Long post, bear with me . . .

First service appointment scheduled for 7:30 last Wednesday. I explained my window problem and asked about chrome. Surprise! New chrome is available. And they tell me they’ll replace the whole lot with the new stuff. I ask how long and they tell me 2 to 4 hours and give me Nissan Versa to drive. It all went very well. Then . . . At noon (4.5 hours), I call and ask status. They haven’t even looked at it. Seems the appointment is just to talk to my Service Adviser. After that it has to go to an evaluator. And then they have to wait for an opening in the service bay. And yesterday’s leftovers and all the early drop-offs have to be cleared first. I explain that I’m leaving town Thursday AM and would really like to have my car back. They understand and will call me. Three O’Clock they call – they lost my phone number – the one I entered on line. They’re working on it and it will be done shortly. Five O’clock I get tired of waiting and go back to the dealer. It’s being re-programmed and it has three minutes to go. Five-thirty, programming is almost done and then they have to drive it and recalibrate everything. They’re also going to wash it. Six O’clock I finally get it back. First thing I notice is they only replaced 3 chrome pieces. Don’t care, just give me my car. Then I get in it. Of course everything has been erased. And everything has been moved – seats, seat backs, out side mirrors (both sides), inside mirror. Not bad for 10.5 hours.

Oh, and the icing on the cake? I’m heading up 270 to Pennsylvania, go to enter my destination in the navigation and get the enter code screen. Called at 7:30 and was told they would request the code and get right back to me. They finally e-mailed the code at 3:00.

This may be my last service with them.

Sealy – Who also checked on the iPhone 4 cradle. Parts was completely clueless, but dug up an old catalog that said it was due soon. Never even check the computer to see if it had been released.

 

Oh, come on, Sealy, it can't be that bad for everyone!

I called to set up my first service appointment on Monday this week, got a time the next morning. I have two issues: suspected exhaust leak near the engine and the right adaptive xenon headlight doesn't do the expected startup and adaptive things. These issues came up after a collision repair completed at a distant MINI-related collision center.

I show up with a book in hand expecting a short visit - they provide a rental Jetta and send me on my way. On incoming inspection they also note the five chrome strips that need to be replaced and plan to order replacement strips. They expect the car will need to be there overnight.

At the end of the second day I get a call reporting that they found and fixed the exhaust leak and have decided the headlight is defective - replacement coming in next day. They have ordered and can get all but one replacement chrome strips. I make a call and get the remaining strip sent next day from another dealer.

At the end of the third day I get a call that the new headlight is not a success and they have to reprogram the car and will do it that evening.

At the end of the fourth day (today, a Friday) I get a call that the technician is still working on it but he thinks he can get the problem solved before the end of the day.

Still waiting...[see second part below]

 

That's pretty much par for the course. Just about every time my car has been in for service, I've picked it up right at closing time.

 

Ghamma, tell them to check the wiring harness that plugs into the xenon. The wiring connection inside the plug comes just a TINY bit loose and doesn't connect. If they push all the pins in from the back it will fire right backup.

 

Oh, and Sealy, that sucks. They'd never touch my car again.

 

My ma became the service advisor so I get great service

And other minis for loaners. Had a cm and a clubman so far

 

Thanks for the suggestion (see below). [this week in the shop continues]

I got a call at about 5PM today (Friday) that reported everything was taken care of except getting the adaptive xenon headlight to move as expected. I have the remains of the smashed previous headlight unit (from the crash) that, formerly, worked fine. I suggested I come down and work with the technician on the problem.

When I got there the second of two brand-new right headlamp units was in place, and it also didn't work correctly. The technician and I reviewed what he'd done, then we went over the pieces I had. Apparently the high intensity power source provides control over the up-down motion of the lensatic system, and the adaptive control module manages the right-left motion.

We decided to use the old adaptive control module on the new headlamp unit in the hope that, after being thrown about 150 feet, it would still work. A few minutes later the report came back that the light was now working OK, and we started closing out the repair work order.

The MINI-related collision center (far away) that did repairs had directed me to take Fenton to the local dealer to resolve discovered problems, committing to pay for their work. MINI of Stevens Creek reviewed the four days of work put in and parts ordered, considered billing me (I could seek the payback), and decided to comp the repair. I drove home with everything working as expected.

After reviewing the details of their successful efforts, I'd have to say that, even though the fixes took much longer than anticipated, I was very pleased with their determination to succeed, and succeed they did. Thanks MINI of Stevens Creek.

 

I'm glad that someone is happy with their MINI service. If Passport had told me it was an all day affair, I could have planned accoringly. Take as long as you need to do it right. Instead, I wasted a day in NVA thinking return was just around the corner.

 

Sealy, it sounds like the work was fine but the communication was poor. That's a classic problem in so many dealers. The reason my last service (with NCM in Hartford) was so good was because my SA was so good about communicating what was happening.

If they tell you 2 to 4 hours, they should call you before 4 hours are up. Their predictions don't have to be perfect if they are willing to call and update you with the information they do have.

One of the things my SA had to tell me was "we don't know if that part is available anywhere near here, so I can't tell you if it'll be done tomorrow or if it'll take several more days." But she called to tell me, and she called again 24 hours later to update me again. I never went 24 hours without contact initiated by her, and if she said she'd get back to me by X time, she got back to be earlier. It really made me feel like they were working to keep me happy and to minimize the inconvenience of having my car in the shop.

In return, I wrote her the nicest comments possible on the customer survey. When I'm happy, everybody's going to hear about it. When I'm annoyed, I try to give the person I'm working with a chance to make it right before sending it up the chain.

Any chance you could write your SA a friendly note about the lack of communication? Positive reviews are a huge part of the culture at dealerships, so most folks are willing to go out of their way to make you happy in time for the survey.

 

My SA knew I wasn't happy and was ever so polite, friendly, regretful, and apologetic. He had the chance to redeem himself on day two. Instead, I got the navigation code not only after I had reached my destination, but when I was on my way back home after attending the event in PA. And, I should not have had to request it in the first place.

 

It's not enough to be nice. You also have to initiate contact with your customer, especially with delays, rather than waiting for the customer to get pissed off enough to call you.

 

Out running errands today and guess what?! My window doesn't work, again. Yipee! I get to go to service, some more.


Sealy - Who's not having any trouble with his Fords.

 

Window reset not work?

 

Nope. Problem comes and goes. It's a little annoying when you have to hit the down button nine or ten times to get the window down. Up is a bit more reliable and usually only takes 3 or 4 hits.

 

Perhaps you should do some dolphin tricks...With Tippy, of course!

 

Yea! Zaftig is home. Gave them 3 days. New motor and re-reprogramed. Was assured that the "ace service tech" had checked everything. Got in, everything was good, except a couple of minor resets on lights and locks. Got home and used the comfort access to lock the doors - - - and nothing. Apparently, they forgot to plug in the little door button.

Boo! Zaftig goes back in on Monday.


Sealy - Who's getting real tired of fighting I-395 traffic