9:29 am, February 22, 2023
Dick Lovett has come in for stinging criticism from a millionaire customer who says he was ‘ignored’ by staff when he visited a showroom wearing a tracksuit.
Businessman and fitness guru Matt Fiddes visited the dealer group’s Ferrari site in Swindon but says customer service left a lot to be desired.
The 43-year-old, who previously found fame as Michael Jackson’s bodyguard, has accused sales staff of snubbing him due to his outfit.
Fiddes, who has an estimated net worth of £120m, was wearing a dark Guess hoodie with red tracksuit bottoms and trainers during his visit to the showroom.
He claims to have been left wandering around the dealership for 20 minutes before his 29-year-old wife, Monique, asked for help after running out of patience.
The martial arts expert told the Sun that once the staff recognised him they were ‘all over him like a rash’.
However, as a result of the poor service, he decided to take his custom elsewhere.
‘I wanted to treat myself to a new supercar, and I thought I would get my wife one too,’ Fiddes said.
‘I went in because I was in the area and I have had cars from them before – I bought a 360 Spider from the garage when I was 29.
‘I walked in right past everyone and was ignored.
‘We wandered around for about 20 minutes before my wife said this is ridiculous and went over to one of the salespeople and said my husband wants to buy a car.
‘Then two sale people were all over me like a rash, but by that point, I already thought I would buy one elsewhere.
Dick Lovett’s Ferrari showroom in Swindon (Google Street View)
‘I don’t dress up a lot; I’m in tracksuits 99.9 per cent of the time because I am a fitness guy. That’s who I am.
‘To be fair to them, they probably have a lot of time wasters who just turn up, take a few pictures in the cars and then leave.
‘If I had turned up in a suit and tie or been 20 years older, it probably would have been a different story or if I had walked in with Michael Jackson back in the day.
‘I was prepared to blow between £400,000 and £500,000 on two cars.
‘It’s a lesson in why you shouldn’t prejudge people because they lost the sale of two cars.’
In response to the allegations made by Fiddes, Dick Lovett denied any claims that it makes judgements on people based on their outfits.
A spokesman for the Car Dealer Top 100 firm said the company ‘prides itself on maintaining a consistently high level of customer service’.
Adrian Burke, experience manager at Dick Lovett, said: ‘I can confirm that Mr Fiddes visited our dealership on Saturday.
‘Upon arrival, Mr Fiddes was initially greeted by our showroom host, and following a brief delay due to high levels of showroom traffic, one of our sales team spoke to him about a selection of our Ferrari Approved range of cars.
‘Dick Lovett prides itself on maintaining a consistently high level of customer service for anyone who visits our showroom, regardless of their appearance or clothing.’
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