I'd like to share with you my story about Subaru customer service.

[stugray]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Put these in front of a judge that is not a car guy and they would very likely rule against our point of view. The world is not fair and just I am afraid.

Very similar to how some people believe that if you get pulled over - DO NOT talk to the police except for answering their questions in the fewest words possible.

Working with the service dept can be the same way.
If you talk too much, "anything you say can (and WILL) be used against you".

[Pat]

Originally Posted by mav1178

My only question to Pat:

Do you think you did anything wrong in this situation? I see numerous places where you escalated an unnecessary situation.

-alex

No, I don't. That said, I know I make mistakes just like everyone else. If you see something I did wrong, please let me know. Maybe I can learn from it, or even clarify something that is causing a misunderstanding.

[Pat]

Originally Posted by DoomsdayJesus

Edit: Also, dealers often refuse to work with aftermarket parts PERIOD. They are not obligated to remove or replace them. If they're giving you grief about the spring I would just remove it until the work is complete and then reinstall it. I've heard many stories in person and on these forums about dealers refusing unrelated work because they'd have to remove aftermarket exhausts or other simple items. So while they can't say it's not covered by the warranty, they also aren't obligated to work, remove, or swap aftermarket parts.

I asked them to remove the spring. The said they would not. I accepted their response.
That bit of the story is really being blown out of proportion. I have the right to ask them to do something. They have the right not to do it. I know that, and it was never a significant point of contention on either side.

[Pat]

Originally Posted by RobertPaulson

i'm sure the OP is also calm but repeately asking to have the mechanic call him before working on the car is going to annoy the hell out of the service writer.

FWIW, I asked if the mechanic would call me before any work was done. I was told "yes". They could have said, "no", but they did not.
Therefore, because I was told I should expect a call, I expected a call. If they had told me to not expect a call, I would not have expected a call.

I did not set expectations. The service writer/dealership did. I simply expect what I'm told to expect. There really isn't much gray area here.

I asked this several times. Every time I was told I would get a call. Every time I did not.
If someone can explain to me how this is my fault, or something I did wrong, I would love to hear it. Maybe it would help me in situations like this in the future.

[mav1178]

Originally Posted by Pat

No, I don't. That said, I know I make mistakes just like everyone else. If you see something I did wrong, please let me know. Maybe I can learn from it, or even clarify something that is causing a misunderstanding.

Originally Posted by Pat

I asked this several times. Every time I was told I would get a call. Every time I did not.
If someone can explain to me how this is my fault, or something I did wrong, I would love to hear it. Maybe it would help me in situations like this in the future.

You are, literally, holding them to their word. To every single word. Even the whole thing about the rental car return time... have you never rented a car before? If a dealer is paying for it, why are you so worried about the rental time going past 24 hours?

That's what you are doing wrong. If the dealer is bad at returning phone calls, fine. It's poor communication. But from the first sentence where you did not authorize Vince to drive your car initially (even though you brought the car in for a transmission issue), that set the tone for the entire experience to go downhill... Yes, Vince should've asked "is it okay to test drive the car to figure out what is wrong", but you did bring a car to a dealer service adviser for a possible transmission warranty work. What was he supposed to do, sit there and use X-ray vision?

Frankly speaking, the nitpicking over details derailed the entire experience. The dealer's incompetence to perform warranty work is noted, however I do not think your wall of text properly explained the entire experience.

-alex

[Pat]

Originally Posted by mav1178

You are, literally, holding them to their word. To every single word. Even the whole thing about the rental car return time... have you never rented a car before? If a dealer is paying for it, why are you so worried about the rental time going past 24 hours?

That's what you are doing wrong. If the dealer is bad at returning phone calls, fine. It's poor communication. But from the first sentence where you did not authorize Vince to drive your car initially (even though you brought the car in for a transmission issue), that set the tone for the entire experience to go downhill... Yes, Vince should've asked "is it okay to test drive the car to figure out what is wrong", but you did bring a car to a dealer service adviser for a possible transmission warranty work. What was he supposed to do, sit there and use X-ray vision?

Frankly speaking, the nitpicking over details derailed the entire experience. The dealer's incompetence to perform warranty work is noted, however I do not think your wall of text properly explained the entire experience.

-alex

Thank you.
First, I am figuratively holding them to their word. I see nothing wrong with that. But I think you do. If that's the case, we'll have to agree to disagree.
I have rented many cars. The fact is, by this point they had already established that they should not be trusted to keep their word. Therefore, when they tell me they will not enforce a legally binding contract, I don't believe them. And in the real world, what the contract says will overrule anything that comes down to "he said, she said." Considering the legally binding contract says I will be charged with a felony if not honored, I would be a naive fool to do it any other way.
If you would choose to handle that situation another way, that is your right. I am confident in my actions and do not regret how I handled it.

Additionally, you brought up the fact that Vince drove my car without asking me first. I wasn't happy about it, but I didn't even mention my displeasure with his actions to him. He had no idea I wasn't happy about it. It was merely an item for my notes, which in retrospect, I'm glad I kept. It wasn't a big deal, but did enter my mind.
You asked, "What was he supposed to do, sit there and use X-ray vision?" I told him he may not be able to duplicate the issue if he drove it himself. Therefore, I offered to bring him for a ride so he could experience the problem. He then drove it and could not duplicate the problem. I brought him for a ride immediately after and he experienced the problem. Hopefully that answers your question.
You also said, "... I do not think your wall of text properly explained the entire experience." I am confident you are right about that. Again, I did not intend on sharing this with anyone. It was written as my personal notes. I'm sure it could have been done better if I had known what this would turn into. But my method of taking personal notes is far from the matter at hand.

[stugray]

Originally Posted by Pat

1. Good. Glad to hear it.

Funny that the dealer that I said I had excellent luck with is less than an hour from you but you didnt bother to ask which one....

Your loss

[Spacemane969]

Our phone call ended 20 minutes ago and Ron has still not called me back.

Are you serious guy? The world doesn't revolve around you. I read your entire post from start to finish and this is what I saw:

Impossible to please
Impossible to please
Impossible to please

Being upset about not receiving a call withing 20 minutes? You work, have you never had a busy day at your job? Honestly it sounds like you down right harassed everyone you came in contact with all day every day. If someone relentlessly nagged you at your job how would you respond? Think about it, and think about why you continued to receive the treatment you did. It's one thing to expect reasonable customer service but to think that everyone else you mentioned in your post is supposed to think about you every second of their busy day is beyond naive, it's unconscionable. And to list names and numbers is just childish and serves no purpose in your quest to drag everyone in the dirt because you were an impossible customer to satisfy.

I really didn't want to write this flaming response, but this is for every person acting like the world bows to them, and that just because you are a customer to a business it entitles you to be treated as nothing short of an all-knowing deity.

[Pat]

I understand I have high standards, many of which are higher than other people.
That said, again I will say it again. They set the expectations. I did not. I quote, "He said he would talk with his service manager immediately and call me back within 20 minutes. Our phone call ended 20 minutes ago and Ron has still not called me back."
I was not upset he didn't call me back in 20 minutes. I was disappointed he did not do what he told me he would do, yet again. This is very simple.
When it happens a couple times, fine. When it happens many, many times, by many, many people over a period of months it gets my attention.
The first step in building trust is doing what you tell people you're going to do. They consistently fail to do that.
I live in a professional world. A world of accountability. My clients expect it, and I do, too.
Yes, I have been busy at work. Yes, I have missed deadlines, just like everyone else. However, a line is crossed when people fail to be accountable the majority of the time. There's no excuse for that, other than perhaps having very low personal standards. And even then, it is just that....an excuse. Not a reason.
It's clear to me I have different standards than some people here. I'm comfortable with that.

[Fastbrew]

I am with Pat on this point. I do not tolerate companies that set expectations and then just blow them off. I am often fine with being told I won't hear for a week, two weeks, whatever and then I get resolution on time. If you say you are going to do something in a specific amount of time - do it. And - if you can't - let me know at the soonest possible moment so that I am in the loop.

[fika84]

Originally Posted by Pat

I understand I have high standards, many of which are higher than other people.
That said, again I will say it again. They set the expectations. I did not. I quote, "He said he would talk with his service manager immediately and call me back within 20 minutes. Our phone call ended 20 minutes ago and Ron has still not called me back."
I was not upset he didn't call me back in 20 minutes. I was disappointed he did not do what he told me he would do, yet again. This is very simple.
When it happens a couple times, fine. When it happens many, many times, by many, many people over a period of months it gets my attention.
The first step in building trust is doing what you tell people you're going to do. They consistently fail to do that.
I live in a professional world. A world of accountability. My clients expect it, and I do, too.
Yes, I have been busy at work. Yes, I have missed deadlines, just like everyone else. However, a line is crossed when people fail to be accountable the majority of the time. There's no excuse for that, other than perhaps having very low personal standards. And even then, it is just that....an excuse. Not a reason.
It's clear to me I have different standards than some people here. I'm comfortable with that.

I think there's always more to it than that though. What we can't see in all of this is the way you carry yourself, your body language and your attitude toward the employees. The only hint that we have is that you went into this entire experience expecting something bad to happen, which is why you took such detailed notes. I bet that expectation by itself was written all over your face and attitude. I'll say it again, you must have been quite the pain in the ass to be asked to never come back to a dealership by the GM. I think @Spacemane969 has it right with the "Impossible to please".

[Ridgerunr]

Well I did not read the whole thing, I stopped when you said you did not want them to drive your car... Are you f@@ken kidding me.. What are they to do, push it around???

[Pat]

Originally Posted by fika84

I think there's always more to it than that though. What we can't see in all of this is the way you carry yourself, your body language and your attitude toward the employees. The only hint that we have is that you went into this entire experience expecting something bad to happen, which is why you took such detailed notes. I bet that expectation by itself was written all over your face and attitude. I'll say it again, you must have been quite the pain in the ass to be asked to never come back to a dealership by the GM. I think @Spacemane969 has it right with the "Impossible to please".

I agree with you. It is important to treat everyone professionally and courteously. I have no doubt that is the case. Anyone here that knows me will not question me on that.
You assumed I took notes because I expected something bad to happen. Your assumption is incorrect. You go on to "bet" on that incorrect assumption, fabricating a false image of the situation. The fact is, your impression of the situation is way off base.
Pay attention to the facts as they are written. You seem to have a good imagination.

[Pat]

Originally Posted by Ridgerunr

Well I did not read the whole thing, I stopped when you said you did not want them to drive your car... Are you f@@ken kidding me.. What are they to do, push it around???

Again, context and details matter. Your post clearly shows you didn't pay attention to either.