Honda Manager Out-of-Control - Please advice
 

Hi,

Two days ago i posted an incident about a request i made at a Honda
dealership that didn't go that well.

Since my overall experience was really lausy I made sure that the
survey that Honda always makes reflects just that.

I just got a call from the Manager of the facility that should have
never ocurred. The call made a bad situation... worst.

I was really inclined to forget about the incident and now i want to
get to Honda Corporate and make sure that the incident doesn't go
unnoticed.

Now i feel like if i ever make the mistake of servicing my car at the
referred facility i'm going to have sugar on the gas tank, or that
something mob like will happen to my car.

Any of you experienced something similar? What did you do? What are the
proper channels to get to Honda Corporate?

Thank you,

F

Re: Honda Manager Out-of-Control - Please advice
 

On 2005-10-19, filipeapinto@msn.com <filipeapinto@msn.com> wrote:

> Any of you experienced something similar? What did you do? What are the
> proper channels to get to Honda Corporate?

OK, I replied to someone somewhere on this a couple days ago. It used
to be that Japan didn't want any bad juju from customers so would
raise Hell if any dealer pulled some shady . Have you called
Honda USA and asked if there is a customer relations dept?

There was a fellow who wrote a series of books back in the early 80's
about how to get satisfaction from slimebag businesses. I tried it
once and it worked like a charm. It was this author's contention that
every major company has someone somewhere in the organization who's
sole job it is to make the customer happy. Granted, he may be lost in
the bureaucracy, but there's usually someone. The trick is to find
him. One way is to feel out the main switchboard. Hint around you
looking for a customer or relations rep. If you get one, plead your
case. BUT!!! ...do it from a positive slant.

Here's my example. I asked a local tire chain, who's products I
trusted, to put on 4 new tires, check my wheel bearings, and look into
a disc brake squeal. Well, they put on the new tires. So, I call the
corp office and got ahold of some big wig. I told him, "Hey, I love
your products and want to continue using them, but could you recommend
a dealer who has a good service reputation". Note the lack of blame.
So, the guy asks me why I'm not satisfied with the dealer in my town.
I play it up and say I don't really want to get anyone in trouble, I'm
just looking for a more reliable dealer so I can continue to use your
great product (which was true). He presses me for details and I
reluctantly relent (wink, wink). He says, "Hang tough, I'll get back
to you". Next day the manager of my local dealer is calling up with
all kinds of sob sister excuses and begging me to bring my car in. I
had about $300 worth of work done for free. True story!

Moral ...find the customer satisfaction vp. :)

nb

Re: Honda Manager Out-of-Control - Please advice
 

On 2005-10-19, filipeapinto@msn.com <filipeapinto@msn.com> wrote:

> Any of you experienced something similar? What did you do? What are the
> proper channels to get to Honda Corporate?

OK, I replied to someone somewhere on this a couple days ago. It used
to be that Japan didn't want any bad juju from customers so would
raise Hell if any dealer pulled some shady . Have you called
Honda USA and asked if there is a customer relations dept?

There was a fellow who wrote a series of books back in the early 80's
about how to get satisfaction from slimebag businesses. I tried it
once and it worked like a charm. It was this author's contention that
every major company has someone somewhere in the organization who's
sole job it is to make the customer happy. Granted, he may be lost in
the bureaucracy, but there's usually someone. The trick is to find
him. One way is to feel out the main switchboard. Hint around you
looking for a customer or relations rep. If you get one, plead your
case. BUT!!! ...do it from a positive slant.

Here's my example. I asked a local tire chain, who's products I
trusted, to put on 4 new tires, check my wheel bearings, and look into
a disc brake squeal. Well, they put on the new tires. So, I call the
corp office and got ahold of some big wig. I told him, "Hey, I love
your products and want to continue using them, but could you recommend
a dealer who has a good service reputation". Note the lack of blame.
So, the guy asks me why I'm not satisfied with the dealer in my town.
I play it up and say I don't really want to get anyone in trouble, I'm
just looking for a more reliable dealer so I can continue to use your
great product (which was true). He presses me for details and I
reluctantly relent (wink, wink). He says, "Hang tough, I'll get back
to you". Next day the manager of my local dealer is calling up with
all kinds of sob sister excuses and begging me to bring my car in. I
had about $300 worth of work done for free. True story!

Moral ...find the customer satisfaction vp. :)

nb

Re: Honda Manager Out-of-Control - Please advice
 

Nb, Great suggestion!

The approach - "Hey, I love your products and want to continue using
them, but could you recommend a dealer who has a good service
reputation" - seems a nice one.

The issue is that there's only so many Honda dealers in one city and
they have a lot more freedom to operate than other types of
dealerships.

Any other tricks on the book for this one?

Thanks,

F

Re: Honda Manager Out-of-Control - Please advice
 

Nb, Great suggestion!

The approach - "Hey, I love your products and want to continue using
them, but could you recommend a dealer who has a good service
reputation" - seems a nice one.

The issue is that there's only so many Honda dealers in one city and
they have a lot more freedom to operate than other types of
dealerships.

Any other tricks on the book for this one?

Thanks,

F

Re: Honda Manager Out-of-Control - Please advice
 

On 2005-10-20, filipeapinto@msn.com <filipeapinto@msn.com> wrote:

> The issue is that there's only so many Honda dealers in one city and
> they have a lot more freedom to operate than other types of
> dealerships.

Natch, this only good if you're willing to travel and/or have more
than one in the area. But, you can modify the approach to suit your
situation. Be creative.

> Any other tricks on the book for this one?

No, and I don't have any of the books. I read one from the library.
But, I know the fellow wrote more than one and librarians just
love proving they can find this kind of obscure stuff. :)

nb

Re: Honda Manager Out-of-Control - Please advice
 

On 2005-10-20, filipeapinto@msn.com <filipeapinto@msn.com> wrote:

> The issue is that there's only so many Honda dealers in one city and
> they have a lot more freedom to operate than other types of
> dealerships.

Natch, this only good if you're willing to travel and/or have more
than one in the area. But, you can modify the approach to suit your
situation. Be creative.

> Any other tricks on the book for this one?

No, and I don't have any of the books. I read one from the library.
But, I know the fellow wrote more than one and librarians just
love proving they can find this kind of obscure stuff. :)

nb

Re: Honda Manager Out-of-Control - Please advice
 

<filipeapinto@msn.com> wrote in message
news:1129767684.011258.16040@z14g2000cwz.googlegro ups.com...
> Nb, Great suggestion!
>
> The approach - "Hey, I love your products and want to continue using
> them, but could you recommend a dealer who has a good service
> reputation" - seems a nice one.
>
> The issue is that there's only so many Honda dealers in one city and
> they have a lot more freedom to operate than other types of
> dealerships.
>
> Any other tricks on the book for this one?
>
> Thanks,
>
> F
>
Dunno if it was in that book, but sometimes if you write a letter telling the
Co. how great their product (whatever it may be) is, they'll send you coupons or
free samples of their stuff. They love unsolicited love letters.

Re: Honda Manager Out-of-Control - Please advice
 

<filipeapinto@msn.com> wrote in message
news:1129767684.011258.16040@z14g2000cwz.googlegro ups.com...
> Nb, Great suggestion!
>
> The approach - "Hey, I love your products and want to continue using
> them, but could you recommend a dealer who has a good service
> reputation" - seems a nice one.
>
> The issue is that there's only so many Honda dealers in one city and
> they have a lot more freedom to operate than other types of
> dealerships.
>
> Any other tricks on the book for this one?
>
> Thanks,
>
> F
>
Dunno if it was in that book, but sometimes if you write a letter telling the
Co. how great their product (whatever it may be) is, they'll send you coupons or
free samples of their stuff. They love unsolicited love letters.

Re: Honda Manager Out-of-Control - Please advice
 

notbob wrote:
> On 2005-10-19, filipeapinto@msn.com <filipeapinto@msn.com> wrote:
>
>
>>Any of you experienced something similar? What did you do? What are the
>>proper channels to get to Honda Corporate?
>
>
> OK, I replied to someone somewhere on this a couple days ago. It used
> to be that Japan didn't want any bad juju from customers so would
> raise Hell if any dealer pulled some shady . Have you called
> Honda USA and asked if there is a customer relations dept?
>
> There was a fellow who wrote a series of books back in the early 80's
> about how to get satisfaction from slimebag businesses. I tried it
> once and it worked like a charm. It was this author's contention that
> every major company has someone somewhere in the organization who's
> sole job it is to make the customer happy. Granted, he may be lost in
> the bureaucracy, but there's usually someone. The trick is to find
> him. One way is to feel out the main switchboard. Hint around you
> looking for a customer or relations rep. If you get one, plead your
> case. BUT!!! ...do it from a positive slant.
>
> Here's my example. I asked a local tire chain, who's products I
> trusted, to put on 4 new tires, check my wheel bearings, and look into
> a disc brake squeal. Well, they put on the new tires. So, I call the
> corp office and got ahold of some big wig. I told him, "Hey, I love
> your products and want to continue using them, but could you recommend
> a dealer who has a good service reputation". Note the lack of blame.
> So, the guy asks me why I'm not satisfied with the dealer in my town.
> I play it up and say I don't really want to get anyone in trouble, I'm
> just looking for a more reliable dealer so I can continue to use your
> great product (which was true). He presses me for details and I
> reluctantly relent (wink, wink). He says, "Hang tough, I'll get back
> to you". Next day the manager of my local dealer is calling up with
> all kinds of sob sister excuses and begging me to bring my car in. I
> had about $300 worth of work done for free. True story!
>
> Moral ...find the customer satisfaction vp. :)

I've found the technique to work well too. Some examples:

I bought Quart speakers for my car because I'd come to appreciate their
quality when I worked as an installer, and was impressed by their
no-questions-asked exchange policy for blown drivers. So when the set I
bought kept blowing tweeters and then replacement tweeters, to the point
that the model was discontinued and the store had to give me used
tweeters off the demo board, I wrote to the company. I basically told
them the same thing: I worked in the industry, I liked their products
because of my experience with them as an installer, and I was very
disappointed with the continual problems with the particular model I
had. They repied with an apology, and a new set of the next model up
the line. Never asked for the old ones back either (which are still
working today).

I took my wife's van to a local quick-lube joint to get an oil change
done. She gets home from work about 5:40pm. The lube place closed at
6:00. I rushed to get there, arriving about five or ten minutes to six.
The young service clown was already putting stuff away and informed me
they couldn't service my vehicle because they were closing soon and
suggested I come back tomorrow. I informed him I couldn't make it any
earlier any other day either, and he explained that they were closing
early for the next couple weeks because they had new owners and were
understaffed, but they would be staying open later in a week or two and
I could come back then. Well, I've been spoiled by other service
facilities, including a favorite tire shop whose motto is "Five minutes
to closing means still open." So I emailed their customer service to
express my displeasure with being blown off because some minimum-wage
kid didn't want to stay a few minutes after six, espcially after having
been such a happy customer with their other outlets previously. Within
a week I was contacted by the manager offering to do my oil change for free.

There's an old phrase about flies, honey, and vinegar that applies...


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Re: Honda Manager Out-of-Control - Please advice
 

notbob wrote:
> On 2005-10-19, filipeapinto@msn.com <filipeapinto@msn.com> wrote:
>
>
>>Any of you experienced something similar? What did you do? What are the
>>proper channels to get to Honda Corporate?
>
>
> OK, I replied to someone somewhere on this a couple days ago. It used
> to be that Japan didn't want any bad juju from customers so would
> raise Hell if any dealer pulled some shady . Have you called
> Honda USA and asked if there is a customer relations dept?
>
> There was a fellow who wrote a series of books back in the early 80's
> about how to get satisfaction from slimebag businesses. I tried it
> once and it worked like a charm. It was this author's contention that
> every major company has someone somewhere in the organization who's
> sole job it is to make the customer happy. Granted, he may be lost in
> the bureaucracy, but there's usually someone. The trick is to find
> him. One way is to feel out the main switchboard. Hint around you
> looking for a customer or relations rep. If you get one, plead your
> case. BUT!!! ...do it from a positive slant.
>
> Here's my example. I asked a local tire chain, who's products I
> trusted, to put on 4 new tires, check my wheel bearings, and look into
> a disc brake squeal. Well, they put on the new tires. So, I call the
> corp office and got ahold of some big wig. I told him, "Hey, I love
> your products and want to continue using them, but could you recommend
> a dealer who has a good service reputation". Note the lack of blame.
> So, the guy asks me why I'm not satisfied with the dealer in my town.
> I play it up and say I don't really want to get anyone in trouble, I'm
> just looking for a more reliable dealer so I can continue to use your
> great product (which was true). He presses me for details and I
> reluctantly relent (wink, wink). He says, "Hang tough, I'll get back
> to you". Next day the manager of my local dealer is calling up with
> all kinds of sob sister excuses and begging me to bring my car in. I
> had about $300 worth of work done for free. True story!
>
> Moral ...find the customer satisfaction vp. :)

I've found the technique to work well too. Some examples:

I bought Quart speakers for my car because I'd come to appreciate their
quality when I worked as an installer, and was impressed by their
no-questions-asked exchange policy for blown drivers. So when the set I
bought kept blowing tweeters and then replacement tweeters, to the point
that the model was discontinued and the store had to give me used
tweeters off the demo board, I wrote to the company. I basically told
them the same thing: I worked in the industry, I liked their products
because of my experience with them as an installer, and I was very
disappointed with the continual problems with the particular model I
had. They repied with an apology, and a new set of the next model up
the line. Never asked for the old ones back either (which are still
working today).

I took my wife's van to a local quick-lube joint to get an oil change
done. She gets home from work about 5:40pm. The lube place closed at
6:00. I rushed to get there, arriving about five or ten minutes to six.
The young service clown was already putting stuff away and informed me
they couldn't service my vehicle because they were closing soon and
suggested I come back tomorrow. I informed him I couldn't make it any
earlier any other day either, and he explained that they were closing
early for the next couple weeks because they had new owners and were
understaffed, but they would be staying open later in a week or two and
I could come back then. Well, I've been spoiled by other service
facilities, including a favorite tire shop whose motto is "Five minutes
to closing means still open." So I emailed their customer service to
express my displeasure with being blown off because some minimum-wage
kid didn't want to stay a few minutes after six, espcially after having
been such a happy customer with their other outlets previously. Within
a week I was contacted by the manager offering to do my oil change for free.

There's an old phrase about flies, honey, and vinegar that applies...


---
avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean.
Virus Database (VPS): 0542-3, 10/19/2005
Tested on: 10/19/2005 11:15:44 PM
avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2005 ALWIL Software.
http://www.avast.com

Re: Honda Manager Out-of-Control - Please advice
 

"Matt Ion" <soundy@moltenimage.com> wrote
snip
> I took my wife's van to a local quick-lube joint to get an oil change
> done. She gets home from work about 5:40pm.
snip
> I informed him I couldn't make it any
> earlier any other day either, and he explained that they were closing
> early for the next couple weeks because they had new owners and were
> understaffed, but they would be staying open later in a week or two and
> I could come back then. Well, I've been spoiled by other service
> facilities, including a favorite tire shop whose motto is "Five minutes
> to closing means still open." So I emailed their customer service to
> express my displeasure with being blown off because some minimum-wage
> kid didn't want to stay a few minutes after six,

So you dumped on some minimum wage employee, who might very well be working
two or more jobs to make ends meet, because you didn't want to dump on your
wife or her employer.

You couldn't wait a week or so and just follow the rules.

You promote more civility and employee stress, not less.

Re: Honda Manager Out-of-Control - Please advice
 

"Matt Ion" <soundy@moltenimage.com> wrote
snip
> I took my wife's van to a local quick-lube joint to get an oil change
> done. She gets home from work about 5:40pm.
snip
> I informed him I couldn't make it any
> earlier any other day either, and he explained that they were closing
> early for the next couple weeks because they had new owners and were
> understaffed, but they would be staying open later in a week or two and
> I could come back then. Well, I've been spoiled by other service
> facilities, including a favorite tire shop whose motto is "Five minutes
> to closing means still open." So I emailed their customer service to
> express my displeasure with being blown off because some minimum-wage
> kid didn't want to stay a few minutes after six,

So you dumped on some minimum wage employee, who might very well be working
two or more jobs to make ends meet, because you didn't want to dump on your
wife or her employer.

You couldn't wait a week or so and just follow the rules.

You promote more civility and employee stress, not less.

Re: Honda Manager Out-of-Control - Please advice
 

On 2005-10-20, Elle <elle_navorski@nospam.earthlink.net> wrote:

> So you dumped on some minimum wage employee, who might very well be working
> two or more jobs to make ends meet, because you didn't want to dump on your
> wife or her employer.

I gotta admit, I took the employee's side on this one, too. He DID
explain the reason for the early closing and DID offer a viable,
though somewhat delayed, solution. What's the big deal about waiting
a couple of weeks? The car can't tell the difference of a few hundred
miles extra. Besides, I know what happens if you don't hold the line
on closing time. You get more latecomers bugging you to do "just one
more" and then you hafta get nasty about it. Nope, wait two weeks,
find another place, or do it yourself. If the employee was doing as
instructed and tried to accommodate, the customer has no bitch.

nb

Re: Honda Manager Out-of-Control - Please advice
 

On 2005-10-20, Elle <elle_navorski@nospam.earthlink.net> wrote:

> So you dumped on some minimum wage employee, who might very well be working
> two or more jobs to make ends meet, because you didn't want to dump on your
> wife or her employer.

I gotta admit, I took the employee's side on this one, too. He DID
explain the reason for the early closing and DID offer a viable,
though somewhat delayed, solution. What's the big deal about waiting
a couple of weeks? The car can't tell the difference of a few hundred
miles extra. Besides, I know what happens if you don't hold the line
on closing time. You get more latecomers bugging you to do "just one
more" and then you hafta get nasty about it. Nope, wait two weeks,
find another place, or do it yourself. If the employee was doing as
instructed and tried to accommodate, the customer has no bitch.

nb