I got put in my place....long post

[shroomjohn]

Ok well was driving the camaro the other day and noticed a vibration in the front. Not horrible but it shouldn't be there so I schedule an appointment at my dealer who I've had a pretty good relationship w. I drop it off at 7 say the sooner the better but my wife gets off at 430 so by then. I work nights so I crash about noonish. Well I wanted to check b4 I went to bed so I called at 12. The guy says no ones around that can tell me anything I say ok I described my car and said I just needed to know how it was goi g he says hold on. He came back and said they hadn't looked at it yet. I asked why 5 hrs had passed and they hadn't had a chance w a attitude. Hey he was probably having a bad day unfortunately so was I. I got a little mouthy and said get it done and hung up. He immediately calls me back and says if I don't like he can put it in the parking lot and I can come get it. I'm like ok so can I talk to ur boss he says the dreaded I am the boss and he doesn't like my attitude. I catch myself from flipping out because I don't wanna have problems w the guy that's in charge of oking any work to my car. So I just explain that it's frustrating to know that they put my car on the back burner till the last minute then if they can't fix it quick I'm out a car. He assures me he'll have a loaner if that happens. Well it happened and guess what they have 30 loaners available and they're all out. So my wife just took the car home until they get the parts. Somehow the front passenger rim is bent and they're gonna replace it and the 2 front tires(thank god for tire and wheels protection/no cost to me) they said it's minor but needs replacing pothole maybe. Anyways what do u guys think what would u have done? Sorry for long post from phone thanks

[GB EB]

this is common when you drop a car off rather than wait....

just speak with your service adviser when you drop the car off and discuss your concern.... he/she should be up front and let you know then if there are 5 cars ahead of yours .....

[justincase_2008]

The same thing happened to me almost and i went picked up my car and called some one above him took my car the next day and got done even faster. I now have a special contact to call if i need any work done on my car.

[wylde1]

Easier said than done, but it's always best not to get frustrated and angry when dealing with the service dept. (or people in general) once one side gets on the defensive it's all over.

I had a similar problem with my dealer. I took it in for the first oil change. made an appointment for 7:30 am, their first available one. It was just an oil change, and the first inspection they do so 1 hr tops. They assured me of this over and over, so I made appointments for the rest of the day based on that (I work 4-10hr shifts so this day is my only day during the week to run errands) sure enough I get there at 7:15 and there's a lineup. they didn't take me in until 8:15 and I was out of there by 9:20. Basically, screwed up my schedule for the day and I didn't get everything done.

I went to the Manager, and asked (as politely as I could) what was the point of me making an appointment, since everyone that was ahead of me were "walk ins" with no appointment. He gave me some filling the schedule gobbeldygook and I told him if that's the common practice I will never bring my vehicles in here for service again. He was very apologetic and gave me a free oil change. (probably won't use it anyway, mabye just try and get the oil and filter from them and do it myself)

Now had I gone in there in a blinding fit of rage (like I felt like doing) the situation would/could have been drastically different. And he probably would have just told me he didn't want my business anyway.

In my experience dealerships are the hardest to deal with, they bombard you with customer service surveys and how much they "care" about you just to turn around and put you on the back burner. Of course, there are exceptions, but compared to your private service shops the customer service is severely lacking generally speaking.

sorry to hear about your rim, mabye if they quit putting jobs on the back burner they'd have a few loaners left over haha. My grandpa always says "beware of a dealership with an empty loaner fleet" haha

[toesuf94]

I would have been pissed that they did not give me a loaner in the first place...however: I look at the world through eyes that if I am in thier place, how would I want THEM talking to me? Staying calm and collected in a customer service setting has netted me a lot of free first class upgrades, paid for hotel rooms, free meals, and really great service when I go back to the people I was nice to.

[John Shields]

Originally Posted by shroomjohn

Ok well was driving the camaro the other day and noticed a vibration in the front. Not horrible but it shouldn't be there so I schedule an appointment at my dealer who I've had a pretty good relationship w. I drop it off at 7 say the sooner the better but my wife gets off at 430 so by then. I work nights so I crash about noonish. Well I wanted to check b4 I went to bed so I called at 12. The guy says no ones around that can tell me anything I say ok I described my car and said I just needed to know how it was goi g he says hold on. He came back and said they hadn't looked at it yet. I asked why 5 hrs had passed and they hadn't had a chance w a attitude. Hey he was probably having a bad day unfortunately so was I. I got a little mouthy and said get it done and hung up. He immediately calls me back and says if I don't like he can put it in the parking lot and I can come get it. I'm like ok so can I talk to ur boss he says the dreaded I am the boss and he doesn't like my attitude. I catch myself from flipping out because I don't wanna have problems w the guy that's in charge of oking any work to my car. So I just explain that it's frustrating to know that they put my car on the back burner till the last minute then if they can't fix it quick I'm out a car. He assures me he'll have a loaner if that happens. Well it happened and guess what they have 30 loaners available and they're all out. So my wife just took the car home until they get the parts. Somehow the front passenger rim is bent and they're gonna replace it and the 2 front tires(thank god for tire and wheels protection/no cost to me) they said it's minor but needs replacing pothole maybe. Anyways what do u guys think what would u have done? Sorry for long post from phone thanks

Wow, they're going to replace your rim and tires? I wish I had that coverage.

As for the way you conducted yourself on the phone, I guess you needed that. EVERYONE knows that if you drop a car off it's going to take some time to look at it, and then even longer to fix it (most likely). So no point getting upset with them, and because you did and looked foolish, maybe that wont happen again. We all get frustrated... you just have to know when to show it and when not to.

As for the loaner... they should have SOMETHING to give you. Even if they foot the bill on a rental car... they should be able to provide something for you so you're not driving it like that. You could end up with more damage if you keep driving.

[KowalskiCamaro]

It's kind of like being rude to your waiter or waitress. They might do something to your food.

[jtzako]

Drop car off = loaner on the spot. I would never leave the place without one or chances are you will not get one.

[mamaro]

Originally Posted by wylde1

Easier said than done, but it's always best not to get frustrated and angry when dealing with the service dept. (or people in general) once one side gets on the defensive it's all over.

This is so true. But it is hard to keep your cool when the person you are dealing with gives you the perception that they believe that they are right and you are wrong, and they are not going to do right by you. I had dealings with a lawn care business the past few weeks in a situation where they did not come out to treat my lawn on the scheduled date. My husband was home all day, and they did not come by. There was no receipt left at the door, nor was there any indication whatsoever on the lawn that they had treated it. When I called them on it, they insisted they were there, blah blah blah. It would take 4 weeks for the weeds to show any sign of dying (???)After arguing nicely for 10 minutes, I finally had it and made a statement about them losing me as a customer and telling others about their service, at which time she said quote Don't threaten my business. The owner called me up and told me he would take care of me, but first they were going to have to deal with my IRRATIONAL behavior!!! Well, they didn't come by the second time when they said they would, and my husband called them. They insisted I was mistaken about them telling me they would come back. After much conversation with them, they told him that they would never accept us as customers ever again!!! I'm out $70, as I pay by the year in advance. And what makes them think I would ever WANT to be their customer ever again??!!

I don't know what ever happened to customer service. It is hard to find anymore.

[abaucom21]

Just stay calm and be polite and respectful to the person you are talking to. Perhaps the person you were talking with talks to dozens of people a day who all want instant results beyond their control.
If you are not happy with the service, do not threaten. Just contact the dealer owner and do not flame, just state the facts regarding your dissatisfaction.
Sometimes, if you show respect for others, they will also respect you.

[shroomjohn]

Thanks guys when it goes back I will defiantly go that route when it goes back in for fixing. Ill make sure and keep my cool and get my loaner. I guess he just pushed my button but I know I pushed his. I didnt want that I just wanted to get my point across. It was funny though I was kind of speechless for once when he said he was the boss and no one was above him lol. I just flew off Ive had several bad customer service issues lately w a few businesses I had just had it. Well time to go to work and my wife said they called and were gonna take care of it fri and give us a loaner so we shall see.

[Darth_Emma]

Be nice to people and treat them with respect. You'd like it if they treated you that way.

Glad to hear your wheels are covered.

[RAdams]

shroomjohn, good for you for being the bigger person and not carrying a grudge when it comes to the next visit. I know from experience how irritating it is to be the last repair of the day. Just remember, somebody has to be the last ticket - sometimes it will be you, most of the time it will be the other guy.

[SSizzle]

You did the right thing by backing off. People in the service industry deal with unhappy people all day long. If you want help be the nice person about it, it goes along way. People need to get rid of there egos, attitudes, and how much they paid for their car, its not relative at that point. You are a customer just like the rest of the people in for service no matter the level of vehicle.
Most dealers only offer loaners if its an overnight fix, because GM will pay for the loaner as part of your warranty. You should always ask upfront how busy they are and what an approx time for it to be done. Believe me if you get into it with them they have the right to ban you from servicing with them. Nobody wants to do business with people they cant please in the first place.