bballernva

On 10/02/2007 I called Radley to have a B1 service done to my car. I was asked if I had ever had my car serviced at Radley. I said yes on 3/13/2007 but I had to bring it in twice to get the work done right. The day after that I was called by Acura to see how my service was. I did not give a 5 since I had to bring my car in twice for the same thing. I was then told by the service rep on 10/02/2007 YOU ARE NOT WELCOME AT RADLEY ACURA. I was shocked and just hung up the phone. DO NOT GO TO RADLEY UNLESS YOU ARE WILLING TO LIE ABOUT THE SERVICE IF IT IS NOT GOOD.

VQPower37

sorry u had a bad experience ... but overall radley has been good to me, never had any problems except a little damage to one of my trim pieces, which they replaced without much hassle ....

LuvMyTSX

Unfortunately, that's not the first time I've heard someone say they were punished for not giving 5s. It happens at many places, not just Radley.

Give Pohanka a shot, I guess.

lilfeat

I have a standard answer when being solicited for any product survey.
What is in it for me? I always ask them to provide me with a coffee mug or baseball cap for my troubles.
As far as I recall, no dealership has ever given me something for nothing, so I tell them that I will not reply to surveys for free.

I even got a phone call from the Sales manager at the dealership i've bought 3 cars from, concerned that I had not responded to the survey on the sale experience. I ask for a freebie, and he seemed stunned. He was polite and said that he would be unable to send me a mug or hat, and I told him I would ignore his surveys. My time is not free, just as his is not.

Never had any problem with getting service.

XIS

Are you kidding me? Telling you that you are not welcome because you did not lie for them? Boy oh boy, I would make them regret that with the most vocal word-of-mouth and internet reporting of them to everyone and anyone...and I would contact their corporate office too.
Then I would show up at the dealer and let potential buyers know their tactics with flyers and signs and painted windows on my car....

daf9919

what is the service rep. Name?

TL_Captain

I have registered with this site for almost a year. I got to say this is the BEST reply post I have read.

AbovePrime.

Yeah, I usually discard them, until Westlake Volvo sent us a care package with shirts, mugs, ballons, and other good stuff. I was happy to fill out their survey.

AJ's Silver CL

iTrader: (2)

Sorry to hear that. I purchased my car from Radley. They seem pretty cool. I usually have my car serviced at Karen Radley in Woodbridge, maybe you could try them.

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

I hope it's not Sergio...

k23a1

Youre killing their bonus!! Yes, I got the lecture when I ragged on the worse car wash and detail ever, on the day of delivery. My sales person said that my score ultimately affected the managers overall potential in getting THEIR bonuses.

There's no point in favoring a lie, when you pay $$$ for a vehicle. You shouldn't have to feel uncomfortable in getting your car serviced, but with all these problems really happening, I don't blame concerning people; I am one of them.

black label

Honestly, you have to call Acura Client Services on this one (800)382-2238 on this one.

The whole point of these surveys is to help Acura make their operations run smoother. If a good survey is based on blackmail, they are worthless.

The dealer is screwing themselves in Acura's corporate eyes.

EddieT

I have to chime in here. I am on my fourth car from Radley. It's Fall Church. I have never had such a problem. Not saying it didn't happen. My service advisor is Jeremy and he goes out of his way to make sure everything is perfect. Don't know about other advisors there, hope Jeremy never leaves for me to find out. Sorry, I'll take my RDX and MDX to Radley everytime.

weeeerd

Apparently, you guys are very unsure on how the system works. We are not asking anyone to lie about there survey scores. It's more based on the fact that when everything goes fine, give us a 10 (we use a 10 scale rating). If we receieve an 8, in Acura's eyes, they see that as failing.

Now I'm sorry that you just came in for an oil change, your car got washed and vacuumed and we had you in and out in around 30 minutes. How much else are we suppose to do for you.

You would never believe the answers that we get from some people.
- "It's just an oil change"
- Great, then take your vehicle to Jiffy Lube and see how well it turns out for you.

- Nothing is perfect.
- When nothing bad happens, you are not held up, and your vehicle gets cleaned, what more do you really expect? A free oil change.

These are just some examples. I'm all for giving a "bad" survey with the opportunity of the dealer to correct it. While the phone survey is important, Acura bases us off of the e-mail survey. Nobody at our dealership is asking anyone to lie but don't bash up when the service was just fine.

And for all the doubters, when you take care of the dealer, they definitely take care of you, and that's a fact. Try it sometime.

AbovePrime.

I'm sorry but because they FAILED at providing EXCELLENT customer service, they should try to make it right, not say "DON'T EVER COME BACK HERE, EVER."

Basically because they got a low score on the survey, they have the right to tell the OP not to come back?! COME ON.

They deserved whatever they got, if they are not happy about it they should improve wherever they are lacking, and it looks like they are lacking in every C/S related department.

To even defend such behavior is questionable, you must work there.

acuraTHREE

I bought two--count em two--vehicles at Radley. The first was a TSX and decided it was too small for me after only three months. I ate a trade in loss and then bought the MDX

I was harrassed and made to feel very uncomfortable by two departments at Radley. My sales guy was upset because I did not give him a 5 on the sales/follow up experience. Basically the sales guy (purchase of MDX) left me sitting waiting for service. I guess he thought since i was trading the tsx, then I was at his mercy. Anyway, I gave a 4 or something to the sales guy and boy did i hear about it.

I took the mdxin for service and was told the sob story that my concerns can not equate to less than a 5 or it would affect bonuses. I replied "provide 5 service and this wont be a problem for you" Guess what, the custom car wash was streaky and the work was late from the time they said it would be done. Needless to say I did not award a 5


I never had chance to find out if i was going to receive the horid response that bballer got because I decided to trade in the MDX. Got a mercedes e class instead.

Guess what, I returned to Radley to see about getting a new TL (i missed the navi of the acurras and wanted my toys back) and was given cool treatment by the sales team ---left me waiting hours with no help. did not return calls to help me make my decision. then actually referenced the fact that there was a concern i might again give a low score and asked if i would or not.. again my reply was give me good service and get a 5. no response and more delay

i had enough! i went to pohanka and bought a tl there. my sales was smooth there and i hope my pending first service will be the same


i cant believe this bs from someone we pay all of this $$$$ too. customer service is dead at Radley and it seems like they dont care. hopefully this is not widespread

ACURascal

Wow.. what a strangely biased point of view.

Ahem.. let me start over by asking a question: When did automobile dealerships forget the concept of EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS?

Acura dealers aren't the only dealerships who do the "GIMME A 10 OR ELSE" dance. I've had the same thing happen with BMW. Seems there is a lot of factory incentive riding on high scores.

The thing is this: If I take my car in for service and "everything goes fine" (yes, I'm quoting") that dealership has basically just MET my expectations. It has NOT EXCEEDED my expectations.

To get 10s, or FIVES or whatever the BEST rating is, dealerships have to EXCEED CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS REGULARLY. NOT cajole, threaten, or intimidate to get them.

This kind of behavior from a dealership is patently wrong, and deserves to be met with strong boycott of any support from anyone similarly treated.

That's my .02.

thevikas87

iTrader: (2)

"And for all the doubters, when you take care of the dealer, they definitely take care of you, and that's a fact. Try it sometime."


no thanks. Its the dealer thats supposed to provide service AND satisfaction, not the customer.

they should try taking care of me first, then they wouldnt have to worry about the survey now would they?

ACURascal

Here, here! Agreed.

Everything done to my satisfaction = AVERAGE = 5 (or whatever AVERAGE is on the survey.)

Everything done better than I could have ever imagined, and delivered with pleasant surprises = EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS = HIGHEST RATING.

lumpulus

This happens all the time at every dealership thousands of times a day all over the country....if someone in a dealership said to me..."don't come back" just because I gave them a "non 5" when they didn't deserve a 5, I would be on the phone to Acura customer relations so quick it would make their head spin.....

As has been said by others, if you exceed my expectations, you get a high mark...if you meet expectations you getan average mark.....

Oh, and just to add some gas to this hot topic....

In my household there is an RDX(girl friend's) and an 06 RL(mine)...before they found out I also owned an RL, I got treated like any other shlub when I took the G/F's RDX in for service(I'm closer to the dealership than she is from our works) As soon as they found out I also owned an RL the attitude towards me noticably changed...I even got a courtesy visit in the waiting room from the dealership owner.

Life is like a $h!t sandwich...the more bread you have the less $h!t you have to eat.

lumpulus

Thank you for validating to us all that what most of us think about dealerships not caring about our business is true.

weeeerd

Obviously you guys are failing to realize anything I said in my post. Say you come in for an oil change.. what are WE as a dealer suppose to do besides give you a free oil change. We do our job, you don't have to come back, and you get a car wash and a vacuum. I'm not saying things couldn't be better on something major but alot of phone calls that Acura makes, really focus on the oil change portion of it. I do not work at Radley and am in no way affiliated with them.

Really, I want to know, can someone explain to me..

AbovePrime.

If the customer thinks something is wrong with the service, or it could be improved, it needs to improved or fixed, period. The customer is ALWAYS right.

acuraTHREE

weerd

its simple, people are sick and tired of being treated poorly as a result of dealer surveys that were, i can only imagine, designed to help the dealer provide better quality and service. its seems the unintended or other consequence is that they have proven to have the opposite effect---custotmer feeling bullied and abused and the dealer --at least at Radley---only caring about their rating and at all costs to what they should be doing for the customer in the first place

its not about one incident or a car wash. its a cumulative effect of being treated poorly. i also dont agree that all dealerships are like this. for my benz, while service was expensive, i didnt get caught up in any attitude when i rated them accordingly

Radley needs to kiss some ???? and make there service is right. so any dealer whose says "dont come back" then take them at their word and tell everyone not to come back---cause get what? ironically, being out of business, may be the ONLY way they truly get the message

acuraTHREE

one more thing


did anyone notice the irony and humor in the fact that bballer's post and this thread has now earned a 5 star rating from acurazine members.

Radley, maye you should take notes on how to get a 5

LuvMyTSX

Can't you read? The OP already said he had to take his car back a second time to fix the issue. Obviously something went wrong there, so why should he give a 5 when he had the inconvenience of having to go back again because it wasn't fixed right the first time?

Oh and BTW, what are you as the dealer supposed to do when someone comes in for an oil change (or any other service for that matter)? How about do the oil change right, and don't scratch or otherwise fuck up someone's car! No one here is asking for anything other than proper service without having to come back several times. Why can't you understand this?! It isn't a difficult concept.

MikeCLS6

Ive always had good customer service at POHANKA ACURA in Chantilly

lumpulus

I'm glad you asked......

A: An oil change takes 15 minutes to do, and a wash maybe 10, why is my car gone for an hour? I'll tell you why, so the dealer can charge an hour labor rate.

Get me out of the dealer in less than 45 minutes for an oil change.

B. If it's raining out...DON'T wash my damn car.

C. Don't give me a friggin calculator or a beer cozy or a pen with the dealer logo on it....That's free advertising for you, not customer service to me. Have a promotion where every 10 oil change is "on the house". THAT I will come back for.

D. When I get my car back, it sometimes has 4 or 5 miles on it...why? I'll tell you why...because it's nice and some technician monkey wants to drive it.

I could go on, but you get the idea.

Pote757

To the dealer boy who is worried about getting a 5 for an oil change - I expect more from you, the dealer, than from Jiffylube. You are charging, what, $12 for a "genuine Acura" oil filter and how much for for the oil? 5-6 bucks a quart? And how much for synthetic? A Purilator filter costs $2.67 at the autoparts store and Pennzoil is a buck fifty RETAIL. Dont tell me y'all pay retail for these things that require you to mark that up for us poor customers. So I change it myself and it costs 12-15 bucks, is done when I want it done and I get to inspect the underbody. Jiffylube washes my windows, vacuums the floor, supposedly tops off the fluids for about 30-35 bucks in 15 minutes. Y'all do it for $55 in an hour and you wash it for "free". I expect the mech to wear white gloves. I'm paying for premium oil change and my expectation is that it is the best thing I have done all day. A massage also costs $55. Where would I rather spend my hard earned $?

ac5320

they cant deny you service like that, report there @$$ to what ever the higher compay is. You would be amazed at the kind of service you get when you report someone. I reported clair acura of walpole because the 05 rsx i bought had all these little annoying problems..after that i was first in line for eveerything treated better given rentals for only one hour...when car was in the shop for a week was given an 07 DTS...pretty sweet

batman

Why does this not surprise me. I have had good and bad times at Radley. Their sales department suck. I will never buy a car from there again. The only reason I there for service is because they're decent but not a 10. I gave them an 8 only because they gave me a loner. But I had to make two trips and be without my car for two weeks. I don't expect perfection but Acura shouldn't expect customers not to tell the truth.

lilfeat

The idea that a car dealer will treat you better when you treat them better is just plain silly. When I buy a car and do not have to endure the same sales tricks that I have been enduring for 25 years at every dealer I have ever delt with, then I will give that dealer praise indeed. I might even fill out their stupid survey. I am busy, and the make me waste my time by playing dealer off dealer in order to get a decent deal.

The survey has NOTHING to do with improving customer service. Your feedback will not change how they do buisness. They use the survey to acheive high ratings in order to display and advertise that they are the highest rated dealer. Period.

I have a casual friend that has been selling Caddys for 15 years at a 5 star dealer. They have gone through a huge change in the perception of their dealer service, driven by the Lexus model. Most of this change has cost them noithing. Things like calling back a customer as soon as their car is ready, instead of late in the day when they get around to it. Having the loaner cars ready and warm in winter when a car is dropped off.

However....
He frequently talks about how they make sure that they always give the appearence of providing high quality service and sales experience, even when they take someone to the cleaners on a deal because they have done their homework on pricing. Now I do expect them to try and make as much money as possible, but the overall disdain for customers is not much different that the way my son used to describe the "stupid" customers that he served at McDonalds.
The car guys just wear suits.

Of course, it could just be him, but the perception by the public of the integrity of dealers is always very low. I doubt that he is responsible for this nationwide all by himself.

Myself, I have found that McGrath Acura in Westmont has given me very good service, as limited as my need for service from them has been. ( Acuras have been good tom me!)
The 01 CLS that I had had a chronic sunroof rattle/squeak, which they ( and Contenental Acura ) applied many bandaids to while I owned the car. However the design of the 01 sunroof was flawed, and they modified it for the 02 and later, so they were somewhat limited on what they would do for it.

I would rather eat worms than take my car to Acura for an oil change, expecially on this RDX. I could teach a 10 year old to change the oil on this car. Takes me 15 minutes. I could only see having them do it if I did not have a garage.

lilfeat

Damn, that was rambling!

weeeerd

You guys must have piss poor dealers and for that, I apologize. I didn't realize some of you had to wait an hour for an oil change, had your cars scratched, and have 6 or 7 miles on your car. For the guy spending 55 dollars on an oil change, apparently you have no common sense or your dealer is raping you, bad. Ours is 29.95 and we run coupon specials at 23.95 all day long.

Maybe you guys should come here, I'm not going to say we are perfect but apparently, we are MUCH better then where alot of you guys may go.

I'm only here to defend dealers under certain circumstances, because I work in one. I understand what goes on. I'm not telling the OP to give a 5 if he had to go back. That's crap. I want to take my car in and have everything taken care of at once. I have better things to do then repeat appointments at dealers.

Jeesh, weeeerd against Acurazine.

Nakamichi

Sorry to hear about your experience. I have had good experiences dealing with their parts and service departments. They even call me asking if I wanted my car washed.

I would have to agree with you on this one. I would not have given them the best score. Though they eventually took care of you, it's such a hassle when service is not performed correctly the first time. Maybe if they came and picked up my car and brought it back I would reconsider. I would prefer that on all occasions, since their parking lot is nightmare.

I'm surprised that they said you are not welcomed back. I would think a dealership would take any low ratings, ask customers how they can improve and incorporate those for the next time. I guess the bonus money speaks louder than customers.

weeeerd

Or.. maybe we just don't have people leave pissed off. If someone gives us a bad phone survey, we find out what it takes to make whatever it was, right. Some of you guys just don't see what we see on these surveys. I had a lady in a 98 RL leave happy and give us a 7 (out of 10) which is obviously failing. Everything went perfect, she had a car but it was to expensive.

I mean come on, we didn't force you to spend the money. She needed timing belt/water pump service performed (146k miles.. waaay overdue). If you want to bash the dealer, by all means do so, but make it something that we can change, nothing we can control.

weeeerd

But from a dealer standpoint.. how much can you really do for the customer before it becomes ridciulous. I can't give everyone a free oil change because I don't make any money that way. On warranty work, what more can someone ask for. We fix there car (right! the first time), we have a loaner vehicle set-up for them, and there is no hassle when bringing the vehicle in. It's washed, shammied? (horrible spelling), and vacuum.

I'm not arguing on bad things don't happen at dealers. Obviously, that's far from the case but how are we suppose to know what your expectations are. Hell, some people don't even know we wash the car or top the fluids off. Running a car through a car wash is far from meeting my expectations.

Again, just my

I'm not here to argue, just here to provide both sides of it. I was and still am open to opinions on what can be improved on certain types of work. I would love to be able to have a service department where everyone that leaves, feels like a million bucks.

weeeerd

Actually, I don't believe any dealer can refuse you as long as you are within the warranty period of the vehicle. They are under legal obligation to look at and fix the vehicle. I'm not going to say your car will be perfect or they won't hassle you about it (by trying to not put you in a loaner or whatever).

Stay on them and don't accept that your not allowed back. We accept any and all appointments, whether we make 2 dollars or 200 dollars.

black label

I'm setting myself up to be attacked here, but what the hell, why not.

Looking at both sides of the picture, the problem is in the way it is set up. As pointed out by some one, the employees bonuses are based on these surveys. You don't have to give them a one to get the point across. In Acura's eyes anything less than a 10 in service or a 5 in sales is unacceptable. That being the case, it souldn't be a multipoint scale, it should be pass fail.

When you give a one on a survey, there is no recovery from that, it kills their entire month in terms of income and that really is unfair. An 8 or 9 is enough to get the point across and still damages their ability to hit their bonuses but it doesn't kill them entirely.

Obviously I work for Acura, my CSI through todays date is 99.6% (that's pretty fucking good BTW). I don't beg customers for 5's on the survey, I tell them it is my expectation of myself to "earn" fives on the survey, if I haven't earned them that is OK, but I would like an explanation of what went wrong in their eyes so I prevent it from happening again.

batman

Everyone situation is different. If I take my car in for a problem and I leave with the same problem or something happen to my car am supposed to give a high survey score because they asked nicely. I think that Acura is doing their employees a disservice. You can't please eveybody no matter how hard you try.