- This topic has 8 replies, 9 voices, and was last updated 8 years, 1 month ago by
.
-
Topic
-
-
Replies
-
The camera looks good. Great video quality and the audio was good.
I work for an automaker, and for us on the line, when we hear this stuff- it’s a bit frustrating. There is a VERY direct correlation between customer service, and return sales. That keeps us making cars, and making money. But also we put it all out there every day to build the perfect car for the customer. And when something goes wrong, we want to know that the customer was taken care of. We build them as if we were building them for a friend or family member. So why shouldn’t the dealership treat them like they are a friend or family member? I am not saying free stuff, but lets not screw them or nickel and dime them either. In my opinion your friends “service charge” to read a code should have been covered under warranty after the seat belt was replaced and it cleared.
Lots of shops in my area wave diagnostic fees if they do the fix. Making the customer happy, and not taking advantage of their wallet, keeps them coming back when they hear that strange random noise. The shop I go to listens to me on what I say is wrong. But they know me as somewhat competent.
I have a similar experience from a relative. But a little bit happier.
A couple weeks ago,my sister called me on my way home from work, asking me to look at her under warranty Chevy Equinox. It was making strange noises. She did not want to hassle with the dealership she purchased it at because of a perceived attitude they had. Plus they were 45 minutes away. It took me 5 minutes to diagnose the problem. It had no oil, with no leaks. The evidence in front of me was clear it was a internal consumption issue. And likely in the piston area.. AllData gave me the TSB for the issue. We called a more local dealership where there sales department was a frustration. I certainly won’t buy a car there. But after this I might let them look at one. They got her in within a few hours, and agreed with me after seeing zero signs of a leak. They are now doing an oil consumption test to decide if the engine is bad enough yet to replace under warranty. All they charged her for was the oil, a filter, and 20 minutes of their time. I don’t think it even costed more than $30. As they put it, they had to look at those parts to do the oil change. Someone else had already put the puzzle together. All they had to do was make sure it looked right. Plus they had seen it before.Boy am I glad I have a cousin who does all the brands of cars chip keys and fobs. He’s a locksmith that goes around to used car dealerships and takes care of their key needs so they don’t have to go to the big dealerships. Just paying his normal rate is better than your friend’s deal.
I get the charging for diagnostic work, as long as it’s discounted or refunded if they did the work. All the shops I’ve been to, even the one I feel was trying to rip me off has that policy. Which I have paid the diagnostic fee just because I wanted another opinion about what another shop had told me, just like paying for a DR visit because you think the first doctor wants to falsely treat you. If your friend said something from the beginning, before the key work, I fully agree they could’ve done it then and not even discuss charging. If he waited to say something as they’re handing him the keys, he may have set himself into that situation. It’s always better to say everything up front, because they could charge again if you don’t tell them everything you want them to look into before the start.
I once took in a car for warranty work. It was extended warranty with a $90 copay. It need two repairs done, so if I had only told them of one repair, then told them of the second repair after they already had the car moved to the parking lot, I would’ve been stuck with a $180 bill. But lumping both repairs in one work order, I only paid the $90. I get that. I actually waited till a second problem presented itself, before I took it in for the first problem. I’m glad I did, the first problem was minor, would’ve cost more than $300 in parts, but by waiting, I still saved an additional $90. I still won’t go back to that dealership though. When they got done with the car, I found their tech broke my door panel. The owner of the dealership personally called me a liar, and that I broke my own door panel. Well before cellphones with cameras, or I’d proven him wrong. I wasn’t the only one, the dealership later changed names, but I noticed the old owner is still the manager of the place, so no dice.
This pretty much epitomizes every dealership experience I’ve ever had.
When I had my 2000 Acura TL I took it to a Honda dealer (We didn’t have an Acura dealer in the town I used to live in) for a standard timing belt replacement and they wanted $1500 LOL.
Also the new camera is great.
e:
I also bought a case of ATF-DW-1 there in 2013 and when I went to check out I stood at the counter for a good 30 seconds before I was even acknowledged. No eye contact, no “Thank you for your business” not even a “have a nice day.” Needless to say I never went back.
Never had a bad dealership experience (not that I ever go). But I really agree with what you said about taking care of your customers and they take care of you.
A few months ago my wife and I were looking at a 2008 Mercury Sable. Everything looked really good, but i wanted an inspection. I’m new to town, so I got recommendations on where to go. I took in the car they inspected showed me a leaking PTO.
Long story short i didn’t buy the car but the shop did the inspection for free. Just because of that I feel very loyal to them and I want to take my car to them becuase I know that they care about me more than my money.I have never bought a new car and rarely go to them for parts (though, my GTO is proving quirky in the parts acquisition area and may change this down the road) but the few experiences I have had with them have been neutral. I have gone to them as a retailer, too, and seen how much the price drops for that scenario, so I try to use my connections there to keep from being stabbed in the wallet.
I have always been curious if the car companies themselves request/demand any level of customer service from their dealers, or if they are powerless in that regard. It seems like they would want their brand (which is raised high above nearly every dealer as if to say “we represent this brand”) to be associated with good customer service, but given how much federal and state governments let dealerships get away with, I imagine the manufacturers have very little say on the matter.
I hate dealerships. I don’t like buying cars there. I don’t like getting service there. My wife’s car is a newer 2012 Sonic. The dealer where she bought it sucks. My wife’s car was leaking water into the cabin. I pulled the proper TSB and brought it to them, and they charged me for the work because the bumper to bumper warranty was over. Okay, fine. However — it leaked again. When I took it back, they tried to charge me and I went straight to the owner of the place and I told them this is ridiculous. My father-in-law has bought 12 cars from this dealership, and they still treated me like garbage. It’s also garbage that I have to name drop to get the service I should have gotten in the first place. I am now endeavoring hard not to ever go there again. I am done with dealerships. My wife can buy cars at dealerships, but I am going to keep my truck running as long as possible so I never have to set foot in them. I just can’t seem to find a dealership that treats me right. Maybe it’s me.
Plus, I like the truck I have now anyway. Stick shift full size trucks are hard to come by.
It takes years for a business to be built to function well and provide quality customer service and almost no time for quality service to be thrown aside.
If he figures he got treated like shit, he probably got a link to a survey somewhere and filling that out to reflect his impressions is the only way they will care.
I’m going to go one step further and blame it on the approach of pay for services that is prevalent in the automotive industry and commonplace in dealerships. Had the service writer’s pay not relied so heavily on increasing every ticket’s value, they would be more likely to ask the tech to check the code and then charge the customer if diagnosis is required. And the tech would be willing to switch screens and check the SRS code if their pay didn’t also rely on getting everything they can out of one RO. There is zero incentive to the people rendering service to provide better service and that is where most of the issues with the industry come from and until people acknowledge it, it won’t change.
It’s also worth noting that a monkey can program a new fob and key, while something approaching an actual tech would have to assess an SRS issue.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.