[CaryTheLabelGuy]

Originally Posted by FC4

No matter what kind of shitty gift you give him, I'm sure it's too late. He already told the techs to fart in your car.

[Labeef]

Originally Posted by GrussGott

Some of these replies show me why customer service sucks ass - many people don't expect anything for their money.

Dudes, the SA ain't your buddy, he's an employee you're PAYING to serve you.

wow.

Have you ever wondered if your expectations are unrealistic or you misinterpreted what's being said?

Treat people with respect, even if you are paying them. If you don't like how your being treated, ask for the manager. Being a douche will not yield favorable results.

[mapexvenus]

Interesting opinions.

Anyway, when the SA finally called me to give him an update, I apologized. It was a terrible morning and his attitude when checking me in didn't help. Anyway, My apology was sincere and frankly, he was surprised. If he is going to be a dick about it and have techs fart in my car, then, whatever.

[mapexvenus]

Originally Posted by GrussGott

Seems fair to me given this line:

"the SA spoke to me very lethargically and didn't really seem to appreciate the situation I was in"

My expectation of customer service is that you empathize with the customer - in this case that would mean understanding a customer has had their car malfunction, been waiting around for pick-up / transit, etc and are now sitting in front of me wanting to know when they can expect life back to normal.

The service person should've known that and made an effort to provide details, e.g. "We've got it up on lift now and we're also running diagnostics - I expect to have a diagnosis in 30-45 minutes and then I'll have an idea of how long it'll take to fix so you can expect to hear from me in an hour or less"

If I were managing that team "later this afternoon" would never be a good answer ever.

That is a fair point of view. I wasn't expecting him to give me an update only with the news that my car was fixed. I was just wanted to be informed considering that I just dropped $83k on this car less than 4 days ago and the whole incident shook me up. Not to mention the meetings I missed to attend to this problem - meetings of the kind that help me afford this kind of car.

[Arcades]

You have to be on the other side serving the public to understand truly how you should treat others. I have been on the other side before so I always try my best to treat anyone in that position as well as I can regardless of how upset I am.

It doesn't matter how angry you are but you should realize they are normal people just like you. GG may have a point but until you realize just because you are the customer doesn't automatically mean they should treat you like a king if you are acting like a douchebag.

Unless this said SA actually deserved your response, I'd apologize. I have always ended up apologizing on behalf of my parents because they at times are too old fashioned to realize what they are doing is wrong. The internet is a weird place where a lot of people have this attitude like they deserve everything, this isn't reddit ffs. Regardless of how old you are, treat other people with kindness, it gets you places.

[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by Arcades

It doesn't matter how angry you are but you should realize they are normal people just like you. GG may have a point but until you realize just because you are the customer doesn't automatically mean they should treat you like a king if you are acting like a douchebag.

Yes ... however if I punch you in the face do I deserve a gift card because you're mad and yell at me?

The SA, by not providing details and good customer service up front, was and is the douchebag. OP politely asked for the service he's paying for, was denied it, and got rightly pissed. Why does the OP have to tell the SA how to do his customer service job? And why doesn't the OP have a right to be pissed when the SA doesn't do the job he's being paid to do?

It's not ok to suck at your job and you definitely don't deserve gifts for it.

[Arcades]

Originally Posted by GrussGott

Yes ... however if I punch you in the face do I deserve a gift card because you're mad and yell at me?

The SA, by not providing details and good customer service up front, was and is the douchebag. He failed at his job (he's being paid to do) and he sucks at it. OP isn't asking for a coronation ceremony, he simply politely asked for the service he's paying for and was denied it by a shit employee so he got rightly pissed.

It's the SA that owes the OP an apology.

It depends on what happens.

The OP only said certain things about what happened, he didn't fully explain their interaction, how can you get out fully what he said and give him the right advice for it?

Did you see a video of him talking to the SA and the SA said certain things to piss him off? Further provoking makes things worse not better.

[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by Arcades

It depends on what happens.

Here's what the OP said happened:

"Every time I asked him about when I would hear back, he said 'later this afternoon'"

That's never the right answer ever. If a customer asks you the same question twice, you're failing. If the customer get pissed by your answers, you suck at your job.

This ain't the food court at the local mall, it's a multi-billion dollar products and customer service business and the employees should act like it.

EDIT: funny thing is, my car is in the shop right now and it just occurred to me that I asked when it would be ready today. The response was something along the lines of, "we estimate tues morning as 3 things have to happen a, b, c, each will take X time, but it may be done sooner and we can notify you after each one if you like" I didn't even remember because it was great customer service ... which is to say the level of service I expect for my money.

[Arcades]

Originally Posted by GrussGott

Here's what the OP said happened:

"Every time I asked him about when I would hear back, he said 'later this afternoon'"

That's never the right answer ever. If a customer asks you the same question twice, you're failing. If the customer get pissed by your answers, you suck at your job.

This ain't the food court at the local mall, it's a multi-billion dollar products and customer service business and the employees should act like it.

So even when they said they don't know twice before answering it is an issue with Dinan that isn't enough?

Really?

People are human. Things takes time. If they were the ones to install Dinan and say tell you they don't know what is going on then yes it is their fault. They didn't install the Dinan, they aren't responsible although they should figure out the issue as soon as possible and they did. It might be easy to just run the code errors to figure it out but if the errors isn't giving you a better idea you need to do another route.

So what's the issue here? Are you trying to say treat everyone like whatever the fuck you want just because you are upset? I don't care who it is I am speaking to but have some fucking humility.

The OP could have easily spoken to the head tech, which is what I did when I didn't get any news from my car during the rotor disk replacement/repair order for the dumb rocks everyone was complaining about. Bitching at someone that is FIXING your car is the wrong way to do things unless they fucking deserve it.

What the fuck is wrong with everyone now a days? Is everyone in the US with their heads so far up their own asses they cannot see 2 feet in front of them? Or has Donald Trump got into all of your heads and threw our your humbleness?

[MyFragileHalogen]

In Oregon there is more demand for service than supply. 2 weeks are minimum waiting time for a service appointment.

[The Automotive Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by GrussGott

Some of these replies show me why customer service sucks ass - many people don't expect anything for their money.

Dudes, the SA ain't your buddy, he's an employee you're PAYING to serve you.

wow.

You have no idea, LOL.

The first thing I do with any client, is to connect with them. I want my clients to trust me, and be comfortable with me. I'm always there to help.

[snareman]

Regardless of what you do with this situation, unfortunately a lot of companies have forgotten that their customers are the source of their income and that they should thus act accordingly.

[babraham]

Originally Posted by GrussGott

If a customer asks you the same question twice, you're failing.

Unless they're hard of hearing.

[minn19]

So guy buys 80k plus BMW. Car breaks down in less than a week. Gets the brush off by an SA and OP is the D-bag? Uh no, not IMO.

The SA could've handled much better in many different ways. BMW sells a premium experience at a premium price. I don't think it is wrong for their customers to expect at the very least a window of time when to expect some information about what is going on.

This is very basic CS and if SA's like this don't understand this, they should look for work at a VW or Chevy dealer where they'll fit right in.

[Bbb34]

Originally Posted by mapexvenus

Now, about an hour later, I feel bad. I have been trying to call him and apologize but he's been unavailable.

You're both grown ups, I'm sure he'll get over it, as will you.

It happens, apologize when you go back, and it's all good.

[Sandow]

So am I out of line for being upset with my CA, whom hasn't even contacted me yet about the differential issue? I haven't heard from him since June. I've contacted the dealer and informed the sales manager of everything going on with the differential issue. My CA told me I'd have the car by no later than mid to late June, haven't heard from him since. I'm going to ask the sales manager if he will kindly make sure my CA is not there if my car ever gets delivered and I can go pick it up. I've never seen such atrocious customer service in all my life. Someone above mentioned the customer service of Chevy and VW. They are superstars compared to what I've seen from BMW.

[ejonsson90]

Originally Posted by Arcades

So even when they said they don't know twice before answering it is an issue with Dinan that isn't enough?

Really?

People are human. Things takes time. If they were the ones to install Dinan and say tell you they don't know what is going on then yes it is their fault. They didn't install the Dinan, they aren't responsible although they should figure out the issue as soon as possible and they did. It might be easy to just run the code errors to figure it out but if the errors isn't giving you a better idea you need to do another route.

So what's the issue here? Are you trying to say treat everyone like whatever the fuck you want just because you are upset? I don't care who it is I am speaking to but have some fucking humility.

The OP could have easily spoken to the head tech, which is what I did when I didn't get any news from my car during the rotor disk replacement/repair order for the dumb rocks everyone was complaining about. Bitching at someone that is FIXING your car is the wrong way to do things unless they fucking deserve it.

What the fuck is wrong with everyone now a days? Is everyone in the US with their heads so far up their own asses they cannot see 2 feet in front of them? Or has Donald Trump got into all of your heads and threw our your humbleness?

Love the overly sensitive approach. Wouldn't want to express my frustration! I might hurt my SA's feelings! Poor guy!

FYI everyone, your SA is supposed to be your first and only point of contact - that's where they're there for. The onus isn't on you to go bumbling around asking different employees at the dealership. If you have the time to waste doing that, go for it, good for you I guess. For the rest of us, that's not how I enjoy spending my time?

[Supra2k6]

Originally Posted by GrussGott

Some of these replies show me why customer service sucks ass - many people don't expect anything for their money.

Dudes, the SA ain't your buddy, he's an employee you're PAYING to serve you.

wow.

AGreed if he does everything well and provides good customer service then i'd buy him a gift card regardless of the yelling but i definitely would not apologize for it if he was giving me attitude for asking a questions. It's a 80k car it doesn't give me the right to be a douche but i can ask as many questions as i want.

[08njSTEP]

Apologize for your temper and give him Dale Carnegie's book "How to win friends and influence people". A twofer- you save face AND make a point.

[mapexvenus]

Just to be clear: I wasn't being a douche. I was mildly irritated because he refused to tell me when he could be giving me an update.

Here is the difference between him and the SA of the dealership that took my vehicle because they were the ones who originally installed the Dinan. Let's call him SA2 from Dealer2.

SA2 called me to tell me that had 2 techs that would be transporting my vehicle to his location from the dealer I got the vehicle from. He said he was very sorry that I was having the problem and completely understood my concern and frustration. He said they would do everything possible to fix this. Gave me his personal cell phone number and said I could text or call him anytime.

SA2 also said that he would inform me as soon as the car arrived at his location, which he did an hour later. He also sent me a picture of my car in the workshop.

As a customer, I felt that this was way better treatment than SA1.

[joshe92]

Try a different BMW dealership...

[Viffermike]

Here's the thing: there are so many factors we don't know about regarding the SA-OP scenario that it's unfair for any of us to make snap judgments regarding the behavior of either.

First, consider that the SA deals with perturbed (at a minimum) customers constantly, every day. That said, he should be trained for dealing with that, and should use that training constantly, every day. He has to put whatever his nascent attitude is at the time aside to do his job. This is not easy.

Now, consider that the customer frequently doesn't give a rat's arse about the humanity of the SA. The customer wants empathy, consolation, and efficiency. Thing is, it's the customer's perception of those things that matter -- not what the SA's self-perception of those things is. In fact, when the SA decides to focus on his perception and not his customer's is when his entire relationship with that customer begins to break down.

A good customer representative reads a situation and reacts appropriately, case by case, to maximize the customer's satisfaction with him. Based on the OP's experience, this did not happen -- and it's not the OP's fault. The OP or whoever can act however well or badly toward the SA -- the bottom line is that the SA must listen, display empathy, and follow through with meeting the customer's expectations.

It's all about the customer -- particularly in this day and age. Customer reps should fall back on training, not themselves, because most customers don't care about the rep. They just want solutions.