kmiller8821
New member
I recently tried this dealer as my regular dealer isn't close to my office. This dealer had a shuttle service, and so I thought, this is a simple warranty issue.
History; The drivers seat (when I tried to recline it), wouldn't recline. The left side would go down, the right side would not.
Resolution: The dealer accused me of "being too rough" on my seat, and that I must have broken it. They fixed it "as a courtesy", but the entire experience was horrible.
I'm posting a letter I sent to the service advisor, GM, and the Service manager: (Names removed for obvious reason)
====
(Service Advisor guy),
I thought you deserved to know that I will not be returning to your dealership, nor will I recommend anyone else to use that dealer. I am very dissatisfied with the entire experience, and figured you deserved to know why:
1. Poor communication - I was advised that I would be “informed” on my vehicle’s progress, yet, I had to take the initiative and “chase you down” at every turn. I was promised follow up’s, nothing ever came to fruition. This is extremely poor customer service.
2. Shop Foreman – While I can appreciate where he’s coming from, accusing a customer of breaking their own seat is not only unprofessional, but was without warrant. I wasn’t asked if anything unusual had happened, if I bought the vehicle “brand new”, if I’d ever attempted to use the recline function – 0 – nothing – zilch – It was just immediately assumed that I must have done something to it, so it was fixed ‘as a courtesy’ “this time”, but wouldn’t be covered again. This is nothing short of slander in my opinion. Did you note how well kept the vehicle was? I’m OCD about my vehicles, my truck is IMMACTULATE and I would never break anything, intentionally, accidental, or otherwise – without informing my dealer. I do well in my career, I have no reason to attempt to defraud Toyota in some type of “warranty claim”. Also, my vehicle was a PROGRAM truck, it had 3000 miles on it. I've never used the seat, so it must have been broken when I took delivery!
3. I’m a lifetime Toyota buyer. Perhaps a little check on me would have yielded you that this is my 9th Toyota, and 5th Toyota 4Runner. I’m an avid brand loyalist, I praise good service, I equally express my frustration with poor service. I contacted [Another local dealer] shortly after I left your dealer. Do you know what I was told by the service manager there? The seat defect is common, they’ve seen 10 of them, and I find it hard to believe that 10 different customers are breaking their seat. Clearly, there is an issue here. Yes, Your foreman may have fixed it, but I’m not convinced as to the root cause.
4. I am one of those customers that will tell EVERYONE about a poor experience. I’ve already expressed my horror at your dealer on the forums in which I’m a member, and I’m passing the word to everyone I see. Bottom line, AVOID Toyota of Dallas. They will accuse you of damaging your own car, fail to communicate with you in a timely manner, and will almost certainly treat you like a criminal.
5. I’ve purchased 3 (THREE) Toyota 4Runners from [my dealer] in the last 5 (FIVE) years. I’m a very avid buyer, and any chance your dealer had of winning my business is gone forever.
I will NEVER return to your dealer. You had the opportunity to win a new customer, instead, you’ve now got a very outspoken critic.
Perhaps you will work with your staff (the shop foreman) and others to actually learn from this experience.
Good luck
(Kmiller8821)
History; The drivers seat (when I tried to recline it), wouldn't recline. The left side would go down, the right side would not.
Resolution: The dealer accused me of "being too rough" on my seat, and that I must have broken it. They fixed it "as a courtesy", but the entire experience was horrible.
I'm posting a letter I sent to the service advisor, GM, and the Service manager: (Names removed for obvious reason)
====
(Service Advisor guy),
I thought you deserved to know that I will not be returning to your dealership, nor will I recommend anyone else to use that dealer. I am very dissatisfied with the entire experience, and figured you deserved to know why:
1. Poor communication - I was advised that I would be “informed” on my vehicle’s progress, yet, I had to take the initiative and “chase you down” at every turn. I was promised follow up’s, nothing ever came to fruition. This is extremely poor customer service.
2. Shop Foreman – While I can appreciate where he’s coming from, accusing a customer of breaking their own seat is not only unprofessional, but was without warrant. I wasn’t asked if anything unusual had happened, if I bought the vehicle “brand new”, if I’d ever attempted to use the recline function – 0 – nothing – zilch – It was just immediately assumed that I must have done something to it, so it was fixed ‘as a courtesy’ “this time”, but wouldn’t be covered again. This is nothing short of slander in my opinion. Did you note how well kept the vehicle was? I’m OCD about my vehicles, my truck is IMMACTULATE and I would never break anything, intentionally, accidental, or otherwise – without informing my dealer. I do well in my career, I have no reason to attempt to defraud Toyota in some type of “warranty claim”. Also, my vehicle was a PROGRAM truck, it had 3000 miles on it. I've never used the seat, so it must have been broken when I took delivery!
3. I’m a lifetime Toyota buyer. Perhaps a little check on me would have yielded you that this is my 9th Toyota, and 5th Toyota 4Runner. I’m an avid brand loyalist, I praise good service, I equally express my frustration with poor service. I contacted [Another local dealer] shortly after I left your dealer. Do you know what I was told by the service manager there? The seat defect is common, they’ve seen 10 of them, and I find it hard to believe that 10 different customers are breaking their seat. Clearly, there is an issue here. Yes, Your foreman may have fixed it, but I’m not convinced as to the root cause.
4. I am one of those customers that will tell EVERYONE about a poor experience. I’ve already expressed my horror at your dealer on the forums in which I’m a member, and I’m passing the word to everyone I see. Bottom line, AVOID Toyota of Dallas. They will accuse you of damaging your own car, fail to communicate with you in a timely manner, and will almost certainly treat you like a criminal.
5. I’ve purchased 3 (THREE) Toyota 4Runners from [my dealer] in the last 5 (FIVE) years. I’m a very avid buyer, and any chance your dealer had of winning my business is gone forever.
I will NEVER return to your dealer. You had the opportunity to win a new customer, instead, you’ve now got a very outspoken critic.
Perhaps you will work with your staff (the shop foreman) and others to actually learn from this experience.
Good luck
(Kmiller8821)
