Re: Terrible service

["Kevin M. Kobielusz" <kmk8258@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Being a technician myself, I feel a need to respond.  I know many or most
shops are poor at communicating with the customer.  I don't know why, but
most shops are better at fixing cars than they are at customer relations.
Therefore it would be in your best interest, as the customer, to initiate
this relationship with your service shop.  No matter how well you trust
your shop, inspect the work when you pick up your vehicle.  That way when
you notice something broken, you're in a better position to say something
than if you wait a couple of weeks to bring it up.
	In this case,  the shop should've said something when the customer
came back for the vehicle.  I don't know for sure that they actually broke
it, but more than likely they did.
	Technicians run into this sort of problem quite a bit.  What do
you do when an old 320i comes in and when you go to open the door the
handle breaks.  The tech didn't break it, but the customer says it wasn't
that way when he brought it in.  But the plastic had weakened to the
point that the next person who touched it would appear to break it.  This
happened to me yesterday.  I had to take off a seat recliner lever on a
'95 GMC pickup.  All I did was take off the clip holding it on, and the
handle fell off with the plastic stud still inside.  This guy now needed a
new recliner for his seat (a $117 part).  I didn't break it.  This guy had
probably been pretty hard on this part, ie throwing his weight backwards
before seat actually releases to recline or yanking too hard on the
handle.  But, in his view I broke it, since it was still in one piece when
he brought it in.  So our shop is replacing it free of charge.
	You as the customer, would be doing yourself a favor to bring up
any discrepency on the spot, not weeks later.  Also, don't be afraid to
say no.  If your not sure about a repair they're trying to sell you,
then wait on it, ask your friends about it, or get a second opinion.

> Approximately
> 1.5 months ago, I was in need of diagnosis & repair of
> a no-start condition of my 1991 525i.
> I ended up paying them over $700 for diagnosis
> and repair of the no start and an outer control arm. 
> It seemed to me at the time that the owner/manager
> (not sure of his name), was hitting me at every
> opportunity..but I said nothing (I was happy to have
> my car running again).

	I don't know the specifics of the situation, but maybe you
should've said something.  I mean you went in there for a no-start problem
and came out with a new control arm. 
	David Moore sounds reasonable in his complaints towards this shop.
Except the shop owner was right when he said plastic weakens over time.
Exposure to ultra-violet rays, engine heat, and other elements take their
toll on plastic parts.  However, the owner should've said something about
the broken piece first.  Perhaps he didn't know, maybe his tech didn't
tell him.

Kevin

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