What has happened to customer service?

[Steve P.]

It always depends on how much work/time it takes to make them right.

[Cooter]

How about waiting to get the parts (or having them returned) before making assuhth e last 5yearsmptions? So far you're assuming they have lots of free time and are just too loi f stuff for free, so jazy/rude to take pictures.The only problem I see here is self-inflicted - expecting preferential treatment. The guy said they don't do it. End of discussion.

Troy

You exactly right Troy. When the service advisor came to me today at about 3:00, and stated that "this guy is an ass. He's uber picky and nobody here in the last 5years could make him happy. He brings his own oil/filter and wants you to do all kinds of stuff for  free, so I'll try and keep him off your back if I can"...

Guy comes out, don't know me from Adam. I begin and he starts in with the micromanagement. I asked him if I could use his tire guage in order to get the pressures just the way he likes. He saw me filling his oil filter with oil before I installed it, and asked  Why. I tell him I like to so dry starts are to a minimum. I asked him what torque did he want on his wheel lugs just to be sure I got it correct, as he wanted a rotate tires a certain way.
turns out, he's a 73 Y/O man that has owned nothing but Chrysler products.  He enjoyed my pics of the cars too.

He shouts out loud enough for the service writer to hear, "you know somethin, you're alright. I've never seen anybody take such good care and time with my car"
Again when he left, he made a point to tell the Bossman. I guess I shoulda just told him like everybody else that don't even want us to make any money off an oil change, "we don't do that".....

Afterall, I prolly won't see him for nothing but $22.00 oil changes that take me over 30 min. To complete anyway.

[Patronus]

Hell, break out the torches n' grab yer forks! We're goin' to Verginia!

Personally, I find people motivated by money disgusting.

[Cooter]

I guess I had it wrong when an elderly customer calls up,  lives down the block, and wants us to come to her house and replace her battery, as hers is dead, "we don't do that"....

[Cooter]

I guess I had it all wrong when someone calls up and wants to price shop, has me do a full on work up of an estimate that takes over an hour to put together, only to hear " why so much? I gotta guy that'll do it for this"...

"We don't do that"....

[Cooter]

I guess I'm just expecting too much from businesses. I guess I had it wrong when another customer has a flat, her husband used to do all this type stuff for her, she lives 5miles away and wanted me to come and change her tire.

I guess I shoulda replied "sorry ma'am, we don't do that"....

[Troy]

How about waiting to get the parts (or having them returned) before making assuhth e last 5yearsmptions? So far you're assuming they have lots of free time and are just too loi f stuff for free, so jazy/rude to take pictures.The only problem I see here is self-inflicted - expecting preferential treatment. The guy said they don't do it. End of discussion.

Troy

You exactly right Troy. When the service advisor came to me today at about 3:00, and stated that "this guy is an ass. He's uber picky and nobody here in the last 5years could make him happy. He brings his own oil/filter and wants you to do all kinds of stuff for  free, so I'll try and keep him off your back if I can"...

Guy comes out, don't know me from Adam. I begin and he starts in with the micromanagement. I asked him if I could use his tire guage in order to get the pressures just the way he likes. He saw me filling his oil filter with oil before I installed it, and asked  Why. I tell him I like to so dry starts are to a minimum. I asked him what torque did he want on his wheel lugs just to be sure I got it correct, as he wanted a rotate tires a certain way.
turns out, he's a 73 Y/O man that has owned nothing but Chrysler products.  He enjoyed my pics of the cars too.

He shouts out loud enough for the service writer to hear, "you know somethin, you're alright. I've never seen anybody take such good care and time with my car"
Again when he left, he made a point to tell the Bossman. I guess I shoulda just told him like everybody else that don't even want us to make any money off an oil change, "we don't do that".....

Afterall, I prolly won't see him for nothing but $22.00 oil changes that take me over 30 min. To complete anyway.

Well, that was very nice of you and your boss. However, for every guy like that you deal with a whole lot more who just want it faster and cheaper OR bitch about you doing it wrong. Your response is what? "I know what I'm doing and how long it takes"? In an instance like this how many other customers (who were waiting) would complain about that one guy who spent forever on one car? As I said earlier, it's not the same situation. The business you are in is much closer to the customer with lower volume and more opportunity for "tweaking" the process. Plus, your boss is the one standing there in front of the customer.

I understand that in certain instances a company will go out of their way to meet every whim of a customer. Usually places like this are called "5 star hotels". In most other cases it's rare and it makes the customer feel happy. Great! But when a customer asks for something out of the ordinary and is refused do they really have a right to complain? Especially if everything the company was paid to do more than meets the expectations? I said the guy could have been nicer. I still don't expect them to provide pictures. I would be pissed if the guy cussed me out and hung up. If your cousin tends to let things like this slide (like I do apparently) then he's probably spent a whole lot less time worrying about it than we have. He's probably having a beer and doing something useful...

I suppose I should get out while it's still sunny and almost 70 degrees!

Troy

[Cooter]

I guess I musta had it wrong when a customer that hasn't been in the shop for 6 months and brings a headlight that the auto parts house just made a KILLING off that sale, and couldn't install it. (Guess they had it right and said "we don't do that")
Comes by the shop, takes me something like 20 FREAKING minutes to remove half the front end for nothing....

I shoulda just said "we don't do that"...

[Cooter]

I guess I had it all wrong when I'm doing a State Inspection and customer says, can you check to see if I need a tune up?
Damn, shoulda just said "for $16.00 measly bucks, we don't do that"....

[Cooter]

I guess I just m usta got wrong when a customer needs a ride to work 15 miles away after dropping their vehicle of for yet.....


Wait for it........

Another $16.00 inspection....

Damn, I'm beginning to think this "we don't do that" thing. Could save all kinds of time....

[Cooter]

I guess again, I had it all wrong when we sell tires, yet, someone ALWAYS brings in some worn out, used tires and while I'm doing the ....

Wait for it....

$16.00 for inspection....
could I mount them for them so their busted ass vehicle will pass for .....nothing....

"We don't do that" is what I shoulda said....

[Cooter]

Cousin Wayne asked for update pics of the restoration.....I shoulda told him "I don't do that"...
He doesn't drink....maybe he should? I mean expecting to be treated like GOLD being a new customer,  what was he thinking?
I recommended TCP. maybe I was drunk thinking because so many of their customers evidently just blindly send sh*t out there and hope for the best. I seem to remember a thread about poor folks NOT asking for pics, or checking things out BEFORE they buy used cars....
maybe you've seen it..
I guess they figured those salesman "didn't do that"......I see it worked out for them really well.

[rt green]

wow. 70 degrees. I remember 70 degrees

[Steve P.]

It's 10:45 here and still 71*s....   

[69wannabe]

I guess I'm just expecting too much from businesses. I guess I had it wrong when another customer has a flat, her husband used to do all this type stuff for her, she lives 5miles away and wanted me to come and change her tire.

I guess I shoulda replied "sorry ma'am, we don't do that"....

This is a problem everywhere lately I guess!!! My ex brother in law (basically my brother and still a good friend) called me up last nite and had a flat but he had made it home needed me to swing by on my way to work and see if we could get it aired up enough to get him to the tire store to get it fixed better than a plug. I have a work van I drive for my job daily with a gas air compressor so I told him I would leave early to see what we could figure out. His 03 F250 has been lifted and has bigger tires and aftermarket wheels on it so when I got there about 6:45 am I started airing it up and found a gash on the inside corner rite where the treads meet the side wall. Not a good place for a small gash since it is kinda thin at that point. I put 2 plugs in it and got it up and going and we headed to town with it. Got about half way there and the plugs popped out, so I put two more in it and we made it to our regular tire store only to find it was closed til monday. Great huh!!! So while we were sitting there the plugs popped out again, I put them same plugs back in the gash and we made it to another tire store only to be told we can't fix that and they tried to sell him a tire. Buying a matching mikey thompson tire like on his truck isn't a possibility since it a special order tire. The lady at the desk was very unfriendly and I just asked could they not put a patch on the inside or put a tube in it just to get him by for the weekend. Nope sorry we are a tire store but we don't do that. Next tire store was the same story and then the next as well until we stopped off at a small hispanic tire store and asked if he could look at what we had which we had parked the truck and he rode up the road with us, looked at the tire and said I can fix it but I can't say how long it will last but that was fine with us, we just needed to make it through the day at this point. we got it down there and he pulled it off, had to take the band that's on the wheel off and broke it down and i'm not sure what he put in the tire but looked like liquid rubber and set it on fire and melted it into the gash and put the patch over that and put more liquid rubber over the patch and melted it around the patch. I had never seen that before but it really worked good and he only charged 15 bucks and he gained my respect for getting his hands dirty and getting in there and getting it done. It's pitiful that nobody wants to have to dig in and do a little work these days and try to help someone out.  

[stripedelete]

I guess I had it wrong when an elderly customer calls up,  lives down the block, and wants us to come to her house and replace her battery, as hers is dead, "we don't do that"....

Apples and oranges.

How about:    Cooter,  when you're ready to torque the head bolts on my car would you call in a notary public witness that you did it correctly?

You're original post is about a personality type to which no one want to provide service.  I generally fire those customers.  They will suck the life out of you.

Btw, taking care of "old Mrs. Helen" just up the road (who treats you like her slave and wants it for free) isn't about customer service.  It's just what you do because you have a mom and you weren't raised by wolves.   We all have a few of her.        

[Kern Dog]

"We don't do that.."

Dangerous words to live by when there are several choices out there when it comes to vendors, no matter what the product or service is...

Myk, the more of your posts I read, the more I your attitude.
I was hoping that one positive aspect of a poor economy might be that only the best of the industry would survive. I expected to see the shysters and crooks crash, burn and fade away. Poor customer service creates bad blood. I will gladly pay more to be treated with respect. One of the most toxic things a business can do is to treat me as if I am "Interrupting their busy day."

[Cooter]

Yep, I guess I had it figured wrong....
I guess taking the time to actually snap pictures of a wheel to be sure we get the correct one for a customer was wrong.
shoulda just said "we don't do that" and 'fired' em.

[Cooter]

I guess I had it wrong when an elderly customer calls up,  lives down the block, and wants us to come to her house and replace her battery, as hers is dead, "we don't do that"....

Apples and oranges.

How about:    Cooter,  when you're ready to torque the head bolts on my car would you call in a notary public witness that you did it correctly? I'd damn sure snap a pic with a phone...

You're original post is about a personality type to which no one want to provide service.  I generally fire those customers.  They will suck the life out of you.damn sure a good thing I don't deal with you. Not only did you assume this thread was about something that Troy said, you all but restated everything he said, and BOTH of you wouldn't last long in business with those attitudes. And yankees just wonder why we southerners can't stand some of em.

Btw, taking care of "old Mrs. Helen" just up the road (who treats you like her slave and wants it for free) isn't about customer service.  It's just what you do because you have a mom and you weren't raised by wolves.   We all have a few of her.     oh, I'm sorry. I m usta misunderstood.  I thought everybody who "sucks the life outta you" deserves to be treated like their money and patronage don't matter....   

[Cooter]

"We don't do that.."

Dangerous words to live by when there are several choices out there when it comes to vendors, no matter what the product or service is...

Myk, the more of your posts I read, the more I your attitude.
I was hoping that one positive aspect of a poor economy might be that only the best of the industry would survive. I expected to see the shysters and crooks crash, burn and fade away. Poor customer service creates bad blood. I will gladly pay more to be treated with respect. One of the most toxic things a business can do is to treat me as if I am "Interrupting their busy day."

Finally, someone who actually reads and understands what this thread, and true customer service is about.
I can't understand how someone will create a thread about how paint was peeling of brand new Magnum 500-575 wheels and company didn't treat em right, but as soon as cousin Wayne wanted a simple picture of the parts BEFORE he bought, people thumb down the stupid bandwagon and spit out ignorant sh*t like above. You don't pick and choose when it comes to your business and who gets good customer service....

[Troy]

Just wondering when your deep love of the Customer and their feelings came about. Must be fairly recent...

The customer nowadays doesn't give a rats ass how you're getting paid and for what. They just want their car fixed correctly, and the first time. Like it or not, it is the customer who's supplying your paycheck.

:

And this is why OUR shop is set up to tell "Customers" like you to go straight to hell with that kind of attitude. This is the "un-understanding" side of things that makes me wish some of you worked on cars for about a year...You wouldn't have that attitude very long..My Bossman told me not to even try to explain this as NON E would give a sh*t...Damn, I hate when he's right....Contrary to popular belief, the Customer is NOT always right..Most are idiots looking for someone to blame for them buying a German POS car....You bought that POS Dan, now either live with Mechanics that don't want/need/can't work on it, or trade the damn thing off....

More from same thread:
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,83101.msg932027.html#msg932027
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,83101.msg932472.html#msg932472
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,83101.msg932656.html#msg932656

Others:
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php?topic=94127.0
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,83101.msg932027.html#msg932027
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,104557.msg1245389.html#msg1245389

We call these type car owners "Reputation Breakers", instead of "Money makers". unfortunately, My Business owners in this to make a living. Can't do that if you have to give the work away four times to someone that's overly "Anal". Some will b*tch simply because that's how they built their entire car, by complaining about everything until they have very little if any, money invested at the end. Those types we tend to simply stay away from. GOOD friends however "Anal" they may be, tend to know that if you piss-off a good "Mechanic", there's always a bad one that's willin' to "Work" on your sh*t for free.

It's just a small sample.

Troy

[Cooter]

Apples and oranges again. Huge difference between repairing/working on German made vehicles and taking a photo. Even I can snap a picture and send it to you in a matter of seconds.

15 seconds out of these guys day to gain a new customer is what we've been doing for years.(most of those above was last year working for a different shop)
if Wayne was to ask for the impossible, then you'd actually have a point. Besides, this ain't me we are talking bout here, it's someone who has no clue about chroming.

Wayne wasn't "expecting" a picture, and he certainly wasn't expecting to be talked down to and "end of discussion" , real short type attitude.
but, your right Troy as usual.
I guess I gotta come to terms with insane driving in left lane and no pictures before purchasing. He called this morning and was thinkibg bout moving up north. A few driving trips for work up there, he changed his mind....Something bout outta state tags and blowing by others....

[Steve P.]

Maybe the guy on the other end of the phone was having a bad day or just got his ass chewed for taking too much time on something..    Who knows?  I understand full well the difference between your apples and their oranges. Simply put, everyone is under the gun these days. I'm sure no one was trying to piss off a customer. Why would you? I think seeing the product is what will be the tell. If the place is going to hell you will probably see it in the workmanship. If it's a damn nice piece, chalk it up to a great product and maybe a bad day.

Now let me tell you about the day I am having!!   

Everyone has a bad day now and then.

[bill440rt]

Good to see profiling is alive & well these days. 
Not everyone in the "north" is as bad as you might think.

Mid-60's today. 

[Steve P.]

Hell, people that learn to drive in the North can handle any conditions. Black ice has allllways been one of my favorite times driving!! 

Blizzard conditions coming through the mountains with a B-body on a trailer that the brakes have gone out on, no problem!!!

Riding a motorcycle through half of the winter because your car was hit by a snow plow, Nothing to it!! Ok, it was kinda cold..