Worst Customer Service EVER! (Service Drive Revolution)

So Michael has a question that he. He was asking, and I thought, oh, just ask it on the show and we'll get your opinion, because it involves the parts department. And I know what a fan of the parts department you are.

Absolutely. If anything is wrong.

And so you're gonna love this question. So, Michael, what is. What's your question?

Thanks for having me on the show.

So the other day, I went into my local service department, and I was going in to get a scheduled maintenance done as well as a recall, because.

What kind of car?

That's a Toyota Corolla hybrid.

What year?

2020.

And it already has a recall on the seat belts, of all things.

Oh, okay.

Yeah. So.

So you went in how many miles?

I. Not sure.

48, 29.

So you went in for your first oil change.

Right.

And when you went in, they told you how to recall or you knew.

So I knew I had a recall before.

Did you get, like, a notice in the mail?

Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So I went in, and they told me on the phone, okay, well, we can't, you know, we can't deal with the recall until we check out the car. So I said, great, I'll take it in while you guys are doing my maintenance. You can check out the car. Car. So they check out the car, and I get a phone call at the end of the day saying, hey, we did your maintenance and everything's done, but unfortunately, we don't have the part to do your recall, but we're gonna order it, and we're gonna get you back in here next week and we can do your recall. So I set up an appointment, and everything was great. Now comes this week, and just to give you some context, this weekend I'm going on a road trip, and I need those seatbelts fixed because I need to be safe. So I have my appointment tomorrow. And I called up the department today just to confirm. I called the lady and I said.

Hey, so when you called the dealership, did you ask for parts?

Yeah, I called. Oh, I called for the service department.

Okay, so you asked the service department.

Right. And I said, hey, I have. I'm bringing my car in tomorrow for a recall. Last week, they told me to schedule an appointment for this week. Before I bring it in, I just want to confirm that you guys have the part that you needed to order.

So it's been a week, and nobody's contacted you and said the parts in?

No.

So you're calling so. Because you're worried because you're going on this trip?

Yes. So where's this trip to, to Northern California.

And then the seat, the seat belt recalls on all four seat belts or.

Was on the back seat belts.

So there's a recall in the back seat belts. Are you taking people with you on the trip that will be in the back?

Yes.

Do you care about those people?

For the most part, yes.

But technically, if the seat belts didn't work, it would be okay.

Yeah.

How close are they? Family?

No, no.

You know what a good parts manager would do? Give them some loaner helmets for those customers in the backseat.

There you go. So I called the lady and she puts me on hold for a good minute, you know, a little while, because.

She has to check with the parts department.

Correct. Okay. She comes back and she says, hey, so in order to get that recall, we need to get your car in so we can inspect it so we can see what part to order.

Didn't we already do that?

And I said, oh, well, I did that last week. They already inspected my car. And she said, oh, well, in that case. Your parts, your parts here? Sure, if they inspected it, it's. It's here. So just come on in. So my question for you is, is my part really there?

I'm gonna vote for no.

I'm gonna vote no. I love. Yeah. So no, probably not.

Hmm.

So maybe, maybe call and ask for the manager and tell him like, hey, this is my confusion and I'm getting frustrated and could you help me? Or we could call together and we could ask for the parts department, your appointments tomorrow. Yeah, we could ask for the parts department and they might tell us in Jeremy's theory. They wouldn't, but man, what a well oiled machine that place is, huh?

Yeah. So now, now I am worried.

Well, there's either two scenarios. They either have a stockpile of those parts ready, but they need to have the inspection done first, which they claim they didn't do the first time. So if they had the parts in stock, it would have been done already. But I have seen countless advisors say that the parts are on order and then the parts are perpetually on order and it never shows up.

You're taking this to the Toyota store by you, right?

Correct. Yeah.

You know that one of our clients is the Toyota store down here? Lithia.

That's not the one I took it to.

Yeah. In the future we might be able to set you up.

See, they probably would have sent him a text message says, hey, your part has arrived. We're ready for your appointment. Confirm your time. Put push a button.

Well, at least we, we Might know somebody there.

We got the inside track. We can hook you up.

Yeah, well.

Yeah, the part's not there though, Michael, for sure.

All right, so what. What do I do if I want to go on a road trip this weekend?

Well, I have four extra helmets at home. You can borrow two if you need to.

Okay.

I would. I would call and talk to the parts and maybe ask for the parts manager, but make a big deal out of it.

Okay.

And I wouldn't make them physically touch the part, but it is one of the things.

It is sad that this is the experience.

Should I take my car in tomorrow just to see what happens?

No, not without them confirming they have the part.

I vote for yes. Because you can probably raise an issue that if they don't have it ready, you might be able to get a free loaner vehicle for your trip if yours is unsafe to drive. Just saying.

He's not going to want a loaner. I can tell you by knowing him.

I would have much rather put the miles on a loaner car than my car.

No, I mean, if they. If they're cool with me taking on a road trip, then.

Well, just tell them you're driving it locally. They don't check.

But what are the chances that Toyota store has loaners?

They might have a Camry for.

They don't have the parts for the recall. They're not going to have a.

To be fair, to be fair, when I brought my car in the last time, they asked me if I needed a rental or a loaner.

Listen, so this is the difference. Seat belts aren't a safety issue. It's not a big deal. You're not going to put somebody in a loaner or a rental for a non safety issue.

I feel like that was a joke, Michael.

I feel like the world just got turned.

I could just get some bungee cords.

This is what I say. Invite a couple friends that you don't really like.

And put them in the back.

Put them in the ejector.

Tell your friends that are with you.

The.

The person that buys lunch that day gets shotgun. And the other two are in the back. Who pays for treatment.

And the people that.

What's funny is the Toyota dealership he's going to has always been a nightmare.

That's a great question. Thanks for bringing that up. Absolutely. Great scenario.

Yeah. Sorry, Michael.

Thank you for making me weird.

Oh, I was gonna tell you guys too. So over the weekend, I went out again. Like, again, no ankle bracelet, too. Two weekends in a row. So I went to the zoo and the only animal in the zoo was was a dog. It was a Shih Tzu.

Thank you so much for watching this clip of Service Drive Revolution. Now you can catch the full episode on YouTube, iTunes, or Spotify or wherever you consume your podcast. If you have any questions, go ahead and post them in the comments below. Make sure you subscribe and hit the bell icon so you're notified when we post new episodes. I'm Chris Collins and you can find me on Facebook and Instagram at Chris Bulldog Collins and I'll see you again on the next episode.