Happy Ending
By Richard Dickerson on 09 Feb 2007 at 08:14 am
How simple is having an oil change done? Raise the car, remove the drain plug, drain the oil, replace the plug , change the oil filter, lower the car and refill the oil. Pretty simple right? A service so basic and mostly routine, it’s promoted often as a $19.95 service done in 30 minutes or less. So—I make the appointment, take my car to my usual dealer and wait.
Less than 30 minutes and my car is returned looking fine, all for less than $25. I’m happy, feeling great for having this essential service complete, and away I go.
Next morning as I leave my garage, I can’t help but notice a puddle—yes, a puddle, not a spot of fresh oil! I immediately stop, turn off the engine open the hood and check the oil dipstick. Yep! It’s a _ quart low! I begin looking for the source. On my hands and knees I search for the source of the leak. It’s either the oil filter or the drain plug. Something is loose. I find the oil trail at the oil drain plug. Its threads are stripped! I hurry off to the nearest oil service location, and I’m in luck—an empty bay. They pull me right in.
A quick examination confirms my diagnosis—stripped threads. Thirty minutes later I’m on my way. A new plug, oil and all for less than $25. Peace of mind again!
My original dealer was most gracious and cooperative when I outlined my experience. They reimbursed my expense, apologized profusely, and pleaded that I return for future service. They went on to ask what they could do to restore my confidence and trust. They also said they had dealt with the employee that had serviced my car.
Great ending! The way it should be when expectations aren’t met. Accepting responsibility, demonstrating accountability, and exceeding expectation. Exactly what professional sales people and organizations that provide value do everyday.
Submitted by: 
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading …
Subscribe via RSS
I’d like to relate a customer service story.
I own a Honda with a sun roof. A squirrel chewed the rubber gasket so I took it back to the dealer fully expecting to pay for it. They actually covered it under warranty and performed the service EXACTLY as they said. That’s EXACTLY what I wanted.
I spent the next few days extolling the virtues of this dealership.
Next service/warranty issue with the car. A $10 dollar part needed to be replaced. They performed miserably this time. NOT exactly, not even close to what they said! A truly bad customer service experience.
Here’s my point; if you’re in a service related business and want customers coming back, don’t be inconsistent in your service. If you’re going to be great, be great all the time. If you can only be bad, be bad all the time. It’s too confusing to your customers when you’re inconsistent. If I expect bad and get bad all the time at least you’ve lived up to my expectations. By the way, I’ll only use bad when there isn’t ANYTHING ELSE available.
I wish I could say it worked that great for me too, but it didn’t I did not find out the problem till I decided to change the oil myself. The oil plug will turn but will not come out. I have no idea how to get the plug out, short of drilling it out and cutting new threads then a larger bolt till I can find a larger oil plug for my car. Which is a 98 Hyundai Tiburon. These fast oil places do not treat women very well and fix things but not for the better.