I received a email today from MINI about my first service visit which occured last week.

My first service visit was not prefect so not all of the questions got the highest score of 5. Now I'm afraid MINI USA will forward the survey to my dealer and I'll be treated like crap the next time. Time to look for another dealer?

My dealer sent their own survey earlier but I just deleted b/c of what they would do if I gave them a low score.

 

dealers always get the surveys. The best way to handle this is to give them 5's but then contact the service/or sales manager and tell them directly that you weren't happy with the service. They will do everything to make it up to you!!

 

I had a bad experience the first time, and when I got the phone call I gave them honest answers and told them exactly what happened. The next time I went to the service department, and every time since then, they've been great. So I guess the feedback worked, now when I give them 5's they deserve it.

 

With my name attached? If so then that sucks b/c you can't be frank b/c of potential reprecussion. Just make it annonymous.

 

Yup with your names attached. Comes out on a website, for all employees to see - with all the data on it; name, vin and answers. What really bothered me wasn't that they could see what I rated them at, it was the fact that problems the Service Tech had no way of fixing were being held against him and hurt his bonus scores.

By that I mean: if the problem required a second trip to fix due to parts not on hand and you rated the "How do you feel about the distance to the dealer" question low - that hit went against the tech. It should go against the dealer or at least the individual responsible for determining normal stock levels.

I now choose not to answer those questions that can not be fixed at the worker bee level. If I have an issue with something the tech isn't responsible for, I deal with the Service Manager person to person.

 

Better to attract Bees with honey rather than vinegar.

I agree with MiniChristina, give them 5's then discuss with the service manager in person.

I like to always make friends with the service manager and a couple of techs. Helps out big time when it comes to service issues, especially if you into modding ;-))

MiniBull

 

If I can't give all 5's, I will decline the survey.

 

Tell it like it is. Bad service = bad score PERIOD.

Mini is interested in your real experience and they hold the dealers accountable and rightfully so. Giving inaccurate data just makes the problems continue. If the dealer still has bad service you can hold them accountable with Mini USA and they really don't want that and will do anything to keep you happy.

 

Absolutely agree

I cannot believe how many have responded with "5s or nothing." Don't let these guys get away with it... it hurts everyone

 

Usually, when I'm about to leave the dealership/service area, is when someone will give me their spiel (sp?) about the upcoming survey. That's when they're asking for good marks. That's when I'll be honest and tell them whether I think they've earned it or not and wait for them to try to remedy the error. It's always worked for me - at many dealerships - and it gives me more face-to-face time to get to know the people instead of being just "another" customer.

 

I'm not about to give anyone "5"s unless I had a stellar experience.

If they didn't earn a superior rating, I'm not about to give them one. If they try to take it out on my in my next service visit, I'll not only give them ZEROs on my next survey, but I'll write several letters to MINI USA.

If we don't give the dealers honest feedback through a mechanism that has some teeth, what motivation do they have to change? If this were a Ford dealer and I had 10-15 Ford dealers in my local area (I live in Dallas... they are everywhere), these guys would have to worry about customer retention. MINI dealers are much more lucky and have a bit of a monopoly on our service... For many of us, we are tied to our one dealer until the warranty runs out, so we need to make sure that they hear what we have to say.

A MA (who gave lack-luster service) approached someone I know and said something to the effect of "If you don't give me all 5's, you are taking bread out of my mouth." My response to that: "Well, then you should step it up a bit, because you didn't earn the 5 and you're not going to get it from me. I don't get to demand a bonus from my boss... I EARN it." I'd also be very tempted to find his manager and have him repeat the sentence to see what the manager's reaction is.

These surveys are tied to incentive plans... to incent MINI employees to behave in a particular way. DO NOT let them game the system. DO NOT give them what they don't deserve. By doing so, you are only giving them incentive to continue to game the system, focusing less of their time on giving good service and more of their time on the "we want all 5's" speeches...

OK... I'm getting off of my soapbox now. Sorry for the rant!