Are You Kidding Me? A Customer Service NO NO!
I am taking a breather from preaching LOVE this week and moving into a little bit of…let’s just say…ummmmm…HATE.
I HATE bad customer service. I HATE it with a passion and I can tell you I am pretty liberal in terms of judging a businesses performance. So let me share a quick NO NO story with you.
My wife took her car to a Chrysler dealership to get some work done. (Not the dealership she bought the vehicle from…this is an important point) They proceed to tell her NOTHING in the days that follow. She has to continually call them to get answers on what is going on in terms of progress. So after much time on the phone (a week and a half later) Angela gets her car back. Great right…not so bad. WAIT.
I proceed to follow Angela out of the parking lot of the car dealership that fixed her car and what do I see over the license plate of my wife’s car. A plate cover promoting the car dealership we are leaving. Wait, let me restate something here! They took my wife’s license plate off of her car and added a license plate cover over it that promotes their dealership. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
There are many things wrong here, but let’s just point out a few.
- You start with an “I Don’t Really Care” attitude by not keeping my wife informed of the progress of her car. All the while, she is having to worry about car rental, her husband having to leave work early etc.
- You don’t even have the decency to clean my wife’s vehicle after you have worked on it.
- You have the “STONES” to take off her license plate and place an advertisement on her vehicle for your dealership.
That my friend is BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE. That my friend is a NO NO! Here is what I suggest for any Car Dealership that may be reading this. (By the way I have many friends in the industry. They are not all like this)
- Understand that when someone is without transportation, their life is in disarray for the most part. Knowing this, please keep in touch with your customer on a daily basis about progress. This will at the very least let the customer know you care. Kill them with genuine kindness.
- Treat their vehicle like a prized possession. Giving them their vehicle back in better shape than when they left it will leave them with a wonderful feeling about your dealership. Make them want to come back to you, no matter how far they have to drive.
- Never, ever alter the appearance of someone’s vehicle without consent. Period!
As consumers, we should demand fantastic customer service. A business is only as good as its reputation and I know one car dealership whose good reputation is now at stake.
Im Your Ad Guy 
Too bad stabbing someone in their left eyeball with a sharp pencil isn’t legal…
That’s one way to get them to pay attention…