Best brand customer service you've experienced.

[chad86tsi]

Originally Posted by chassis

The next time you stay at a 5-star hotel (not Google reviews, a real 5-star hotel) come back and post and update to this thread with the experience compared to the sad comedy which is an auto dealership.

Which is why I was confused why you mixed the two: Car dealers and 5 star hotels. One sells a service, the other sells a mix of products. One is motivated to maximize the perceived value/quality of what you have already agreed to buy, while the other is motivated to try to get you to buy more and pay more.

I've been to a 5 star hotel, they didn't try to upsell me anything. I've never been to any dealer that didn't try to upsell me.

[chassis]

Originally Posted by chad86tsi

Which is why I was confused why you mixed the two: Car dealers and 5 star hotels. One sells a service, the other sells a mix of products. One is motivated to maximize the perceived value/quality of what you have already agreed to buy, while the other is motivated to try to get you to buy more and pay more.

I've been to a 5 star hotel, they didn't try to upsell me anything. I've never been to any dealer that didn't try to upsell me.

Come now, you are shifting the topic. Go back to your discussion about the customer being responsible for the service they receive. Please quote yourself.

[10"]

I’ve always had great customer service for my 1M—-at 2 different BMW dealerships.

Always gotten free loaners of my choice, they have worked to accommodate me for weird schedules, and haven’t done me wrong. Pretty sure it’s because of the 1M—but not complaining. The car now has over 100k miles and is the most reliable car I’ve ever owned!

Prior to this I’ve always gone to Independent shops for the other cars I’ve owned—not this time.

[chad86tsi]

Originally Posted by chassis

Come now, you are shifting the topic. Go back to your discussion about the customer being responsible for the service they receive. Please quote yourself.

well 5 star hotels aren't the topic, so I'm only responding to your own shift.

Originally Posted by chad86tsi

My experience seems to be pretty mixed, and the greatest contributing factor seems to be how I handle/manage the experience and process.

Originally Posted by chad86tsi

I've never received 5 star service at any dealer for sale or service, nor at a 5 star hotel either.

It's not hard to get 3 star service in a 5 star business if you are a dick, or don't speak up promptly or correctly when something is wrong, and then give an honest opportunity for them to correct it.

^ where did I go wrong?

Originally Posted by chassis

Dealers in the U.S. are third parity mercenaries. They have allegiance to neither consumer nor manufacturer. It is a textbook agency problem example.

^ Doesn't sound like a factor 5 star hotels are likely to face. They are their own manufacturer, the brand is their own name, and profits go directly into their bank account.

[Soul_Glo]

Guess it also depends on the make and model. A car guy somewhere may give the 1M way more attention. Imagine the excitement in the service bay as folks come and take a look.

[10"]

Originally Posted by Soul_Glo

Guess it also depends on the make and model. A car guy somewhere may give the 1M way more attention. Imagine the excitement in the service bay as folks come and take a look.

It’s true—always a bunch of service people coming up to me to talk 1M. I think it makes their day!! Definitely puts a smile on their faces…

[stein_325i]

We just moved, so we'll see how the experience changes, but while I've only gone to Lexus a few times for my mother's car, the experience was always top notch and very accommodating.

My BMW experience is hit or miss, the nearest dealer use to be great, but then became bad when acquired by a different auto group, and then even worse when Autonation acquired that group.

My MB experience has been great, but we have connections and history with the GM of our old dealer, so for us, servicing and purchasing vehicles from them was a walk in the park.

[TheWatchGuy]

my best experiences have been with Genesis. Although a lot of people have bad experiences with them.

From buying the Genesis out of state, dealership picked me up from the airport and I was in and out with the car, at the price we had agreed to without any additional bs, within an hour. To several services now where the dealership picks up my car from my house in the morning and leaves me with a new loaner for the day, then drops my car back off in the evening.

been a much better experience than I had with Audi, and significantly better than BMW (i had to get my own uber from the BMW dealership during a warranty repair because they were too busy to drive me the 2 miles back to my house)

[Soul_Glo]

I came across a quote some time ago. May be it was in the Motley Fool.

“The car industry is utterly reliant on people buying cars they don’t need with money they don’t have.”

[dreamingat30fps]

For service specifically I don't need much. Get me in quickly, give me a clean loaner, don't break my car... that's all I really need.

I recall Infiniti and Cadillac being the best experience. The local BMW dealer is literally the worst experience of all. Porsche... judgement is still out. Only been twice and so far it's ok, Cadillac still better. For non luxury brands I have had pretty good experiences at most Ford dealers I've been to.

I think it really depends on the specific dealer more than it does the brand.

[mjr24]

The Mercedes service I’ve had has been subpar…..and this is in a higher end model.

I actually felt the BMW service has been great.

Every dealer regardless of car maker is going to be different.

[billnchristy]

I've had nothing but good experiences with BMW. Never an issue getting warranty work, repairs done for free (door dings), and even troubleshooting aftermarket components with no charge.

I've had fords, chevys, and toyotas and they all suck hard and fast compared.

[M3WC]

Over the years I have found customer service is more down to dealership ownership vs the actual auto brand.

[Soul_Glo]

Originally Posted by M3WC

Over the years I have found customer service is more down to dealership ownership vs the actual auto brand.

Agreed. You would think most brands would aspire to audit these places to protect their reputation but for whatever reasons they don’t really get involved.