Saw Kris “hard at work” today when i was in for parts. Accually looks like he’s taking to it like a fish in water. Its almost funny to see him clean cut…
Thanks guys. I probably would have stopped and talked today if it wasn’t so insano busy at the moment. MY MOM came in to have her oil changed today and I talked to her for a grand total of maybe a minute. Ask Flavio! He came in for service today and I didn’t really get much of a chance to talk about anything with him either!!
As far as bad experiences go, we’re really trying to change things now. We have a new computer system now, so the frustration level is quite high as we can’t easily service customers as we want to. The nice thing for me is that the more I learn by being around the mechanics and other advisors, the more problems I can help folks diagnose and thus the better the experience for people.
That said, we do have certain cases where bad things compound into an awful customer service experience. On Monday we had a lady come in while we were busy. She had an appointment booked and everything, but rather than actually talk to us, she just placed her keys on one of our desks. This was at 10:00. She waits and waits, and of course we’re all busy with other customers and fail to notice her there. So round about 12:00, she comes up and asks the status of her car. I look in the computer and it’s telling me she never checked in, so her car was never even scheduled to go into the garage. Not good.
So, she’s understandably not happy. We prioritize her oil change and try to get her in as fast as possible. Unfortunately it took another 25 mins for a tech to become available, and they had her X-Trail in for a good 30 changing the oil and performing the service. Now, she’s really pissed.
Her car is pulled out, and then for some reason the mechanic doesn’t come back with her keys for another 10 minutes. Even then, we have to finalize her bill and get her out the door. She’s really upset and telling us that she’s never had worse customer service at a dealership (even though the original mistake was hers, I can’t blame her for being mad at this point).
Then, as a coup de grace, when the valet brings her car up to the front of the store and she is in it ready to leave, I notice from my desk that the tech for some reason didn’t put the gas cap back on and the fuel door is open. I run out quickly, and get there just in time to put the cap back on and shut the fuel door before she drives off. I explained to her what I’d just done, and the look she shot me told me she probably won’t be coming back to us anytime soon. She drove away, totally speechless about what just happened, and I of course felt like quite the asshead.
Even though we wern’t the direct cause of the breakdown, because anytime I drop something off with somebody I make sure someone knows what’s going on, she still had a bad experience which will be hard to reverse in the future. And don’t forget, Service Advisors take the brunt of the shit too, we’re the buffer between the mechanics and the customers.
I think things will drastically improve now because we’re learning more about the computer system and thus can react more quickly to what’s going on around us, but I think inevitably you’ll just have those cases where there’s just nothing you can do to prevent a bad experience. At Ericksen in the short time I’ve been there, I can say that we have a very good record of satisfying customers, but of course this all can still be improved.
Thanks for readin this. You’ve probably skipped over the rest of my message. Here’s a cookie. :E
Haha… Welcome to the service industry, Remeber if your a service writer/advisor your just aThing (they think you are) that gets yelled at and threatened. I used to be that “thing”.
It was kinda funny to watch you work, suffice to say it was busy. even when there was only my friend and me watching the TV. You answeared like easy 3 calls in that time. Keep up the hard work and maybe you’ll turn that place around :partyman: .
Wouldn’t her Xtrail be OBD2 ? I thought that all OBD2 cars would throw a CEL when you run the car without the cap.
Yes. But some people dont even look at those. I know a few of my former customers from my prior job who drove around with CEL for over a year.
With Nissans, as long as the SES light isn’t flashing it’s probably not a big deal. If the SES light flashes, that’s major trouble and needs to be looked at really quickly.
That said, when someone calls in with a normal running vehicle that’s thrown a code, we almost always ask whether they’ve tried adjusting the gas cap or not. It’s an easy fix!
Chris, sorry I didn’t say hi to you today! I was so out of it by the end of the day I don’t think I would have even recognized my own family. Today was a total GONG SHOW! I didn’t even get a chance to eat my lunch until 6 PM. :rolleyes:
Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about you (or Jared). :partyman:
Other people I forgot to give HUGE props to: Gino (parts), and of course the following technicians Jim, Dean, Tony and especially Ron.
Kris, glad to hear you’re fitting in nicely there.
Thanks for all the kind words. I just bought a Passat(still in the dealer group). I will always try to expedite any parts request asap. Nissan Canada has some strange policies that I am learning to work with. For those wondering, I may buy a Nissan again in the future. The Passat suits my needs at the moment. 2 litre turbo all over again.
Yeah, with the weird ass key you shove into the dash! What the hell is that about!? :E
now if we could only find a way to keep you in the service tower… Now i know why they call you “Pesty”… jk jk
oh, and welcome, btw.