We have blasted some dealers on this blog (Dodge & others) in recent posts, and most of it is greatly deserved. In fairness, we should give credit when it is deserved. Just today I had the most pleasant experience with a local Dodge dealer, Kari Dodge, that deserves recognition. Today I had my oil changed.
Some background first... I bought my Dodge 3500 diesel two years ago and the only after-market option I added at time of sale was an $1100 grill guard. This was a SERIOUS grill guard made from 2" tubing and can withstand an impact from an elephant at 70 mph. It looked great. However after the first winter, the paint began falling off. After 2 years, this guard looked like it had been in the weather for twenty years.
Today, as I was waiting for my truck to get the oil changed, I decided to talk to the "Accessories Manager" and let him know how dissatisfied I was with the grill guard. This is one of those things I'd been meaning to do for the past year, but today I took action. I explained my problem to Casey, the Accessories Manager, and he agreed with me and offered to call the manufacturer and see what they were willing to do to make this right. Hey, when you buy a $40,000 truck and add a $1100 option... you expect things to last at least as least as long as the note.
Casey got off the phone and told me that the manufacturer was willing to replace the grill guard with his newest model, which was powercoated vs. the painted finish of my model. I would have to pay for the labor to remove and install the new grill guard, but the new product and shipping would be handled by the manufacturer.
IMHO, this was an excellent example of a dealer who was willing to go the extra mile and do the right thing for his customer. I drive a late model vehicle and will not be in the market for a new one for quite some time, so there was no immediate incentive for Kari Dodge to go to bat for me. But they did and I am an appreciate customer. So to all you readers located in NW United States, when you're in the market for a new Dodge, I'd recommend you call Kari Dodge and see if they can talk your language. They did good by me... and they don't know I write this blog :-)
2006-09-26
A reader asked me if I got the new grill guard installed yet...
Funny you should ask... the Dealer told me they'd order it and would be available for install the following week. Two weeks later, I hadn't heard anything so I called them. After speaking to the service manager, then the parts manager, then back to the service manager... they found the grill guard, which had arrived a week ago, but no one seemed to know what it was for :-)
I have an appointment to get the new guard installed this Thursday. There's a picture of my old grill guard here, but that doesn't really show the detail of rust and peeling paint. When the new one is installed (with the powdercoat), I'll post it on the blog.
To be continued...
2006-09-28
Two days ago when I said "To be continued…", I was hoping to show you a picture of my new grill guard today. As planned, I showed up at the dealership at 7:30 AM (ugh), and dropped off my truck. I was told it would take about an hour and one half to swap out the old guard and mount the new one. I decided to wait, eat breakfast at a local restaurant and catch up on some reading.About the time it was to be done, the service manager appeared in the waiting area and I knew I didn't like the look on his face. "We have a problem", he said. He went on to tell me that they pulled the old guard off the truck and were installing the new one when they noticed that there was not a mounting bracket welded to the guard on the right side. He took the time to show me this SNAFU from the manufacturer. It was an obvious mistake that escaped the grill guard manufacturer's quality control.
The service manager was probably more upset than I was. It was NOT their fault, but regardless, it was still an inconvenience for me and for the dealer. While I waited, they called the manufacturer, explained the problem and arranged for another grill guard to be shipped immediately. I now have a new appointment next week to get my grill guard installed.
As I mentioned, this was not the dealer's mistake, but Kari Dodge is doing everything necessary to correct it. As a dealer, they are still exceeding my expectations. Heck, they even remounted the old guard, which had they asked, I would have told them to leave it off. Let's hope that if I do a follow-up post to this thread it will be to show you my new grille guard. To be continued...?
2006-10-07
Last week I told you about the SNAFU with the replacement grill guard that was missing the welded mounting brackets on one side. The Dealer had to remount the old guard on my truck and get the manufacturer to send a replacement grille guard. We made an appointment for the following Friday (today) to mount the new guard. (The Dealer wanted to make it sooner, but I couldn’t cooperate as my bride and I traveled to Missoula to catch the Rolling Stones in concert. Talk about a great show…. But that’s another story for another day).
I showed up at the appointed time this morning. The Service Manager grinned and promised to have me out in record time. Once again, I went to a nearby restaurant and had the kind of breakfast you only eat when you’re out. I killed some time reading the paper and walked back to the Dealer. His promise was good in that the new grille was on the truck and looked magnificent (see the pic).
We began this “series” of posts with the title, “Dodge Exceeds Expectations”. In actuality, it wasn’t Dodge Corporation that was making this situation right, it was my local Dealer, Kari Dodge. Not only did they replace the grille guard at no charge, but they also absorbed the labor. The Service Manager handed me my keys and told me to “get outta here”. I asked if there was anything else, but he apologized for the problem the previous week and told me there was “no charge” for the removal/install.
We’re all consumers. It is easy (and possibly a sport) to bash manufacturers of all products, and car dealers in particular. I doubt you could find many posts on the Net lauding the praises of car dealers, but I find myself in the position of needing to publicly state that Kari Dodge went above and beyond in servicing THIS customer. From the Accessory Manager who made the call to the manufacturer to explain my problem, to the Service Manager who took such great care of me – this Dealer deserves recognition for outstanding customer care.
PS: The manufacturer also deserves a kudo as they recognized a defect in their product (paint vs. powdercoating) and were willing to exchange the old for a new – for an old customer. The manufacturer of “The Rancher” grill guard is Go Industries.
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