View Full Version : Dealership screw-up
Jimamatic
11-21-2005, 13:44
Had my truck at the dealer today to have my recalled fuel filter replaced. When I picked it up, I popped the hood to see what the new filter looked like. Right away I smelled diesel. As I looked further, I could see where the mechanic had spilled diesel everywhere down on the frame.
He also left the filter and housing all wet and pooled with fuel. My service writer, who I like working with was a little upset. I told him I had changed my own filter many times without a drop on the frame because I used "PROPER", measures to keep this from happening. I'm taking it back to have them clean it up and respray under coating on the affected area. Has anybody else had this happen and did it get resolved?
Jim-
SHOPMAN426
11-21-2005, 19:35
I know Turbo Al got the same mess as you did. I was lucky as far as the filter change went, not one drop anywhere. But the chip in the paint on the front fender flare didn't impress me. I was at the dealer for the replacement of the steering shaft at the same time. After the tech changed out the shaft, one of the young kids hopped in my truck and drove it over into the area where oil changes are performed. Depending on the size of your dealer I suspect that the less talented ones are changing the fuel filters. It's too bad they can't teach a little respect.
Shopman426,
Mike. :rolleyes:
the lack of respect is a sign of how they are raised not who they work for. Just my .02
Jimamatic
11-22-2005, 08:21
Yeah, a little respect is right. Combine that with a half ounce know how and a wee bit of I give a sh#t and this would have been a non issue.
But I think in this case all the above was lacking. My brother is a mechanic and he said when he worked for a dealership years ago that the the oil change guys probably changed my fuel filter, not a mechanic. If I had known this I would have just got the new filter and done the job my self. It's not hard. I'm a little weary to even take it back to have them fix the undercoat but this way it will be on record that I'm holding the the guy who did this to account. Ok, end of rant....
Jim-
SHOPMAN426
11-22-2005, 08:56
96ccdd,
Yes, you are correct, I should have worded it that way. However, if the person didn't get it at home I would hope that the dealership would instill these kind of values. And if they still can't understand, get rid of them. In my line of work if you don't take care of the customer, there is always someone to replace you or your company.
Shopman426 :eek: :eek:
Jim Brzozowski
11-22-2005, 09:02
After they have it all fixed, I'd arrange to have my service writer request that the person who screwed it up come and apologise to you, if he wanted to keep his job, when you go to pick it up. Maybe a little one on one will be enough to teach a little respect. Just ask the guy if he would drive his vehicle out of there with diesel all over it and not be concerned. Its obvious lack of character. I don't know you, but I sure wouldn't treat you that way if I changed the filter.
homer2210
11-22-2005, 11:13
One time after work I went to get in my truck to leave and it wouldnt start. I called the dealership and they sent a flatbed tow truck over
to pick me up. 2 day later they called me and told me it was my ECM or something like that.
They put it together and I went ot pick it up.
While driving it home I noticed a violent shaking at around 40mph, I could not figure it out. I called back the dealer and they said they didnt know what it was. I took it back in and they looked at it and come to find out my driveshaft was bent. It seems when the tow truck driver unloaded the truck he must have not had the flatbed down all the way, so my truck bounced off the ramp and slid down the ramp until the rear wheels touched. Neither the dealership or the tow truck company who is in business with the dealer wanted to claim responsiblity. I had to call and complain constantly to the dealership, the towing company and GM while my truck sat idle at the dealer for 2 weeks. Finally the tow company paid to get it fixed. Needless to say I never go to that dealership again and I have nothing nice to say about them.
not to offend or start any problems w/ anyone but as a tech I must say that If all you have is some fuel spilled too gripe about consider yourself lucky! At least you got a free filter out of the deal.
Too err is human, too rant about it on the internet to people who can't do a thing about it is sort of uncalled for and worn out(i see it lot).
Yeah I probably would have cleaned it off as best possible in a reasonable amout of time but since most shops are flat rate and most technicians under-paid there is always a since of urgency in shops for ,while I don't agree w/ it, quanity not quality.
Please nobody take this the wrong way, I'm not attacking anyone, just standing up for all the tech's who bust their a$$ everyday fixing hundreds of cars a week, spending a lot of money to do it while making little of it back, being always pushed to "go faster" and get'em out, then catch an a$$ cheiwing over spilled fuel!
Spilled fuel??? A slip up, yes! A screw up??? Nah.
Jimamatic
11-23-2005, 12:10
madmatt
Not one bit offended. There is always different perspectives depending on where you're coming from. For the most part I agree with you. As a worker-bee myself, I am underpaid for what I do, and are always being pushed to do more for less. It does affect ones motivation. I ended up just fixing the problem myself by spraying the area whith some spray can undercoating. It was just frustrating that the guy did'nt take the extra two minutes to put some rags under the old filter and drain what he could in a can before taking it off. I also do not think it is unreasonable to ask for a job to be done right, no matter how bad the pay stinks. But it is what it is and I will just continue doing my own filter changes so that if it gets messed up I have only myself to blame...
Jim-
Glad I didn't offend you I just felt the need to rant myself and get that off my chest because I see all to often techs taking the fall for something usually ,although not in your case, unpreventable. Trust me, All techs wish for nothing more then to be able to fix 100% of the customers problems 100% of the time the first time and in a timely matter no less.
Originally posted by madmatt:
not to offend or start any problems w/ anyone but as a tech I must say that If all you have is some fuel spilled too gripe about consider yourself lucky! At least you got a free filter out of the deal.
Too err is human, too rant about it on the internet to people who can't do a thing about it is sort of uncalled for and worn out(i see it lot).
Yeah I probably would have cleaned it off as best possible in a reasonable amout of time but since most shops are flat rate and most technicians under-paid there is always a since of urgency in shops for ,while I don't agree w/ it, quanity not quality.
Please nobody take this the wrong way, I'm not attacking anyone, just standing up for all the tech's who bust their a$$ everyday fixing hundreds of cars a week, spending a lot of money to do it while making little of it back, being always pushed to "go faster" and get'em out, then catch an a$$ cheiwing over spilled fuel!
Spilled fuel??? A slip up, yes! A screw up??? Nah. I'm sorry MadMatt if I offend you with this response but if I spend $45,000 on a truck I wouldn't want my truck covered in diesel either. Especially if the diesel will eat thru the coating on the frame! It doesn't take anymore time to find a rag and lay it down under the filter to catch any spillage. I work hard for what I got and don't need some disgrunteled Tech costing me more money, or damaging my truck in my case, because he's in a rush.
I couldn't see me going to my customer and saying I'm sorry Mrs Jones I was in rush so your tile job isn't as nice as you wanted. The extra grout on the tile will wear off over time.. It wouldn't fly. And shouldn't with the Tech's either.
I have no respect for Techs that don't have an ounce of courtesy for a customers vehicle. That's why my 02 has never been the shop for any regular maintainace (just warranty work). Over the last 5 years I haven't had a decent experience at any shop. But the best one to date is the Tech who was too lazy to get the extentions for the lift and preceeded to hoist my 94 1 ton dually up in the air by its running boards. Yes Lazy!Why? Because I was costing him time to fix a brand new rear end (whole housing replaced), that he installed, and was back for the 4th or 5th time to fix the leaking rear seals that left me without any brakes on the rear.
How much time have I lost from work because your in a rush to get the job done. And you think your losing money by taking a few extra minutes to the job right?
Oneton
LanduytG
11-24-2005, 03:59
Please nobody take this the wrong way, I'm not attacking anyone, just standing up for all the tech's who bust their a$$ everyday fixing hundreds of cars a week, spending a lot of money to do it while making little of it back, being always pushed to "go faster" and get'em out, then catch an a$$ cheiwing over spilled fuel!
OK you go out to eat and the waitress spills a glass of water on the table and does not clean it up. Because she's under paid its a good reason for not cleaning it up? Yes things happen but their is no reason not to clean up a mess no matter how much you are paid. Just because you get a free filter does not give the person the right to do what they want. If I offended anyone well so be it. Those are just facts.
Greg
IF you read it all, you must have misunderstood. I didn't mean to say it should have happened or it is OK because he's underpaid. I was just trying to get across that A lot of times, although not in this case (which I did go on to say) techs take the fall when they shouldn't or everyone is so quick to cut the tech down because he couldn't find anything wrong w/ his or her truck or maybe he couldn't duplicate his concern. I also said this is something I would never do w/ out cleaning it up.
Water on your lap :confused: ???? We were talking about some fuel under a truck hood,,,,no comparison. Will diesel fuel even damage the undercoating on a frame rail, even so do you stop in the middle of the road in the winter to make sure no salt gets on your truck? Even better why not send a bill to the Hwy dept to fix any rust that may show up on your truck.
JD Diesel
11-24-2005, 09:07
Where I take my trucks for the service that I don't want to do. The tech's there are the best. But I have been to place's where service has really sucked, but I don't blame the tech's for the most part. It's usally the management that sucks. But that's my humble opt. JD :D Happy Gooble Day ;)
LanduytG
11-24-2005, 13:04
Please nobody take this the wrong way, I'm not attacking anyone, just standing up for all the tech's who bust their a$$ everyday fixing hundreds of cars a week, spending a lot of money to do it while making little of it back, being always pushed to "go faster" and get'em out, then catch an a$$ cheiwing over spilled fuel!
That all depends on how you look at it. Some guys including myself treat their truck better than they treat themselves. So fuel all over the place is as bad as water in the lap.
Greg
Turbo Al
11-27-2005, 13:18
If I didn't have diesel spilled all over the place, pooled on top of the filter housing and dripping off the frame then I would have been surprised. I have come to expect to get poor service from Dealerships. I do all my own repairs THANKS.
Give me a break about "OVERWORKED" people etc, they had my truck for over an hour to do a 5 min job. Just plain old SLOPPY workmanship.
The only reason it even went in was because sooner or later they would have used non-replacement against me for an injector replacement.
Al
Give me a break about "OVERWORKED" people etc, they had my truck for over an hour to do a 5 min job. Just plain old SLOPPY workmanship. Maybe not at your dealership, but often I'll have two or three jobs going at once.
That all depends on how you look at it. Some guys including myself treat their truck better than they treat themselves. I'm sure that makes a difference as well. Now that I'm a traveling man I barely have time to get my oil changed, much less keep it clean. but anyway my whole point was mistakes happen. Who knows, the tech may have had every intension of cleaning it up but got to doing something else and simply forgot about the fuel, shut the hood and backed'er out. Nobody knows but I don't feel fingers should be pointed unless you do know it was flagrant disregard.
Because of the posts here a few months ago about the same subject, the first thing I did after getting the free filter change was to pop the hood and check for excess fuel on top of the filter. I, like some others, found a pool of fuel on the filter.
I calmly walked into the service area, asked for a rag, mopped up the fuel and then returned the rag. Should I have had to do that? Maybe not but I did and I got over it. It was not a big problem. There was no fuel on the frame, just the excess from the air bleeding. In my mind this was not worth getting upset about. Some things in life are just not worth worrying about. The fact that I wake up every morning and can still hug my wife and go to work, that is important. Don't sweat the small stuff guys!!!! :D :D :D
I'll add my recent experience to the fray. I was unbundling the cord for my block heater this weekend and noticed the Water In Fuel sensor was unplugged from my fuel filter I had changed at the dealer ~2000 miles ago. I re-attached is and all is OK. Of course if something had gone wrong, I would expect a battle on warranty if they found it off and I had fuel related problems and it would have been my responsibility to prove otherwise. I was also surprised I didn't get some sort of code with it being disconnected.
Strike 1 for my dealer and I do the filter changes from now on.
Mark Heiken
11-28-2005, 06:13
I agree with you for the most part crafty. However it has been my experience that a tech that will leave a mess on a simple job will do poor work most of the time. One of my pet peeves is the guy who will disassemble something that is covered in dirt and then claim that he did a good job. Just iqnore that 3 pounds of dirt. It won't hurt anything.
Right now if I was to buy a new rig I'd have to go out of town. The local dealer has such a poor service dept that they will not touch my rigs again. Too bad because it used to be one of the best.
Jim Brzozowski
11-28-2005, 09:30
If I can't trust you to do the little things right. How can I trust you to do the big things right? Its a matter of character man. Do the best you can while you can for there will come a time when you no longer can.
I think thats an old Polish saying, probably looses something in the translation.
Jimamatic
11-28-2005, 14:41
With my experience, if all they did was left fuel pooled on the housing I would have just wiped it dry and called it good. What stuck in my craw is that they let fuel soak the frame below which totally compromised the factory undercoating. Whether it was because of poor attention to detail or just an honest mistake, it should'nt have happened. I guess I just have unrealistic expectations. In my line of work, if I screw up people can be injured or killed. So I have to do it right every time. I guess I expect that from other people in their line of work too. But we are only human. BTW, the oil change guys did the filter change not a mechanic. If I had known this I'd of just got the new filter and done it myself.
Regards.
Jim-
SHOPMAN426
11-28-2005, 17:03
Hey Jim,
Did you come across the river to buy your truck? I got mine from Westin GMC. If I didn't get the deal I did, I wouldn't have picked them. Service hasn't been stellar, but I'm not sure if any other dealership around here is.
In Madmatt's defense, I feel he is the exception to the rule. The fact that he spends time here reading about our problems and giving good advice, shows how much he cares. I should also mention the other techs that chime in time to time with helpful hints. The techs that do a half a@# job aren't hanging around here to better their field.
We did spend alot of money for these rigs, and most of use treat them as if they were one of our kids. And thats why we come unglued when things like this happen. I know I do!
Shopman426,
Mike. :mad: :eek: :D
Inspector
11-28-2005, 19:41
Because of respect this thread needs to end.
Denny
In Madmatt's defense, I feel he is the exception to the rule. The fact that he spends time here reading about our problems and giving good advice, shows how much he cares. Thanks for the kind words Mike ;) ! I really do spend as much time here as possible for the good of everybody including myself. It helps me in my job everyday to see things from the customers standpoint and alerts me to some problems that I may not have seen yet and while researching it for you guys, I also get a leg up on the situation in the event one of my customers comes in w/ a like concern. W/ as much grief as I'm taking over my comments, I hope this thread continues and remains friendly. I don't say anything I don't believe in or mean and it is just my honest opinion (unless it's technicial help) These comments posted here gives me some good insite about how other people feel about their truck and how they expect to be treated. Hell, I don't even own a diesel anymore. We sold our pulling truck a while back. I'm just hanging out here helping when I can.
Mark Heiken
11-29-2005, 06:07
I totally agree that Matt and others are the exception to the rule. I would like to say that I wished he worked at my local dealer, but I wouldn't wish that on him. He would make the others look bad and they would run him out. I've watched it happen. If I didn't have this site and others and had to depend solely on my dealer, I would probably have sold my Dmax long ago.
Turbo Al
11-30-2005, 08:55
There are NOT many dealers within an hour of my place (2 of) Like I said I am use to the lousy service provided by this one. Truck has been in 5 times for a electrical problems -- NSBU gremlin + check oil level light keeps coming on. Was in twice for NSBU and guess what the bloody thing died (NSBU) about a month past warrenty and I had to eat the bill(did work myself. GM hotline did NOTHING to help me on this problem even though they have the record of my visits to the Dealer. The check engine oil light is still on to this day. SO YEA I EXPECT BAD SERVICE from these clowns. Trip from home to back home took me almost 3 hours so you would think they would have a little respect for out of towners NOT!
Close the thread out of Respect?? -- I think that WE should be kept informed how bad GM and certain dealers are treating us.
Al
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