Jorge68

yea, I mentioned it in the letter I sent.

I really don't want anything out of this. I just don't want this asshole to treat another customer like he treated me.

speedy1991mia

I'm from Miami and i live on the beach. I purchased my 07 tl-s in august of last year. my acura has been in that shop more then it has been at home to give you an idea.... from august until now my car still hasn't broke 5k... Frank is an asshole my dad would call him and sometimes even hang up on him on purpose. my dad would call again the same thing would happen. then i would call under some stupid name like Ted Ticles and he would answer me then once he relived that it was me he would hang up.
I have spoken to at lease 5 different acura costumer service heads and they all know of this FRANK!

Jorge68

There you go, this is the type of things I hear about this character.

01tl4tl

I never got an answer from the OP- are you going to sit there with a straight face and claim that althought the coupon said synthetic extra- you honestly believed that 6 dollars more (total 30 plus tax) over the regular oil special coupon for 24.99 was the correct price-?
or did you think- well if she doesnt know what the coupon adjusted synthetic price is-.....
f, her I am getting a deal!!!

As for the manager I am guessing he got less than half the story, and had to leave whatever meeting and come out to find out what the hassle was on a 30 dollar oil change, when they deal in the hundreds of thousands of dollars per month just to keep over 100 people employed there.
Anyone who goes on and on about employee should have pay docked can take a leap~
Try having a quota of $100,000 per month per service writer looming over their heads, and try to know the exact warranty on each car and its parts, deal with customers who need repairs and dont want to pay for them...everyone thinks heir problem is warranty and that the price of a car somehow relates to the service dept....your life is a daily screwing where many customers are looking for something for nothing are a common event.

I made a generalized referance point example which the OP took personally- it must have hit home to provoke the strong reaction-
and its true that most younger people (under 35) are viewed differently and possibly treated differently- so the term young undeserving punk is a generic term
The statement of -- Be glad that they only got in your face,,,
meaning you could easily have left there with 15 psi in 1 tire 45 in the other, 10 in the rears- as you were not there for a real service but a come-on oil change coupon, they would have no reason to check the tires pressures for you.....
that how things work in the real world
The dealer needs each car to average $300-500 in paid repairs to make ends meet in their quota and budget.

There are a few people you NEVER want to piss off--your mechanic is top of the list!!!

For the OP to attack MY character and abilities-- as to why I am no longer in the biz, thats the reaction of someone who got caught when confronted with the truth of the situation.
I left the industry after many years because it was getting even more corrupt every day, on both sides of the counter, the techs getting lazier and wanting more pay, the customer thinking they were always getting screwed (ok they were mostly right on that ) and wanting things for free......
it all led to bleeding ulcers because I had moral values that were being exceeded!!!
I gave a crap about the customer!!!

So in review- you sign an agreement for certain work- what did the estimate copy say?
Thats what you pay
If there was a mistake YES it should have been handled better- but life happens and now each party knows that the synth change price is XXX dollars with the coupon.

If this is the worst problem the OP encounters with anyplace in the auto repair biz, thats getting off pretty easy overall.
Op's mother in law getting involved says more than- just warning her not to go to that dealer for service, on a new car that doesnt really need and services...
get a grip dude or dudette!!!~

Do your own oil changes- and spend 40 to 50 bucks or more on the parts- then write that letter of complaint to Big Oil and how about the store that sold the stuff to you- hey these prices suck- send me a rebate!!

As for managers repuatation locally- it says that the owner of the biz feels that a few small customers- the whiners as they are referred to- let them go elsewhere and keep the techs free for the big money jobs- if not- that manager would be looking for work elsewhere.

I found a cold open beer in the techs toolbox during working hours- then the next day another one INSIDE the engine compartment- where he claimed -it was there when I opened the hood! Really- it drove here with an open can next to the battery, and didnt spill an wasnt wamr- but was cold and frothy!! Breaking NO LESS that 3 of Newtons basic laws of Physics-- amazing-
those type guys get fired and blame the manager for their unemployment- what an ahole- wont even let me drink and drive customers cars while onthe conmpany time and insurance liability.
These days beer would be the least of the things that get consumed at work with guys wanting to work FASTER to make more money- they get paid by the jobs cmpleted not by the hours they were at the shop. Can make 12-15 hours pay in hours on a good day!!

There is a much larger issue and story here than a simple mistake by a service writer that wasnt caught in time- and 5 different people handle the work order and the last 2 attempt to fix.
Why didnt they call first about price??- the car was in and out of the service bay before it was noticed when they went to close out the paperwork and its noted what oil was used- then its- hmm coupon- synthetic- wtf is going on here? you cant give this stuff away!!! its an UPSELL!!!!
I would question if synthetic was even used!!!

OP better not take the car there ever again- bad things like rim and door scratches occur- and if you read the invoice- they really are not LEGALLY responsible for anything in on or around your car while in their possession- all your cds go missing- too bad. Birds do their thing- cars get parked close together- the wash rags are crap scratchmasters.....

I really feel there was a racial/cultural background differance between manager and OP
Any chance of that jorge?

TeknoKing

I agreed with everything except this. If this employee who repeatedly makes the same mistake over and over again, and YOU are paying for it, you will find the means to control this factor. Sometimes you need to sober up your employees or just show them the door. Everyone is replaceable. Business is brutal but honest.

I still find the OP story just a little bit off, why would Perez get so aggravated over such a minor misunderstanding? He must be making good $$$ for the dealership if he is still there.

Jorge68

Nope, were both Hispanic. And what the hell does that have to do with anything???

Again, I don't care about his goals, I don't care about the service writers quota, that has ZERO to do with the customer.

He had NO right to treat me the way he did, and he will get called on it every opportunity that I can.

With my mother-in-law, the sales manager that sold her the car spoke wonders about their service department, how they were one of the best in the country and blah blah blah, and she asked him if this is what they call "great" customer service.

and about the tire PSI thing...are you serious? Is this how you ran your service department? putting customers LIVES in danger..?

Once again, your talking as if it's an issue with the money involved. It's not, I make enough money to pay for a $60 oil change.

Jorge68

Again, I don't know they're prices. I don't work for the dealership, and it's not my problem. I was told one price, I'm not going to argue with her about the price being too low, who does that?

Jorge68

This is precisely what I would like to know. I'm a professional, as you can see by the email I wrote to them GM. I talked to him very calmly and in a non-aggresive tone.

But after hearing so much terrible things from this guy, it doesn't surprise me how he treated me.

leolebo28

Perez is that you....c'mon now you created an acct on Azine didnt you

eaglegreen48

aw1

Once again, this is about the service managers attitude and not about the price of the "oil change". Jorge should not have been treat this way. His shit wont be tolorated in my company since we deal with law firms. Partners at these firms will ripe him a new asshole.

TeknoKing

^^^ (eaglegreen48)

I'm a fanatic of philosophy and reasoning, and I won't even attempt to dissect the vagueness above. (Plus I'm a huge fan of quantum physics)

Jorge, honestly, I hope only such minor arguments are the only bad things that happen to you in your life time. Over 51,000 dead in China, and hundred of thousands dying around the world from diseases, fuck Perez. What goes around, comes around...and eventually it catches up.

visuelz

Sounds like a typical first degree price discrimination.

TeknoKing

LoL.... This is a given. In NYC we are born to rip assholes

PS Yes he was treated improperly, but there is no law to prevent rudeness. It is between the GM and the personnel he choses to represent him. There is absolutely nothing we can do except degrade Perez's character.

IlovemyAcura

Last Time i checked acura was the upgraded verison of honda......so why does it seem everyone is so happy with honda dealerships customer service and acuras CS is that of walmart

tisk tisk tisk i feel your pain man try goin to a cadillac dealership

they yankd me around so much

and yeah i woulda fliped too how can ppl be that bad at the job get 4's confused with 6's and syn vs no syn

good luck with your search for a new acura dealership.....

Jorge68

I understand what your saying, but I have no control over what happend in China, so there's nothing I can do.

I can, on the hand, try everything I can to get someone to notice how much of an asshole this guy is.

I know what goes around comes around...i'm just helping out the process. =)

TzarChasm

I have NO idea how much more synth costs, since I don't use it. If I decided to switch and they quoted me a price, I would certainly be upset if they changed it AFTER doing the work.


Wahhhhh that job is tough, wahhh. He is there to provide customer service, if that is too tough for him, he needs a new job. They probably wont care much if he yells at the food while flipping burgers.


I really can't believe you are recommending that you don't argue when someone is wrong because they might do intentional, illegal damage to your car. I would not be surprised that where you worked was like that with you working there, but I don't think most places intentionally damage peoples things.

Who cares what he needs, if you can't do oil changes profitably, don't do them.

TzarChasm

I think you are wrong here, there are transactions done every day that are verbal contracts. Sure they don't hold up as well in court if one person is willing to lie, but they are still contracts and as such are binding agreements.

Think about this, you go to your dentist, you agree to have a filling done, he says, I charge $25 for fillings. You say, fine, good price, lets do it. He puts the filling in and when you go to the counter to pay it, the person says, that will be $3,000. You say WTF? And she says, well $25 is for temporary fillings, you don't really expect to pay $25 for a real filling do you? Are you seriously going to sit here and tell us you would smile, pay it, thank them, and just think to yourself, "shucks, I should have gotten an invoice first"?

Yea, I didn't think so.

As for:
"Maybe I'm too business oriented, but before I see a written proposal (email,fax,letter), I do not enter a binding agreement."
Bullshit, how many written proposals do you get from resturants, doctors, or bars? I can see you now, "well I would like another beer, but first, fill out this form stating you know the price and have your manager sign it" Yea right.

fsttyms1

And are you naive enough to think that they might not? Piss someone off enough and they might. Hope you dont ever piss the waiter off at a restaurant. He might spit on your food.

01tl4tl

Thank you kris

If you think that sign in the restroom -Employees must wash hands- is keeping urine out of your Big Mac too, you have a tough road in life ahead.

What illegal action? your car came in for an oil change- we dont check tire pressure unless its in for a real service. You should be checking those once a month yourself, according to the owners book.
That screw must have been in the tire when you got here,,,,
saaayyyy,,,, maybe thats why the tire pressure was low!!!

Hope Jorge and the rest of you never upset a love interest- thats another on the list of people never to piss off
Some are known to do things you would not believe. There is a whole thread on My Crazy Ex Did---to my TL

TeknoKing

Umm, you are comparing apples and oranges. And YES, I do not practice business with anyone without the outline on paper. Your example illustrates consumer in a local market place such as bar or dentist, in this case it's a different form of B2C, you are dealing DIRECTLY with the person who is rendering the service. When you are dealing with a company, he says and she says is poor business practice. If the OP spoke directly (initially) with the douche bag Perez, than you have a valid argument.

I can only accept a verbal contract with someone I know and trust. But I'm getting way ahead of myself here. This was a misunderstanding between both parties, the dealership should of eaten up the cost (only if they wanted to), and they did just that, but unfortunately Mr.Perez needed to have the last word, and this is where everything went down the hill....

SporkLover

Send your letter to the consumerist (website) great place with lots of information and reach.

TeknoKing

Yep, don't shit where you eat. I never tip bad or piss anyone off in my local area as I will be coming back for their services. I don't like my burgers extra mushy

And Kris (fsttyms1), HEY! What's up! How's the 2G forum?

bibledriver

The Good: You are right, you are the customer and were treated poorly.

The Bad: Not every businessman/manager has the theory of customer service = more income in the future.

The Ugly: Some people lack the moral integrity to disagree with dignity, and if set off, will do utterly disgusting things to get "one over" on you.

The Verdict: In principle, you are in the right. You were treated poorly This does not give you the right to expect set in stone pricing (I pay ~ $40 for my oil changes, and that is laying on the cold concrete with my wrench and bucket.) when upgrading. Sadly, even though it is brought down to bottom dollar, it doesn't matter what your service was, it should be done with courtesy and professionalism. You should also, even though treated poorly, proceed with courtesy and will make better progress that way (not that I am perfect at that). I feel this guy's homelife is probably in shambles and the only area that he has any control (perceived, that is) and power, is "the office" and he is abusing said situations. Unfortunately for him, he also visits the world of commerce and will have reciprocal scenarios but on the other end of the barrel; this surely won't be in HIS favor, if that makes you feel any better. CS has been forgotten and is a lost art.

vip_inspire

frank perez is an asshole no questions asked, he got fired from miami acura too i believe

TzarChasm

on a TL the tpms knows you wernt at 10 psi when you went in. But its not worth arguing, you must be a complete dickhole if this is the type of thing you think is ok.

TzarChasm

It's still a valid argument, you rely on people who represent a company to provide accurate prices. MOST people don't walk into the Dr. office and ask for a written price before having surgery, but I guess you would, well, either that or your full of BS.

blue.fired

Dude, with all due respect the guy wasnt "whining".He has the right to know why he was misquoted the cost of his service numerous times. About "not deserving the TL", why the hell should he care whether the customer deserves the car or not ?. If i earn enough money or my parents think well of me to get me a TL, it should be good enough for these people who work in dealerships .

P.s Women are clever enough to know when they are being treated wrongly,be rude to them and they just wont come back to the same dealership again.

SporkLover

So let me get this straight...... Customer brings in coupon for Discount Oil Change, price on coupon reflects Dino oil, with a foot note that synthetic is extra.

Customer asks dealer how much, dealer quotes great price, customer agrees.

Price goes up twice, customer complains, service manager angry/rude. Able to the original quoted price.

Call me crazy here but I fail to see how that qualifies the OP as trying to "pull one over" on the dealership.

Pulling one over on a dealership would be trying to get a blown engine that was supercharged repaired under warranty by removing the supercharging system.

ankur914

In all fairness to 01tl4tl, I dont believe he being an ass, but rather trying to enlighten us to how a manager's, better yet, the service dept's mindset over the years has changed. Hence his previous post on why he quit (and why he provides countless advice on how to deal with service reps on numerous issues, including out of warranty ones). The whole tire pressure being at 15 psi was an example of what could have potentially happened nowadays; I truly dont think its a reflection of something he would do. He just trying to show us that Jorge, in todays world, got off lightly, because, there is worse that they could have done over such a small issue

The whole "punk kid" and "woman" theory he provides is very much a fact that he is trying to enlighten us to. Not his thinking, but wat the aholes in the service dept think of us. If they truly cared for business, they wouldnt have treated Jorge the way they did. sadly, they can two shits and a dick about the business. They are a dealership, and they know that some people will always come to them regardless of what service they provide because those certain customers have a mindset of "its the dealer, who would know better?! Certainly not anyone else!". AZine board members are pretty intelligent folks, but truly not representative of the actual world; and sadly, we are a small percentage of Acura owners

Jorge, hope you get that apology man!

TeknoKing

Did you even read my reply to you? I've lucidly explained above, a doctor is not a corporation... Plus health will always out weigh expense. Why are we hijacking the thread anyway?

Jorge, let us know how the bitch slapping of Perez works out for you.

TeknoKing

You are right, but we don't represent the real world? Is this Second Life?

(I still can't believe people buy virtual land for $2,000 and pay $295 a month to maintain it....it's amazing)


PS I think having 01tl4tl as forum member is a great advantage (and opportunity) for us to really understand the works of an auto dealership. He just needs to smile more often

ankur914

LMAO! Yea, that came out totally wrong, lol. I meant to say we dont represent the entire world, just a small portion of it.

SporkLover

Be happy they didn't do something worse to you and that you JUST had a run-in with the service manager? Sure it is something to be glad about; that someone did not intentionally sabotage your vehicle. In a customer oriented business..... sorry that logic fails, my .02 "that dog don't hunt". That does not solve the issue of the service managers rude disposition in resolving the matter.

AMGala

iTrader: (4)

The BMW dealership in my town does not have a good service department. My friend has a 3 series and will never take his car there after a couple of bad incidents. They do shoddy work and they don't listen to simple requests, such as "Please don't wash my car." It all comes down to the people working at the dealership, not the brand of the car as a whole.

ankur914

No one is trying to take away from the brash and rude nature of the manager. It was totally uncalled for. Especially the explosion he, the manager, had towards a simple inquiry made by Jorge. And no, read my post again, I am NOT DEFENDING the managers actions. I am trying to justify why 01tl4tl said wat he said. To me, it seemed like he was giving an example of what could have potentially happened. The combined attitude of todays workers in the service dept (yes, this is a blanket statement and stereotype) and the Service Manager's attitude, there was the possibiltiy for more damage to be had where Jorge would simply be out of luck because of all the statements and defenses the dealership could put up. No, Jorge SHOULD NOT be happy that something more didnt happen, and the fact that he was verbally attacked for such a simple legitimate question is ashame and disgrace, to not only the service manager, but to the Acura brand as a whole.

Sorry dude, sometimes when typing, a message is not conveyed as clearly as one would intend. Hope some of the above clears up what im really trying to say.

Manager was way out of line, and should be fired imho. He, the manager, is a representative of Acura, and his actions reflect what Acura stands for.

TeknoKing

You maybe right, but I've observed if you are courteous to people their will reciprocate.

(Some people like Perez though, were dropped as a baby, thus forever alternating the ability to communicate with a fellow man, kind of like Cheney...lol I just remembered the Lil' Bush cartoon on Comedy Central....)

SporkLover

I understand what you are saying / trying to do. IMO the whole comment was non-sequitur. OP was sharing his experience, and then received the reply accusing him of trying to take advantage of the dealership, and then to be glad that is all that happened.... again sorry that dog does not hunt..... that almost implies that he deserved something more mischievous than an angry service manager.

jcondon

I find it amazing that people defend the dealer here. I think a verbal quote for a standard service item SHOULD be honored. That is it. I think legally it IS binding or can be in some states at least. Even if it is not legally binding it is pretty scummy to quote once price and then call back after it is done and mark it up another 25% and then mark it up ANOTHER 25% when it is time to pay. 50% mark up a simple service? Is it too much to ask to keep morons off the phone? How can you NOT know the price of simple service? One they do probably a dozen times a day? 2 out of the 3 people he spoke to do not even know the price. Is it 40, 50, or 60?

While I pay around 70 for a local shop to do a synthetic change we all know its a crazy markup. They aren't paying anywhere near that for the oil. They could be breaking even or evening making a few bucks even at that $40 price. Maybe not with labor. But, who cares?

While knowing how the dealships work is nice and all. Frankly I don't care about their agenda. However ripping me off and treating me like that they WILL lose my business. So while they may not be making their 400 of my car this time they will lose any chance of making it the next time when my car is at a different dealer.

I remember when I was a kid and my mom and dad were shopping for a Chevy wagon. Dad went to 3 or 4 dealers and asked for their best price. He bought at the dealer that gave him the best price. One of the other dealers called back and said are you going to buy the car? He said I did at another dealer and took delivery already.

Stupid sales moron told him I wish you hadn't done that. I will not win the sale comp and not get the trip to somewhere (Forget where). Like my dad should care. Too funny.

AaronCohen

Hello,

I understand the frustration of Jorge68. I also recognize all of your comments and realize that you have a very dedicated group and a good online community. I am pleased that you all take the time and energy to pass opinions and suggestions to each other in order to support, protect, and assist your colleagues.

While I believe that everyone - customers and employees - are generally working towards a positive outcome in all situations, sometimes we have situations where events occur, or are perceived to occur, that give somebody a very negative perception of a person or an organization.

Our core philosophy at Esserman International is based on taking care of our customers and building relationships for life. From Mr. Esserman to all of our managers and employees, it is what we strive to do every day. I have hundreds of emails and surveys from customers that confirm that, for the most part, we are achieving that goal.

This post is not intended to support or deny anything stated by Jorge68, rather it is intended to thank him for bringing up the situation so that we can work to improve, as we try to do every day.

Jorge68 - All I ask is that you give us another chance to exceed your expectations. Come on back - I'll pick up your next oil change - and join me for a cup of coffee. I'm very interested in meeting you.

Feel free to contact me at the dealership at your convenience.

Thank you.

Aaron Cohen - 877-435-1276