Where has customer service gone?

Funny I just called my Lexus dealer to set up an appointment for my 5000 mile complementary oil change and 1st service. The dealership is 60 miles away and the service person I spoke to asked if they could pick up my car and give me a loaner for the day. I said great and they will drop off a new IS350 for me to play with during the day. They told me this is a courtesy service . They've got me won now lets see what the service looks like.

 

There is a Ferrari certified mechanic then there is Mazda master service technician. They both wash their hands before they get in to move the car. The important thing is they love what they do & do it well.

 

Right on beast! Ed frequently gets cars in that other shops messed up, including dealers.

As said, don't judge a book by its cover.
Sparky

 

There is bad customer service and there is bad service/work.

It seems what you are describing is bad/shoddy service. Poor work being performed in the first place.

IMHO, bad customer service is when I attempt to place and order somewhere and don't get a response or when I find something wrong with a product or service I get the run around to get it fixed/addressed.

Kai

 

Perfect example - your X-OST muffler that only lasted 3 years and less than 10K on the clock

 

Sort of on topic, but I just read Jamie Kitman's column ("Garagiste") in the new Automobile magazine (couldn't find link online). He talks about an organized-chaos/brilliant packrat kind of shop his friend Domenick used to run.

Interesting read.

 

one of the best posts ever!

 

In a sense we are talking about poor customer service. If a shop that consistently does poor service and could care less about keeping there customer happy it will catch up to them over time.

If a shop makes an honest mistake and then try's to get away from being responsible to make it right is this not poor customer service???

In a repair shop the biggest problem is the lack of communication between the customer and the tech. When a service writer talks to the customer a lot of information is not transferred to the tech. Worst yet the service writer gets minimal information from the customer. Both of these scenarios can result in a come back due to lack of knowing what the customer wants done.

In an job interview a few years back I was asked "The customer is always right!! what is your view on this statement?" My response was ..... The customer is always right because they know what they want and what they expect from us. It is our job to make sure that we find out what they want and what they are expecting to have done to there vehicle.

The owner of the shop was floored by my answer.

 

I agree on all counts but, sometimes, the customer thinks he needs (fill in the blank) but doesn't. Many customers like to diagnose a problem on past experience without relying on a professional's critique. I've seen it happen where the customer insisted that this or that be done (rather than what the tech said was the problem), and the problem wasn't solved.

Oh well, it just ends up costing the customer!

 

When I used to own an 1988 M3, I had the intake manifold gasket leak 3 times. The last time, I went into the dealer and said "intake manifold gasket leaks" and the service manager looked at me like I was crazy then asked "how did you know?"

The answer: it did it 3 times already. Not all customers are idiots.

 

Excellent point there Sparky. Sometimes the customers biggest enemy is the Internet or in my case the "Salesman" that sold them the unit

 

Didn't mean it that way.

I said "many", not all. Sorry you misunderstood...........

 

Thanks, I'll be here all week!

Don't forget to tip your waitress.

 

Hello, my name is Bill; what is yours?

Said with an accent that sounds like he has marbles in his mouth!

 

So, a Dirty Girl is the best girl?

 

Oh I love it when South Asian call center employees pick new names. "Hello, my name is... Wayne. How may I help you?"

I had an idea for a short about an alternate universe where wealthy Indians had to call service centers in the Deep South of the U.S. for tech support. The rich Indian in his nice home starts losing his temper with the drawling American who reads from the same circular scripts, "I undastayund ya consurns Mista Deepak, howeva, I caint transfer yew to uh manajuh at this taime."

 

I hear you, even though my DD is a 2008 Honda, I have a friend that is a private Honda/Acura guy do my non-warranty work. I tell him 'I don't care what you charge me as long as it is fair and you don't screw me by telling me I need something I don't need'.
Did that with a Ford guy too, and I've been pretty happy, they know that I 'know cars' but just don't have the space nor the time to dink with them much.

 

Even with customers of mine that give me a blank check I still make it a point to call them with an accurate estimate prior to starting. That way the customer is not having a coronary
when they get the bill.

 

In my experience people are less sensitive to a high bill than they are to the feeling that they're being misled.
There are any number of honest capable shops that suffer because they can't communicate clearly with their customers.

 

Or you take it to a dealership and in their "60 point inspection" they actually break stuff.

I took mine to the Audi dealer and as I was leaving the car started to buck and heave. "uh, you have a vacuum hose that's cracked... it must be because of the dry desert heat." "It wasn't broken when I drove in here. They you 'inspected' my car and it's magically broken?!" "you have to replace those." I think it was like $300 to fix.

 

Your 300? Or did they step up?

 

Note to self: Hire pretty secretaries and offer sub par service to help the bottom line.