Chevrolet Customer Svc - Success Stories?

[ny27la]

Originally Posted by Camaro0420

I have been having an issue with my car for weeks now. While I know it's not the customer service guys fault, I have to say that the ones I have talked to are clueless and cannot help me.

GM train your people properly dammit

I agree with you fully..

[BilJ]

Jeff, IMHO, is here for GM window dressing only. Any answer he has given can be received from any GM CS call. He is in a position that I would not want to be....i.e., trying to hold our hands, and at the same time, having very little, if any, special knowledge about the questions that we may have. For example, asked Jeff, or any other GM employee here, to give us a 'ball park' estimate on when the Crystal Red Tintcoat will be available, not an exact date, but an estimate and/or best guess. Asked this question about three weeks ago and mum was the word. Surely GM and/or the resident GM members here can do better than that. Either they do not, in fact, know or they are simply reluctant to tell us. Either way, an answer should be forthcomong.

[MikeJrSS]

Originally Posted by Jamie Mac

Just curious, if I've had a problem with a sponsor of this site am I allowed to bring it here to help protect others or will I be suspended for calling out a sponsor? Mods only please

You said mods only but just to let you know there is a whole section in the forum for vendor/sponsor feedback and experiences. http://www.camaro5.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=75

[cj7ngolf]

Originally Posted by Dragoneye

Wow...unbelievable some of the things I'm reading here...my, have we become an impatient bunch....

Perhaps it's my interactions with people at Chevy/GM that allow me to say this with confidence...but THEY DO CARE. Don't fool yourself or others into believing anything but that. You are their source of income. You are the reason they are in business - and now, at long last they realize that to the very core of their operation.

You don't think the reason they brought the Camaro back was because they listened to their enthusiasts? I know that the Camaro team reviews every warranty claim recorded for the Camaro in order to better serve their customers/enthusiasts. I suppose the Oshawa event and plant tour wasn't because they cared about their customers, either.

People like Jeff and his team taking the time to visit, reassure and attempt to rectify situations on sites like this (they are on other GM-enthusiast websites, fyi) is a phenomenal gesture towards their customers and should be applauded....but here I read someone calling them liars? Or worse...politicians?! How disappointing...

Here's a few things to keep in mind. Hopefully they'll hit home, because some folks really need to understand how this business works.

1st, You are only one of several million customers every year. Sorry...:(

2nd, To that end, please note that in last and this year's most recent JDPower surveys: Chevy, Caddy, GMC, and Buick all earned superior marks for service satisfaction. So if you're going to inflate your personal experience to generalize about how awful they are as a company...you'd be wrong, to put it bluntly.

3rd, Though it may surprise some, people can be dishonest. Breaking their vehicles and demanding repairs. People can be wrong...insisting they hear a dysfunctional noise that is actually normal operation...there are procedures and guidelines the company has no doubt authored to protect themselves against these types of people. Sadly, the end result is a process much slower than it would be if everyone were honest and not paranoid.

The last thing I'll say is that yes, I appear to be writing as a GM fanboy. I'm sure it'll rub somebody the wrong way because naturally, all large companies are evil. So let me at least say that I'm not writing "blindly"....I understand that there are negative experiences out there, I've had my own. You can't be a 100-yr old, multi-billion dollar company and not have some things fall through the cracks. It is regrettable, and hopefully somehow, each and every bad situation gets rectified...

...just please don't post general statements and demonize the company.

Very well said! I am glad Jeff and his team are on here! But I also know that they are limited in their powers.... Jeff has set me a case up about my top, from that day, every day or two at the most, I got a call from customer service checking to see what was going on... when I arrived at my dealer, they had the paperwork done and was waiting on me to show up. CS called me within 3 hours of my scheduled appointment to find out what was happening with my claim. I had a different CS rep almost every time they called but all seemed to be paying attention to my case! It was nice knowing that they had my back...

Certain people seem to have issues whenever they try to get something done, no matter what or where it is, alot of this stems from attitude! If you go in proclaiming they 'owe you' vs going in to get something resolved seems to make a huge difference in the way things are handled.

Thanks again to Customer Service on my behalf.

[Moorepheus]

Here is a list of issues I have had with my Camaro since I took delivery in March 2010. Not every issue required ME to get involved with GM CS, but I thought I would both my GOOD experiences and my BAD experiences I have had.

1. Brake Fluid cap was leaking, dealer replaced it under warranty.

2. NUT from rear suspension stuck in suspension area, rattling when hitting a bump. Dealer said it was an EXTRA nut an that all others were where they belong. This took couple weeks to figure out, but in the end, the DEALER found the NUT and removed it. No need for GM CS to get involved by ME.

3. HID headlight on one side was dirty, finger prints all over it, compared to the other HID headlight, it was clean. Dealer replaced it under warranty; again, GM CS was not needed by ME.

4. Power Window Motor on passenger window went, Dealer replaced under warranty, yet, again, GM CS was not needed by ME.

5. PDIM not seeing devices connected to it. This was an intermitting problem. First, dealer said they would update the software. However, the software was already updated a month after I got the car, so I knew I had the latest software. When that did solve the issue, they told me there was nothing more they could do and that there was no replacement hardware for my Camaro. After reading all the post here during this issue, I knew there was and gave them the facts of it. They stilled refused to replace my PDIM hardware. This is when I first contacted GM CS, my very first experience with them. The first person I talked to said there is nothing more they could do for me, since there was no NEW hardware for my Camaro. Again, wrong, had HW/SW ID and Part number for them, but still refused to help me. Then I talked with GM CS Area rep, he would not even listen to me. He told me if the DEALER would not replace it then he could do nothing. So, I was stuck with this DEALER refusing to replace the faulty PDIM hardware and GM CS refusing to help me too. It was frustrating. However, all was not lost, I went to a different dealer and they replaced my PDIM under WARRANTY. SO, why can one dealer do it and one dealer not and why does GM CS not have a CLUE about what parts are out there for each car. I know, there are a lot of parts for a lot of cars, but you know what, they have a computer, it should already be there for them to look up. This issue was the only issue I had, that I had asked JEFFs help with. His first response was to try a different dealer (in the end I did). Then they wanted to try to reproduce my issue in another 2010 Camaro.

6. The most recent issue, Heater Core leak. At first, there was only a smell, and the dealer said they could smell it; however, there was no visible leak inside the vehicle, yet. After the DEALER called GM CS for advice, the dealer told me that "GM" would repair the heater core "IN GOOD FAITH". I don't understand that, the dealer has already admitting to smelling the anti-freeze inside the car, acknowledged that there is a leak or at least a problem, but GM, instead of saying, “yes, there is a problem, we will fix it under warranty”, they say, “we are going to fix it "IN GOOD FAITH"”, but we don't think there is a problem because we don't see a leak. In the end, when I took my car in to get repaired, a LEAK was visible on the passenger side. They did fix my car under Warranty, IN GOOD FAITH, whatever that means.

The last two issues with my Camaro were down right discouraging. Not because of the issue, but because I was treated like I was just making up an issue for some repair to get done. I have owned plenty of GM vehicles over the past 20 years and this is the first time I have ever been treated like this.

If you ask me, GM CS gets a THUMBS DOWN from me.

In the end, Dealers work differently, behave differently and treat you differently. Finding the right dealer to take care of your issues is the KEY. IMO, GM CS does not have a clue what the dealers are doing and do not have a clue about our cars and could care less about the issues with our cars. Sorry to say this, and until they prove to me differently, this is how I will feel.


I still think GM is a good product and my next purchase will most likely be a GM product, but don't like the taste that GM CS has left in my mouth, at least not with the last to issues I have had.

[Inspector 17]

Originally Posted by BilJ

Jeff, IMHO, is here for GM window dressing only. Any answer he has given can be received from any GM CS call. He is in a position that I would not want to be....i.e., trying to hold our hands, and at the same time, having very little, if any, special knowledge about the questions that we may have. For example, asked Jeff, or any other GM employee here, to give us a 'ball park' estimate on when the Crystal Red Tintcoat will be available, not an exact date, but an estimate and/or best guess. Asked this question about three weeks ago and mum was the word. Surely GM and/or the resident GM members here can do better than that. Either they do not, in fact, know or they are simply reluctant to tell us. Either way, an answer should be forthcomong.

Your point is totally irrelevant and only goes to prove your ignorance. First of all, this thread is about Customer Service experiences. What exactly does the timing of the color have to do with Customer Service? Second, Jeff is a Customer Service representative. He has nothing to do with the Camaro team. Why would you assume that he even knows or has access to information on color or feature availability? Finally, did you ever stop to consider that some things within GM may be confidential or proprietary? Perhaps GM doesn't want it to get out yet when certain things are available? Or maybe they don't know yet. So if Jeff would have told you a date and it would have been wrong would you have bitched about being lied to by GM CS?

[BilJ]

Originally Posted by camaropete

Your point is totally irrelevant and only goes to prove your ignorance. First of all, this thread is about Customer Service experiences. What exactly does the timing of the color have to do with Customer Service? Second, Jeff is a Customer Service representative. He has nothing to do with the Camaro team. Why would you assume that he even knows or has access to information on color or feature availability? Finally, did you ever stop to consider that some things within GM may be confidential or proprietary? Perhaps GM doesn't want it to get out yet when certain things are available? Or maybe they don't know yet. So if Jeff would have told you a date and it would have been wrong would you have bitched about being lied to by GM CS?

Sorry, Pete, but IMHO = In My Humble Opinion(with emphasis on the word MY)

[heRS]

Most big corporations these days could care less about you. They're interested in pleasing their shareholders more than you. Bottom line, and Customer Service is, as Clark Howard puts it, more like Customer No-Service.
GM Customer Service 800# puts you through to a call center in south america where the goal is to not help you if at all possible.
I took my car in to my dealer the other day, to show them a flaw in the paint. It's about a 2" circle under the paint. The paint shop manager and general manager both came out and both agreed, yes it's a flaw in the paint. No, they do not want to repair it because it would be too difficult to match the paint. Granted, you really have to look to find this spot, but when the light hits it right there is no problem seeing there's an issue.
It IS covered under warrantee, but my dealership didn't want to touch it. They did not even write it up.

[c_LoW29]

I have learned that GM CS is their for people who dont know how to speak to their dealership or their dealership doesnt know how to handle a customer. It can go either way. I went through GM CS for 2 transmission replacements and in the end they got nothing done for me I was persistant with the dealer to the point where they asked me what I wanted. At that point I told them a new car or a new transmissions and clutch. The service manager at the dealer then called GM and they sent him a new transmissions and new clutch. I rarely use GM CS anymore because to me it just adds another person in the middle which in most cases prolongs the situation even more.

[GoBlue20]

Originally Posted by camaropete

You are wrong. At least read and know the rules of the program before you say you are or aren't entitled to anything. This is directly from the General Motors Vehicle Purchase Programs Rules and Guidelines:

"If the dealer you visit is not willing to sell
you a vehicle under the GM Vehicle Purchase
Programs, you may visit another GM Dealer.
Dealer participation is voluntary.
Dealers are not required to participate
in the GM Vehicle Purchase Program.

To determine a specific dealer’s willingness
to sell vehicles under The Programs, you
must contact the dealer directly."

Maybe I didn't clarify. They said I am NOT granted this BECAUSE I don't work for GM. I had a GMS # and their employee's have recieved these same discounts. The reason I was denied was not because they do not participate in the program. Once I explained that I was going to contact GM about it... everything changed and I got the car at GMS pricing

[Milk 1027]

Originally Posted by Jamie Mac

Just curious, if I've had a problem with a sponsor of this site am I allowed to bring it here to help protect others or will I be suspended for calling out a sponsor? Mods only please

Originally Posted by MikeJrSS

You said mods only but just to let you know there is a whole section in the forum for vendor/sponsor feedback and experiences. http://www.camaro5.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=75

Like Mike said, there is a whole section for this. Feel free to post your complaint and try to resolve an issue. We've had several people do this. I'm actually surprised you would even ask there have been severl feedback threads with what you are describing.

However, we will not allow for someonto constantly bash a vendor. That also extends to members. It simply falls under our respect rule. State your problem, feel free to try to get the vendor's attention to reach a resolution, but do not follow a vendor around trying to bash them or their product or post in all threads pertaining the vendor or their products with your problems. The reason for that section is not only to provide positive feedback, but to post problems with vendors to keep the forums from cluttering with pointless posts.

[c_LoW29]

I think it boils down to how your iteraction with the dealer goes. If a dealership is giving you beans about something you feel your entitled to then I always say find another dealer because in most cases that is what GM CS is going to do for you anyways.

[Milk 1027]

Pertaining to this thread, let's keep it respectful. Remember there is still a human on the other side of the keyboard, and you don't know what is going on on that side.

[MyIBMssRS]

I've had a good/bad experience with GM's customer service. All regarding the same issue.

The paint was chipping on the inner corners where the rear bumper meets the fender above the rear wheel. (There's TSB on this) I took it to my dealership, who I've had nothing but great experiences with for years (me, family and friends). Their painter did a terrible job matching Imperial Blue Metallic, it was like flat blue, there was no flake in it. I complained to the dealership, very respectfully at this point, and their painter told me that was the best it would ever be and yada yada yada. Of course I wasn't pleased with that response. I talked to their general manager and of course he sided with his painter. I called Chevy customer service, spoke with a woman who couldn't speak a lick of English and couldn't even get the name of the dealership right. She said they would repaint it for me. Obviously this was not acceptable after being told, quite rudely, that it was impossible to match any better and 'no one will ever notice' and 'I've been painting for over 30 years and I stand by all my work'. I asked that the dealership, Chevy/GM...SOMEONE, reimburse me to take it to a shop I trust and have it done right. They declined and I flirted with the idea of getting a lawyer but just didn't want to sink too much money into this ordeal.

I took my car to County Corvette in West Chester, PA, world renowned for their restoration work on NCRS and Bloomington Gold Corvettes.
I was about to pay out of my pocket for the paint (pretty hefty bill!), until I met Dan Ahearn at an event. I told him my story and he said that since I didn't take my car to a GM dealer he probably couldn't help me but took my name and number anyway. At this point I'm thinking, 'I'll never hear fromt his guy again'. The next business day a woman calls me and references Dan, asks me to tell her my story in my own words and after apologizing for the inconvienence and for my car not being taken care of to my expectations she told me that she would make an exception to the work not being done by a GM dealer and reimburse me 100% for the cost to repaint my bumper.

So, in my long winded exerience... I'd say it all depends on who you speak to. Some random person on the other end of an 800 number isn't likely to sympathize with a 'car guy'. But talk to the right 'people in high places' and you may be surprised.

I hope I can reconnect with Dan someday and shake his hand because I was beyond frustrated and ready to quit before our paths crossed. Now my Camaro looks better than new...acutally the paint on the bumper is nicer than the rest of the car!