Dealer Service - Car Returned Clean? Seats Covered?

[kg4fxg]

I have a question. When you take your car in for service is it returned clean? Meaning no oil on the seats, doors, etc. Do they cover the seats? Put a paper on the floor mat? Have you had any issues?
Another reason for my trading is current car was returned with grease all over the white door panel. Why they touch that I don't know. The armrest where you pull the door is black. The panel is curved lit with multi-colored lights mine is blue. Car Mini Cooper Coupe.
Do I have to detail my own car before I can drive it out of the service area? Have you had this experience? Should I bring a change of clothes just to drive it home? Do I need to wrap door in kitchen plastic cling wrap?

I hope Honda Service is better. What is your experience been like? I really don't mind some dirt, but this looked like they wiped there hands all over the dual exhaust and the white door trim. Took a lot of work to clean.

Thanks
Bill

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[SCOPESYS]

I have a question. When you take your car in for service is it returned clean? Meaning no oil on the seats, doors, etc. Do they cover the seats? Put a paper on the floor mat? Have you had any issues?
Another reason for my trading is current car was returned with grease all over the white door panel. Why they touch that I don't know. The armrest where you pull the door is black. The panel is curved lit with multi-colored lights mine is blue. Car Mini Cooper Coupe.
Do I have to detail my own car before I can drive it out of the service area? Have you had this experience? Should I bring a change of clothes just to drive it home? Do I need to wrap door in kitchen plastic cling wrap?

I hope Honda Service is better. What is your experience been like? I really don't mind some dirt, but this looked like they wiped there hands all over the dual exhaust and the white door trim. Took a lot of work to clean.

Thanks
Bill

Sounds Totally Unacceptable.

A BMW service center should know how take better care of their customer's car.
They should be use to dealing with high end vehicles etc etc.

Talk to the Top Service Manager at the location you had that service, tell them what happened, and get them at least to apologize, and assure you that it will never happen again.

You are really doing them a service by bringing this to their attention, If nobody says anything the service manager is unaware that at least one of his Mechanics needs to be "Corrected".

Also, you should not have been the one to have to clean up their messy work !!

 

[kg4fxg]

I have heard others here have had problems at the dealership (Honda and here). Or posted such. I can easily add my own seat cover (I assume one could find something easy to slip over the seat) and I have in the past placed a special floor mat down for being at the dealer. Of course if the car is as messed up as my Mini was I would dispute the charge, have a detailer correct, take lots of photos, report dealer to Honda as now that is what I drive.

When I drove an actual BMW they had valets that only drove the cars. Maintenance workers did not. At the time I was studying for the CPA exam and OCD about the car. So I applied to be a valet on weekends. Oh, yeah, I was much younger. But I got to see first hand how it all worked out. I spent many Saturday's working under cover as a valet. Just to see what really happens. Nice to drive and or deliver the 850i BMW's. Cars were kept clean. Always plastic cover on the seat and paper for a floor mat even if the car looked trashed.

What did I learn? Dealing with the public is not easy. People are not easy. Glad I am not in sales or one of those professions. Corporate accountants usually deal with the same folks, not always easy but not the public. Think twice before being rude to the check out clerk at Walmart. Those jobs dealing with the public are not easy. And I have worked those jobs in the past. Raised poor and worked since I was 14.

Yes, I am OCD about the car. Most accountants are OCD. But after working 11 hour days it is refreshing to get into a clean car for a hour drive home. And when you look at what is offered today (Griots, Chemical Guys, etc) being your own professional detailer is not that difficult. This weekend, waxed the car, waxed inside the door jams. Leather balm on the seats. Window sealant on the exterior glass. Mats are so clean you could eat off them. They get vacuumed and wiped down regularly. I am the only person in the car.

I have two things I control. My office at home and my car. Sort of a sanctuary. Of course my wife is fine with it. I would gladly trade my job, have a messy car and work close to home at Walmart. We would have to move maybe a trailer park or apartment? But if I am going to have a stressful job with long hours I enjoy a clean car that will not be Fu**%^ by the dealer.

If it gets out of control, then I go back to visiting dealers. Grab a coffee and watch people drop off cars. Done that before. I do get lots of questions. Not many go to a dealership to visit the shop. Watch and learn.

 

[PhilF]

QUOTEWhat did I learn? Dealing with the public is not easy. People are not easy. Glad I am not in sales or one of those professions. Corporate accountants usually deal with the same folks, not always easy but not the public. Think twice before being rude to the check out clerk at Walmart. Those jobs dealing with the public are not easy. And I have worked those jobs in the past. Raised poor and worked since I was 14.

I have been dealing with the same Honda dealer for 35+ Years, This is a high-quality dealer with mostly excellent staff. Have always had a very friendly relationship with the service manager. He shares information often on just what a difficult juggling act his job is. They will go out of their way to satisfy a customer, just to have that customer go home and rip them, the service advisor & the mechanic on facebook because the job took 10 min longer than they estimated. This is really discouraging to his staff. In my years there, I have only had my car(s) worked on by 2 mechanics who I have taken the time to build a relationship with. My cars have never been returned dirty and I generally take them in clean because working on a dirty car is not pleasant. Generally, with any business that you need to use on a regular basis, it's worth the time investment to develop a good relationship and communications with. Yes, they are in business to make money, but delivering quality work product and the resulting customer continuity is the best way to do that. There seems to be a level of animosity and distrust among many members here, some of it undoubtedly earned. (a lot seems to be aimed at finance managers and in that case probably valid) As you stated, dealing with the public is not easy, when I bought my last car in Dec, after I worked with my sales person, had to deal with the finance guy, after 5 mins, I knew he wasn't the person I wanted to deal with, told the sales person, who I had some history with, that I didn't trust him or the pricing he was offering, she immediately went up the food chain & got me another person who actually looked at my history with the dealership and the price for my HondaCare package dropped over $1200 and we closed the deal. My Service manager friend had advised me that, although this wasn't his area, he called the salesperson and after that everything went smoothly & fairly. Running a car dealership is a tough business, in my area there are 4 Honda dealerships within a 20 mile radius, so things are quite competitive and customer retention is difficult. Not saying mine is perfect, but they do make the effort to do things right. If a dealership is truly a "stealership" then ask for a meeting with the General Manager, if that doesn't settle any issues for you, demand a meeting with the zone representative. I do know that American Honda sets the standards for all of the aspects of how an authorized dealer must do business, including satisfaction ratings, complaining is only effective if you complain to someone who has the power or authority to take the proper action to resolve your problem. Sorry for the long post, but I think as a Honda owner it's important to have a good dealer that you can trust and do things right.

 

[NoKz]

My dealership immediately covers the seats, steering wheel and floor mats before even getting in the car. I always instruct them NOT to wash the car. I don't need some minimum wage kid putting swirl marks on my paint.

 

[kg4fxg]

I will see how it goes. All about building a relationship with the dealer. In the past I put do not wash sign in the car. Worst case I could buy a seat cover, steering wheel cover, and carpet sample for the floor. Will see have not yet made it to first oil change. Last dealer Mini Cooper (BMW) was crap. Oil all over the whole door not just where you grab to pull the door in. The while curved side panel of the door white leather.

Most complaints I hear is about price. Well, they need to make a profit to stay in business. And most of the time building a great relationship with the dealer has been positive for me. I had a great relationship when I had a Toyota. I am sure Honda will be just the same. Before I purchased the car I asked about the shop and my concern about the car being returned dirty. They gave me a tour of the shop and showed me how great they are at what they do. It was very clean.

 

[SCOPESYS]

My dealership immediately covers the seats, steering wheel and floor mats before even getting in the car. I always instruct them NOT to wash the car. I don't need some minimum wage kid putting swirl marks on my paint.

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