Dealership complaint #70,001 - Page 2

DanielXR8 · 29-09-2005, 10:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whippet_zetec

Mate,
Can understand you may be ****ed about this, but what makes you think it will be any different with a different dealer of a different car make? From my experience there are good and bad dealers for all makes and models......its not just restricted to Ford.

You might be right about other brands, but there sure are a LOT of other brands for people to choose from, before they get back around to Ford again. Customer service and the high incidence of problems with dealers is Fords number one problem. It will cost them in the long term as a car is for most people, their second biggest purchase and speaking from experience, Fords attitude to its long term customers (30 years in my case) just plain hurts. Its a far more important issue for Fords longterm viability in Australia, then a new bumper bar or gearbox. Well past the time the management at Ford realised it too.

Daniel

Smoke Pursuit · 29-09-2005, 11:00 PM

Id just like to remind a few people about a few things.. The stuff spoken about here isn't a Ford / Car Manufacturer only issue, its a nationwide issue that affects alot of big and small businesses today! At the end of the day its based on the dealer and how much they want to help the customer in most cases, the bigger stuff where warranty has to be approved etc is a FORD problem, however Dealers are incontrol of what they do and don't want to do, and I can tell you now that they don't always have to follow the rule book either, as alot of it comes down to the dealer service managers call on alot of thigns, whether they end up paying for the shortfall or not depends on how committed they are to their customers and ofcourse their refferal network.

So before everyone goes on about how bad Ford is when it comes to customer service, have a look at most businesses in Australia! Customer service is one thing that Australian's know stuff all about, and unless companies drive their employees harder with respect to how they treat customers and WHY they really do have a job we wont see any changes.

b2tf · 29-09-2005, 11:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShockWaveXR6na

Id just like to remind a few people about a few things.. The stuff spoken about here isn't a Ford / Car Manufacturer only issue, its a nationwide issue that affects alot of big and small businesses today! At the end of the day its based on the dealer and how much they want to help the customer in most cases, the bigger stuff where warranty has to be approved etc is a FORD problem, however Dealers are incontrol of what they do and don't want to do, and I can tell you now that they don't always have to follow the rule book either, as alot of it comes down to the dealer service managers call on alot of thigns, whether they end up paying for the shortfall or not depends on how committed they are to their customers and ofcourse their refferal network.

So before everyone goes on about how bad Ford is when it comes to customer service, have a look at most businesses in Australia! Customer service is one thing that Australian's know stuff all about, and unless companies drive their employees harder with respect to how they treat customers and WHY they really do have a job we wont see any changes.

No mate.

No other business I have had dealings with has stuffed me round involving an asset like a car. There may very well be other companies/businesses that would given the chance, but I dont care. Does saying "other people do it too" make it ok? No, it doesnt.

Fact of the matter is it's just not good enough, and too often do we turn a blind eye to this. I turned a blind eye to a lot of crap about this car becuase I love the car - I just am beyond putting up with the incompetent, rude, money grabbing turds I have to deal with when something goes wrong.
In a way I am glad this has happened because now I am able to take the car away from Hillis Ford (and Ford in general) and treat it the way it should be. I dont have to worry about the ****er apprentices doing stupid things in MY car using MY fuel, I dont have to clean the inside of it out to remove the grease and general stink of the workshop, I dont have to worry about new scratches and marks appearing on it - and most of all, I dont have to put up with the lies and straight out BULLS**T that comes out of a Service Managers mouth when he tells me "oh we couldnt fault it" or "they all do that".

It is amazing to think that I or any other forum member can walk into a Ford dealership where supposed Ford trained mechanics work, and tell THEM more about the cars they are working on than what they know. Does that seem right to you? Would you trust your GT to somebody who asks you "how many kilowatts does this thing have?" - because I have seen a Service Manager ask somebody that exact question. Doesnt fill you with confidence does it.

I am tired of watching good people be treated like dirt because Ford dealers have their money. I am tired of watching thread after thread on here pop up abot how dealers just DGAF about customers who have paid $XXX for vehicles under the impression that they would be warranted and backed up by dealers

Like I said earlier in the thread - I didnt think I would ever feel this way, but I am deadly serious - I will NEVER buy a car from Hillis Ford Wagga, I will NEVER buy a car from any dealer in Wagga regardless of brand, and it will take a HELL of a lot to convince me to give the Blue Oval another chance.

b2tf · 29-09-2005, 11:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShockWaveXR6na

Customer service is one thing that Australian's know stuff all about, and unless companies drive their employees harder with respect to how they treat customers and WHY they really do have a job we wont see any changes.

Mate i just wanna rack your brains about this particular quote for a minute.

I am Australian, and I know what I expect when Im dealing with someone. Equally, I know how to treat somebody if Im dealing with them. Hell, I resigned from my last job because I was not comfortable with the way my boss was asking me to treat customers.

So while Im not picking on you or having a go at you, I do think perhaps you need to rethink that point.

Smoke Pursuit · 29-09-2005, 11:26 PM

Nah... What you just said backs up my thought with your comment about your ex boss.

Im sorry but most people today in retail / service industries aren't paid enough to care in the first place. Looking at mechanics for example, most Ford dealership mechanics are on around 700 bucks a week, which to me really isn't huge money considering what they have to do!

Im not saying that as consumers we have stuff alll idea about service, we all know what we want as you have stated which is fair enough, but as employees of large multinational companies people seem to lose sight of what they are paid to do, whether it be because they are not paid enough, or coz of the conditions, or whether it is because theres not enough of them to service the demand...

I know we are probarly thinking totally different here, but Telstra is a fine example of how Australian workers care about customers, whether it because the organisation doesnt have the resources I do not know, but these people seriously dont give a about anyone, regardless of your situation. I know in comparison to a car it may seem petty, but you think about people who live in the bush and need telephones, yet Telstra wont supply / support them, and when they do won't service them or keep them running as per their requirements.

So I guess you can say it comes back on the worker and the organisation, but to be honest Australia is lacking behind greatly in customer service across many industries, usually the more expensive ones like motor vehicles and housing!

So basically what im saying is that this is standard proceedure for Austrailan large corporations, whether it be a Ford Motor vehicle, a Kenworth Truck or a Clarendon Home, it seems that we are all geting the raw end of the stick and theres nothing that prevents / stops it.

I will agree with your comments, i to fear for my car when it visits the local dealer, i have my own mechanic thats an enthusiast just like us who I ask for each visit, if he does not have time to fit my car into his day then my car sleeps there over night and is his first the next day, coz i refuse to let anyone else touch it. I do however worry about it still in the yard as they try and fit around 80 cars in a day where theres probarly only space for 60, plus they have new cars in between as well as wholesale cars to, so I do agree with you totally and say that Fords service isnt there, but at the same time neither is Holdens or Toyotas as I dont think its a company specific issue, it comes back to the Australian Labour force and payrates if you ask me!

Its getting late and my points probarly lost out in the ocean, might revisit this tomorrow!

zetec · 29-09-2005, 11:37 PM

Wish I was still a salesman sometimes, RATT and I could take half of Sydney's enthuisiasts each and retire to Mosman at 40 years of age rich and happy with a hundred thousand happy customers each!

As if.

Even the hardest working nicest kindest most honest salesman gets the crappy customers who will never be happy. Everyone gets the dodgy pricks. It's a two way street at times in sales. But at the end of the day the customer is still number 1 and deserves to be treated so. RATT has a reputation for a reason, I was building one in my relatively short career and there are many hard working salespeople out there.

Referrals are the best way to reward these guys and girls who bust their chops to do the best thing by their customers. So deal with RATT or anyone you've heard positive things about and just let the rest either wallow or learn.

Sorry to hear of your bad run with the Focus, nobody likes bad customer service if it's sandwich making or buying a car... I hope I can keep showing you cars to keep tempting you to buy them mate!!

Hopefully All Ford Day will give you the injection of Fordrenalin (TM) that you need to keep you loving our big and little Fords!!!

DOC · 29-09-2005, 11:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by back2thefutura

it will take a HELL of a lot to convince me to give the Blue Oval another chance.

An interesting thread, first of i feel the disapointment by B2TF with the issues at hand.

In keeping Nuetral on the thread issue, in general as shockwave has said the biggest issue is one of customer service and the ability to resolve these issues and does apply to all business.

Having now spent many years in the sales game it goes without saying there will always be customer complaints / issues ( we are dealing with people ), now in most cases a business would as they discover issues resolve these so that they do not happen again or at worst minimise the occurance of it happening.

With that in mind it is not always possible to eliminate all customer related issues.

Early on ( when i was in training ) i was never really taught the correct methods in relation to dealing with these matters and at best my advice was they were whingers etc and to treat them like most do.

After a few years and now managing my own team of sales guys i adopted a whole new line of thinking and it was simple, and that was to understand that no matter hard you tried there will always be some customer issues crop up.

The next thing i taught the guys is that these issues were infact a positive ( at which when i first started to teach them this, was how is a positive ? )

The thinking was simple if you approached a problem and learnt to resolve the problem with the customer so that each party agreed on the outcome ( and in every one of my cases the customer was always right i.e they had to save face ) then the net result was not a reply from the customer that said i wont shop there / buy that again but the exact opposite along the lines of these guys are great to deal with, yes there was a problem but they stepped in and fixed it straight up and i'm very happy.

This resulted in a happy customer then that not only came back and shopped some more but in general also spent more money, producing in effect repeat sales, which is very important in business.

As shockwave has mentioned the skills of the people handling the problem seem to be the problem not the dealer in general, although they need to ensure thier staff can deal with problems properly and are trained to do so, and must take ultimate responsibility for this.

Had the staff handled the problem perhaps we would be reading something like

Had a problem today but the great team at XYZ fixed it up and i would recommend everyone buy from them

just my 2 c
Pete

30-09-2005, 12:56 AM

B2TF I will look into this for you mate. I know there should be abit of good will in the months straight after warranty runs out. But that is entirely up to Ford, not the dealer.

How many km on the Focus?

b2tf · 30-09-2005, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RATT

B2TF I will look into this for you mate. I know there should be abit of good will in the months straight after warranty runs out. But that is entirely up to Ford, not the dealer.

How many km on the Focus?

Hi Dean,

thanks, Id appreciate that.

Focus currently has a little over 53,000kms on it and its an 02 build. If you need VIN etc just PM me.

Actually RATT tell me something:-

Am I right in thinking that when Hillis took stock of the car as a used vehicle they would have been able to know that it was ex-demo (assuming it was)? The guy at CRC was able to look up the vehicles entire history on his computer and I would think all Ford dealers have access to this info? Is that right?

johnydep · 30-09-2005, 09:30 AM

If they have lied to you, give the MTAA a call.

Pilch · 30-09-2005, 09:46 AM

Sorry to hear you've been stuffed around Aust, hopefully things will turn out as they should and the work will be paid under warranty. Hopefully you can see beyond the crap service and realise that you have an excellent product and will continue to drive a blue ovalled badged car!

I will probably never buy a new car from any car manufacturer, based purely on multiple stories about disgraceful customer service and a lack of care and deligence in the dealer workshops. It's not the product that is a turn off, but the after sales service.

30-09-2005, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by back2thefutura

Hi Dean,

thanks, Id appreciate that.

Focus currently has a little over 53,000kms on it and its an 02 build. If you need VIN etc just PM me.

Actually RATT tell me something:-

Am I right in thinking that when Hillis took stock of the car as a used vehicle they would have been able to know that it was ex-demo (assuming it was)? The guy at CRC was able to look up the vehicles entire history on his computer and I would think all Ford dealers have access to this info? Is that right?

The question I'd ask is, if it were first a demo at another dealer how did Hillis Ford get a hold of it? In my opinion it looks as though you are the 3rd owner, I don't know for sure. PM me your VIN and rego number.

buickman · 30-09-2005, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrs b2tf

Be like me- buy a toyota instead! :P

I don't know about that but will leave my options open when going for another car as I bought a Mazda SP20 in 2002 for the wife new & the service & car have been great.

My daughter purchased a new Mits Lancer coupe new in 2000 & that has been very reliable for her but the mitisbushi dealers are as hopless as the Ford dealers for service on the cars & charging.

I purchased the AU1 ghia as a demo in 2000 with just under 3,000Ks & have had to replace the C/C module twice, radiator, boot strut ball joint broke the end off & Ford would do nothing about it because out of warranty,exhaust muffler burntout at 60,000, 2 sets of rotors & 4 sets front pads & 2 rear, IRS clunking yea great cars & service back up & has 98,000Kms.

My sister has a VY S2 holden Spak and is not happy with it as had a lot of small quality & build problems that really should not happen on a new car plus the poor dealership service depatments excuses of why it happens but they fix it under warranty

buickman

clontarf_x · 30-09-2005, 04:55 PM

Buick, its an AU1 <== There is your problem right there

buickman · 30-09-2005, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clontarf_x

Buick, its an AU1 <== There is your problem right there

No poor quality service from Ford. Plus this mightl happen to other AU's down the track as they all have poor drainage problems in that area. But engine wise the car has been reliable
buickman

ck11 · 01-10-2005, 12:38 AM

Quote:

In keeping Nuetral on the thread issue, in general as shockwave has said the biggest issue is one of customer service and the ability to resolve these issues and does apply to all business.

I totally agree with shockwave and Doc. The biggest issue is customer service. They dont care/recognise their lack of customer care because the dealers arent being hurt financially. I think holden, ford and mitsubishi definitely need to address this or they will eventually suffer the consequences.

I think Rick Damilian Honda have been the benchmark for customer care and service (in our experience anyway). Its amazing the difference between them and the rest.

Yaw · 01-10-2005, 06:22 AM

I think it is time from all the threads that keep popping up here on these sorts of issues that FORD actaully train their dealers in conflict resolution and update their outdated franchise code of conduct or actaully enforced what is already in place. I know how irrational some customers can be and are bnut clearly this does not seem to be the case here, this appears to be a case of misrepresntation at point of sale which not only is unethical, its also ileagle.
Proving that may be a different kettle of fish, but for a dealer or any busniess to hide behind that "they can't prove it" is just showing their arrogance.

You mentioned going to TT or ACA, for all the ing we do about that show, maybe you should actually use them. You have some claims of apprentices knocking and treating the cars badly and being general knobbers, suggest that story to them and get them doing it on TV, lets see the damage control arm of hillis ford come out then.

I can't believe how angry I feel about this and its not even my issue.