I need some help with this because it’s really ticking me off.
I’m not a mllenial or gen-xer by any stretch of the imagination, but in my opinion, that shouldn’t matter. Yet, it seems like it does, at least when it comes to customer service. Or should I say, the lack of it.
Last Saturday, I took my SUV to the dealership for service. I know, I know, you can expect to pay through the nose when you go there. But some automotive service centers don’t carry some parts so they can’t do the work, which is why I was there.
The masked young man aka service advisor listened to the primary reason I was there–I needed a new headlight socket. Granted, this was early on a Saturday morning when the service department of the dealership opened so that was bad enough. But it’s what I do so that I don’t have to go there on a workday.
Wrong.
I also had my oil changed that Saturday and about two hours later, the young counter guy aka service advisor called me. On the phone. Now, keep in mind that the distance between him and myself was approximately 100 feet. This is one issue. I said that I would come up there, since that was a bit ridiculous in my view to continue talking on our phones. As I approached the counter, he had attached a list of high-priced services that “should” be done (debatable) to the invoice.
He stated that I needed a new socket for the headlight, which I already knew. But I wasn’t allowed to speak to the mechanic about my concerns or the attached “list”. Apparently, he was too busy and already working on another vehicle.
Say what? When did this start?
Where’s the customer service?
Before, at the beginning and during this pandemic, I’ve had other services performed so it’s not like I hadn’t been there in a while. I was there in 2019, 2020 and 2021 for various services and it wasn’t like that then. The counter guy barely looked at me to talk and he was still on the damn phone as I approached the counter to talk to him.
Is life moving so fast that we don’t have time to interact with each other? Just get ’em in and get ’em out.
Got a question? Too bad.
Consequently, our wires got crossed and when I returned on the following Tuesday morning to have the socket replaced, he hadn’t ordered it. What the hell…?
So, it was now Thursday and I’m back at the dealership for the same service! Yet by this time I had already received two requests to complete a survey about the service.
I think that there’s a serious disconnect here. To me, customer service is about interaction. The service advisors aren’t robots yet so why can’t they talk to us? Because they certainly don’t have a problem handing over the invoice, complete with tacked-on “recommendations” regarding other services.
Recommendations?
Suggestions?
Are those other services actually needed?
Who knows? I didn’t get to talk to anyone.
Maybe in the automotive service realm, at least at the dealerships, the service advisor should be replaced by automation.
What do you think?
I wouldn’t return if I were you. If it’s the headlight socket that needs replaced, go to an AutoZone or a Pep boys or somewhere that sells auto parts, tell someone what needs fixing and have them double check it for you.
I don’t know about the socket but I’ve had a few head light bulbs replaced in the past and all I needed was to purchase the bulb.
I originally went to Autozone but the only place that could get the part was the dealership. The other automotive places don’t have a market for carrying or installing it in vehicles because customers don’t ask for it.
I told the counter guy that I ‘d just had the bulb replaced a week ago but it was now going out intermittently and that the bulb was good but the socket was bad. That’s when he got a bit snippy and said that they didn’t use after market parts (it was a Sylvania brand bulb). That’s when I informed him that customers don’t come to the dealership to have a headlight bulb replaced because they don’t want to pay $200 for something that can be done for less than $20.
It sucks when it’s one of those parts that aren’t sold anywhere other than dealerships. I hope you get this resolved soon. It’s sure a hassle to go back and forth and not having anything resolved.
Exactly! I really hate that.
I finally got the headlight socket replaced. It just shouldn’t have taken that long.
Companies are far too quick to request feedback these days. They might wait until we have (debatable) something nice to say?
They would be smart if they did. Better yet, listen to their customers when they have a concern.
I was wondering if I was being a bit harsh with this post but after spending all told about 12 hours in that place, not to mention using gas going back and forth there, I didn’t think so.
Since you mentioned that you could only get parts from this dealership, I wonder if you have other branches you can go to. Sounds like a localised problem (or just this guy), or I might be wrong. Anyway, kinda sucks that you have to go through that.
Hi, Stuart. No, I could have gone to other dealerships that were farther away but they were the only ones that carried the part. Whether it was a proprietary thing or after-market auto shops don’t have the market for them is kind of difficult to say, probably a little bit of both. But the customer ends up getting the short end of the stick because the dealership is usually more expensive, not to mention time-consuming when it comes to having the parts installed.