Dealer trouble

[TheVat]

This isn't about my mustang, but pleae read anyway.
About 3 weeks ago, I brought my wife's 08 Accord LX (2.4) into my local dealership for a LOF, tire rotation and multi point inspection. As I'm sitting in the waiting room, my advisor approaches me and tells me all was good except the rear brakes are at 1.5 mm. Mileage was at 14K and I thought okay maybe it's a soft pad material. Wife transports the baby in it so it isn't driven very hard at all.

He then askes me if I want to look at it to verify it because it's on the rack. I tell him no (this dealership like many others don't allow customers in service bays due to insurance, plus I had my dog with me) and I'll come back in 2-3 weeks for some new pads and resurface the rotors. He provided me with a carbon copy of my repair order with the multi point inspection results.

I worked in a dealership for 3 years (service department), my father runs a Pep Boys, and my brothers are all advisors, so we all know what a 1.5 mm pad looks like. Anyway, yesterday my dad took my wife's car into his shop to verfiy the measurement. Guess what, 9mm RF and LF and 8mm LR and RR. Bad Honda .

I'm a little dissapointed with this service experience. I am all about customer service and will pay a tad more for loyalty. These are tough economic times for sure. I'm racking my brain as to why they would pull this on me. Was there a brake spiff? Did the tech lie to his advisor to get 1.5 hrs labor? Was the advisor swamped and trusted the measurement? Was the advisor just sneaky? If so, what if I did go back there and see true measurement?

So my dillema (sp?) is this. I don't want to see anyone get in trouble. They do know this is wrong to do. At the same time, I want to get something out of this; some comp'ed service, but now don't trust them to work on my wife and daughter's primary vehicle. How should I go about this? Do I shake my finger at them? Letter? Speak with the gen manager, service manager, owner?

Silly responses to a minimum please .

 

[Gearbanger 101]

It takes all kinds man. Could have happend for any of the reasons above, but I wouldn't say its exclusive to that dealership. I used to work for a local Ford dealership here years ago and a lot of the same would happen.

Don't go back there for any reason other than warranty work. Take it somewhere else for regular service. Problem solved.

The Shop rate at most dealerships if far too expensive for regular maintanence and non warranty work anyway.

 

[oh9mustang]

Take the repair order to the GM and tell him/her your story and get your fathers account in writing or at least his card for the GM to check if desired. Let the GM do the talking, No GM of any dealership would let a service writer do this to any customer. Don't let it go either or the next customer will get ripped off as well.

 

[stanmckinney]

I would also call them on it. Maybe it was an honest mistake. If not, they are probably doing this to lots of other people.
They should know they have been caught if they indeed did something wrong.
I would not let it drop. I would want an explanation.

 

[JimsWhiteGT]

I'd definately tell them about it.

 

[allcarfan]

You want some service comp'd because they lied to you? Thats not gonna happen. If you call them out, all they have to say is....thats not the same pad that was on here last week. Your word against theirs. Or, you make a big stink about it and they do a crappy job working on your car or take your car in and put it on the back burner.

If you do call them out, I wouldnt plan on ever going back for service.

 

[TheVat]

Alright, I'm going down there today and I'll let you all know what happens.

 

[sccadriver]

I was a service writer for a year or so and i never did that to anyone, even if any work to be done was in the iffy range. i would let the customer know and let them to decide. if the writer is doing it or even if the writer is in the dark and the tech is doing it. someone needs to know. take a copy of the mpi to the service manager and just talk to him about it nicely. make it sound like you are letting him know that he has a problem that he needs to address. you shouldnt have to worry about going somewhere else. as bad a the dealerships and starving for money. they will bend over backwards to help.

 

[tr7driver]

I don't know how I could ever trust them to work on my car in the future.