Customer Service Basics: The Dealership
Since I began working at J.D. Power and Associates, I've become more observant of how consumers (including myself) are treated when buying products and services. Recently, I patronized a local BMW dealership, and the experience and service staff interaction provided some good and bad examples of customer service.
As my vehicle odometer crested the 15,799-mile mark, a dashboard light appeared, reminding me to schedule my first oil change and service. Because the car is filled with synthetic oil from the factory, service intervals are considerably longer than for cars using conventional motor oil, which means I can spend more time enjoying my car rather than visiting the dealership. After a few days of watching the reminder appear each time my car was started, I called the local dealership and scheduled a service appointment.
When I purchased my car, I was told that the dealership provides BMW loaner cars when vehicles are brought in for regularly-scheduled service. With this in mind I asked for a BMW loaner, but was surprised to hear: Those are booked up for weeks. I overlooked this unfulfilled promise (disappointment No.1) and agreed to bring my car in the following day. The dealership service advisor asked me if there were any other concerns with the vehicle. I told him about some problems with a sticking rear sunshade, a windshield washer fluid warning light, and a noisy retracting mirror on the passenger side.
The next day, when I arrived at the dealership to drop off my car, a friendly advisor reviewed my concerns and accurately diagnosed the cause of the low fluid warning light. The last time I filled the washer fluid, I failed to replace the cap, which had triggered the warning light. One problem solved in less than five minutes (surprise and delight No.1). I left the car for service, jumped into a rented MINI, courtesy of the dealership, and headed off to work.
Later that day, I called the dealership to find out when my car would be finished, but was surprised to learn that they had not worked on the car at all (disappointment No. 2). Trying to contain my frustration, I asked the advisor how this could have happened. Changing the oil and checking minor concerns should not take more than a day. She responded with excuses: Your technician was sick. The backup technician had too many jobs scheduled. We are very busy today. To say the least, I was less than interested in hearing excuses, but my verbal response was more politically correct.
Several hours later, I noticed a voice mail on my cell phone. It was another service advisor telling me she was taking over my account and that the car would definitely be ready the following day (surprise and delight No. 2). Around 3 p.m. the next day, the dealership called to say that the car was ready. I revved up the MINI and headed back to the dealership.
When my car was brought to the customer delivery area, I noticed a few things. Although the car had been washed, there were bird droppings on the hood. How could the service staff not notice this, especially on a clean white car? And while the interior appeared to have been vacuumed, a great deal of debris and dirt were still under the floor mats, which indicates that it was a rushed job (disappointment No. 3).
I asked the advisor about the rear sunshade and the noisy mirror because the paperwork showed that these features were working as designed. She said the technician had tried the sunshade a couple of times and could not replicate the problem. Fair enough, I thought to myself, as the problem occurred intermittently.
I took her to the car to listen to the side mirrors retract. One was silent, the other one was not. She explained that the BMW warranty only covers defects or things that are broken, and although noises are annoying, BMW will only reimburse the dealership for parts that are broken or have stopped working. Notwithstanding the paperwork, which indicated no defect found, her detailed explanation helped me understand the situation more clearly (surprise and delight No. 3).
Overall, the dealership satisfied my needs, even though there were a few rough spots throughout the process. The bottom line is that you should expect superior service wherever you go, and if you do not receive it, tell someone. Tell the person you are working with, such as the service advisor, or ask to speak to a manager. Well-run companies want to know when customers are disappointed so they can improve the level of service they provide. Similarly, if you receive exceptional service somewhere, tell the manager as I am sure they will appreciate the fact that you took the time to notice, and they will know that their employees are doing their job serving customers well.
