GoodBoy

I have been enjoying my new 05 E500 very much over the last two months. Love the styling, the ride, and the power. That is until this weekend when at 1500 miles, the radio command unit went blank.

I called on Monday, and was offered an appointment for Tuesday if I did not need a loaner car. I would have to wait several weeks if I wanted a loaner car. I work literally 1 minute from the dealer so I took the offer of the shuttle service.

I brought my car in today, waited for 20 minutes before they can talk to me. Gave them the key, and was told to wait in the waiting room and my ride will be "right with me." Thirty minutes later and after three inquiries, they still could not find my ride. At 45 minutes, I got upset and complained to the service manager who found me a ride for my one minute trip back to my office.

The service guy must not have liked the fact that I talked to his manager, because he called me back in the afternoon saying that:

1) He cannot fix my car today (there was a broken wire on the screen, and he needed a part from Fort Worth which will take 2 days to get here).
2) He cannot get me a loaner or a rental car because I did not requested one when I scheduled the appointment, and no loaner will be available for weeks.
3) He cannot put my car back together so I can take it home for use while waiting for the parts (something about already sending the broken part off to Mercedes for warranty work).
4) It is not his fault that my car needed a repair and he see no reason why I am upset that he is going to leave me stranded without a car for the next two days. His word was "we did not build your car, we only fixes them. Besides, all our clientel have many cars so leaving a car is usually not a problem."

Feeling insulted by the last comment, and upset by the obvious lie of his third statement, I demanded to speak to the service manager again. He told me that his manager left at lunch. So I demanded to talk to the sales manager and was told that he was not around. After some heated exchange, he finally agreed to put my car together, so I can pick it up and reschedule the repair.

From my point of view this is terrible service, worse than I got from any dealers I have ever been to. The question is am I being overly upset over nothing? Or, should I be complaining to anyone that would listen? Is this the normal treatment I can be expecting from Mercedes? I still have the initial buyer survey from Mercedes, should I vent there or does that really make any difference?

lorinserbenz

Take it to another dealer..
In my area (tampa) one of the three dealers acts as your does, I never take my car there. You need to become friends with a service writer, slipping $20 when you pick your car up or bringing some bagels will get you preferential treatment. The worse thing you can do is get nasty, now that service writer will always treat you like **it.

glojo

Morning Badboy,
Playing devil's advocate here,
The attitude of everybody was woeful. The dealership from the Managing Director, right down to the cleaning staff represent Mercedes-Benz and what it stands for.

As far as I am concerned there is no excuse whatsoever for poor service. There is nothing that Barry can say that will convince me that 'buying' someone is the way to get a standard of service that should be the norm. I understand totally the points he makes. I simply disagree with them.

Now the bad news. You ""work literally 1 minute from the dealer""" You elected to be without your vehicle for a short period whilst they looked at it, and attempted a repair. I would have been embarrassed to ask for a lift to travel literally ONE minute. Okay, it is a busy road, but ONE minute?

I am by no means a vegetable eating, tree hugging left wing demonstrator, but using lifts, taking a car for one minute car rides is certainly not conjusive to good health and a long old age.

Hopefully my lack of tact has not been to offensive, but 'An apple a day, keeps the doctor at bay' If you work in an office complex try walking up just several floors without using the lift. (Ten floors or more is excuse enough to use the lift, providing folks go up at least five floors on foot )

However you were still treated in a most unacceptable fashion. Write a letter of complaint, do NOT sit back and accept this poor standard.

Good luck and take care,
John

Gunther

Regardless of the length of the trip....Goodboy....that is a dealer that you don't need to work with. It's the same as getting attitude from people who work in "high end" stores - ok, you work here, I shop here; lose the attitude.

I'd: 1) find another dealer that can provide good service, less attitude and an MB loaner and 2) write a letter back to the dealership owner; cc: the GM, Sales Manager, Service Manager and the Service Advisor; be SURE to detail what was said, how it was said and where you are now going to be servicing your car - and buying future cars.

Service is the bread and butter of a dealership. Making sure that they know they are pissing off customers who WILL go elsewhere is the only way of making them see any sense of reason.

I had to have the "come to Jesus" talk with a Service Manager after a very unpleasant experience with a Service Advisor who was too lazy to get off his *ss and speak to me. Not only did I refuse to use that SA, but I also spoke the Service Manager and asked him why I should deal with that because another dealer was as equally convenient to access - long and short, four years later I STILL get great service. I love the SA I have now...and have become friends with her - but we both have an understanding and can appreciate where we are both coming from...she's direct and up front with me regarding loaners, service and time required to do the work; she also returns my calls and understands that I'd rather be kept abreast of what's going on - and when I am, I am totally accomodating to what she needs as well.

My conversation with the Service Manager was also conveyed into the SA's weekly meeting that week...and according to my current SA, names were named (and yes, I do get nasty looks from that other SA when we cross paths - so obviously he remembers me).

A good dealership will pay attention to you....a bad one doesn't need to survive.

vitaman

That kind of service would be unacceptable for a car that cost a fifth as much as yours.
I would not argue with a service writer like that. He is obviously incompetent. I would send a gentle but firm letter to the Service Mgr and copy the Sales Mgr simply explaining what happened and asking if these are normal Dealer policies. Tell them you love your car and want the service experience to make you feel as good as the driving experience. If they don't respond decisively, take your car elsewhere. The longer drive will easily be offset by the lack of stress.

SAguirre

I totally agree with this statement! There is a lot to be said about having a dealer 1 mile away from your work. Also, as per GloJo's comment. I don't know the geographic characteristics of the area mentioned above, but 1 mile can sometimes be impossible to walk in some cities in the US. The way some cities have designed their intersections, there is no safe way for pedestrians to cross or sidewalks for that matter. Not to mention that US drivers are not conditioned to watch out for pedestrians. We are just not used to it!! I walk all the time and I tend to leave both of my cars at home and ride my bike to work, but I am in the large minority. US cities are designed for cars, not people.

So now, back tot he original issue. I think that this was poor service and an even worse choice of words used by the SA. However, you can’t just run away and think that you are showing them something. I would explain your concerns once you have cooled off and give them a chance to redeem themselves. I would probably also avoid that SA in the future, but not the whole dealership. If it all works out, then you will have a dealer who knows what you expect as well as one that is 1 mile away.

Tell us what you do,

Steve

saffrontiger

Ouch! Was this a MB dealership here in the DFW area?

jprescott

The easy quick way to deal with this is to call any other dealer and explain the situation. I bet they will love your story and help you out.Would be effective to have a good discussion with your sales guy. I often flip between two dealers around here. They don't care where you bought the car. Give us follow up on this story. It makes me sick.

glojo

Please everyone do not read to much into the one mile observation. I am in total agreement with everyone about the conduct of this dealership.

The one mile comment is merely pointing out htat it would be refreshing to have a nice very short walk htat would take perhaps twenty minutes. Twenty minutes of freedom away from the stress of work, worry and wisea**e Service advisors (got desperate for the last 'W'.

Most of our modern large dealerships are in areas where there are other cars showrooms so it would be a pleasant break walking pass these. I do however take Steve's point and perhaps 'walking' is no longer a common activity.

I would NOT accept the standard of care that you received, plain and simple. If there is not another convienant dealership, then I would accept a written apology, a fresh appointment and a courtesy vehicle.

John

Barry45RPM

As far as I am concerned there is no excuse whatsoever for poor service. There is nothing that Barry can say that will convince me that 'buying' someone is the way to get a standard of service that should be the norm. I understand totally the points he makes. I simply disagree with them.

AHA! I didn't say it this time! (I thought it aloud though!) Yeah, you're entitled to good service-- all the time... The $20 donation will get it for you all the time. People are people, anyone can have a bad day, but when your SA sees you walk in & knows there will be a work order, a joke & a $20, their attitude always improves.

Think of the wife for a moment... You're married, sex is a normal part of married life (if you're lucky), yet you bring home flowers/jewelery & expect what? See???

DWP

It would be nice if US auto dealerships were typically in a storefront on the High Street, with a chemist to one side and a pub to the other, but that's not the case. US auto dealers are usually located on "frontage roads" along freeways, or on suburban "strip commercial" streets with very high volumes of auto traffic and, often, no sidewalks. Even if there is a sidewalk, the dealerships tend to be surrounded by acres of asphalt and parked inventory and interspersed between "big box" retail stores (also with huge parking lots) and fast-food restaurants. All in all, not a very pleasant environment for walking.

If the dealer couldn't come up with a loaner on notice of less than two weeks, then they should have provided a rental car. That doesn't take advance notice of two weeks.

glojo

Barry, Barry, Barry.........
One day you will learn that money is not the be all and end all of love, life and living.

If I bought home Jewellery or flowers my wife would want to know what I had done wrong, boy would there be a grilling. Now if I smothered her with love, kindness and affection, then............

But these things are free, so obviously that would be alien to you (I'm sure it isn't really) but I bet you would try to buy them?

John

Edit:

You are participating in a race. You overtake the second person (this is a running race) What position are you in?


>




>



>


If you answered first you are obviously not used to running?

If you overtake the second person and take his place, you are then second

Barry45RPM

John, John, John... Tip the SA! See what a difference it makes.
B

konigstiger

Check your email, subject; "MBUSA Bad Service"

Gunther

The only thing that US dealers understand is $$$$.

Write the letter, be firm and let them know that you're ready to give your money to any other dealer that can work with you per your standards. It doesn't have to be an argument and it doesn't have to be ugly, but it should be firm and not waiver. A gentle conversation and return to status quo only enforces to the dealer that it can act as it likes without repurcussion.

You are the customer, you have the warrranty work that they want = you hold the cards.

konigstiger

In other words; Dealers should know better than to bite the hand that feeds them.

glojo

My 'money' is still with Gunther and konigstiger.

Have a nice day,
John

Fastbuck

...or more importantly, still in your pocket! :p

RJC

MB needs a national loaner car program!!!

djantlive

MB dealers are notorious for poor service considering it's a high end marque. I'd take it to another dealer in your situation.

No parts should take 2 days unless it's coming from Germany. Ever heard of next day delivery??

My best experience is with Porsche. Service rep greets you as you pull in. Listens to your problem without interuption. Arranges rental car free or offers shuttle as you are almost done with the service rep. Your rental/shuttle waits for you as you bid farewell to service rep. This is SERVICE!!

I can tell you that lack of service alone will steer me away from buying another MB. Good thing my MB warranty expired bc I'll never service it at dealer again. There are plenty of specialty shops and I can do most work myself too.

Brian_I.

UNACCEPTABLE!!! Get your pen and a pad of paper out and start writing letters.

sacguy

Hi DWP, do you have any experience with Sacramento Mercedes Benz on Howe Avenue, positives, negatives, etc....and if you do have experience with them, can you recommend anyone in their service department? I do not really want to drive out to the two other Sacramento area MB dealers (Von Housen dealerships), as I work very near Sacramento MB.

sl561

I'm not DWP, but I do live in Sacramento and have had lots of experience with MB of Sac on Howe. I bought a 2001 C320 in Oct 2000. The car spent 76 days in the shop during the first 25K miles. Although the car sucked, the service was alway good (my service rep was Mike Patrick) and I never had any complaints. But, I purchased my 05 E320 at MB of El Dorado Hills and took it there last week for my initial check up at 2500 miles. Although it was 20 miles one way from my home to the dealer (as opposed to 5 miles to Howe Ave) and I then had to drive all the way back to downtown sac for work....I've decided that I'm going to continue to take my car there. Why? Because compared to Sacramento, they are much less busy and I was in and out in half the time. (The loaner car was waiting for me outside the door before I was even done talking to the service rep.) They also seem to be going out of their way to be pleasant and helpful. Of course, if it turns out the the work they do is lousy, I'll switch back to Sacramento, but I doubt that will happen since many of the folks there came from the Sac store.

sacguy

Thanks sl561....might have to try the ED dealer, if I don't like Sac MB service. I will give Sac MB a try, when car comes in April, since it is only two blocks from my work. I did not buy the car from them, but hopefully that won't matter to the service people. (the sales agent at Sac MB said that I would not get the "extra special" care if I did not buy from them, so I was a little hesitant to go there).

krispykrme

That survey does make a difference. Document what you said and name the service advisor on your survey.

Statement #1 and 2 are acceptable and he is not at fault. But the last two, the service advisor is being an a$$.