Trip sees the disappointment in us and said, "hold on let me go check". Whatever Trip Ellis said to his Boss he made it happened. We were able to purchased the Sterling Grey Metallic Silverado 3500HD Diesel. #happyhappycamper! Btw, we trade-in our 2020 Chevy Silverado 2500HD. Dan Nguyen was very nice and professional . Our trade-in came right at the price we were expecting. The paperwork process took a bit longer, but Trip kept us in the loop and stayed with us until we walk out the door. I would definitely recommend Trip Ellis. He's a very friendly, professional, knowledgeable and patience. -Mai Yang”

“First time purchasing a brand new car, and first time buying from a dealership! I went to dealerships all the way from the twin cities up to Pine City and spoke with a lot of sales representatives. I ended up purchasing my Trax from Polar Chevrolet in White Bear through Trip Ellis. He was fabulous and deserves a raise!!! His demeanor was friendly, kind, honest and had a good sense of humor! I was able to have all my questions answered and buying my car was easier than I thought it would be :) I will be back in the future when I am in the market for my next vehicle.”