hyperion667

no way, it was devoured and enjoyed, SA said she's never gotten anything like that.........oh the comments one could have made to that statement

and now when I go to visit my salesman I get the shoulder.....LOL

CEB

The answer for tipping in general is - did they go out of their way and do something they weren't already paid to do?

I broke down in my Yukon years ago a few hundred miles from home. I limped into the dealership about 5 minutes before closing on a Saturday. The SA was beginning to walk out and the sole tech was washing his hands.

The SA and the tech (who was heading to a date) diagnosed the problem as a broken front suspension piece and both of them spent an hour replacing the part - all under warranty.

Those two went well beyond their job description and I compensated them both well.

OTOH, the BMW techs and SA who got me an Altima as a rental then spent two days fixing something they broke on a previous visit got nothing even though they stayed an hour late getting my car ready the second day.

2006_C350

1. Don't tip because they get used to tips all day long and sets a bad precedent. LOL

2. Just tip, its only $5-$10, what is it with us Mercedes owners?

Arrie

It is against company policy to accept tips if you work for a MB dealer. The mechanics or others at the dealer cannot do it.

I occasionally take the courtesy van from my dealer to an airport when I leave my car for service. I tip the driver but it is always a "battle" to make him to accept it.

In the OP's case the mechanic obviously making the trip for the tip should earn him to be let go. And that will likely happen.....yeah right...

These people are told not to accept tips and still some of them stretch their arm to ask for it. The mechanic in the OP's case could never accept a tip at the dealer, this is why he was so eager to make the local trip to the customer for the window "synchronization" in hopes for an easy $20 or so.

JALLEN4

During my career I owned and or managed a number of different dealerships of multiple different brands. I have never seen a policy stated by a manufacturer regarding tips nor have I seen a policy stated by a dealership. That is simply an area stayed away from unless there was blatant solicitation of tips by an employee or trading favors for same.

Suggesting the Road Side Assistance visit was based simply on a desire to garner a "tip" or generate pay for the tech is simply ridiculous. Unless there was a work order prepared and signed by the customer, Mercedes is not going to pay for the trip. Generally, simply giving information to the customer is not a warrant-able event to begin with.

One could argue that the entire problem could have been handled over the phone but then again they most likely have never dealt with the buying public. I have seen a lot of time spent trying to explain the simplest of operations over the phone with little success. It is far more likely the customer was close to the dealership and the tech was in-between assignments. Some customers appreciate the personalized attention and are not so skeptical as some of the opinions expressed here.

Arrie

The OP did not call for road side assistance. If I do I will tip as I ask them to come. In this case it is very obvious the tech just wanted the tip.

The simpliest things that are explained in the manual are simple for almost everyone to do.

If the tech had left immediately without lingering around for the tip it would have been fine but him "asking" for it is just wrong.

JALLEN4

I am at a disadvantage here because I wasn't there. The OP says "lingered" but I doubt anyone knows why or what his mindset was. Perhaps he was simply waiting to see if there were any further questions or problems. We could be just as critical if he had simply turned away and drove off.

The original question was "do you tip or not?". From experience, the vast majority of people do not. That is not to say it would not be appreciated but I can assure you most techs, Service Advisors, etc do not expect it. The retail dealer's objective is usually total customer satisfaction from each contact and generally dealers stress this in the training of their employees. I have never seen classes on how to solicit tips nor do the employees count on them for their income.

raymond g-

thinking selfishly, i'd consider tipping if I felt I may benefit from good will and
potential value added service in the future. but since I do nearly all of the
work on the car myself, probably not.