Details
March 5, 2008 – 9:35 am by Matt Radel
Filed under Rants
In order to maintain a successful brand, you have need buy in from everyone, right down to the mechanics that work on your car.
My wife and I traded cars today (she drives an ‘04 Jetta 1.8 T), as she’s due for her 80K service and new tires - and we don’t want to pay for it all at the moment. But she visited the dealer yesterday and got some of the work done, just to keep up on oil changes. Now for reasons I can’t explain, alot of the VW dealers in southwestern Ohio share space with Lincoln Mercury (Ford) dealerships. They have different showrooms, but basically the same service department.
So imagine my disgust when I got in her car this morning and saw a big, fat, ugly Lincoln Mercury service sticker in the top left corner of the windshield. We take our cars to the dealer to make sure we get premium service. I want to have a consistent experience. I want to be treated well. There’s a reason that I don’t drive a Lincoln or a Mercury, and even though they may share mechanics at some of these dealerships, I don’t want it to be obvious.
But the bigger issue is minding the details. Don’t let small stuff like this slip. Don’t take anything for granted. If you’re a dealer, be fully aware that these things matter. Trust me, people notice.
Details
March 5, 2008 – 9:35 am by Matt Radel
Wow, did not know that about dealerships up there.
Anyhoo, this is why I do most of my own maintenance or take the dub to known dubber’s/mechanics!
Did Lincoln put synthetic oil in?
From what my wife said, it sounded like it. I’ve actually been very happy with this dealer’s service department - this is the first real gripe I’ve had. This has happened before at other dealers, this was just my opportunity to write about it.
I get my passat serviced at my local v-dub dealer as well. Even though its at an automall (http://driversvillage.com) and the shop area is shared between vw and audi, the vw service is still quite standalone. I’ve had a few issues with service over the years, but they always leave me satisfied in the end.
I’ve given up all hope that VW service will live up to the mythical reputation. I’m resigned to driving a great car that I have to endure torture for every few months.