Re: VW service (long)

[Chris Franson <cfranson@neca.com>]

Note: this is a really long reply to a really long message.
Don (and everyone else,) let me preface my wordy comments with this
statement: I generally value and respect your input to the list(s), but
this is too much.
deecee@exit109.com wrote:
> 
> Why is it a common practice to slam VW dealerships. I am a Master VW/Audi
> technician and have been working in a VW/Audi/Porsche dealership since
> 1976.  In my many years I have seen alot and had to put up with a lot. It
> has been within the past 5 years that have been the worst.
Generally speaking, this is because it seems that VW's quality of
service has not improved as much as it has at other dealerships. Lexus
and Infiniti have raised the notion of customer service to a new
standard, and VW doesn't seem to have gotten the hint.  

To please the customer the technician is the person
> who bears the most.

And this is how it should be. The technician's work is what makes the
customer happy or unhappy with the service, isn't it?
> I have worked on cars only to find the customer chews tobacco and nicely
> leaves his spit cup in the center console for me to move. 
...SNIP...
> Remember all the time you bring your car to the dealer it is usually for
> warranty "bitching" and "free service."  

This so-called "bitching" is called "defects" by those of us who pay
$20k for a car and have to put up with rattles and the rest of the usual
problems found in VWs. Is it unreasonable to expect that the car be
problem free when it leaves the dealer lot? Maybe I'm alone in this
thinking as a VW owner, but I certainly don't think so, and neither do
thousands of Camry drivers.

Help the dealer by having your
> wheel lock key in plain view because some services require tire rotation. I
> think it must be a game because some customers like to play hide and seek
> with the wheel lock key. No problem if you think I am going to get the
> master set  because I can't find your hiding lock. Forget it! The tires
> don't get rotated. You'll never find out because the car is washed when the
> service is done and the wheels are cleaned.

Do I really need to comment on this BS!?! What happens when I note which
tires are on which corner of the car to prevent that sort of crap being
pulled on me? I'll willingly do it myself, so long as I'm not getting
smoke blown up my ass. I keep my wheel lock right where the dealer put
it- inside a plastic bag in the spare tire well. Did I get it back the
last time the dealer used it? No! I discovered that it was not there two
weeks after the car was serviced. I called the service manager, and he
said "yes, I've got it right here." Why was I never contacted? It was
their screw up, not mine. I shouldn't have to hunt down MY parts for MY
car.

...SNIP...
> Always deal with the same Service Advisor "tipping will get you alot"

I'll be damned if I tip for warranty work.
> If there is a noise complaint make sure the advisor goes out with you to
> verify what needs to be fixed. If the dealership has a small service dept.
> ask if a tech. could go out to hear the noise.

I've done this. Usually the noises get left with a "the tech. couldn't
find the source of the noise," or the 2nd choice, "all of these cars do
this."
> If you have a drive ability complaint talk to the service advisor the day
> before and tell them you will leave the car the night before. 

I need my car for work. I didn't pay 20k to park it in the service lot.
They'll get it when I can leave it. If it happens to be the night
before, then that's when they get it.

> Make sure everything you want checked or repaired is clearly spelled out on
> the work order.Make sure you get a copy when the car is finished.

I've done this. I've even typed out a list of complaints I had with the
car. Two of them were falsely blamed on me because I had installed an
aftermarket in-dash stereo (the carpet around the rear wheelwell was
loose and falling down, and there was a piece of foam which hung down
over the gas pedal, causing my foot to get hung up on it. Neither were
fixed by the dealer (the first time), though they are marked as being
done on my work order. I've since returned and insisted that they be
repaired.

...SNIP... 
> I know it is frustrating and a real pain in the ass to bring the car back
> after a repair was done, but try to remain civil.

Working in a service industry, I empathize with the service advisors and
*always* make a conscious effort to remain civil. I *always* also make
any dissatisfaction I have with my service experience known to them too.
I always keep in mind that they're not the ones who screwed up- it was
the factory, or it was the tech. It's even more frustrating when the
repair was done improperly. My car was delivered with a discolored
plastic cover over the gauges. It was replaced, but with the wrong
instrument housing, so that when I was low on fuel, the airbag light
would illuminate. The alarm still goes off in my car most times I open
the trunk with the key. It took the dealer two tries to replace the
trunk latch (on the first try, the wrong latch was ordered.) The problem
still hasn't been fixed. I can't afford the time to leave the car for
them to poke around in the trunk.

> A lot of dealerships are hiring service personnel that have little or no
> product knowledge.
And this is the customer's problem?
> 
> I know because both service advisors in my dealership have a grand total of
> 5 months VW/Audi/Porsche experience.
The service advisors at my dealer are exemplary. If it weren't for them,
I would have long since abandoned my dealer's service. It's too bad the
techs aren't as attentive to detail as they are. In any case, I don't
think I will bring the car there again.

> The cars are getting complicated and because of little or no training a
> return time might happen.
I value my time too much for this to be acceptable. Nonetheless, I enjoy
my car immensely. The trouble is that there just aren't any other
reasonably priced German (engineered) alternatives for those of us who
don't go for Japanese or US cars, and that's why so many people put up
with the lukewarm experiences so many of us get at the service
department.
Chris