Quote:
Originally Posted by charmed59
Last Monday I took my Car into Volkswagon of Ocala and turned it over to Caleb to have a new key programmed for the car, an oil change, and a recall done. Caleb said the car would be done in about 2 hours. After 2.5 hours I hadn’t heard from them and went back to the dealer to check on it.
The car was parked out side, not in the service bay. I went in and asked if it was done and the service guys said they needed to find Caleb. One of them said it didn’t look like they started it yet. Sure enough, on their monitor although all the other cars said “in Progress” or “completed”, mine showed up as “checked in”.
When Caleb came out he said it was almost finished, just needed about 30 more minutes to complete the recall. The key and oil change were complete. After 45 minutes I tracked him down again and he had questions about programming the key.
After another 20 minutes I finally got the car with a “brand new” beat up key. After driving it home I checked the oil, it was not close to full.
Three hours later I got the text with the video. Normally they show step by step what they did. This was a 20 second video that said what they were going to do, and then said they did it. It didn’t even show the hood up or the car on a rack.
I suspect Caleb panicked when I got back and he realized he hadn’t turned the car in. Then for the next hour they spent trying to finish the one thing I could check, the key.
I sent an email to the service manager and heard nothing back. When a lady from Volkswagon called with her after service survey I told her the whole story. Still haven’t heard from them. Other than stopping payment on the service I’m not sure what to do.
My first impression was Caleb messed up. Now I’m wondering if this is normal for service at Volkswagon of Ocala, and they always tell people they serviced their car without doing it.
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Certainly sounds like you were lied to. After 20 years as a service advisor/assistant service manager at a large top 100 dealer in Clearwater FL. I have heard many such stories. With how complicated cars are today the dealer is still the best option for repairs. The technicians are factory trained and much better equipped to work on their brand. Aftermarket shops are fine for tires and oil changes. Tires may still be the best deal at your dealer due to most have price match policies, and sell the tires engineered for your vehicle. At the dealer ask for the most senior advisor. If for any reason your personalities clash or you don't have a good feeling about him or her change on the next visit. I developed many friends and a large following over the years and held the technicians accountable for the work because when it was face to face time it was with me. Remember you get more flies with sugar than with lemons. Also don't be afraid to go to upper management because they hate that part of the job. Also remember dealers get a large part of their income from the manufacturer based on good survey results so they are highly motivated to get that survey. The survey is also part of the pay plan for the advisor in many dealers. Aftermarket shops also use aftermarket parts from NAPA etc. dealers use factory parts 99% of the time unless unavailable. Also remember every barrel has a couple bad apples you just have to sort them out. I've seen many many people ripped off by small shops. I also managed tire shops for three of the major chains and they are by far the biggest unethical places for repairs ever.