timing delay of dealer service appointment

[Mtnbiker]

Explain the reasoning of dealers asking us to make appointments 0700. Then we arrive and then say they won’t look at your vehicle for 4 days+

This has happened a number of times.
I make an appointment and tell them I will wait for my vehicle or that I will drop it off.
So in the instances of beforehand, I communicate with them that I’m going to wait for my vehicle.
I get there and they either say I need to drop the car off or I need to come back another day
Or I get there they say they prefer that I drop off the vehicle even though I told them I wanted to wait. Then I’d drop off the vehicle, I get a ride home, to work etc.
The dealer contacts me or I fight to get through to talk with someone that has a few brain cells to rub together and is willing to use them to answer what’s going on. They say it’s gonna be days or weeks before they even look at my vehicle.
SO WHAT IS THE POINT OF ME MAKING THE APPOINTMENT?
MOST OTHER BUSINESSES WHEN YOU MAKE AN APPOINTMENT YOU SHOW UP AND YOUR BUSINESS IS TAKEN CARE OF/CONCLUDED, ETC.
most do not say thanks for getting here at 0700, we are going to function as you do NOT have a mutually agreed upon appointment!
Do you find this to be the same for you? If so, is there any logic or reasoning behind this that would make sense of this seeming idiocy and rudeness?

 

[dishdude]

They have a poorly managed business and zero respect for your time. Find another dealer.

 

[danstraylee]

I would say you need to find a different dealer. I'm so very fortunate that all my dealership and other shops experiences in both daily drivers and powersports have been nothing but positive.

Just last week I made an appointment with local GMC dealership at 07:00 for a warranty wheel liner and routine service/inspection. Got there at 06:45, dropped it at 07:00 and got a loner vehicle for the day while they had to source the wheel liner. Very well oiled operation. took it in and did the service and inspection first, pulled the wheel liner and got the replacement delivered before noon. Dropped off loaner vehicle and had my truck by 13:30.

 

[bdc101]

"Never attribute to malice that which can be explained by incompetence"

 

[CKN]

This has happened a number of times.
I make an appointment and tell them I will wait for my vehicle or that I will drop it off.
So in the instances of beforehand, I communicate with them that I’m going to wait for my vehicle.
I get there and they either say I need to drop the car off or I need to come back another day
Or I get there they say they prefer that I drop off the vehicle even though I told them I wanted to wait. Then I’d drop off the vehicle, I get a ride home, to work etc.
The dealer contacts me or I fight to get through to talk with someone that has a few brain cells to rub together and is willing to use them to answer what’s going on. They say it’s gonna be days or weeks before they even look at my vehicle.
SO WHAT IS THE POINT OF ME MAKING THE APPOINTMENT?
MOST OTHER BUSINESSES WHEN YOU MAKE AN APPOINTMENT YOU SHOW UP AND YOUR BUSINESS IS TAKEN CARE OF/CONCLUDED, ETC.
most do not say thanks for getting here at 0700, we are going to function as you do NOT have a mutually agreed upon appointment!
Do you find this to be the same for you? If so, is there any logic or reasoning behind this that would make sense of this seeming idiocy and rudeness?

Are they the only dealer in town?

 

[Mtnbiker]

I really wanna blast this dealer for their lack of courtesy and professionalism. I’m trying to be mature and open-minded and learn of some kind of logical reasoning for their actions and lack there of.

 

[Mtnbiker]

Are they the only dealer in town?

No they are not. But the other FORD dealers have been terrible also in Fairfax, Manassas and Chantilly Va.

 

[Leo99]

My local repair shop will prioritize you if you're waiting. I don't go there often, but I go a few times a year and it seems that I have some juice there and they take care of me. I don't know of any repair shops in my experience that actually take appointments and plan their work that way. It's more like they look at their jobs for the day and they anticipate they'll have the bandwidth to work on your car during the day.

 

[CKN]

No they are not. But the other FORD dealers have been terrible also in Fairfax, Manassas and Chantilly Va.

So every dealer sucks? I find that hard to believe...but if you say so. If you are using them for routine maintenance-find a good independent. Keep your receipts.

 

[xspeedy]

There is a local Ford dealer that does stupid stuff like this. You get an appointment for a certain day, but the vehicle just sits in a lot for several days before being looked at. I argued with the service writer, and she said the appointment time was for the writer and not the tech. And this dealer doesn’t have a lot of space for parking vehicles.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

They're slammed with cars waiting on parts and once those parts come in THAT vehicle becomes the priority?

 

[CleanSump]

BMW dealer did it to me for a recall repair. I waited 9 months from the notice of the recall until the notice the parts were at the dealership and to make an appointment. Made the appointment, dropped the car off and supposed to be done that afternoon. Took 4 days. No excuse because they notified me they had the parts (VC gasket set and VANOS bolts) and to make the appointment.
They could have given me the parts and I could have done it that afternoon in a couple of hours.

 

[CKN]

BMW dealer did it to me for a recall repair. I waited 9 months from the notice of the recall until the notice the parts were at the dealership and to make an appointment. Made the appointment, dropped the car off and supposed to be done that afternoon. Took 4 days. No excuse because they notified me they had the parts (VC gasket set and VANOS bolts) and to make the appointment.
They could have given me the parts and I could have done it that afternoon in a couple of hours.

No...recalls don't work that way.

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

Tell then no problem give me a free loaner until you are done!

 

[gfh77665]

My Ford dealer in Crosby TX is really good. Top notch service.

 

[CleanSump]

No...recalls don't work that way.

Uh, yes it did. Glad you were following me around. ignore.

 

[4wd]

They have a poorly managed business and zero respect for your time. Find another dealer.

Yep, does not happen to me - book online - in fact I tend to show up early and they immediately run it through the scanning machine and on to the shop …
I wait and they might come ask a question - then in a couple days follow up by text - my favorite way to communicate …

 

[The_Jeff]

Because once you're there you're a customer.

Why do sucky independent tire shops have seven bays but two mechanics? Once it's up on the lift with a wheel off, you're a customer, even if you have to wait.

Same reason if you're in Autozone at the counter and the phone rings, they'll interrupt your purchase to take the phone call. You're already there; the guy on the phone MIGHT decide to shop there too.

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

Because once you're there you're a customer.

Why do sucky independent tire shops have seven bays but two mechanics? Once it's up on the lift with a wheel off, you're a customer, even if you have to wait.

Same reason if you're in Autozone at the counter and the phone rings, they'll interrupt your purchase to take the phone call. You're already there; the guy on the phone MIGHT decide to shop there too.

Maybe that's why my nearest AutoZone just went out of business!

 

[rstsco]

Lots of news lately about Ford having trouble finding, then keeping, techs. Dealers are probably already short-handed, and then one or two (or three) call in "sick" and everything is pushed back one, two, or three days (or more). My understanding is that many manufacturers are cutting back the number of hours paid for warranty repairs, thus cutting the pay for commission techs.

Having DIY skills and some tools is fast becoming a lost art. Today's vehicles require one of the tools to be a capable scan tool just so you can do a brake job.