The Laughing Wolf

Meanwhile (and OT), in better news the Russians just nailed the bastard that planned Beslan. Up in a firey puff of smoke.

Like all of these places, they are franchises. Some will be excellent, others will be hideous, most will fall somewhere in the middle, depending on who is operating the shop. We have always looked for an independent mechanic wherever we've moved. Not sure what you might find in W. Lafayette - but I would think there would be at least one or two worth a look.

Grab your phone book and do some drivebys - see if the place is neat (in other words no trashy vehicles looking like they've become part of the landscape). Stop in and talk to them for a few minutes some time and see what they're like personally.

You will very likely have to make appointments for oil changes - but it's worth it if you've got a good mechanic that knows your car.

As for the incident at the store and the aftermath... I think you should have dropped the matter and just not bothered to write the parent company. When it's me and I receive what I believe is bad service, to the point where I will never return to the establishment, I just leave it. Since nothing will bring me back, it's not worth the effort to contact anyone else if there is a larger company involved. Contacting them is taken as a sign that you would like to continue to be a customer.

If it's an issue I feel could be resolved, then I would write to someone to complain and see if I could elicit a response that might fix things.

Kevin's HUGE mistake was in his response telling you he reviewed video tape. That was inexcusable. (I have to wonder how long he's done customer service and if he even wants to be doing that job) In any case, it's always a bad idea to blame the customer (no matter what he thinks of the incident) and it's very bad for business to threaten a customer who is complaining about service received. Kevin should not be in that job at all and I suggest Quicklube reassign him to something that involves less work with people. Maybe he could be given papers to file as they don't talk back.

Just my .02. That an $1.80 will get you a coffee at Starbucks.

Teresa, you make some points but I disagree with letting things drop. Usually, when I have bad service I try to talk nicely with the person involved, offering some specific suggestions. You would be surprised how many times this works and helps everyone. Also, one refrain I have heard many times over the years from working with and patronizing chains or franchises is that upper management/home office/etc. didn't know there was a problem. If they don't know, they can't fix it -- and it can have severe repercussions for everyone else. Yes, not saying anything would have been the easy thing to do, but the question as always is if the easy thing is the right thing. The funny thing is that in this case, had any modest effort been made on the spot, I would be singing their praises instead of posting this.

You were a lot nicer than I would have been. If he broke it then they should replaced it. I would not have left that store until they replaced my filter, Cat

My question is who the heck is Kevin's supervisor, and does s/he know that he is sending snotty and vaguely threatening emails out as a representative of the company? What Kevin should have done, upon receipt of your "too little too late" email was apologize again and let the matter drop. You had stated you weren't coming back, so he/QL were not out any $$ or new air filters, so what does it actually gain him to be childish and petty with you? Some people just shouldn't be allowed to talk with customers, either in person or electronically. What a goober-brain! (Oops, was that libelous? Or maybe slanderific??)

Good lord, I would have been well and truly pissed. In this case, I agree with you going ahead and doing something about it. If I were in your position, I would do the same thing. In fact, I'm ready to do it with the Saturn dealership here. If the "upper management" doesn't know there is a problem, they can't fix it. At the very least, you have informed them of this fact. I would, most likely, take it a step further, and see if there is someone you can forward all of the correspondence to as well to make sure it reaches the proper channels.

Good luck. It will be interesting to see if anything happens.

As a lawyer and consumer, let me set the record straight:

For the record, stating an opinion, is neither slander nor libel.

For the record, you break it you buy it!

For the record, bad customer service is the primary reason people stop coming to your establishment.

For Kevin, for the record, the silliness and gamesmanship is on you. Had your store simply replaced the part they so obviously broke, none of this would have transpired. Oh, and I would have copped an attitude too if your store refused to replace a part they broke. Actually, I think that is grounds for a lawsuit, intentional damage to property? ;)

LW, I see nothing libelous in your post. Carry on!

LW,
Having worked for a large org as a national customer service rep. I find the QL manager, and Kevin's behavior, words and attitude inexcusable.

Please don't waste any more time with these individuals as you have reached their limit and scope of authority, experience and intelligence. Unfortunately, they have personalized this issue when there was no need for it. It's time to escalate this issue with BOTH the franchise owner and QL's main office. They need to see the local QL staff have crossed the line from customer service to customer abuse.

I will send you a private email regarding other organizations to contact regarding QL's retaliatory practices when a customer expresses dissatisfaction with their service.

Having worked in customer service for way to many years let me say that complaining to HQ is a good thing.

Fact: 80% of the customer you lose never let you know why they lost you. A company can not change unless they know why they are losing customers and even if you never in your lifetime plan on going back it's always good to let the company know why so they can change and maybe, just maybe someday you will hear enough good things about they to try them again.

Thanks to all for the comments, and the excellent suggestions both public and private.

Just a quick note, and what is truly scary about this, is that Kevin IS the corporate contact for compaints...

LW ~
It's not that I am happy that this happened to you, it's more like I feel relieved that I am not the ONLY one! This type of crap happens to me ALL THE TIME and, honestly, I have turned into a total Beatch when I even smell a bad customer service situation. Where do these people get off??? The inexperienced tech breaks your thing. PERIOD. Why, WHY are they even going to CARE if you get charged or not? It's not THEIR money!!! Why is it sooo difficult to rectify the situation with an apology, a new free part, even a free or discounted oil change, hand-shake, thank you very much.... Your post would be much different, eh? Why does this have to be YOUR problem? This crap pisses me off. Seriously. I just had a totally lame experience with U-Haul. In fact, I will look for the letter that I sent and post it on my own site so I don't waste yours, but they refunded me a whole $40. I don't know, but I don't think it was worth it.... And I definitely know that I will NEVER use U-Haul again!

I was on your side after reading the story, but really, the problem is yours. You say $10, but you needed a new filter anyway. If it was ripped and it was brand new, sure... I always tell them not to check it because I know if I need a new one or not, as I am sure you did too.

The trading of e-mails with the quick lube was childish as well as the backlash.

Mich150, one correction of fact: the filter did NOT need replacing, it only needed it after the gasketing was ripped. The rest, your opinion. Mine differs. No real backlash other than watching some of the most amateurish corporate customer relations I've ever seen

A customer whose vehicle gets manhandled by both an inexperienced technician and an apathetic manager has every right to have an attitude. No matter what, there's no way in the service industry world that a decent manager would have allowed you to drive away from his facility with a vehicle in worse condition than when you brought it in.

And then have the nerve to threaten you, which, by the way is baseless.

I'm appalled and wish I lived in Indiana if for no other reason than to refuse to patronize their facility.

I've been thinking about a CS related blog post for quite some time, when I finally write it I think I'll link to this post as well.

When corporate QL stinks it's time to do what you have done: blog it. Good job.

I've heard this threat of legal action several times now when folks post about bad customer service experiences. Haven't any of these corporations heard of "free speech"? How about "the customer is always right"?

Idiots. Most companies act as if we don't talk to each other, let alone use tools like e-mail and websites to expose their stupidity.

And I would have included my link to my blog, but I've been told that blog spot dot com is "questionable content".

The Eternal Golden Braid questionable content? I'll have to post about p0rn more often!

LW-
I think your actions were justified. I would have done the exact same thing and reacted in a similar manner.

As for the whole legal action thing, they have no case. You are entitled to your opinions.

I have, on several occasions, written about my experiences of customer no-service on my blog. In fact, doing so helped prompt Dell to honor their warranty and replace my computer when THEY crashed it.

It might have been only $10, but I understand that it wasn't about the money. It was the principle of the matter.

I believe that you did the right thing.