Deplorable Customer Service

nearly.normal.jimmy · Sep 28, 2007

The Jeep dealer here is 5 star fwiw.. and I am all for getting on first name basis with the guys, but one problem is that there are so many of them.

There has been a different person behind the desk everytime I went in, and asking for the guy I was dealing with 'Todd' didn't always work. "He's off today, he's on an errand, he went to lunch, we can't find him." Whe I look in the back there seems to be about a dozen actual service guys running aruond, and about 6 different guys rotate at the desk.

Who do you 'buddy' with? Who do you give the 6 pack too?

Which one is actually doing the work? Will he be there the next time, and available?
Did you make friends with a guy who works 2 days and you will never see again?

Sure is a lot of BS and hoop jumping just to get people to do their jobs.
What if we all had that same attitude and professionalism at our chosen professions? How long would we last?

(Another RANT... this is the kind of service place where when you walk in, all guys at the desk have their head buried in a computer ignoring you are even there. 3 times this happened to me.. once I waited till someone finished their solitaire and looked up, once I said excuse me.. and got **** looks from all 3, and once I just walked up to the first guy and he, without even looking up pointed me to the next guy , who judging by his body language, wasn't too thrilled about it)

I DREAD having to contact them to get my dash problem resolved.

Jim

1inchgroup · Sep 28, 2007

Dmentd_Dan said:
Like I said it isn't kissing butt... its more like having them see you as more than just another joe blow who comes in gets good service and never even says thanks. No, having people saying thanks (with sincerity) isn't required for them to do their job. But it is nice to feel apreciated, i know I like to feel that way. Costs nothing to give out and the rewards are usually intangible but well worth it.

No I'll agree with ungrateful behavior...I'm very appreciative when I get good service, but I shouldn't have to bend over backwards to get it either. I expect it because I'm paying a premium for it. I'll recommend Huntington Beach Nissan in California until the day I die because the service guys there did an outstanding job every time. Even if they didn't find my problem. The sales staff was outstanding as well, and even though I don't have the Frontier any longer, when I get a customer service survey request in the mail I fill it out. I compliment the staff to management and make sure they know their guys are top notch.

As it is with Jeep right now, the surveys go right in the trash.

I haven't gone to the one here in So. Utah yet, so my experience is entirely based on California dealerships...

The Jeep dealer in Garden Grove? Don't even think about it. A-holes every one of them. Wasn't too thrilled with Jeep in Huntington Beach or Cerritos either. Sales staff in Placentia was ok, but their service department wanted me to drop off my truck for a week to have the flash done. A WEEK? It's a 15 minute task...

Wheezy · Sep 28, 2007

Alex Norwood said:
After having 2 Hondas, Toyota, 2 Infinitis, and Lincoln, I was feeling all Jingoistic/Patriotic and broke down and bought American instead of the LR3 I wanted, well all the American car companies can go broke for all i care!

Boy I feel better!

Uhh... Why would you get a Patriot if you could get an LR3? :icon_rolleyes:

Neely2005 · Sep 28, 2007

ricku said:
My dad is a small town Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep dealer for over 50 years. Our #1 concern is and always has been our customers. Our customer satisfaction index has always been at the top. The reason being is that we take a personal interest in every customer we have. The current trend is to have nothing but impersonal "mega dealers" and phasing out the "little guys" like us. The above threads sure seem to imply that might be the wrong direction.
Bottom line is: We're all not that bad.
(wish you all could come to Kalida, Ohio....we WILL take care of you)

I so agree with this! I live in the Greater Toronto Area and I drive 1.5 hours to do business with a Smaller Chrysler dealer - Goudy Motors in Meaford, Ontario. The only downside is that their hours are not the greatest 8-5 M-F & 8-12 on Sat. However the service is GREAT, they also charge a LOT Less for Labour. My family has been buying cars from this dealer for 20 Years now and I believe that the Compass that I have on order will be the 10th vehicle that we have bought from them.

I've had to use one of the Big Dealers a few times (when I've had issues were my car wasn't driveable) and it's always been a nightmare.

I posted this on another Forum:

Well today my anger @ Chrysler grew some more. I took delivery of my 2002 Neon in May 2002.
On August 26, 2005 I had to replace the battery. I've always got at LEAST 5 years out of a battery in the past. I had to go to the closest dealership , instead of my usual dealership (for obvious reasons)
On August 26, 2007 my battery dies again.
Both times there was Absolutely NO WARNING. Both times the car started fine 5 Minutes earlier & then nothing.
So of course August 26th 2007 was a Sunday so the dealership isn't even open & I can't go to my normal dealership because I need to go to the closest dealership to make sure that I actually get there.
So once again they charge me a $60 Diagnosis charge even though Both times I told them it was the battery and the battery light came on after I got a boost. They say that they have to Prove to Chrysler that the Battery was defective (for the warranty coverage on the battery) so they have to do the test and I have to pay for the test. The warranty only covers the test for 1 year. I ask the service manager if he thinks that a battery should only last 2 years and he says that they had a bunch that only lasted 1 year in Neons.

Wow what an answer!

So $125 later I have my 3rd Mopar battery in 5 years...

On the way out I notice that they didn't put the Battery Sticker on my Reciept so I go back in and they tell me that they put it on Their Copy of the Reciept and I don't need it. I ask them to read the sticker to me and they're like Oh it does say to attatch it to the customer copy... they remove it and staple it to my reciept.
These are the same clowns that put my Radiator Hose on backwards after they replaced my Radiator - if I hadn't caught that mistake the hose would have melted as it was sitting right on top of the engine...
Plus the last time they changed my battery they Forgot to Tighten the Battery on to the Battery Tray - It was just sitting there loose. My regular dealer found it like that during my next oil change & they tightened it down for me - for free of course.

A word to the wise - Avoid Elgin Mills Chrysler in Richmond Hill, Ontario @ All Costs!

As you can see the small town dealers seem to be Much better!
Funny thing is the small town dealers are never 5 star dealers...

Neely2005 · Sep 28, 2007

nearly.normal.jimmy said:
Bah!!
We have to waste our time and money to kiss ass to a bunch of guys to get them to do their job correctly? Or so that 'Maybe' they do their job correctly..? Just my opinion, and with all due respect, because I REALLY value your advice here, but I think that is a crock and not how GOOD business is suppose to work.

Who are we pissing off? We are just taking our vehicles into be serviced, many times for defects in manufacturing. We are not calling the service people names or being rude to them. We are just showing up an wanting to be treated with respect and dignity. They need to realize the people who buy the vehicles are paying their salary.

I have nothing but wonderful things to say about my sales guy and nothing but bad to say about the service department. Parts department is hit or miss.

I've also noticed our Jeep 'liason' who mentioned he was going to monitor these forums and help with things has all but disappeared with his last 2 posts of any information basically just stating 'Contact Jeep' with your problems.

Yeah that same guy was on the www.myjeepcompass.com forum too - same thing though, he's disappeared and hasn't provided us with any solutions.

richie5120 · Sep 29, 2007

My $1 oil changes for life is why I visit my dealership. They are pretty good with service. I always see my sales rep and service manager is always happy to see me and shakes hand etc... no problems here. must be certain dealerships. mine is a 5 star btw

quasimodem51 · Sep 30, 2007

I went to my dealer late Fridfay afternoon and the Quick Lube bay was 5 deep in cars awaiting oil changes. So, I waited until Saturday morning when the dealership opens at 8am. I thought that to be proactive in getting in and out, I best be there a half hour earlier so I can get to the head of the queue. Nope! When I arrived at abput 7:20, I was - guess what - 5 deep in the queue.

I finally got pulled into the bay at 9am (about 15 minutes per oil change). The refreshing thing is, and why everyone tolerated the long wait, is my I have oil changes and tire rotations free (16 and 8 respectively) through 2011.

The young chaps doing the work were very courteous. Perhaps they are newbies and understand customer service. They haven't been sullied in attitude by the so called Service Advisors yet I suppose.

srothfuss · Sep 30, 2007

That is a great story right there... A dealer providing some service that seems to have caught on in your area.

There's a place by my home that offers free lifetime oil changes - I might buy my next car from them. We'll see.

Robot_Boy · Sep 30, 2007

One of the reasons that we bought our jeep where we did was because we have a good history there. My wife drove a Sundance in the early 90s and they were always top notch with service and attitude. Hopefully, they're still the same.

On the other hand, we did scout out vehicles on the other local jeep dealer's lot. Although there were salesmen on the lot (mostly standing near the door smoking) none of them approached us. In fact, at one point two salesmen held a conversation while we stood in between them. What made it even less professional was that it was laced with profanity. Our feeling was, that if the sales department couldn't give us the time of day, what would the service department be like?

johnda · Sep 30, 2007

Man that really is the pits! Profanity in front of potential customers?? Bad news.

My dealership is low key, so they don't bug you if you are looking around in the lot, but they'll be glad to help you with any questions. Frankly, if I walked into a dealership and the same thing happened to me, I would send the owner a letter. Now if one of the idiots WAS the owner, just put a BIG X on their listing in the phone book!

mitakuuluu · Oct 1, 2007

I'm about a 4/10 on the service I received from my local dealer. Took it in after about 800 miles as it pulled slightly to the right and had a buzz/rattle...

Dropped it off in the morning with the understanding that I'd pick it up in the late afternoon. Waited 30 minutes for their shuttle to take me to the office. Got a ride back to the dealer at 5:00, and turns out they had not finished with it...finished up about 45 minutes later... They checked it out on the alignment rack and it was fine, and then rotated tires and said to come back if it was still a problem. It now pulls to the left...so they didn't fix the problem...nor did they find the obvious rattle... haven't been back yet.

That said, they were courteous and nice enough.

AZCycle · Oct 1, 2007

Well I am never, ever taking my Jeep back to the dealership I purchased it from, even though they're a "5 star" dealer. Salesman was seedy and lied outright to me, I was handed off two two other salesmen... and they "great deal" they promised to give me to get me in the door was never offered.

So for my first checkup (6,000 mile) plus the headlight recall and CVT TSB, I took it to the other Jeep dealership in town (Steve Christy). They DID lose my paperwork but it turned out they spelled my name wrong and it got filed incorrectly, but that was taken care of quickly. They were friendly, courteous and even balanced all four tires for free when they rotated them.

hunter44102 · Oct 1, 2007

Mitaku - how are you testing the alignment?

If there is even a slight angle in the road, or wind blowing, the car will respond and pull to one side. I have noticed my Patriot pulling left one moment and right another moment, and I realized the roads are not flat.

I also noticed even with -slight- wind, the Patriot will pull to one side because its not very aerodynamic and the wind can move it easy.

mitakuuluu · Oct 2, 2007

no, it was not just a road crown or wind issue... that's why i didn't make a snap judgment and waited a good 700 miles to be sure that it was not just a situational thing.

the fact that it now pulls slightly left after they crossrotated indicates that it is something with a tire or rim, but i'm going to be swapping both out soon anyway, so i'm not too concerned. would rather have it pull slightly left for that matter as it compensates for road crown.

OH8 Patriot · Oct 4, 2007

When I was looking to purchase my Patriot I went to a large Chrysler/Jeep dealer in Auburn,WA and was not pleased from the start-I felt like they were taking advantage of me--so I promptly asked for my keys back to the vehicle I was trading in. You should have seen the look of astonishment on the snake oil salesmans face and then listen to his backpeddling(they wanted to give me $12K for my 2005 Wrangler---when there were older Wranglers on their lot being sold for $20K! I wasn't expecting them to lose money on a deal but at the same time I'll be damned if I'm going to let them the better of me--it took me almost 5 minutes of finally using some four letter words to get them to give me my keys back and I left. The following weekend I went to a small family owned Jeep dealership in Puyallup,WA and I can only say it was like night and day--I had made it clear to the new salesman what had happend to me and that I would walk out if they tried to do the same. Not 1 time during the whole process did I get that snake oil feeling. They gave me what I wanted on my trade in and gave me a great deal on the Patriot. It was a very refreshing experience-in fact I was looking at a 2007 model on their lot and was going to buy it when an 18 wheeler pulls up and unloads a bunch of 2008 models! The only thing the '08 model did not have that the '07's on the lot had were tinted windows which my fiance pointed out. The manager right then and there said no prob-if you buy a vehicle from me I'll tint them for you at no cost to you--we bought the car and they gave me a receipt which clearly stated the dealer would pay all costs to tint the windows. Now I know it doesn't cost that much to tint windows, but to me it was just one more thing that this dealership did to give me great customer service. Kudos Milam Jeep/Mazda in Puyallup,WA:smiley_thumbs_up:

mountainannie · Oct 4, 2007

Anyone have a suggestion for a good dealer/service department in the Denver/Boulder area? Im not that impressed with mine.

heburb · Oct 4, 2007

quasimodem51 said:
I went to my dealer late Fridfay afternoon and the Quick Lube bay was 5 deep in cars awaiting oil changes. So, I waited until Saturday morning when the dealership opens at 8am. I thought that to be proactive in getting in and out, I best be there a half hour earlier so I can get to the head of the queue. Nope! When I arrived at abput 7:20, I was - guess what - 5 deep in the queue.

I finally got pulled into the bay at 9am (about 15 minutes per oil change). The refreshing thing is, and why everyone tolerated the long wait, is my I have oil changes and tire rotations free (16 and 8 respectively) through 2011.

That's why I don't go for the "free oil change" thing ... spending 2-1/2 hours to get your oil changed is rediculous. I'd rather spend the $30 at a quick one and be out of there in a half hour. I'd rather spend that time with my kid than sitting in a dealership.

quasimodem51 · Oct 4, 2007

heburb: I would do that but doesn't that violate the warranty - or are there oil change places that are *certified* by Chrysler that can do the job?

heburb · Oct 4, 2007

quasimodem51 said:
heburb: I would do that but doesn't that violate the warranty - or are there oil change places that are *certified* by Chrysler that can do the job?

I wasn't aware that getting your oil changed somewhere other than a dealer would void your warranty. What if you wanted to change your oil yourself??

The only thing I remember reading was that you had to take your vehicle in every 5 years (for an inspection or something) in order for the lifetime warranty to stay valid.

nearly.normal.jimmy · Oct 4, 2007

Jeez.. I hope not...

Surely simply having your oil changed elsewhere or doing it yourself doesn't violate the warranty does it?

If so I bet 98% of vehicle owners violate their warranty at 3000 miles.

Deplorable Customer Service

nearly.normal.jimmy

1inchgroup

Wheezy

Neely2005

Neely2005

richie5120

quasimodem51

srothfuss

Robot_Boy

johnda

mitakuuluu

AZCycle

hunter44102

mitakuuluu

OH8 Patriot

mountainannie

heburb

quasimodem51

heburb

nearly.normal.jimmy

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