28 APR 08: HEARD MENTALITY?
Uh-oh - yet another TV station is taking on Columbus's "Mr. Big Volume." And once again, they are NOT challenging the loudness of his TV commercials....
We mentioned last April [25 Apr 07] that a Nashville TV station had investigated the Bill Heard dealerships there. Now a Houston station is doing the same thing, and making amazingly similar discoveries. And in Houston, Bill Heard is quite a respected name -- since it's been on the outfield wall at Astros baseball games.
In a TV report last week, two former employees of Bill Heard Chevrolet in suburban Houston accused managers of ordering them to forge documents to sell cars. One salesman even admitted preparing bogus drivers' licenses. But of course, this dealership IS much closer to the Mexican border.
One former salesman accused Houston's Bill Heard Chevrolet of ordering him to drive a car 43 miles to a woman's home, and leave it there with the keys inside -- even though the woman merely had taken a test drive, and wasn't ready to buy. Take the car back, and face a sales attack....
Of course, Bill Heard Chevrolet denies doing anything wrong. The Texas dealership even claims the 43-mile drive to drop off a car wasn't illegal. As long as the customer wasn't billed for the gasoline burned on the round trip....
Another Houston-area customer claims after she bought a truck, Bill Heard Chevrolet ran her credit application four more times -- to buy cars for other people. If this was the Jay family of about seven dealerships, this might be understandable.
Bill Heard Chevrolet promised to work on restoring the Texas woman's credit record. But as of last week, the problem reportedly still wasn't resolved. You almost get the feeling it's because the dealership's attorneys have too many things to do.
Last week's reports actually were a follow-up, about Bill Heard Chevrolet of suburban Houston. Last fall, the TV station revealed 911 is called to the Texas dealership about three times a month - and not because people are collapsing, at the tremendous values.
Customers actually called police to Bill Heard Chevrolet of suburban Houston, claiming the staff took their car keys and wouldn't give them back. And here's the worst part - this was NOT the work of the service department.
One customer reportedly became so fed up with Bill Heard that she demanded her trade-in back. It finally reached her, only with a missing radio antenna. So while "Mr. Big Volume" may not speak softly, it still might carry a big stick.
So many people have complained about Bill Heard Chevrolet that the Houston Better Business Bureau refuses to let it become a member. That tells me one thing - the Houston BBB office must be in far better financial shape than the Columbus branch.
(We should note Bill Heard Chevrolet is located in the suburb of Sugar Land, Texas. If word gets around about these news stories, the country music group SugarLand might have to post a disclaimer on its web site.)
So whatever happened to the complaint against Bill Heard by the Georgia Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs? Apparently nothing has happened. An online check Sunday night found nothing new about the case -- but the office still bragging about the lawsuit on its web site. No new suits in nine months must mean more Georgians are upright and ethical than even some preachers think.
Cars are involved in our review of the Sunday news, but not at the top....
+ Who broke a big window pane near the front door of the Columbus Civic Center over the weekend? Did Tinkerbell wave her wand in the wrong direction, during a "Disney on Ice" performance?
+ Ledger-Enquirer Executive Editor Ben Holden offered another front-page explanation for last week's reduction in the number of pages. I'm wondering if the people complaining about this reduction are the same ones who think city government is too big.
+ Lakewood Elementary School in Phenix City presented a student art show. The school has no art teacher - so if students draw something exceptionally well, either they're gifted or the profession isn't really necessary.
+ Kyle Busch won the NASCAR race in Talladega. The race ended under a caution flag, after two crashes occurred on the last lap - and countless fans from Birmingham are likely to see the same thing today on Interstate 20-59.
(WRBL reported more than 20 Russell County Sheriff's officers helped with security at the Talladega race. Perhaps they had the dangerous task of standing on the track after the checkered flag, looking for angry fans throwing beer cans.)
+ The National Football League draft ended, with the Atlanta Falcons selecting Louisiana State tight end Keith Zinger in the final round. If he drops passes during games, angry fans will nickname him Raspberry.
(Did you notice not one player from Alabama was drafted this year? This is likely to change in 2009 - assuming Nick Saban jumps back into pro football coaching by next April.)
BURKARD'S BEST BETS: Gas for $3.55 a gallon (shudder) at Marathon, 36th Street and Second Avenue.... tangerines for 20 cents at Piggly Wiggly.... and early sales of large signs in Atlanta asking, "Where in the world is Matt Ryan?"....
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