Design Sapling.com

8 AM – Tuesday (0 hours at the shop)
The mechanic told me their policy: they call before they begin any repairs to get approval. I like that policy. Besides the dangerous condition my rear suspension was in, I also recently lost an electronic keyless-entry fob. I told the mechanic I didn’t want someone finding it and gaining access to my car. No problem, they’ll reprogram it.

12 PM – Tuesday (4 hours at the shop)
I get the call: “Your keys are done. It’s ready to go.”
But what about the suspension? I asked him if they’ve looked at it. He tells me that they can’t start on it because some sandbags in the back could throw off the weight. They say I need to take them out. Minutes later, I call back asking if they could take out the sandbags for me. No problem.

8 AM – Wednesday (24 hours at the shop)
I call and ask why they haven’t called me for approval yet. He puts me on with his friendly manager, “What? I thought you said you were gonna take them out.”
Miscommunication I guess. No problem. I ask them again to take them out for me.
He reluctantly agrees.

12 PM – Wednesday (27 hours at the shop)
I call again and asking why they haven’t started on the car, after all, it’s been there over a day. The manager says, “Well sir, I don’t have time to send someone out to get some sandbags out of your car, so it’s gonna be just a minute, OK?”

5 PM – Wednesday (32 hours at the shop)
Still no call. I get a ride to the shop. They have the sandbags out but haven’t started to look at the car. I pay for the new keyless entry signal and take my broken car to someone who knows how to treat a customer.

1 month later…..
I find my lost key fob. Luckily, nobody stole it. I test it to make sure the car won’t accept it’s signal. But the car DOES accept its signal. I paid them for nothing. I call the manager. He refuses to give me a refund. I try to explain how, according to my receipt which stated I had lost my fob, it should be apparent that the service I requested had not actually been performed. He said he watched his serviceman do the reprogramming and thus a service had been performed. He hung up on me after I asked him to explain exactly how the service they performed had actually resolved the problem I asked them to fix.

It’s like going into a restaurant and asking for a glass of champagne. You pay $10 for champagne but they bring you a glass of water instead. You ask the manger for a refund but he insists, “Well, I saw your waiter pour SOMETHING into the glass…therefore you got what you paid for.” But in this case, at least you got a glass of water! The mechanic gave me what I already had.

All this from a 5-Star Chrysler dealership.

This is a good example of bad customer service. Customer service isn’t just being nice, but it’s a good start.