I'm tired of bending over and taking up the rear from my local service departments... just received a survey for my last visit, so I am including the following letter for Nissan to review and dropping a Cc in the mail for the manager of the dealership...
Research Department
Nissan North America Inc
PO Box 10089
Toledo, OH 43682-4172
RE: Service at Jenkins Nissan (Lakeland, FL)
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing this letter to fully explain my previous and current service experiences with Nissan dealerships.
I would like to preface this letter by saying I truly enjoy my Nissan Murano. The car has had only a few issues. The handling of these issues and the performance of my local Nissan dealerships is extremely lacking, however.
In my previous visits to Nissan of Brandon, I have been treated as a number, told I would receive a loaner (only to find out a “loaner” was a ride to Enterprise Rental Car to wait in line for an hour there and complete additional paperwork for a vehicle) and been told a problem (with a TSB issued for it) did not really exist. I gave up on that dealership to try my local Nissan dealership in the hopes I would be treated fairly.
In recent trips, however, I have been completely forgotten as a customer. Earlier in the year, I took my car in with the promise it would take a couple of hours to complete the work. Seven and a half hours later, I was finally given my keys back with the “request” by the service associate to throw out any survey I received regarding the visit. Unfortunately, I never received a survey.
My more recent visits have not gone very well either. The visit this survey refers to included the following: check engine light correction, gas door sticking and not unlocking, replace rear wiper blade, oil change, and a tire rotation and balance. When I called a week in advance to get an appointment, I was told by the person on the phone “Why don’t you just come in and tell them what you want fixed on Saturday. I didn’t write any of that down”. I simply ignored this comment and went to the dealership as planned. After waiting in line for 15 minutes, the service associate began taking down my requests. When I finished giving him the information he made the comment of: “I’m glad you stopped there, because I’ve only got three techs working today. You’re going to need to leave it with us to do everything”. I gave him my number to contact me when the car was ready and left, noticing three mechanics standing outside in the parking lot smoking and talking, while a line of people waited inside for their cars. I never received a call regarding the work being done. When I called back, the gentleman on the phone claimed he called, but I did not receive a single call all afternoon. I ended up having to pay over the phone and requesting them to leave the keys in the car on the lot so I could pick it up after they closed the shop.
The oil change and tire balance/rotation were performed as requested. The wiper blade was ordered with the promise it would be completed later. My engine light was off and the gas door appeared to work fine. Unfortunately, less than three weeks later, my engine light came back on.
I took the car back in this past weekend (September 17th) to have the engine light turned off and the wiper blade installed as promised. Once again, the service department was running a skeleton crew and told me my car would take a pretty unreasonable hour and a half to repair. I walked to a local store to pass some time and returned an hour later. Upon arriving, the service associate pulled me to the side to tell me he had looked up my VIN number and my Murano was part of the alternator recall. He promised the car would still be ready in the original time frame, as the mechanic was already replacing it. Over an hour later, the service associate came in to tell me they had just completed the review of my engine light problem and had to order another part and the work on my alternator had not started yet. Another 2 hours later, my car was finally completed, for a total of about four and a half hours of waiting time. A week after this visit, my gas door got stuck again at the gas station. I will return a third time now to get work completed that should have been completed the first time.
My problem with my September 17th visit is two-fold. First off, I never received a letter from Nissan of North America notifying me of my Murano being part of the recall. Secondly, when I took my car in three weeks ago, why did the service associate not check my car against the recall? His negligence to verify my alternator could have lead to a serious accident or something much worse. When I questioned the service associate from my most recent visit about this, he gave me a simply “I don’t know why he didn’t check it”. This is unacceptable because “Not knowing” goes hand-in-hand with “Not caring” in my book. It seems to me, Nissan simply does not care about me as a customer anymore. I spent my hard earned money on their car, so they don’t really consider my needs when it comes to service now. Also, Nissan dealerships are employing careless associates who make one feel like they constantly owe them something afterwards. Normally I get a scripted comment on how turning in anything but “Excellent” on these surveys keeps the service associate from getting a bonus. I will not fall for these ploys… and Nissan should be ashamed their associates are making customers constantly feel obligated to lie for them.
At the same time, my wife drives a vehicle from another carmaker and is treated like royalty when getting her car serviced. There are always loaner cars on hand for her to use and there are mobile techs to help her if she runs into trouble away from the dealership… I’m lucky if I get coffee in a Nissan waiting room. There is no reason I should not be given these same services by Nissan. The fact I am not makes me feel like I am considered second rate.
Well I’m tired of being ignored and treated unfairly. Despite my love for my Murano, I will no longer own a Nissan vehicle by the end of this year. I am tired of driving away from dealerships fuming mad and insulted. I will purchase a vehicle from a carmaker who realizes experiences with service are just as important as the initial sale experience.
I want to make sure I am perfectly clear; the vehicle is not the problem here, the service department is to blame. I realize most cars will have a small flaw or a recall, but I do not understand why I cannot be treated as an asset when I step into a Nissan service department. I get resistance when I ask for fair treatment, or I get dumped in a waiting room for hours at a time while people ignore from me.
Never again. As much as I love my Murano, it is the first and last Nissan I will ever own.
Sincerely,
VG.
Research Department
Nissan North America Inc
PO Box 10089
Toledo, OH 43682-4172
RE: Service at Jenkins Nissan (Lakeland, FL)
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing this letter to fully explain my previous and current service experiences with Nissan dealerships.
I would like to preface this letter by saying I truly enjoy my Nissan Murano. The car has had only a few issues. The handling of these issues and the performance of my local Nissan dealerships is extremely lacking, however.
In my previous visits to Nissan of Brandon, I have been treated as a number, told I would receive a loaner (only to find out a “loaner” was a ride to Enterprise Rental Car to wait in line for an hour there and complete additional paperwork for a vehicle) and been told a problem (with a TSB issued for it) did not really exist. I gave up on that dealership to try my local Nissan dealership in the hopes I would be treated fairly.
In recent trips, however, I have been completely forgotten as a customer. Earlier in the year, I took my car in with the promise it would take a couple of hours to complete the work. Seven and a half hours later, I was finally given my keys back with the “request” by the service associate to throw out any survey I received regarding the visit. Unfortunately, I never received a survey.
My more recent visits have not gone very well either. The visit this survey refers to included the following: check engine light correction, gas door sticking and not unlocking, replace rear wiper blade, oil change, and a tire rotation and balance. When I called a week in advance to get an appointment, I was told by the person on the phone “Why don’t you just come in and tell them what you want fixed on Saturday. I didn’t write any of that down”. I simply ignored this comment and went to the dealership as planned. After waiting in line for 15 minutes, the service associate began taking down my requests. When I finished giving him the information he made the comment of: “I’m glad you stopped there, because I’ve only got three techs working today. You’re going to need to leave it with us to do everything”. I gave him my number to contact me when the car was ready and left, noticing three mechanics standing outside in the parking lot smoking and talking, while a line of people waited inside for their cars. I never received a call regarding the work being done. When I called back, the gentleman on the phone claimed he called, but I did not receive a single call all afternoon. I ended up having to pay over the phone and requesting them to leave the keys in the car on the lot so I could pick it up after they closed the shop.
The oil change and tire balance/rotation were performed as requested. The wiper blade was ordered with the promise it would be completed later. My engine light was off and the gas door appeared to work fine. Unfortunately, less than three weeks later, my engine light came back on.
I took the car back in this past weekend (September 17th) to have the engine light turned off and the wiper blade installed as promised. Once again, the service department was running a skeleton crew and told me my car would take a pretty unreasonable hour and a half to repair. I walked to a local store to pass some time and returned an hour later. Upon arriving, the service associate pulled me to the side to tell me he had looked up my VIN number and my Murano was part of the alternator recall. He promised the car would still be ready in the original time frame, as the mechanic was already replacing it. Over an hour later, the service associate came in to tell me they had just completed the review of my engine light problem and had to order another part and the work on my alternator had not started yet. Another 2 hours later, my car was finally completed, for a total of about four and a half hours of waiting time. A week after this visit, my gas door got stuck again at the gas station. I will return a third time now to get work completed that should have been completed the first time.
My problem with my September 17th visit is two-fold. First off, I never received a letter from Nissan of North America notifying me of my Murano being part of the recall. Secondly, when I took my car in three weeks ago, why did the service associate not check my car against the recall? His negligence to verify my alternator could have lead to a serious accident or something much worse. When I questioned the service associate from my most recent visit about this, he gave me a simply “I don’t know why he didn’t check it”. This is unacceptable because “Not knowing” goes hand-in-hand with “Not caring” in my book. It seems to me, Nissan simply does not care about me as a customer anymore. I spent my hard earned money on their car, so they don’t really consider my needs when it comes to service now. Also, Nissan dealerships are employing careless associates who make one feel like they constantly owe them something afterwards. Normally I get a scripted comment on how turning in anything but “Excellent” on these surveys keeps the service associate from getting a bonus. I will not fall for these ploys… and Nissan should be ashamed their associates are making customers constantly feel obligated to lie for them.
At the same time, my wife drives a vehicle from another carmaker and is treated like royalty when getting her car serviced. There are always loaner cars on hand for her to use and there are mobile techs to help her if she runs into trouble away from the dealership… I’m lucky if I get coffee in a Nissan waiting room. There is no reason I should not be given these same services by Nissan. The fact I am not makes me feel like I am considered second rate.
Well I’m tired of being ignored and treated unfairly. Despite my love for my Murano, I will no longer own a Nissan vehicle by the end of this year. I am tired of driving away from dealerships fuming mad and insulted. I will purchase a vehicle from a carmaker who realizes experiences with service are just as important as the initial sale experience.
I want to make sure I am perfectly clear; the vehicle is not the problem here, the service department is to blame. I realize most cars will have a small flaw or a recall, but I do not understand why I cannot be treated as an asset when I step into a Nissan service department. I get resistance when I ask for fair treatment, or I get dumped in a waiting room for hours at a time while people ignore from me.
Never again. As much as I love my Murano, it is the first and last Nissan I will ever own.
Sincerely,
VG.