Was I bad for being honest and rating my recent BMW/Mini service visit as a 6 (average) out of 10?
Had one of my rear tires replaced because it was damaged by a screw and although the tire replacement itself was fine, other details sucked. As I was driving home my hood was bouncing up and down, had to pull over only to find the hood not fully closed. Also on the way home I could hear something rattling in the back and come to find the cargo netting back in boot all loose and the jack cover just thrown back there. As I secured all that stuff I found my lug nut key missing and had to go back the next morning to pick it up. They "washed" my car and it basically looked like they took a muddy rag to it. It was all smeared, water spots everywhere and just half the roof "washed". The survey asked if they met or exceeded all my expectations... Uh, no, not even close. This lack of attention to detail left me wondering if they tightened the lug nuts correctly, if they really checked the fluids and really did the other 20 or so inspections they say they did. I did pay $475 for the tire replacement by the way. Every visit to this place turns to 2 or 3 visits because I always have to go back to get something they forgot, get something repaired they damaged, or get the part they ordered for me reordered because they accidentally sold it. Heck, my Jeep service dept does 150% better than this place. So again I ask, was I bad for giving them a 6 rating?

 

Not at all. You received 6/10 (at best) service, and that's exactly what you should have reported.

Sucks that you got hosed on the 'service' part of customer service.

 

$475 for a tire? Obviously a run-flat. You could have gotten a whole SET of far-better conventional tires for less than that. Sheesh.

 

I woud have given them far less than that. You were generous in my opinion.

 

Sounds like you were nice, not bad. You describe a pattern that should be taken to the next level. Time to call the service manager and let them know what type of service you have NOT been getting. In the long run, you are doing them a favor since I suspect you are not the only one who is probably receiving that type of service.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if you got a call from them asking why you rated them so low. Be polite but don't sugar coat it, they need to get their act together.

 

+1

Rating was too high for all you went through, specially since it's happened before. I think you should take it to a higher level.

 

Knowing that part of the SM's pay is based on the numbers it sucks for him but those few things do need to be addressed. The tech who worked on it and didn't put stuff back, the car wash kid who doesn't care...these things are noticeable and evident to owners and should be to those work on the car too.

 

Ya did good Benibiker. I would have given them no more than a five. I would also have politely spoken to the service manager. Key being politely.

 

I think you rated them way too high!!

 

I also think you rated them too high.
My experience is that the low rating will not change anything at the dealer.

 

Change starts at the top. If you don't have upper management buying onto good service nothing will change. This could be just one of those poorly run dealerships. But eventually MINI will see and hear and when it comes time to renew the Dealership then it could make a difference. Short term probably not.

 

I have to preface this by saying my experience is with BMW - I'm new to MINI - but if the premise of the rating is the same...

I've owned and serviced one BMW product or another since 1994. My first service experience was not a good one. I was honest on the survey and hammered them. My service advisor - who I later learned was one of the most liked in Southern California was totally freaked out. (Completely professional/nice to me but treated it like a VERY big deal.) He explained how the whole thing works internally at BMW. That the surveys go directly to the national office and EVERYTHING from car allotments, to bonuses, hinge on these things. Having a bad rating dings he dealership for sure. However, he impressed upon me the importance of creating a relationship with the advisor and dealer, complaining to him directly to make sure I'm satisfied, then the service manager, and then survey/national. They are motivated to make you happy. If you take it directly to the survey you've technically gone over everybody's head and it's (I'm interpreting at this point) less effective than playing the game with the survey, knowing you can always take it higher, rather than doing it immediately. Ever since, I have always had good experiences giving them top grades on the survey but communicating my problems directly with the advisor, and then with the service manager. In 17 years I never had to escalate to the national office over a service issue. (Car/warranty stuff - but different story.)

I know it sounds like a game - because it is - but you might get better results that way. Start local then work your way up on complaints. Otherwise, you've already hammered them - played all your cards - and there's really not much further to go. I'd rather keep these people friendly and on my side.

If MINI is completely different than BMW, never mind.

 

Thanks guys, I agree with everything you all said. After reviewing the grade I gave them and seeing how I've gone through this before, I was actually pretty nice to them. I did write an email to the Service Manager explaining what happened and how its happened before, this was before I did the survey. A week later nothing, no phone calls, no reply, nada. That says it all right there.

 

If that's the way the service manager is behaving I would have serious concerns about that dealership. They're supposed to be in the "big picture" business. Your only consolation: you live in Hawaii. ;-)

 

Unfortunately this dealership is the only show in town (on the island) so I may have to endure more torture or just be done with the brand and get something else...

 

The last survey I filled out for Mini, I gave them a 1. And before you say it, yes they deserved it.

 

I feel the same way about Mini/BMW of Sterling here in Virginia. I have only been there for two issues so far, but each time I had to go back multiple times. Twice for the first thing and three times for the second issue. No attention to detail (the little detail they needed to look out for) or were they actually able to resolve the problem the first time.

Both dealers I used to work with in Boston were fantastic each time, most of the time exceeding my expectations with the little things like the car wash and vaccuming. Not so much down here. Someone must care about their job at that place, right? I guess it is possible no one does!

 

Update... No one ever returned my emails or phone calls. I thought some day I would move up to a BMW vehicle but this squashed that idea...

 

There's always good and bad dealerships. Very unfortunate that the only one available to you seems to be a bad one. What's worse, is it's determining your choice or beliefs of a car brand because of a couple bad employees at the dealership. I'm sorry to hear about your experience with them, but I think you were generous with a 6.