if the MINI dealership ran specials on their service and/or could at least meet the prices of a local garage, then i would’ve considered using them more often. i have no problem with their competence.
Um you said you were writing MINI-your words not mine.
“she” went back to the dealer. if i had been a “he”, i bet the treatment would’ve been different. if was a younger and prettier “she”, i bet the treatment would’ve been different, too.
i didn’t expect something for nothing. i expected them to back their product.
psp=power steering pump. electrically driven. no belts. my mechanic could not have fixed it. only MINI has the specs. failure of this pump is common knowledge among MINI owners. problems range from overheating due to fan failure, to shorts in the system, to an outright failure (my situation).
excellent advice. thank you.
last word: i was very thankful to the service dept. for giving me the discount, fixing the problem, and providing a 2 yr warranty on the pump. esp. the latter. the repeated emphasis in the posts on my being “grateful” to them–uh, no. i didn’t go in there with any sense of entitlement. one of their staff berated me in front of staff and customers. it was, at the very least, unprofessional. i worked in public service for over 25 years. you don’t treat customers or clients that way.
i was planning to write MINI. haven’t yet. and if i do, i won’t bad mouth them. i will ask for a solution.
I’m not really fussy about the vehicle I drive, since I need a minivan and when you’ve seen and driven one minivan, you’ve seen and driven them all. I shop for the dealer as diligently as I shop for the vehicle. My Dad had a dealer he liked. The dealer had the DeSoto-Plymouth franchise and then sold imported cars. Eventually, he picked up the Studebaker line about 2 years before Studebaker quit making cars. My dad bought two cars from this dealer, but the dealer was glad to service his cars that he didn’t buy from the this dealer. I prefer a smaller dealer, but I’ve found that if I check a dealer over carefully, they will go the second mile for me if I have a problem.
If you have to have a particular make of car and there is only one dealer in the area, then you are stuck with that dealer. I have found that the price a that the Chevrolet dealer that services my van charges for an oil change is lower than my independent garage. I stay with the dealer until the warranty period is over, then I go to my independent garage most of the time.
i expected them to back their product.
They do, it is called the new car warranty and that is provided by the manufacturer. It spells out what is covered and what is not. It appears this situation is outside that warranty. Anything beyond that is great, but can’t be expected.
I am sorry to say you are 100% right about one thing. Nearly all dealers treat women as third class buyers when it comes to cars. However I don’t think it played into this situation. They would have been no more likely to be more generous with a man. Their actions and policies as you described them meet the industry standards for a problem like this.
one of their staff berated me in front of staff and customers. it was, at the very least, unprofessional.
I would have gone to his boss about that. Sadly, more and more people(customer service people that is) are behaving this way, and it needs to stop.
My personal opinion is that this dealer did not start “berating” the car owner here unless there was a good reason for it and even then it’s likely the “berating” is more a matter of perception than anything else.
A service manager or service writer is not going to jeopardize customer relations, and their job, by “berating” customers out of the blue.
I’d love to see a videotape of the entire exchange. For those who have worked a customer service counter you know exactly what I’m talking about.
My momma always tol’ me that as long as I live under the roof of our house, I have to play by her’s and papa’s rules.
i was treated exceptionally well when i bought the car 5 yrs ago. the salesperson was a guy around my son’s age and didn’t have to do any selling–he just shared his enthusiasm for the car. up until the recent incident, i’ve felt comfortable at the place. the rudeness i put down to a complete change of personnel coupled with my obviously middle age. they might not have been more geneerous with a man or a couple, but they might not have lectured that type of customer.
Well, I have to say OK4450 has a point. We only have one side of this story and perception is very variable. On the other hand, I’ve had bad customer service people act like jerks, too. I ran into one just last week, so I know they are out there.
For the OP, it sounds like you got pretty decent service with the 50% discount, and yes customer loyalty is a big part of if and when a dealer will support a “goodwill” repair. It is usually not blatantly stated, but it should be obvious and not really need stating.
Hi All:
If you want good service from the selling dealer take the following actions: ---- 1.) Have your oil and filter changes done at the dealership, ---- 2.) Get to know the service manager and the service advisor, ---- 3.) Do NOT approach the service desk with an “attitude,” ---- 4.) Put an extended factory warranty on the vehicle for 100,000 miles. (Vehicles are just too expensive to repair!)
REMENBER: ---- If you do not like the results of your actions, change the input to the process! If your are a customer of the dealership, they will extend themselves in every way possible to make you happy! (What goes around comes around!)
Best regards. ------ Dwyane2