WARNING - BEFORE POSTING NEGATIVE FEEDBACK - MUST READ!

The intent of such a forum is to faciliate users to openly share experiences good or bad?

As a result dealerships understandably frequent the forums seeking constructive comments, preferably positive. Likewise many dealerships have employees monitor the
content posted related to their businesses or competing dealerships so they may focus their efforts and improve.

However what happens when a customer is experiencing difficulties at their chosen dealership? Well hopefully such a dealership would honorably attempt to correct such issues on later visits and professionally handle the customer without predisposition and preconeived judgement or opionion.

Yet what happens when a dealership no longer desires to rectify the circumstances? Should they kindly deny your business at you next visit, however they are obligated to perform warranty work as a I am informed by MINI USA. Should the dealership dishonorably look into every post a user had made and how it may relate to their dealership? What if employees feel your posted opinion is adversely affecting business at their place of employment and decides to strike out malevolently (ex. damaging your personal property)?

As each dealership is a private entity MINI USA has limited control, but what social responsibility do they have to mediate the situation if there is a dispute? Beyond documenting the issue and not going any further until their scheduled dealership evaluations.


Thanks for taking the time to read. Please consider the possible effects before posting any negative feedback and becoming a victim too ...

 

A victim of what? Are you implying (because you have not stated) that a dealer will not service your car because of negative feedback?

 

Sounds that way - read the last 3 sentences in his sig.

 

Ahh, dummy me didnt read the Sig!

Still lost though, What posts here discussed a particular dealer? your posts are sparse and mostly 3 years old?

 

I'm confused. You say that your dealership has "blacklisted" you for saying negative things about them on thise forum? I took a quick look back through your posts and from the little summary page, the only thing I saw that looked negative in anyway about your dealer was a post from more than 2 years ago about how often you have had your car in for service...so where is this coming from?

 

Northwest MINI can blacklist me if they want, I hope to never go back because they are golddiggers. Jerks. Oooo, take that. I'm out of warranty now anyway.

 

Yeah I haven't posted on NAM much lately, always been around I've just mostly posted on M2. I like fellow enthusiasts on NAM more though, much kinder crowd.

As for my posts related to service experience check out http://www.mini2.com/forum/members/9439.html
Even then my posts don't justify their response and actions.

 

Link doesnt work for me.

 

Uh, one too many http:// and after I took it out it said it was an invalid search

 

Link doesn't work for me either.

"Not Found

The requested URL //www.mini2.com/forum/search.php was not found on this server.

Apache/1.3.22 Server at www.any.com Port 80"

 

I looked at some of your threads, seems like you got a lot of service problems but your link is bad!

 

Sorry about that guys and girls. Got it fixed now to a link of my profile and you can go from there. Oops.

http://www.mini2.com/forum/members/9439.html

 

thats 99 posts to look at, can you point to one or two specifically please?

 

No problem, here's what I found from memory of my posts.

http://www.mini2.com/forum/faults-fi...ml#post2094556
http://www.mini2.com/forum/dealershi...ml#post2095283
http://www.mini2.com/forum/dealershi...ml#post1914962

And for good measure here is a positive comment too. Praising the sales, although I did end up giving them a low rating overall because of the service staff.
http://www.mini2.com/forum/dealershi...tml#post602386

 

OK, you did name them

You really think they read MINI2 and nailed you for that? Did they actually say that or are you assuming it?

As for rentals, read their policy. They must have it posted on display or somewhere in the service department. I do not see how they can treat you any differently because that is discrimination or false advertising? Every dealer can have their own rental policy and they may be different. MINI does not guarantee you a car. They are doing it out of good will.

It might be age discrimination, yes it happens to the young.

I do not see how they can deny you warranty service. You should complain to MINIUSA. Call them, Write them, document everything.

All I can offer you is the best of luck because it looks like you had a lot of problems and they are giving you a hassle. As a customer, you do not deserve the hassle.

Good luck dude

 

I understand where you are coming from, but somehow I don't think living in an atmosphere of fear of the dealers and hiding real issues and not helping other owners avoid a similar fate is the answer. Sharing real experiences has helped solve issues in the past that otherwise may not not have emerged as patterns of problems, and sometimes the publishing/sharing of experiences the only way that things will change to help the customers and act as the catalyst for the business in question to improve. In the same light positive experiences can help as we have also shared here.

edit: sadly this does reinforce my never wanting to get a car without several dealer options in a certain range - i've just seen too much variation in the knowledge of techs among dealer service depts.

 

I agree with eVal here and that is why I posted this thread https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=65400

 

During my phone converation with the service consultant (TT):

TT: "...Ken(service mgr.) reviewed your profile and doesn't feel we will benefit from fixing and taking responsibility for your car. It seems everytime you come in you find something wrong. And post something on websites."
ME: "What?"
TT: " On websites."
ME: "Didn't know you guy's monitored them."
TT: "Yes we do, and we don't like what you've had to say."
ME: "Okay, you don't feel need to take responsibility for your actions?"
TT: "Well how do you know we scratched your car?!?"
ME: "It was a brand new bumper that came straight to you from the bodyshop."
TT: "Well we're not going to do anything.
ME: - long silence
TT: "Sorry, but it's just a personal matter with you. We haven't done this to anyone else - just you!"

then he said something about how I'm no longer welcome there, but I'm unsure how he said it.
ME: "Well, I guess I'm on the blacklist then? I always knew they existed just never knew anyone on one."
TT: "Yes. Just you, no one else. Just you!"
ME: "Well you're about to lose a lot of future sales."
TT: "Sure." - he hangs up


Afterwards they blocked my cell phone number so it doesn't ring, and have not returned any of my calls.

 

^^^I hope you asked to actually speak to the manager or the owner?

 

Service manager didn't want to talk with me. Called the next day inquiring for contact info of the owner and dealer manager and the receptionist interrogated me asking what my business was with them. She reluctantly gave me the owner's name but strayed away from their phone number extensions. Foolishly I neglected to ask for their emails. Since then no one will return my messages on their phones.

 

Write your Better Business Bureau and call your local news. If the word really gets out about the their customer service, they might change their ways.

 

I have had a mix of experiances with dealers around the country, I have visited more than a dozen MINI dealers, there are those that I gladly return to and those whom I avoid, they don't get my business and I don't reccomend them. But I don't go running my mouth on the boards to prevent things like this. If you know what you're talking about and can be respectful then you shouldn't have any issues with the quality of work done. There are some things that the dealer can't control, and problems that MINI USA hasn't seen before, you've had your car at least two years, thats a risk you take with a brand new design, I'm sorry you haven't had a pleasnt experiance with them, but if you feel that strongly about it there are other dealers in your area, and 2 1/2 for a trip to the dealer is not the farthest some of us travel, and again another risk you took when you bought the car.

 

Yea--I agree with you--file a complaint...
Engaging them or the secretary or whomever else happens to answer their phone is only going to frustrate you more...
If the conversation went as you stated....I wouldn't care if they ever spoke to me again much less worked on my car....
The St L Mini dealer--or I am sure a few in chicago area--have been great--I drop by often with little questions...never had a problem....

 

That is the problem - I posted my past experiences and unfortunately the sour visits out numbered the pleasant. All my posts have been truthful and haven't been glorified or I did try to call them out. I only ask to be treated with respect, honesty, and my property to be respected and without prejudice due to my age, past history, or background on mini forums.


Understandably humans make mistakes. I believe a true test of a business is not in the number of complaints but in how they correct their mistakes. While at the dealership I have never raised my voice or spoke unfavorably of them while other customers were in hearing distance out of respect. There were many instances where I could have made a scene but calmly scheduled another appt. and canceled plans as a result of their error. However, respect was not returned when my car was damaged under their care. A scratch sure maybe accidental, but stabbing the back of my seat!

 

Carvnit, I can relate to your situation. MINI of Dallas (part of the AutoNation dealer chain) didn't like me complaining about their poor response regarding their tire and wheel warranty on another website (metroplexmini.org) and as a result dropped the small discount on parts that they'd been giving to Metroplex MINI club members (another dealer stepped up to the plate and provided us with a somewhat better deal).

I think what irritated them the most was not my discussing my interactions with them - it was the fact that I exposed how substandard and overpriced their tire and wheel warranty is when compared to the other MINI dealer in the area. Or maybe it was the fact that a number of other buyers choose not to purchase their warranty after they realized how little it covers.

I was eventually promised a partial refund on the warranty, which I finally got some 5 weeks after it was promised. MINI USA got involved of their own accord - one of the MINI USA folks saw my complaints on the web - so score a big positive for MINI USA on this sort of thing!

Interestingly, my purchasing experience with MINI of Dallas was excellent. It was after that things went downhill (more like off a cliff).

/gary