Customer Service: The good, the bad and the ugly!

bryan

2004 Pontiac Bonneville GXP--couple of customer services stories I can relate to I experienced with this car. My selling dealer is 130 miles from my home of record--I spend most weekends where the dealer is (small town) and have purchased several cars there due to the great selling and service experience. (I have four cars!)

First problem: Air conditioner would work most of the time. Could never get it to malfunction while at the dealer. I give the dealer credit--they sure tried to fix it. Replaced all kinds of parts, would work okay for a couple of weeks, and then, out of the blue, it would do its thing. I really started to hate this car! I kept a log of each event, circumstances, how I was driving, etc. when the problem occurred. The fourth time the a/c went out, I was 10 miles from the dealer--I drove straight to the dealer and they immediately plugged into a sensor--NO codes!

Their tech could see that it was not operating correctly. I told the service manager I would leave the car until the cause was determined and it could be properly fixed. I authorized their senior a/c expert tech to drive my car as his personal car. He did. He drove it with the scanner plugged in for close to three weeks, when it finally malfunctioned on him. It threw a code; from that, he was able to determine it was a relay switch that the wires into it were crimped. In addition to fixing the problem, he reconfigured the wires to prevent future crimping. That was two years ago--not another problem. When they returned the car, it had been cleaned and had a full tank of gas!

Second problem: Picked some type of nail/screw in rear tire. Had no idea until I got to my parking garage at work; driving on the smooth pavement, I could hear this clicking sound--not good. Parked, found the imbedded screw in the tire, left it alone and immediately took it to the Goodyear tire place. They worked me in, found the problem, removed it, told me there would be no issue because the screw had lodged between the treads and had not punctured much of the rubber. How much for the diagnostic I asked. No charge sir, you have had service done here and we're glad it worked out for you.

Both times I took the time to call management to report the excellent customer service. I guess from the reaction I received, they don't usually hear about the positive experiences!

Kirstie_H

Hey, you should give them a service review in our Dealership Ratings & Reviews section.