Local Dealer Definitely Lost My Families Business
 

I had some fun this morning at my local Chevy dealer, Burt Watson in Freeland, MI. Its very disappointing having to take time to write this email and send to the general managers who were conveniently not present this morning. :mad0259:


Hello Jason,

I would like to express my concerns I had this morning when bringing in my 2018 Camaro to get a sway bar bolt tightened due to a bad rattle at 6000 miles. Please see below for a description of events that I experienced:

1. Walked in to not be greeted and had to wait for 3 employees to stop talking about personal issues.

2. Was not said hello to, nor how was my day, etc. The gentlemen did not smile or show any type of customer service emotion, or the want to be at work at all. Very grumpy and soft spoken.

3. I called in yesterday, 9/19 in the AM for an appointment and the girl asked what was wrong with my car and gave me 2 times to come in today on 9/20. I scheduled my time at 8:45 AM.

4. Arrived 10 minutes early, and was told to take a seat. Shortly after another gentlemen asked me to come fill stuff out for a loaner vehicle. I asked why I need a loaner when I know what is wrong with the car and it just needs a sway bar tighten. They told me it won't be taken back until late afternoon.

5. I explained that I could not be back in the afternoon and told the gentleman that the girl told me my appointment was for the morning at 8:45. I had pushed meetings aside at Dow to get the car in at my appointment time and I’m going to be out of town beginning this afternoon. The guy told me "oh the time she gave you is just to bring it in and to tell me what is going on with the car, we then work you in the schedule at that time"

6. I said please pull my car out I am taking it to another dealership. The guy walked back to his station from the garage and I then said this is ridiculous. He then turned and pointed at me and said watch what you are saying. It was in a motion like he had something personal going on. You can check the security cameras if you have them if your employee says any different.

7. I then asked if he really (insert bad word) said that. I then asked for the general manager at this time. I don't like to raise such words, but due to the frustration over the horrible experience and the aggressiveness of your employee, my sports mouth slipped.


I am embarrassed to have such service here in Freeland and it's really disappointing having to take my business to another dealer outside of town. With this incident, along with a guy doing a tire rotation on my previous 2015 1LE Camaro by placing 305 size track tires in the front and 285 size tires in the rear...after specifically saying just an oil change and no tire rotation. I can no longer trust your service department in safety or friendliness.

My wife Ashley and I have purchased 6 new cars from Chip Schwartz since 2010 and we have always had great experiences with your sales. I purchased a 2011 and 2014 Silverado, a 2013 Camaro SS, 2015 SS 1LE Camaro, 2015 Tahoe LTZ and the most recent, a 2018 Redline Traverse. My current 2018 Camaro was purchased elsewhere due to the specific car I was wanting. After today, I’m afraid that we may be taking our full business elsewhere when we purchase our new vehicles. I would really hate to see a local business lose more customers due to similar experiences that I ran into.

If you wish to speak with me and talk about my concerns over the phone, I would be happy to chat from one business man to another. My number is...

Some people should not be in customer service positions.

Go elsewhere in the future. No need to get emotional. People suck.

FYI, once you write these letters, you have to accept your business relationship is already over. You can no longer take your car there for service any longer, even if they offer free oil changes or try to save your business. Do you want the people you complained to the manager working on your vehicle?

IMO, if I am reading the series of events you listed correctly, I am not seeing why the dealership is being blamed. It sounds like you held an expectation in your mind that the car would be serviced immediately at drop-off. You happened to be incorrect on that point. They offered a loaner, which I think is a good gesture because many dealerships would offer a shuttle service at best or expect you to take a cab. It sounds like you got angry and things went downhill from there -- did you even ask them if you could use the loaner while you're out of town?

I think what they offered you is pretty common practice for large dealerships. I once went in just to get my rotors replaced, and they said they were backlogged with other work and offered a loaner. I asked if I could keep it a few days and come back at a time convenient for me, and they said sure.

The general rudeness by other people is something to probably complain about, but you can't always lump these things together. Sometimes, different people in different job roles at the same dealership have very poor communication. All you can do to some extent is be calm and clearly go over the options with whomever you ultimately meet at the service counter.

Dude, I live in Midland. I agree with you 100% about Burt Watson. It's sad but true.

All that hassle for a loose bolt?
Why not tighten it yourself?

ditto...

I do agree with your words above to an extent. However, I should have added that when I called to make an appointment the day prior, they told me they would take it in at 8:45 and wouldn't be a long wait. I advised them I was leaving out of town and the morning was perfect. At this time, I moved my whole day around at my own schedule to make it work to come in at my appointment time.

You shouldn't have to make an appointment to make an appointment.

Trust me, I hate going to the dealer service department and I would have loved to fix it myself.

This is the 3rd time my sway bar has become loose and without going to the dealer, they wouldn't be able to log it. There are countless amounts of 6th gens with sway bars becoming lose at low mileage and so far GM has done nothing about the issue.

Also, with the lift I have the axle would be hanging which puts tension on the sway bar link. I can't tighten it myself with what I have unfortunately.

the problem is mis-communication. I'm sure the girl making Appointments has no idea of the difference between a Swaybar Bolt and a Radiator.

Awesome, nice and close. I work at Dow in Midland. I'm glad you feel the same with Burt Watson's service department. I should have taken my car back to where I bought it...Garber in Midland :bonk:

Actually, I'm pretty sure she was smarter than the service guy. The girl that took my appointment said "Ah ok, you're getting a lot of clunking then?" after I said my sway bar is loose on the drivers side. She knew it was clunking before I even told her :clap2:

Exactly, we won't be back there period. They have become a leasing crazed dealer and just focus on making the quick $$$ selling low end trucks, Equinox's, Cruzes and Malibu's.

Yeah, that does change things considerably. I've come to learn that most people operating the phones at dealerships are generally useless. Like I said, oftentimes, departments don't talk to each other very well. I once had a guy at the service counter throw his hands up and say that the people operating the phone often make promises all the time and never communicate the expectations down the line.

I was actually told that in the future, I should go to the service desk directly in person and talk with an advisor in advance to get an accurate sense of how busy they were and what was realistically possible scheduling-wise. Since that's a lot of work, I honestly just lowered my expectation. Instead, I always call in advance and ask the person on the phone to book me a loaner since it opens up the flexibility somewhat. I ain't about to get stuck without a car for several days or end up paying more in taxi fares than the actual cost of the work on my vehicle...