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Customer Service: The good, the bad and the ugly!
Everyone has a story to tell about customer service whether you're on the giving end or the receiving end. Whichever side you're on the experience can be satisfying, a nightmare or downright nasty.
Share your automotove customer service stories here!
tidester, host
Share your automotove customer service stories here!
tidester, host
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Where do I start with all my stories......
You just did! Now it's only a matter of filling in the details for us.
tidester, host
several years ago, took my Chevy Beretta in for an oil change/tire rotation. Walked away to run an errand nearby, came back saw the car was outside, was told it was ready, paid and went to leave. Now the Chevy was a disc/drum set up on the brakes and of course the discs up front leave the tell tale dust on the rims. So what do I see when I get to the car? Yep, dusty front wheels. Back inside I go. Long story short, guys swears the tires were rotated "says so on the work order". I walk him out and ask him to explain the brake dust. No answer. Stick his hand outt for the keys, does the tire rotation without a word. No "sorry", no nothing.
2021 Jeep Wrangler Sahara 4xe Granite Crystal over Saddle
2024 Audi Q5 Premium Plus Daytona Gray over Beige
2017 BMW X1 Jet Black over Mocha
the expression on the collision shop manager's face was priceless.
luckily it was minor and taken care of quickly.
tidester, host
Regards:
Oldengineer
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Nahhhh....I'm still here. Good stories bigal, keep'em coming.
It does make it easier to read if you break the stories into smaller paragraph fragments though.
Hmm ... would that be like customer service soaps?
tidester, host
I have some multipart stories on the sales board that are basicly soaps. I think there are four on one customer alone who is just totally crazy.
tidester, host
So, it was still under warranty (I think the 24/24 powertrain piece), or at least I thought so. Anyway, I went to the dealer, and it front of a waiting room full of people, the service guy said too busy, since you didn't buy it here, won't look at it. But what really pushed my buttons was when he said that if it died and came in on a tow truck, he wouldn't let them put it on the ground!
I ended up going off on the guy at least once. Somehow I ended up with the name of the zone service guy, and by chance he was there once at the same time as me, and he interceded and told them to replace whatever it needed.
SOmetimes a raving lunatic in a crowded service waiting area does get attention!
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
That's quite a welcoming committee! I hope you reported them to the Chamber of Commerce.
tidester, host
They were busy, since they were the only dealer in a large area of south Jersey at the time. The next closest dealer was either 45 miles North, or over the bridge in Phila., and not particularly convenient to get to.
Besides, who is the C of C going to side with, some guy that lives in another town, or one of their biggest taxpayers??
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
j/k
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
You'll have to run this by tidester. He might not want to contaminate his new thread.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
tidester, host
Because if you hadn't... I had an interesting experience at the meat deli today.
But, I'm all tapped out on new "automotive" stories guys.
I do have an oil change coming up here in about two weeks.
If the dealership screws up my oil change like they did last time then I may have something "worthy" of posting...as I will confront and ask for compensation.
Hmm ... it IS Friday. Um ... what means of transportation did you use to get to the deli?
tidester, host
LOL. I took the sub-way (deli humor) to get to the deli... or maybe it was my Mazda MPV minivan which is used frequently for automotive transportation purposes.
Anywho, I get to the deli. Some lady cuts in front of me..no big deal I say. Deli clerk takes my order of a pound of slow oven roasted turkey breast and a pound of Fischers Honey Ham. Well, I see her pulling some meat out of a plastic baggie, that looks as if it had been returned,and including it with what she is cutting fresh for me...she finishes cutting the ham and hands it to me. I ask her if I can get some fresh meat as some of the meat she had included with my order had already been "used". She replies that a customer ordered the meat, then handed it back saying it was the wrong type. I'm like...sorry...but I don't want someone elses meat. She cops a bit of an attitude, then cuts some more fresh ham...but uses the cheese saw to do the cutting leaving a deposit around the edges of my ham with some type of creamy white cheese(I don't care much for cheese) So, I joke and say I don't have to pay extra for the ham n cheese do I? She doesn't get it, and by this time I am to flustered to go any further with it. Like a good salesperson, she has worn me down with her "act" of ineptitude. :sick:
I took said cheese with ham & turkey, back to my means of transportation, which at the time was my Mazda MPV, which I used to transport my dinner to my place of residence.
Now to make this story even more "on topic" than it already is...substitute oil filter for honey ham, and 10W30 Valvoline in place of creamy cheese. You may have read something simiar in the "Oil Change Fiascos" discussion??
TIEDSTER, YO TIEDSTER, if you're listening, please let him tell a KIRBY tale, PLEASE !!
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
Well, okay, just this once but only if you come up with an automotive customer service tale of your own to share!
tidester, host
Of course. But feel free to edit as needed for suitability.
tidester, host
For a moment I thought there was going to be a happy ending but I suppose it's close enough!
It seems to me that the quality of customer service in the U.S. has gone downhill somewhat in the past 20 to 30 years. If that's true then I suppose it's attributable, in part, to the greater complexity of goods that are sold, particularly cars and trucks. Maybe people take less pride in their work or training standards have been relaxed.
Is anyone here able to compare automotive customer service today to that of 10, 20 or more years ago? How about outside the U.S.? Does anyone have any tales to relate concerning customer service outside the U.S.?
tidester, host
I am glad you told this story and that I completely read same....as I would now "NEVER" go to a Walmart lube shop (I never have before and will "NOW NEVER Do So".
Amen to that!!!!
Anyhow, bigal's story on instant oil changes loosened a few cobwebs.
I believe there are Valvoline Instant Oil change stations across the country. For $28 you get the new oil, filter, they check all your fluids, some filters, adjust tire air pressure, top off windshield fluid,inspect for leaks, make recommendations on needed services etc.
Well, I pull in one day for the oil change(about 5 months ago). I have to wait about 10 minutes, then pull my Buick Regal into the service bay. You have the option of staying in your car during the oil change, going into a claustrophobic sized small room, or standing by your vehicle. So, I sit and watch them do the oil change and check my cabin air filter. The servce tech brings me the cabin air filter to look at suggesting I change it. Well, it looked as if a family of squirrels had been nesting in it...leaves, whirrley birds, some other stuff I couldn't identify. I tell them to replace it. The tech scoops his hand inside the air filter compartment and pulls out some more debris. But, doesn't make a second effort...which brings some mild concern to myself.
I'm driving home and notice a clicking like sound when the air conditioner is on. When home I also notice the oil doesn't appear to be entirely new. I'm thinking they were lazy and didn't let all the oil drain out. So, I drive back to Valvoline to have them check the filter and the oil. They check the filter first, it is full of debris from where the tech half-a$$ed cleaning it out. The manager pulls a couple more handfuls of debris out. I start the car up...no more clicking sound.
Next, I complain that I didn't think they let all the old oil drain out. The manager replies that they could let the car sit over night and it would still be dripping some oil, the old oil itself is coated on the internal parts and pan. I say I realize that not all the old oil will drain out, but I thought they probably didn't let it drain long enough. Manager asks if my old oil was real dirty, as a little bit of extremely dirty oil will make the clean oil appear as if it is not new. I reply that yes it was pretty dirty, but had only about 4,500 miles on it. I say that it is possible that that is what happened. The manager offers to change the oil again at no charge, but I decline as I am not sure the oil change was done incorrectly. Any thoughts on that bigal?
Anyhow, even though the work wasn't done right the first time, Valvoline did try to make it right.
I agree with the "greater complexity" remark.
Also, some of that decrease in quality of service may have to do with 1) the low wages paid, and 2) the lack of taking time and effort for proper training in the hopes of getting profitable more quickly.
And "downsizing".
That is a big change over the last 20 - 30 years.
Workers, even good ones who care enough to do a job right whether or not anyone is looking, are much more expendable than they were. And quality suffers.
And, #s1& 2 are due to the fact that majority of consumers want cheap stuff, which is usually at the expense of quality or service.
Maybe I missed something in your story but since the oil didn't have the color of new oil, did they really change the oil filter? As I'm sure you've heard, 4 qts. of clean oil and 1 qt. of dirty oil (in the filter), makes for 5 qts. of dirty oil.
Just a thought.
BTW, this was a much better story. I knew you could do it.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
Well, I think they did. I looked at it (oil filter) and it looked clean. Sometimes I check the oil filter before taking it in, and make a conscious note of where the letters on filter are positioned in reference to the front of the vehicle, then check to see if it was actually changed. I didn't do it on this occasion though.
But, this was the first time after an oil change that the oil didn't look almost totally clear/clean. It looked to me as if maybe half a cup of old oil wasn't drained out. I suppose if they really wanted to gyp the jipster, they could have emptied my old filter of oil, cleaned it up a bit, then screwed it back on.
If the oil filter was clean, then they changed it.
I suppose if they really wanted to gyp the jipster, they could have emptied my old filter of oil, cleaned it up a bit, then screwed it back on.
I wasn't trying to insult your intelligence by asking if the filter was really changed. I just didn't see in your story where you mentioned that either you or anybody at the shop checked it when you took it back. If you ever found a place that you suspect doing what you mentioned above, that would be a good place to stay away from in the future.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Please share!
tidester, host
tidester, host
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His reply: I can't just put it back together! you'll need all new gaskets, seals, bearings bands, etc., this transmission needs to be rebuilt if you ever want to drive this car again!!
Based on what I was told before hand, this was to be just a diagnostic, but they literally disassembled the transmission, and in no way way could they just put it back together in the same condition it arrived in.
I left to get my father. He and I returned to the shop, and they agreed to rebuild the tranny at their "special price" that they only gave to the police department. I agreed. Once I got the car back, I noticed that it would shift out of 1st at 30mph at full throttle, the 2-3 gear change was very rough regardless of throttle, and a whole lot of other anomalies. Before the "repair" the 1 - 2 shift occurred at about 45mph due to the 2.79 rear end gear ratio, and under normal conditions, the gear changes were pretty transparent.
I have never felt more taken advantage of since then and I hope I never do again.
That shop should never have been allowed to offer a "diagnostic" on a transmission knowing that they couldn't put it back together again in the same condition in which it arrived. Kind of like a doctor saying they can diagnose heart problems, but the diagnosis has ruined your heart, so now you need a heart transplant!!
f&*%$#%$$^kers!!
I eventually swapped in a tranny from a wrecked car and it performed flawlessly until I sold it many years later.
My last car was a leased VW Passat. It needed a strange type (grade? whatever you call that number like "10W-30") of oil. I don't remember what it was, but I do remember that I took my car to Grease Monkey (one of those quick-oil-change places that doesn't do much else) and the techs there not only did not have the type that was needed (which they only knew was needed because I told them; I do at least read the manual), they had in fact never heard of such a thing and I had to show them the manual before they would even believe me.
Unfortunately for the sake of the story, I was able to solve this by driving down the street to Checker Auto Parts and buying the oil myself and giving it to the Grease Monkey guys to use. I watched them that time to see that they did put that expensive oil into my car. (At least they discount the price of the change if you bring your own oil.)
Not a very interesting story, I'm afraid, but it's the best I've got.
The "chain" muffler and tire shops are a very close second!
I have seen and heard things people wouldn't believe.
Well... you're in the right place then. Let's hear a few.
All unbelievers please exit the room.
The only other thing I can think of is that your Passat was new enough to have the euro spec 5w20 synthetic oil. Very few fast lube shops carry that particular spec. My old shop did because we sold probably 25% Amsoil by volume and amsoil makes a euro spec 5w20.
When my friend started checking he found the air filter was the original filter and was clogged. The person who owned the Astrovan said the oil change place had replaced it every other visit because it was dirty. They had charged him but never replaced it. Replacement required disassemblying some top engine things to get at it.
The next time he went in he got the same treatment that he needed a new air filter. This time he said he wanted to see the old one first. Thirty or forty minutes later they finally brought him the old one they were taking out. He then talked to the manager about all the other visits and charges and they never replaced the earlier one. He was in and out in only a few minutes.
He either got oil changes for life from the store as a pacifier or he got a refund on all those they charged him for earlier. My friend who had caught the fake is a mechanic and had an Astrovan himself.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Chevy eventually changed the design and moved the air filter up front under the hood and using a flat pannel air filter instead.
We only changed those filters on request from the owner as removing the dog house depending on the equipment level of the van might take as long as an hour. It was a lot easier on the work van trim astros as everything is exposed and easy to get to but on a conversion van astrovan it could take nearly an hour.
Customers would bring their cars in for the advertised special transmission service.
The guy in the shop would remove all of the pan bolts except one. Then he would holler at the "manager"...ONE BOLT!
The "manager" was nothing more than a slimeball salesman. He would then walk into the shop and take the transmission pan in his hands. He would walk into the wating room slowly shaking his head..." Ah, sir, you have problems"
He would show the metal filings and bits of clutch material that are in the bottom of almost every transmission pan and declare the transmission to be on it's last legs.
If there were no metal filings, he would add some himself out of a can that he kept in the shop.
If the cars were left for a minor service, he would call the customers and read a script directly from a company supplied book telling them why they needed a total transmission rebuild.
LIKE:
1. Maybe the points need to be re-adjusted.
2. Could have had a bad spark plug, right out of the box. This happens more often than you might think.
3. Maybe a plug wire came loose when you hit a pot hole.
4. That brake squeal could be a hard spot on the brake drum. It won’t affect the way the car stops.
5. That brake fluid you see on your garage floor is probably just what has dripped off the backing plate after we did a complete brake system flush.
6. That was a newly designed power steering pump that was installed, that’s why it’s making noises that you’re not used to hearing.
7. Your turn signal lever must have been broken when you brought the car in for service; we don’t use turn signals pulling into or out of our bays.
8. New anti-freeze isn’t always bright green even when you have a radiator flushed.
9. That is the right oil filter. The manufacture changed their numbering system.
10. I don’t know how those lug nuts got that tight, we ALWAYS use the torque specification for your car.
Sound familiar and I didn’t have to stop here! I’m sure almost everybody has heard some of these and maybe more. Even I would have heard more and heard them more often if poor service didn’t turn me into a DIYer many, many years ago after I just got sick and tired of listening to all the excuses as to why the job wasn’t done right.
So, when my cars are out of warranty and when I think I have even a remote chance of fixing it myself, I’ll try it. Although I’ll admit with these computer controlled cars, it gets tougher with each one I buy.
I’ve never been able to make up any excuses that I could really make myself believe when I’ve done my own work and something wasn’t operating the way I knew it should.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl