jdizzle

ladies and gentlemen, i have previously posted here, but now i have a question. i am a master tech at an acura dealer, i also assist on the service lane with the advisors. in an effort to better understand what peoples expectations are of the service department, i am posting this thread. we try to meet peoples expectations in every way. our primary concern is fixing the concerns you have, but i have recently seen some surveys returned by our customers that baffle me. please help me undertand what order of importance certain aspects of your service visits fall in to. i guess, in order of importance. i am trying to help our department get better at meeting expectations. i have seen some surveys returned with things like " the coffee in the waiting room wasn't starbucks" how is that relevant to proper repair of your car? please give some feedback as to what the top 5 things are when bringing your cars in for service.

miiipilot

You're right about meeting our expectations. I expect to get the "runaround!" I expect to "pull teeth" to get anything accomplished.

1 example: My seats developed Butt Prints ('04 TL) at 3000miles <----Yes, 3000! Service advisor = you said, "Yeah, that's normal wear!" Not to be rude, but "F.U. buddy!" $35000 for a car and butt prints at 3000 miles are normal wear. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. I'd believe Teddy Ruxspin first.

After my 3rd complaint. I got the, "Ohhh our Acura rep is coming in and he'll address it"
Follow-up call, "It's normal wear, but we will do a 1 time 'good will'' replacement." 5000 miles later, the prints are back. That is awesome for the resell.

I don't think you'll get a lot of sympathy here.

I will say that I appreciate that you are actually taking/wanting our feedback.

respectfully,
miiipilot

jwclements1

1. Even though I don't mind waiting, I find it strange that it takes on average two hours to change my oil, inspect a few things, and wash the car. I'd like to be enlightened on what really happens back there. I know I can't do the oil change, so I take it to them since I trust them.

2. I've never had this happen, but I'd be really ticked if anything in my interior was dirty when I got the car back.

3. I have alot of trust in them that they actually inspected things and did the job accurately

4. I think that the service people need to be more familiar with common problems because I always have to go into the service place and hand them a tsb sheet or a printoff from here showing them what to fix so I don't have to go back three and four times for them to figure it out. (At one point, the glove compartment light went out in my car and they concluded that I didn't have one because they couldn't find it. On the return trip, I brought in the service manual to point out where it was!)


I am glad you're posting here and I know it is not your fault things happen. My overall experience with my dealer has been very positive. The dealer has free wi-fi for my laptop and usually is not crowded.

Yakuza70

I've only had my Acura for little over six months so I've only had one service so far - 2nd one is coming up though. My previous experience was with Nissan Service and I can say my Acura experience, while limited, is light years ahead of Nissan's! The Acura dealership was very courteous, prompt, asked questions, and did a top notch job on my car. I have no serious complaints.

However...

When I did get my service, I got into a conversation with one of the mechanics and it's not too encouraging or comforting when the customer knows more about some of the aspects of the car. For instance, he had no clue that there was an iPod adapter made by Acura coming soon. I'd be surprised if the dealership I go to knows of the troubles with 3rd gear notchiness with the 6MT that many people here frequently report. This is a problem I'll be addressing at my next service by the way as well as the squeaky Brembos.

Perhaps it would be helpful if the service advisors and mechanics join acurazine to learn about problems and fixes that their customers encounter. I've learned more from this site than I ever thought possible!

Tloc05

I'm sure people didn't give good marks because the coffee sucks.........People r not going to say that the service was was good or even ok when it wasn't. Thats the bottom line. My experience with the acura dealership is truly un professional and after 1st oil change didn't look back. The service tecs need a lesson in customer relations, thats why people come back. Any place can change ur oil or rotate ur tires, so be professional and courtious no matter the situation. The car is pretty expensive and alot of younger people's life savings so they have high expectations.

AcuraTL2k4

If you dont mind me asking what dealership do you work for.

Brettg

I think you are never going to make some people happy no matter what you do.
On the other hand, some shops seem to go out of their way to act stupid or deny
any problem they can get away with.

Favorite dealer responses, these are sure to piss customers off:

We ordered the wrong part (we know its in the computer and you are just saying that because you did not get to the car),

Its normal (a normal defect?),

We can not find the problem, so we had your car for days and did nothing,

We are going to do you a BIG favor and fix your problem, but you owe us big time,

You gave us a bad rating on the survey and we do not like you anymore.

I personaly do not like a shop spouting nonsense, assuming the customer
knows nothing about cars, that is just rude.

I dont tend to go back to dealers unless I have a major expensive failure of something, as I do not like other people working on my stuff.


Brett

Nandito28

[QUOTE=Yakuza70]I'd be surprised if the dealership I go to knows of the troubles with 3rd gear notchiness with the 6MT that many people here frequently report. QUOTE]

I have that problem too!!! I thought I was shifting wrong...But I know for sure I wasn't...sometimes I just skip third.

I got my front brakes replaced for the squeaky sounds and humming old car sound...The squeaking went away, but the humming sound got worse!

I wonder if this guy is even gonna respond to any of these things after all the negative posts.

But I do appreciate the fact that he was concerned !!!!

Nandito28

I have that problem too!!! I thought I was shifting wrong...But I know for sure I wasn't...sometimes I just skip third.

I got my front brakes replaced for the squeaky sounds and humming old car sound...The squeaking went away, but the humming sound got worse!

I wonder if this guy is even gonna respond to any of these things after all the negative posts.

But I do appreciate the fact that he was concerned !!!!

Brewmaster

I'm with Brett .. some people will never be happy, they feel it is their obligation to find something wrong even if it has no bearing on the actual service they receive. That being said, on behalf of the rest of us who are somewhat intelligent and relatively pragmatic ... treat us that way.

Talk to us tell us when you're having difficulty diagnosing something, maybe we have more information that could help.

Be courteous, if a part is on back-order we understand that (unless it's the windshield wipers or a dipstick) just give us the benefit of a doubt and set expectations. Tell us when we can expect the part in and proactively call us to say it will or will not be on tomorrow's truck.

Accept responsibility If your guys screw up, be prepared to address it. If you had my car all day and you didn't get to fixing it realize what a huge inconvenience you've just caused me and be prepared to do something to offset my dissapointment.

Really it all comes down to treat us the way you would like to be treated, with courtesy, honesty and respect. You are fortunate to have a quality brand, maintain that quality on the repair and maintenance side and your ratings will follow.

Good luck, thanks for inviting the feedback.

1995hoo

Since the original question asked about the service DEPARTMENT and not just the advisor, I'm going to be blunt and say that I expect that when I call the service department, the person answering the phone will speak English fluently. I called for an appointment for a "B" service last year and the lady who answered spoke such broken English that I had to repeat myself four times. I had no confidence that she had taken down my instructions properly. (Of course I always confirm with the service advisor when I drop off the car, even if the person's English was impeccable.) When you go to McDonald's and get someone who barely speaks English it's a minor annoyance. When you're calling to get your car serviced, it's a major problem.

I also expect that the person taking the call will write down (or enter into a computer) what I want done and then REPEAT IT BACK to me. This is a good practice for ANY business, of course. When I spoke to the lady I mentioned above, she had no idea what I was talking about when I asked for the "B" service on a 2004 TL; I finally said, "Would you please just write down '2004 TL calling for "B" service?' The service advisor will know what it means." I don't expect a receptionist, or the person scheduling appointments, to know all the fine points of vehicular service if that person is not a service advisor. That's perfectly understandable because it's not that person's role. But that person needs to be capable of taking down the information from customers without having to stammer about not knowing what's involved in a given servicing, or not having heard of that servicing. (I suppose it's like those "HAZMAT" signs on the Beltway. Little old ladies don't know what they mean, but the people to whom those signs are addressed will understand them!)

Finally, and this definitely applies to my dealer, I think that dealers who provide transportation, such as a shuttle to the subway, should consider Acura's clientele. My dealer's last shuttle pick-up at the subway is at 5:30 PM. That's ABSURDLY early. It means you have to leave work by 4:45. At a minimum, 6:30 is the earliest logical time for a last pickup. I think 7:30 makes more sense. People who buy $30,000 cars are usually not paid on an "hourly" basis and thus do not work a set 9-to-5 type schedule.

erdoc48

I primarily had gone to the local dealer in the past for warranty service: new transmission, replacement of cracking leather seat cushion (was replaced), transmission recall service (2nd gear oil jet kit in a 2000 TL). I was generally satisfied with the service I received. One thing bothered me: The service rep. told me that the transmission fluid 'looked and smelled' like gear oil when the oil jet service was done. There was no analysis of the fluid at that time. I never used anything but the Acura Z-1 fluid. He also indicated he would have to make note of this and if my transmission fails again, Acura might not honor the warranty. Now realistically, gear oil in an automatic transmission would cause the car to run very poorly with rough shifting, if it ran at all. Just the fact that the rep. would make such a stupid comment and essentially tell me that Acura might not honor a warranty that they came up with for a poorly designed transmission made me get all of my service done at a local Honda dealer, and for a lot less money. If my transmission does fail, and I get a hassle from Acura, I will be on the phone with them everyday and will harass them until my problem is fixed.

I also wanted to get an OEM like rear spoiler installed at the dealership- I was quoted $250 since it was non OEM- I bit, went down to the dealership, and then the service technician informed me they couldn't install it because it wasn't OEM. I wish I was told this on the phone to avoid the trip. I had it installed at an aftermarket shop for $75. By the way, it looks factory.

Lastly, car companies have to realize that the experience car owners get in the service dept. can greatly influence whether the buyer will be a repeat customer when it comes to getting a new car. If the service given is questionable or poor, there are plenty of alternative choices when it comes to car purchases.

I also agree with the poster who indicated they seemed to know more about a particular product than the service rep./tech. The service reps and techs should be able to inform and teach us about our cars, not the other way around.

I work in a service industry...I'm an ER doctor. It would look pretty bad if I A) treated my patients in a poor or uncaring fashion, and B) if the patient seemed to know more than I do about medicine and medical care.

I agree that complaints about coffee and internet access at the waiting room are substantially less important.

Take this to your supervisors at Acura!

Just my $.02

davenlei

Ok, here are my comments..

This is my first Acura and it is two weeks old so I am not sure how good Acura's service department is yet. But I had a BMW before the TL and I must say BMW's service department is EXCEPTIONAL! They were always courteous to me and nevery told me to go to some window/line for help. If any of the service technicians were standing/walking somewhere and saw my deer in the headlights look, they would come to me ans ask if I needed help or directions. Also, I always got my car back washed and clean when serviced. It was great.
There are two other things that really stuck out in my mind about their service dept.

1) They always run my car VIN against the current TSB recall list everytime I take it in and fix it before giving me the car back. I know this because I see it on the work order. I do not have to ask them about a TSB or tell them I am aware of the TSB for them to acknowledge it.

2) I found a scrape through the paint on my bumper two days after taking my car in for service. I was not sure if I did it (i don't remember curb scraping) or if it happened during the service. When I brought it up to ther service manager, he did not even blink when he said he will take care of it as a courtesy to his customers. There was no arguing or convincing on my part. I was stunned and very happy and now LOVE that service dept. He even gave me options on how I wanted it fixed (repair scratches and paint/blend the area or just repaint the whole bumper).

That was great service. I wish all service departments were like that. Unfortunately I know that can't be because some people would take advantage of it and ruin it for everyone else.

chill_dog

The minute I read the original poster's post I knew this one could get interesting...and it already has...but sift through the crap, and there are some good things here.

Personally, I have had great experiences with my service department. I have never gotten a survey, but I always get a postcard and/or phone call follow up from some lady asking if everything was good and that I am satisfied. To me, good customer service is the following things:

1) Being respectful to the customer no matter what. Even if they're rude and unreasonable, you're nice and calm...no exceptions.

2) Listen to the customer...empathize. Do what you need to do to see things from thier side.

Some examples of things my service department does that I particularly like:

1) They always attempt to solve any problem. I had a rattle in the steering column...instead of dismissing it or saying they couldn't find it, the tech drove the car, heard it, and took apart the entire steering column/guage cluster/driver dash area to find it. Ties in with #2 above.

2) Always looks out for my interests. They check the computer for any applicable TSB's or services I may need. The latest was the dash fade...they brought it up to me...and they had already taken care of it, too.

3) Communication. Calls with updates...if the car's ready, if they need it longer, etc. Clearly and in detail explains what problem was found, the cause, the solution, and any other work done...I even got a detailed explanation of an oil change.

The only problem I have, and it's truly minor, is that it seems that if you don't speak with your service advisor, you don't get as good of service. A couple of times I've called while my SA was at lunch...one time the SA I talked with gave me a hassle about a loaner...another time I told him all the things I wanted done, repeated them, etc., but when I took the car in, he hadn't put any of it in the computer. When I talk with my SA, I never have any issues whatsoever. But again, this is really nothing and it would not cause me to give anything less than excellent if I got a survey.

As I reread this, with the exception of one thing, this is mostly geared towards SA's. So, with regards to tech's, I have more examples of them taking the time to research an issue to fix it besides the one I mentioned above. They always return the car with a clean interior (ie, how I left it). Nothing has even been damaged in the process of them working. Like my SA, the tech's listen, too. I had one volunteer to ride with me while I duplicated an issue because he couldn't...he didn't question it's existance or think I was crazy...as soon as I demonstrated the issue, he was all over it.

aw1

Service varies by dealership. Acura of Brooklyn which I bought my car sucks. The service people are bunch of idiots. Recently bought my car in to Paragon Acura in Queens for servicing. Paragon Acura service was far superior to Acura of Brooklyn. Even though I only live about 10-15 mins away from A of B, I will never go back there. Rather drive an hour to get the job done right the first time and go back multiple times.

Tripp11

To me, it comes down to three things:

1) Be courteous at all times.

2) Fix the problem the first time. (not the second or third because you half-assed it the first time. Plus you're supposed to road test the vehicle to ensure it's been corrected.)

3) Return my car exactly the way I dropped it off. (which means WITHOUT oily grease smudges on the door panels, steering wheel, shifter, body panels, etc...)


It's quite simple for me.

jdizzle

wow!!! guys i really appreciate all the feedback!!! in response to where i work... i can't say. i can tell you that it's a dealer in atlanta. i just wanted to say that at the very least the technicians here, want to fix your car. we don't get paid for telling you there was no problem found. we don't come to work to hang out. we are here to make money and fix cars. we all got into this business because we enjoyed fixing things. we are all human and will make mistakes, but believe me we try to fix your concerns. certain things such as noises, squeaks, we may not be able to replicate in the short time we have your car. you drive it everyday! i just don't think it's fair for people to create a time frame for what we do. someone posted that it took two hours to do and oil change and check a few other items. would you tell your doctor it should only take him 10 or 20 minutes to check you out. besides, i've been to doctors and they need to check you out, take x-rays and then prescribe medicine they are hoping will help. why can doctors get away with you having to visit 2 and 3 times, but service advisors/technicians have to get it right the first time?! bear in mind that when you go to a doctor, you are telling them what's wrong, and where it hurts. your cars can't talk. i understand what you all are saying and believe me i know there are service advisors and technicians that are LAZY!!! i can only speak for what we do. i will take this info and use it to benefit our customers. but PLEASE understand.. WE ARE TRYING!!

jdizzle

thanks again

gurneyeagle

My top five are (Letterman style!):


#5 - Don't make me wait more than a few minutes to check in;

#4 - Don't bring my car back dirtier than how it came in (esp. the interior);

#3 - Don't break something else trying to fix a specific problem:

#2 - Don't B.S. me when you can't find the problem: and

#1 - Fix the car the first time!

I know this is a simplification of your job. I also realize that fixing something made up of literally tens of thousands of parts can be a nightmare, especially electrical problems and rattles.

All of this being said, I have NEVER had a problem at Walker Acura in Metairie, LA. My service advisor for both my '01 CL Type-S and now my TL is Rocky. Super guy! Intelligent no B.S. type of guy.

gurney

ajeetm

Hey Jdizzle let me ask you this, how does a failing score (scored honestly) on a survey affect subsequent service visits by a particular customer? Do you feel it will cause you guys to try harder, or just blow that customer off? My service advisor recieved a failing score by me, even though he was courteous the service provided was inadequate. So he confronted me about it, he pissed me off, and now I have a feeling I'm on the "shit list" and I'm reluctant to go back. Check my other thread about this, how would your techs/advisors handle this situation?

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=129382

jwclements1

Do cars have "down time" in the shop or are they whisked away to each station after they are done? I mean, sure if it takes that long to change the oil and inspect some things fine, but if it sits around for half an hour before going to its next step, I think some efficiency improvements could be made to save time and $$$.

jdizzle

He was wrong for approaching you that way, he could have asked what went wrong? and how can we make it better next time. but also understand that advisors are paid based on the scores you provide on those surveys. wouldn't you want to confront someone who just took money out of your pocket??? i guess my question to you is... why didn't you say anything to him when you realized it wasn't to your satisfaction?? in my opinion it's cowardly to smile and thank them for their help, then wait for a survey and bash them. i know i would rather hear it from you and have the chance to fix the mistake. once again we are only human. we will make mistakes. if you give us the chance we will do our best to make you happy.

jdizzle

i can only speak for my shop... i know that sometimes there is a 5-10 min wait before it goes to a tech. that's only because the right guy might be finishing up someone elses car. each tech has a specialty. i would not want your car with a check engine light or bluetooth or navi issue going to the dummy that does oil changes. just like your podiatrist is not your heart surgeon. does that make sense??

MichaelBenz

iTrader: (2)

#1-I expect to be treated with respect and complete honestly. (first and foremost)
#2-I expect top quality work as that is why you are at the dealer instead of "Joe's".
#3-I expect only OEM Acura parts and fluids to be used at all times.
#4-I expect the planned work to be completed in a timely manner as you do have to
schedule in advance - so plan in advance. (unforeseen probs aside)
#5-I expect the parts dept to be responsive to your needs when necessary
#7-I would like to have a "same car swap" on the loaners as far as model (nav not nec)
#6-I would like to have Wifi available if needed in the waiting area
#7-I appreciate a nice waiting area with complimentary bevs...but Starbucks not nec!
#8-The salesman made a commission on the sale...would it be a far shake for him to come around every now and then when you are in service, maybe the service advisor can tip them off when customer comes in and they can make arrangements while mid-dealings when they are waiting for salesmanager to crunch #'s or during lag time ( especially the first service and maybe the second...possibly limited to that). They are not all that busy and it would only take about 30 seconds to stop by and make sure everything is going good with their customer, ect. If not...you would need a service manager available to pass the problem off to for handling...which again would immediately free him back up for sales in progress or prospective sales (ok...if a problem existed....he might be tied up for 2 minutes to pass it off to the service manager..but shit....the guy is gone for 5+ minutes usually when they are dealing with a sales manager on the deals....maybe he might use that time.....because I dont think in most cases they are doing anything but sitting and waiting....) This would result in a perceived synergy within the dealership from sales to service to parts to.... and this brings it full circle....the customer. That is what makes lifelong customers, my friends, as well as a dealership that is perceived to be a well run ship and that cares more about me than just a survey result! (can you tell I am in marketing and sales?) I believe it is this kind of synergy that dealers need to bring to full circle. Who the heck could piss and moan about friggin coffee brands after all this confidence that the dealer would have imparted by this point. The more it went on...the more lifelong satisfied repeat customers you are gonna have.

And this also brings this marketing plan full circle....right back to the end user satisfaction survey you seek! And what was the cost over current...not much?

BTW...been looking to get back to the automotive industry to solve just these types of problems! Interested parties can PM me! (lol) I LOVE CARS AND THE AUTO INDUSTRY. 20+ years of marketing and sales experience and ready for a change back to where my heart is!

Gunsnroses316

i just got a 04TL few months ago, i live in atlanta but have a house in macon, so i decided to go to macon to get my service done since its just right next to my house, i called and fixed an appointment to get it done and also told the rep i needed a loaner as i hv to do some errands in the morning and since im coming down from atlanta to macon, i assumed he would hv one for me when i got there. I WAS F@@@@@ WRONG that F#$#@# didnt even keep a loaner for me secondly after tellin him im down from atlanta , he says i will see if i can get one when someone turns one in, so im on his F mercy to get a loaner>>>>> i gave the MF a real bad survey , Bad CSR they need training for sure in CSR skills. worst part No apologies .

ajeetm

Yea I think that would be cowardly also. I guess you didn't read my thread, but in my case I made very clear what the problems were, and everything did get resolved in a follow up visit. So I filled out the survey detailing exactly what happened, including how great the advisor was. I was honestly suprised when I learned that he got a failing score and told him that wasn't my intent. I think the surveys are very subjective and don't allow customers to paint an accurate picture of their experience. I've heard the surveys have changed for 06 and I hope so. Too bad I'm now on their shit list so I'll have to start fresh somewhere else.

jwclements1

No no, I understand what you're saying about specialties and totally agree with you, sure I'd wait if there was a specific person for a problem, but I was just asking about routine maintenance, not problems like that

cliff

ive gotten great service at acura of ocean in NJ. curteous staff. service advisor called tech out to look at my car and made sure i addressed everything to him. talked to tech for about 15mins socially and got my car back happier than ever.

jdizzle

if you don't mind me asking which advisor do you use at ed voyles?? we may need to recuit him and some others from that store??

acuraservice

This is a very tough job, let me tell all of you. I am a SA for an Acura dealer and I will do almost ANYTHING to help my customers to be satisfied with their experience. I tak a great deal of pride in what I do but as all of you im sure deal with there are some people you just cant help and that sucks. I love my customers,well about 95% of them, what you guys need to understand is that under warranty certain repairs or diagnostics only pay a certain amount. Do you honestly expect someone to lose a bunch of money trying to nit-pick your car to find some odd-ball problem, i can't speak for all techs but mine will look hard but arent going to search cause it hurts them financially, would you do otherwise?? Is the way that our techs are paid flawed .....absolutely but these are also people that have wives and homes and families and im sorry but to me those are most important. I'd love to tell you that we fix everything the first time all the time, but i can't. I hope for your understanding.


John

jjh1234

I think we expect to have our problems fixed no matter how difficult it is to diagnose or repair. I don't think that owners should have to live with problems because Acura will only pay a certain amount for troubleshoting (if I understand you correctly). You can't just throw your hands up after x number of hours because you cant find/fix a problem.

JetJock

First, I'd like to say my dealership, Jones Acura has great service, good reps. who know me and my likes/dislikes. They treat me with courtesy, respect, and most of all, give me good service the first time around. They've made mistakes in the past, such as charging me for oil when I provided my own oil (RedLine). They corrected the mistake with an appology which was all I expected.

Second, I could care less about what type coffee they've got. Jones Acura has bad coffee! I don't care! When I go in for service, that's what I want. If I want Starbucks, I'll go to the Starbucks store and buy it myself.

Third, don't leave my car dirty. I don't want it washed, because they always end up using 18 year old kids washing the cars who could care less about swirl marks etc. Just clean up afterwards, don't leave fingerprints on the windows, and make sure everything is left as you found it.

Most importantly, what I want and expect is to treated with courtesy, have my car serviced properly and the job done right the first time around. I hate making appointments, taking off work, only to find they don't have the parts needed for the job. Duhhh...if you're going to repair a waterpump, change the timing belt, or whatever the service scheduled requires, make sure the parts are in stock. It doesn't take much time to look at the service the customer has scheduled, then check with the parts department to insure the parts are in stock for the job scheduled.

I've never had any of these issues with my dealership, but I've experienced those problems with other dealers in the past. Jones Acura is #1 in my book. John, Allen, and Rory in the service dept. are the advisors, all are great. Bob, is their master tech., and the only one I let work on my car. I'll call John in advance when I need service, ask for Bob to work on my car, then wait until he's available to work on my car. I know he's not always available, but I owe them the courtesy of asking in advance to have a particular tech., that I want available. If he's not, I'll wait until he's available. Courtesy goes both ways. We, as customers have to show them courtesy if we want it in return. It's always worked for me. Also, a tip to the tech always goes a long way to get good service. I don't do it every time, but when they do something special to help me, they get a good tip.

ajeetm

Acuraservice, I appreciate you jumping into the fire here. Overall I've been very impressed with the service provided by Acura from the 2 dealerships I've worked with. They usually work with me to isolate and resolve issues as quickly as possible. However I don't like being pulled aside and lectured about compensation based on survey scores, or about the wifes, families and livelihood of your employees because I don't concern you about mine. As a customer I want the peace of mind knowing that my Acura is in the hands of the best people to work on it that I trust. You guys do a great job of this, until I'm approached/confronted about "the right way to fill out a survey" which really kills that for me. It makes me think, do you really care about making me happy, or about making me happy so I give you a good suvery score??

JohnDoe2

If in fact you do work for Acura,

Do you really think your company wants you making ANY public statements about any of their business? Large companies pay spokespeople to do that with carefully worded press releases.

Most blabbermouth employees get fired. The paperwork for your termination could be in the works AS I TYPE!!!!

gqchicago

I must give my service department, Ed Napleton Acura in Elmhurst (Chicago) kudos for providing top notch service. We loved our MDX so much that we went and bought a TL. I would have never even looked at a TL if they hadn't kept giving me one as a loaner when I brought the MDX in for service, I ended up liking it so much I bought one 4 months later.


Things I like...

1. They do good work, fix what they say will be fixed, if it's going to be late they call me.
2. They always give me a loaner, if they take extra time the SA calls me and says please keep my loaner another day. (even when they put in my lighted door sills)... He told me it was so his top electrical tech he had working on it specially for me could make sure he took his time and do an extra good, job, I really appreciated the honesty. This works so well, that gosh, I went back and bought one 3 months later, and my 2 sisters went and bought MDXs since we had such a good experience with ours.
3. Clean car - they always wash my car when it comes back to me.
4. Free carwashes for life - this is great, I go over there nearly once a week and get both cars washed. BWM just down the street from them (who I also considered) doesn't offer this service...wow what a difference...$10k more for a 330i and they don't wash them? Some luxury car... The only complaint I've ever had is it can take a while...but I've learned to go there either early in the AM or later in the afternoon, and I'll ask how busy they are when I show up first. I just don't want to wait there for extra time wasting time. Once my wife was pretty upset that it took 2.5 hours... she commented that she would have paid for one had she known it would take that long.
5. Free coffee/wifi in the waiting area...etc...
6. Everyone there is nice and knows me...when I'm there they all stop by and say hi..all the way up to the GM of the dealership who gave me his card and said please call me personally if there's anything we can ever do better. I did call after my wife was upset about the carwash thing...not to bitch but to let him know how she felt (left frustrated and upset)...so he could improve it. If no one ever tells them how can they ever improve / fix it?

Other suggestion..compare yourselves to Lexus...who has consistently been rated #1 in customer service for 10 years running now...why?

1. They fix what they say they will fix..the first time.
2. Good loaners program.
3. Free carwashes. On Saturdays they get a store BBQ going that the customers hang out at while getting their cars washed.

Other suggestion: treat the women extra well? Several women complained to me while sitting in the waiting area of the dealership that they feel that they are not given as high priority as male customers for some reason. (wife was one...car wash incident)... Bottom line..you want people to leave there feeling good about their experience..not unhappy and frustrated... her comment was I hope I never have to go back to that place ever again. Hopefully peopel tell you this stuff..and not on the surveys..which we all know there's pressure to give a good rating on.

In contrast, I traded in a Ford Explorer for the MDX..my biggest complaints?
1. serious problems in the brakes and suspension
2. 5 visits to the dealership for them to work on the same issie
3. After supposedly fixing the car it would come back to me the same/worse than before...no one ever test drove it or even looked at it to see if it was fixed.
4. Instead of being nice about giving me a loaner they would just refer me to Enterprise, I would pay for the loaner rentals out of my own pocket, sometimes delayed by days with no phone calls, explanations, or apologies. If I would call they would jsut say well hey, you have a loaner what's the problem? (yeah a pos Dodge Neon...that I'm paying for...but at least it's not a deathtrap like the Explorer you can't seem to fix)...
5. Each time in to the shop you get charged an assessment / diagnosis fee on top of the repair..this really sucks..don't ever do this. Personally, I really don't mind paying a little more to have better Acura techs work on my car (I paid to have their best electrical guy put in my door sills)... but it better be done right..clean...etc.

Hope this helps!