Dealership service "advisor"

[Audioquest]

Originally Posted By: Oily_hair
I don't find the service adviser telling you that you can't switch back after using synthetic disturbing....that is told to many customers on a daily basis at dealerships, quickie lube shops, mechanics, etc. The prey on the ignorant and that day you were not one of them so be happy that you shot down their B.S. tactics. They prefer to have customers running conventional to have them coming in sooner and push many useless services on them and sadly it works quite well. What I do find disturbing with your post is that you requested 0w20 and she went on writing the work order for 5w20 conventional.....to me that says one of two things the dealership pushes hard for conventional to have you back sooner for more servicing or that they think you couldn't afford the oil changes. I would be a little more ticked off with the service manager than the service writer who is probably just following orders.


Actually, the Toyota Canadian OCI is 8,000kms or 6 months (whichever comes first) whether synth or dino is used. The sad thing is the 0-20 was only $10 more.

 

[mer]

Most auto manufactures want women service advisors , quick lane etc. because they seem to feel they are more honest then men,to the customers, but most of them do not no much about automotive basics/service.

 

[salv]

I am a service advisor at a Hyundai dealership, and I will concede that technical knowledge is not something that many people who do my job have. The guys with that level of knowledge typically turn wrenches or better yet, design automobiles.
There are a handful of us that make a concerted effort to acquire knowledge, either by reading or discussing with the technicians what is happening with the vehicles that come in for repair and why it has happened.
I enjoy reading about all facets of cars, repair, maintenance, and design. I also have a couple of really good techs that try very hard to educate the advisors because they know that if the have knowledgeable advisors, their job is easier.
As for actual training, advisors are trained to sell service by the dealership, the manufacturer, and their a-la-carte fluid providers.
Female service advisors are preferred for two main reasons, sex sells, and women, more often than not will trust another woman to sell them service. Female customers have become a major focus of the automotive service industry.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Sadly, at my MIL's Nissan dealer they are not very professional. She called me once from there about how they wanted to do 600 dollars worth of service on her 350z. When I checked her manual it was not even needed.

Some of these places see women coming in with a CC in their pocket and think "open season"...

 

[salv]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Sadly, at my MIL's Nissan dealer they are not very professional. She called me once from there about how they wanted to do 600 dollars worth of service on her 350z. When I checked her manual it was not even needed.

Some of these places see women coming in with a CC in their pocket and think "open season"...


Bare in mind, gender of the customer is not why an advisor is going to try and sell a bunch of service.
Most dealerships partner with a-la-carte fluid companies to sell a host of services that include certain branded fluids and additives (i.e. BG). These fluid companies have their own maintenance plans with certain mileage intervals based on their own guarantees and added warranties. The dealership will promote these products and services intervals and will offer mileage based service menus that include 5k, 15k, 30k services. When the advisor attempts to sell these services they rarely consider the manufacturer interval because they are mandated to promote the fluid company's maintenance plan.
For example BG will warranty your transmission for repairs up to $4000 for the life of the vehicle as long as you have a BG transmission flush performed every 30k, starting at no more than 36k miles. if you do your first flush by 75k, they will cover up to $2000 in repairs for the life of the vehicle as long as you flush it every 30k. Therefor, a dealership that uses bg products will recommend a transmission flush service every 30k even if the manual says 60k severe service and lifetime normal service interval.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: salv
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Sadly, at my MIL's Nissan dealer they are not very professional. She called me once from there about how they wanted to do 600 dollars worth of service on her 350z. When I checked her manual it was not even needed.

Some of these places see women coming in with a CC in their pocket and think "open season"...


Bare in mind, gender of the customer is not why an advisor is going to try and sell a bunch of service.
Most dealerships partner with a-la-carte fluid companies to sell a host of services that include certain branded fluids and additives (i.e. BG). These fluid companies have their own maintenance plans with certain mileage intervals based on their own guarantees and added warranties. The dealership will promote these products and services intervals and will offer mileage based service menus that include 5k, 15k, 30k services. When the advisor attempts to sell these services they rarely consider the manufacturer interval because they are mandated to promote the fluid company's maintenance plan.
For example BG will warranty your transmission for repairs up to $4000 for the life of the vehicle as long as you have a BG transmission flush performed every 30k, starting at no more than 36k miles. if you do your first flush by 75k, they will cover up to $2000 in repairs for the life of the vehicle as long as you flush it every 30k. Therefor, a dealership that uses bg products will recommend a transmission flush service every 30k even if the manual says 60k severe service and lifetime normal service interval.


I heard about that BG warranty, has anyone actually collected on it? Thanks.

 

[Ram01]

Trust in your service advisor

 

[splinter]

Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
...ASE is a complete joke since all the tests are multiple choice with absolutely no hands on testing...

No doubt there are sharp technicians and service writers both with and without specific industry certifications.
Note the huge number of malpractice deaths and billions of dollars flushed away each year at the hands of “licensed professionals.”

ASE could well be an acronym for Ask Someone Else.

 

[tig1]

So is your intention to try and get the woman fired?

 

[Merkava_4]

Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
I'd also be back in the shop watching the tech to make sure the oil you requested did in fact get installed.


Better yet, ask the tech to step aside and let you change the oil. "Hand me that 14mm wrench."

 

[stygz]

I think many times the service writer is just regurgitating something they heard from another service writer with little or no basis.

I have not been really impressed with my local dealer where I bought my Pathfinder from for similar reasons. I did however find the next closest dealer to be very good. Last time I was in they said I needed a new air filter and showed me the dirty one. They replaced it for me for just the cost of the filter. This may not seem like much of a deal. I have little doubt that the other dealer would charge me an install fee along with bumping the retail price. At least that has been my experience with them.

 

[stygz]

Originally Posted By: Oily_hair
Originally Posted By: Audioquest
2011 Toyota RAV4. Just went in for my winter oil change. I like to change the oil myself, but it's too [censored] cold out, so I begrudgingly let the dealer do it as they had a special on synthetic 0W20. I noticed the service advisor typing away and saw that she had down for regular 5W20. So, I politely asked for the 0W20. She responded by telling me that I would now have to use 0W20 from now on because you can't switch back and forth between synthetic and mineral oil. I was pretty floored by the stupidity. My response was a rather sarcastic "Uh, yeah, you can." This got her back up a little bit and she then responded by saying that "well, you shouldn't". Really? Why? Is there a Toyota TSB to back up your [censored] statement? Every oil manufacturer states that synthetic and mineral oils can be used without issue and mixed if necessary. [censored], what about semi-synthetic oils?

I told her to put the 0W20 in and walked away in disgust. I'm already planning the wording of the email that I'm going to send to the dealership service manager and possibly Toyota Canada.


I don't find the service adviser telling you that you can't switch back after using synthetic disturbing....that is told to many customers on a daily basis at dealerships, quickie lube shops, mechanics, etc. The prey on the ignorant and that day you were not one of them so be happy that you shot down their B.S. tactics. They prefer to have customers running conventional to have them coming in sooner and push many useless services on them and sadly it works quite well. What I do find disturbing with your post is that you requested 0w20 and she went on writing the work order for 5w20 conventional.....to me that says one of two things the dealership pushes hard for conventional to have you back sooner for more servicing or that they think you couldn't afford the oil changes. I would be a little more ticked off with the service manager than the service writer who is probably just following orders.


This is like going to a steakhouse and asking for your steak cooked rare and they write down well done.