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elchrist
See-thru Afro
Joined: 09 Oct 2002
Posts: 7484
Location: Calecia.com
  
Votes: 14
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 Posted: 26 Feb 2004 05:17 PM Post subject: Customer Service and Extra Effort |
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I need to replace the front brake pads on my car, so I call the dealership and they tell me it'll be $190, so I hang up. I call their parts department and they tell me the front OEM brake pads will be $140, so I hang up. I then decide to purchase the parts locally, so I go into AutoZone, Kragen, CarQuest and they have some in stock, but are their own brand (not that there's anything wrong with that), so I decide to look somewhere else.
I start calling some of these local "racing" auto part shops that cater to the modified vehicle owners who zip down our roads as if they were the autobahn. The employee on the phone tells me that I'd have to call back the next day because the right person is not there to look in their (online) catalog and provide me with a quote. Not wanting to have to resort to an online auto parts store, I ask him if he could please check for me and call me back, anytime, on my mobile phone.
Never heard back from him.
So I decide to check online and I find an automobile parts store that is highly recommended by an automaker afficionado Web site that offers more selection, lower prices and the exact brake pads I am looking for. I'm a little hesitant, so I call them over the phone to make sure everything will turn out OK. The customer service person was very friendly and helpful, but I just wasn't convinced yet, so I stated I'd have to think about it and possibly place the order online.
They assured me that it would take one to two days for the shipment to arrive and the brake pads were $55, but if I added the rear set as well it would come out to $80 (front: $50, rear: $30) with free shipping. This was an excellent deal, I thought, so I opted for it. The rear pads have to wear out some time, right?
A couple days later, I receive my shipment and open the packaging. Included inside were my brake pads, front and rear, an invoice copy and a pack of chocolate M&Ms. |
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Americano
Coffee
Joined: 18 May 2003
Posts: 1640
Location: fair Verona
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| Posted: 26 Feb 2004 05:33 PM Post subject: Re: Customer Service and Extra Effort |
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| elchrist wrote: | I need to replace the front brake pads on my car, so I call the dealership and they tell me it'll be $190, so I hang up. I call their parts department and they tell me the front OEM brake pads will be $140, so I hang up. I then decide to purchase the parts locally, so I go into AutoZone, Kragen, CarQuest and they have some in stock, but are their own brand (not that there's anything wrong with that), so I decide to look somewhere else.
I start calling some of these local "racing" auto part shops that cater to the modified vehicle owners who zip down our roads as if they were the autobahn. The employee on the phone tells me that I'd have to call back the next day because the right person is not there to look in their (online) catalog and provide me with a quote. Not wanting to have to resort to an online auto parts store, I ask him if he could please check for me and call me back, anytime, on my mobile phone.
Never heard back from him.
So I decide to check online and I find an automobile parts store that is highly recommended by an automaker afficionado Web site that offers more selection, lower prices and the exact brake pads I am looking for. I'm a little hesitant, so I call them over the phone to make sure everything will turn out OK. The customer service person was very friendly and helpful, but I just wasn't convinced yet, so I stated I'd have to think about it and possibly place the order online.
They assured me that it would take one to two days for the shipment to arrive and the brake pads were $55, but if I added the rear set as well it would come out to $80 (front: $50, rear: $30) with free shipping. This was an excellent deal, I thought, so I opted for it. The rear pads have to wear out some time, right?
A couple days later, I receive my shipment and open the packaging. Included inside were my brake pads, front and rear, an invoice copy and a pack of chocolate M&Ms. |
You plan to replace them yourself? |
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elchrist
See-thru Afro
Joined: 09 Oct 2002
Posts: 7484
Location: Calecia.com
Votes: 14
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| Posted: 26 Feb 2004 05:46 PM Post subject: Re: Customer Service and Extra Effort |
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| Ame-ricano wrote: | | You plan to replace them yourself? |
I could, but I won't. When I had auto shop in high school, I came into the class the same day everyone was doing a brake pad replacement test. I quickly glanced over the "study guide" and set forth to take my test. I got a perfect score, whatever that meant.
I'm taking my car to to a "brake specialist" in Mexicali who comes highly recommended. He charges about MX$250. |
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mof
Boot Camp
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 310
Location: San Francisco, CA
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| Posted: 26 Feb 2004 07:27 PM Post subject: |
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I think the point was the M&Ms. Very sweet.  |
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Americano
Coffee
Joined: 18 May 2003
Posts: 1640
Location: fair Verona
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| Posted: 26 Feb 2004 10:31 PM Post subject: |
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| mof wrote: | | I think the point was the M&Ms. Very sweet. |
So he typed three paragraphs just to tell us about M&Ms?  |
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carnicerodegiles
Nervous Breakdown
Joined: 15 Jan 2004
Posts: 573
Location: Land of MILFS and latent homosexuals
Votes: 1
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| Posted: 27 Feb 2004 07:54 AM Post subject: |
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| I wanted to replace my break pads at Direct Auto Plaza. They where charging me like $240 bucks. It was so stupid because when they did my service they called me telling me that my car was ready and then saying, "Your car needs new break pads, it'll be $240, you want me to order them now?" I was like, wait a minute. I asked them if it was really urgent to replace them, they completely refused to answer that question. Dealerships are such a fucking scam. It is just better to do it in Mex for like 250 pesos. |
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elchrist
See-thru Afro
Joined: 09 Oct 2002
Posts: 7484
Location: Calecia.com
Votes: 14
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| Posted: 27 Feb 2004 08:14 AM Post subject: |
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| Ame-ricano wrote: | | mof wrote: | | I think the point was the M&Ms. Very sweet. |
So he typed three paragraphs just to tell us about M&Ms? |
It's not about M&Ms, it's about customer service and the little things some businesses do to make you feel "special." I know they didn't include this gift because they know and like me, but because of this complete unexptectedness I will most likely buy from them again.
The example I used with the locally run business is very common in the Imperial Valley. Most small local businesses have no sense of customer service and unfortunately a lot of people appear to be fine with that. |
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verbal
Cole
Joined: 24 Oct 2002
Posts: 2474
Location: C-Town
Votes: 9
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| Posted: 27 Feb 2004 10:12 AM Post subject: |
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One of the perks of living in Calexico (or the rest of the so called Valley) is that one can purchase their brake pads at the lowest auto parts store and take it to Mex for a quick 20 buck install.
Why anyone would go to the dealership or any local brake install place still baffles me.
Many years ago these two friends of mine went to a Brake Depot, Midas, Meineke or another joint in SD and they got reammed around $750 each. One of the quotes was around $1200. Of course they were females. I afford to take their cars to TJ and I told them it wouldn't run them over 100 bucks. Yup, they declined because TJ/Mexico was too sketchy. They even called their fathers and they told them it would be best just to pay the extra cost. |
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Americano
Coffee
Joined: 18 May 2003
Posts: 1640
Location: fair Verona
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| Posted: 27 Feb 2004 12:26 PM Post subject: |
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| elchrist wrote: | | Ame-ricano wrote: | | mof wrote: | | I think the point was the M&Ms. Very sweet. |
So he typed three paragraphs just to tell us about M&Ms? |
It's not about M&Ms, it's about customer service and the little things some businesses do to make you feel "special." I know they didn't include this gift because they know and like me, but because of this complete unexptectedness I will most likely buy from them again.
The example I used with the locally run business is very common in the Imperial Valley. Most small local businesses have no sense of customer service and unfortunately a lot of people appear to be fine with that. |
I know what you mean. While shopping for wedding rings with my fiancé, we went to so many shops in one day that we were tired and wanted to simply go home, but we decided to stop at one more place. We were in San Diego and we stopped at Robbins Bros. Everywhere we went the sales people were pushy as hell and the ring were ugly and over priced.
As soon as walked into Robbins Bros they greeted us by opening the door and asking us what we were looking for and then led us to the wedding rings. There we met a friendly sales person who right away offered us a drink (coffee, soda or water) He even asked if I would like to wait in the waiting room and watch the Charger game (scored huge points), but I chose to stay and look at the rings. They had a huge selection and the prices were good. My fiancé showed them her engagement ring said she wanted something to match it. The sales person asked to see the rings and offered to clean it. We accepted and he handed it another sales person who went to clean it. When the ring came back, it looked cleaner and newer than when I first bought it.
We bought the rings they sized them for free and they even had lady talk to use about planning a wedding and they gave us a binder filled with vendors and useful guideline to planning a wedding. They even set up a personal website where we can have guest go and post and look at our pictures.
The best thing is the warranty all diamonds lost or damaged are covred 100% for life. This is the best costumer service I’ve ever come across. |
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