Thanks Ford dealership.....for nothing

[Tassie f100]

Originally Posted by fairlane50

RAA Roadside service wouldn't come out just for a sat nav not working.
They only come out for breakdowns & will only do very basic things to get the vehicle moving.

Sadly the services have been cut in recent years by all these Motoring Clubs as I found recently when
(after even having a Gold Card for over 30 years membership)
they wanted to charge me around $200 to tow my car home about 25kms away.
(I have 3 cars fully comp with RAA & this one was a small engine bay fire which I put out only because I know what I am doing
& if most other people with less knowledge than me had been driving at the time it would have been a fully burnt out car that
RAA would have been legitimately paying an insurance claim for!)

People pay their membership & never use it year after year but it's worth reading
what you are actually covered for these days with the levels of membership.

I find that very surprising as I understand your vehicle will be towed to a repair place free.I han an incident where I broke a fan belt on a work van about 35 kms from home The towie loaded me up and off we went yo my place.As we were talking on the trip he told me he had just delivered a blown up old Holden Jackeroo to the owner in Northen Tassie.RACT had picked up the vehicle in Carnarvon WA,trucked it to Melb,shipped to Tassie then trucked to the owners home just out of Launceston.Pretty good for $130 per year and the driver is covered irregardless of the vehicle that is being driven,so I presumed all roadside services work the same way

[Itsme]

I blame the Receptionist at the desk, she could have directed the customer to service desk or spare parts where the issue could have been dealt with reason by a competent person who knows what the customer wants.

Sound like the Receptionist needs further training in her job.

[Fairlane 500]

Originally Posted by Tassie f100

I find that very surprising as I understand your vehicle will be towed to a repair place free.I han an incident where I broke a fan belt on a work van about 35 kms from home The towie loaded me up and off we went yo my place.As we were talking on the trip he told me he had just delivered a blown up old Holden Jackeroo to the owner in Northen Tassie.RACT had picked up the vehicle in Carnarvon WA,trucked it to Melb,shipped to Tassie then trucked to the owners home just out of Launceston.Pretty good for $130 per year and the driver is covered irregardless of the vehicle that is being driven,so I presumed all roadside services work the same way

This was a Saturday morning, we were going away for a couple of days & the car was loaded with all the usual packing stuff for a trip.
I have been in the trade since 1975 so I do most of my own work.

The RAA towing contractor offered to tow my car for free but ONLY to their own workshop 55kms away from my place.
They would not tow it to mine for free.

Then...


I would have had to get the car back from their workshop 55kms away from home.
I would have had a car & boot load of personal belongings to worry about.
(Perhaps even not been able to go & pick up until business hours Monday 110km round trip)
I would have had to also get myself & girlfriend home the day of the breakdown.

As it went I rang a mate & got a trade tow much cheaper home that Saturday.
I then went out & picked up a second hand V8 wiring loom from another mechanic mate & some other stuff
& I repaired / replaced everything & had the car fully fixed on Sunday morning.
(That's well before their workshop would have even been open)

A few years ago the RAA towing contractor would have towed it home for me for very little money.
It used to be 25kms for free then a small charge per km after that.

[Sox]

Originally Posted by gcg2503

Let me pose a question

You self diagnosed it as a simple fuse...which was correct, great.

Your expectation was that they drop tools and get onto your car asap.

Lets say it was more time was involved than a fuse...diagnosis time needed, scan the ECU, test nav unit etc

What happens to the pre booked cars? Those jobs aren't as important?

What happens to the cars with customers waiting in the service lounge? They wait longer so your car gets looked at.

It is all about expectation management.

Was it a Vehicle Off Road (VOR) situation critical?

Blow ins are part of the deal for service departments but the customer needs to have reasonable expectations in my opinion.

But no, the customer is always right.

''this is just the icing on the cake from this new mob......my wife has purchased 2 new vehicles with a lot of accessories and had these vehicles regularly serviced at this dealership''

The other customers that you wanted pushed aside so your car could get looked at, obviously aren't as important

The fact that you even posted this makes me shake my head.

Bingo.
Smurfs are obviously too important to go to the end of the queue...

[Maka]

Originally Posted by Sox

Bingo.
Smurfs are obviously too important to get to the end of the queue...

Go read the first post again, Poppa's wife was in a rush & wanted to buy a fuse, that's all.

cheer's, Maka

[Sox]

Originally Posted by Maka

Go read the first post again, Poppa's wife was in a rush & wanted to buy a fuse, that's all.

cheer's, Maka

I read the whole thread.
Maybe you should read the first post again, the smurfs wanted a fuse fitted first.
They're now jumping up and down because they couldn't jump the queue.

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by Sox

I read the whole thread.
Maybe you should read the first post again, the smurfs wanted a fuse fitted first.
They're now jumping up and down because they couldn't jump the queue.

Paying for & fitting a fuse would take any mechanical business a few moments to say the least , if you call that jumping the queue is just ridiculous.

[Sox]

Originally Posted by trublu

Paying for & fitting a fuse would take any mechanical business a few moments to say the least , if you call that jumping the queue is just ridiculous.

As a few have already mentioned, it isn't always as straight forward as just fitting a fuse.
Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't.
If they had changed the fuse and something went wrong which stranded the car, then what?

The dealership has policies, they apply to everyone, even smurfs.

[Maka]

Originally Posted by Sox

I read the whole thread.
Maybe you should read the first post again, the smurfs wanted a fuse fitted first.
They're now jumping up and down because they couldn't jump the queue.

I did buddy, slack customer service Imo, customer is always right lol!!!

cheer's, Maka

[Pepscobra]

There's been a few times in my life when I've dropped by my mums place unannounced chasing a free feed.
She was in the middle of something or too busy at the time and told me to pee off or help myself.
Doesn't mean she doesn't love me.

I'm sure Ford still love you too Poppa, you just called in at a bad time...

[Mercury Bullet]

Originally Posted by Sox

As a few have already mentioned, it isn't always as straight forward as just fitting a fuse.
Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't.
If they had changed the fuse and something went wrong which stranded the car, then what?

The dealership has policies, they apply to everyone, even smurfs.

If the replacement fuse blew again, then it would be a whole other story.

It was a fuse...dare I say it but...for a lady...

That's how I read the OP.

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by Sox

As a few have already mentioned, it isn't always as straight forward as just fitting a fuse.
Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't.
If they had changed the fuse and something went wrong which stranded the car, then what?

The dealership has policies, they apply to everyone, even smurfs.

Reading your post it appears you have no experience in changing fuses....Lol.... it is only a fuse with no dire consequences to the vehicle, ffs if it blows it is only protecting not destroying the circuit it protects....Lol

[Sox]

Originally Posted by trublu

Reading your post it appears you have no experience in changing fuses....Lol.... it is only a fuse with no dire consequences to the vehicle, ffs if it blows it is only protecting not destroying the circuit it protects....Lol

It would appear you have far far less experience with fuses and automotive electrics...

[Yellow_Festiva]

Same thing happened to me a few years ago in Bendigo.

Blew fuse in Focus, called dealer to ask where the fuse panel was due to the useless description in the handbook.

Got a service rep on the phone. Was useless. Explained to me that I needed special tools, that the plastic around the foot well needed to be removed and that I probably have electrical problems because I questioned him regarding the fact he called my 3.5" GPS a high powered device that blows fuses easily....

I stupidly asked him if I can just take it in for him to roughly point in the general direction so I know where to start digging and he said that would set me back $70...

Did it myself in the end. No special tools, no need to remove any plastic trim...

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by Sox

It would appear you have far far less experience with fuses and automotive electrics...

To be honest I can guarantee you any person whether they a mechanic, owner or sparky would replace a fuse 1st to see what happens & if it happens to blow then common sense requires further diagnostics will be required.

Yeah I know, you would recommend for anyone to book their vehicle into a business to have them replace a fuse.....good on ya.

[Sox]

Originally Posted by trublu

To be honest I can guarantee you any person whether they a mechanic, owner or sparky would replace a fuse 1st to see what happens & if it happens to blow then common sense requires further diagnostics will be required.

Yeah I know, you would recommend for anyone to book their vehicle into a business to have them replace a fuse.....good on ya.

You're just being intentionally obtuse now.
Every situation is different, you can't guarantee anything, and you have no idea what I would do or recommend, so stop pretending you do.

The dealer did the right thing according to their policy.
Their policy exists for many reasons.

Smurf is having a whinge because they didn't let him queue jump, how hard is this to understand?

[pottery beige]

rapeco fuses would have saved dealer bash

who the f goes to a stealership for a fuse??

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by Sox

You're just being intentionally obtuse now.
Every situation is different, you can't guarantee anything, and you have no idea what I would do or recommend, so stop pretending you do.

The dealer did the right thing according to their policy.
Their policy exists for many reasons.

Smurf is having a whinge because they didn't let him queue jump, how hard is this to understand?

I could say the same to you being "Obtuse"

[Express]

Originally Posted by pottery beige

rapeco fuses would have saved dealer bash

who the f goes to a stealership for a fuse??

Lady people

[staity]

Originally Posted by trublu

To be honest I can guarantee you any person whether they a mechanic, owner or sparky would replace a fuse 1st to see what happens & if it happens to blow then common sense requires further diagnostics will be required.

Yeah I know, you would recommend for anyone to book their vehicle into a business to have them replace a fuse.....good on ya.

Am a sparky, can confirm. Replacing the fuse is the first step I would have done, if it blew again then look further. Reset first ask questions later.

[The Yeti]

Originally Posted by kazawaki

Been a ford man since i was 16 ,so 39 years after the crap they said to me regarding my pursuit ute and the crap service when i bought my new Ba xr8 back in 2005 no more fords for me ever.If they dont care well neither do i.I found by the time you argue with them and waste your time returning the car multiple times for a simple fix easier to do it yourself or just deal with the cosmetics if it is to do with that.Yes thats what they want you to do and sure its easier for them short term but hows there jobs looking when the customers they have ****ed of over minor items go somewhere else ????

I fully agree, people are saying the buying public are being "un Australian" and buying other cars, but poor service saw me buy my last ford as fleet manager in 05 and my las personal new ford in 07.

I went down the contact the circus manager then ford customer care line got fed bull **** nothing changed so in the end I did

I don't need extra crap in my life. And I have to say while it hasn't been all smooth sailing with Nissan Mitsubishi and Tojo the dramers have been more PG than The typical X rated treatment I got from ford after sales

[The Yeti]

Originally Posted by gcg2503

Let me pose a question

You self diagnosed it as a simple fuse...which was correct, great.

Your expectation was that they drop tools and get onto your car asap.

Lets say it was more time was involved than a fuse...diagnosis time needed, scan the ECU, test nav unit etc

What happens to the pre booked cars? Those jobs aren't as important?

What happens to the cars with customers waiting in the service lounge? They wait longer so your car gets looked at.

It is all about expectation management.

Was it a Vehicle Off Road (VOR) situation critical?

Blow ins are part of the deal for service departments but the customer needs to have reasonable expectations in my opinion.

But no, the customer is always right.

''this is just the icing on the cake from this new mob......my wife has purchased 2 new vehicles with a lot of accessories and had these vehicles regularly serviced at this dealership''

The other customers that you wanted pushed aside so your car could get looked at, obviously aren't as important

The fact that you even posted this makes me shake my head.

Your 100% correct, and I agree BUT I had a similar issue a few years back with one of my reps, her car was making a noise from the front left wheel, she had only picked the car up from its 45,000 service a week earlier but was no where near the service (Ford) dealer.

I instructed her just to go to the nearest mechanic.

They told her that they were fully booked and all their mechanics were on jobs BUT if she could wait until the first one came free they would take a look for her and if it re safe to continue driving she could.

Turns out I spite of it having it's services at ford they didn't notice that it's front pads were on the wear indicators.

Non brand dealer has a mech come free in about 15/20 mins, diagnosed and did a pad slap she was back on the road and that sealed fords fait with me. It was just the last in a long line of never ending stuff ups

Mechanic that was full earned a pad slap for the day that they wouldn't have, they didn't get anymore work out of us for no other reason than its was out of our area, had they been local to our business they would have gotten all our service work

A very similar issue happened to me last year with my car, I did take it back to Mitsubishi, they DID make a mechanic free to look at it but as they were the service dealer from 130km earlier I didn't get them to do the pads and I haven't had future services done by them, but that said that's the only issue I've had with mitsi but I could fill terrbites with correspondence on my personal ford cars

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by staity

Am a sparky, can confirm. Replacing the fuse is the first step I would have done, if it blew again then look further. Reset first ask questions later.

I know that being a sparky myself but someone here thinks I'm not.

[Joel.]

Originally Posted by trublu

I know that being a sparky myself but someone here thinks I'm not.

Glad I read this thread. When I blow a fuse I now know to book the car in for a full systems check.

[ute83]

Doesn't the fiesta have spare fuses in the fuse box?

[MrEL]

Company policy is often thrown out as the response depending on the customers attitude.
I do it myself.
Be happy and nice , pleasant to deal with and policy will be brushed to a point and ill help you out.
Be demanding , impatient and tell me how your so much more important then everyone else , and you will find out im a bona fide company man who will not budge from policy.
In my day to day work , who are the most demanding , self important customers?
As a rule women between 40 and 65. They know everything , want it done before they decide they want it and nothing you do is right.
Every sentance is finished with a sigh.........

[Junkyard-Dog]

Can't go wrong with carrying a street directory in the car Poppa Smurf. Try not to let it get to you, most people are jerks that only care about number one. I have found it's best to maintain low expectations of others - at least you won't end up being disappointed.

These days it's "unrealistic" to expect anybody to take a few minutes out of their day to help out.

[Grunter]

The dealership had choices.

$3 fuse + 10 minutes labour = $10-12 cost plus possible $100-1000's in repeat business over coming years.
If it didn't immediately fix the issue, then book the car in to resolve.

No $3 fuse + zero f@#%s = $0 cost plus zero possibility of $100-1000's in repeat business over coming years.

It may be a different world now, but Customer Service at this level, isn't hard NOR costly to any business, especially if planned as part of the overall service. If done correctly, it actually generates goodwill and greater chance of repeat business (both the person directly involved, plus positive word of mouth). Doesn't mean you roll over for every request,

Get it right and it's the cheapest and most effective way of advertising and promoting your business. All in my humble experience.

[Glen 5150]

Originally Posted by Grunter

The dealership had choices.

$3 fuse + 10 minutes labour = $10-12 cost plus possible $100-1000's in repeat business over coming years.
If it didn't immediately fix the issue, then book the car in to resolve.

Although I agree with you, and what appears to be a simple process, this is only relevant and possible if someone that is capable of doing this and diagnosing it was and is available and free at the time? I don't think poppa grasps this?

Its easy in hindsight that a simple fuse was the issue, but Ford and large Dealerships don't work this way unfortunately. I'm not saying thats right or wrong, but when dealing with dealerships everything needs to be itemized and accounted for, and faults need to be entered into their systems for future reference and when factory warranty is relevant, all this takes time.

If you need immediate help or assistance from a Dealership and needing a mechanic to drop everything or hope one is available, then in the majority of cases you will be disappointed. If the O.P was so confident in his ability to diagnose the problem without even seeing it, then a local indy or auto electrician would of had a far more favorable outcome I would of thought.

I don't think Ford or the dealership will be sweating to much with the prospect of losing the O.P's future business.

[Joel.]

A month or so ago, not long after purchasing my car second hand not from a Ford dealer I had noticed a sound in the engine bay. I took it back to where I got it and they said it was normal. I decided to go up the road to the Ford dealer to see what they thought of it. Tbh I was not expecting them to look at it right away, I was expecting them to want it to be booked in, which is a bit of a pain since they are my closest Ford dealer and they are about 45 minutes away. I walked in and up to the service desk, the guy behind the desk was on the phone but on hold and asked what he could do for me, I said I bought a car from up the road and it has a noise and I was wondering if I could get it checked out. He said "No worries I'll just be a second on the phone" we waited about 5 minutes and he was still on hold. A mechanic walked out and the guy on the phone (Who I assume was the service manager) asked the mechanic if he could go check out a noise. Mechanic walked out, checked out the noise, then found another car of the same model on the lot and checked it to see if it made the same noise. It did, problem solved, about 10 minutes of my time and about 5 minutes of theirs.
That in my opinion is good customer service, considering I had spent $0 at their dealership, they were still happy to come and attend to my question.