There’s something to be said for great customer service. It makes you feel great about your purchase and/or experience – regardless how much $$ you dropped! A good sales person knows this. They also know that if the deliver first-class service you will be loyal. Take Albertsons for example. Their prices are higher than all other grocers in the valley (except for the Boise Coop) but by and large, the set themselves apart with the service – thay have to. I would far prefer to shop there after dark, when I know that someone is available to walk me to my car.
I don’t like to gripe often, but I just have to say shame on you to one local company. And KUDOS to another!
I’ll start with the Kudos.
THE EXCELLENT : Last night we went to Macaroni Grille for dinner. If we were greeted by one smile, we were greeted by a dozen. The staff was on their toes with “Happy Mother’s Day” greetings all night. We were personally serenaded by an accordion-wielding musician (twice) named “Enrico.” And, when the youngest member of our table was throwing a fit, Enrico came over and drew a picture and completely distracted our little one. It was smiles the rest of the night. It was friendly and excellent service throughout our experience. Despite the fact that I happen to really like their food…the service is what makes us want to go back (sooner than later).
THE GOOD: A trip to Home Depot proved to be crazy yesterday. It seems everyone else in Boise had the same idea. I had to buy a bunch of bricks for a garden box we are building. The staff was hard to find because they were so busy, but when you finally tracked one down, they were very accommodating and helpful. I would have expected them to be grumpy with that kind of traffic, but I couldn’t have been more pleased.
THE UGLY: Our last experience had to do with buying a car. We are not newbies to car buying…we’ve bought a few in our time. Like most red-blooded Americans, we try to get the best deal possible and we are not going to apologize for it. We bought a car from Lithia this weekend, but the service was truly lacking. Here’s the story.
We had been talking to a couple dealers and initially settled on a 2007 used car with low miles at Lithia. Meantime, another dealer called and was willing to drop their price by $4000 on a 2008 – also used with about 3,000 less miles. Their offer put the car within $1,000. When my husband called Lithia to inquire if there was anything they were willing to do to seal the deal for us there, he was referred up to the GM (I think his name was Shane or Sean) and boy, was he read the riot act! The guy was a complete jerk, and tried to make my husband feel bad for even asking the hard questions or get the best deal possible. The GM told him that they (Lithia) had done everything “right” and implying that we were being sneaky and disingenuous.
Ultimately, we decided on Lithia for 2 reasons – 1) there were some question marks about the other car because it was a previous rental car, and we’d have to drive out to Mt. Home to really check it out, 2) we thought, ultimately, we’d get better service because Lithia was local and the dealer for this particular kind of car.
Lithia ordered new wheels for the car for us, and had 5 days to get everything ready. When we showed up (with kids in tow), none of the paper work was ready to go and it took us 2 hours of waiting around to complete the deal (honestly, I have far better things to do with my time…). Then, when we finally saw the car, it had not been detailed or cleaned. It wasn’t anything significant – but enough to know (that other than cleaning the engine) they’d done absolutely none of what they’d said they did. There were crumbs and scuffs inside, grease on the front of the car, the exterior was covered with a thick layer of dust, and the gas tank had just over 1/4 tank left. The car was also missing a key and the driver’s manual. They gave us a drivers manual…only to discover when we got home, that it was for the completely wrong car (different year and model).
This is how you sell a car?? Seriously??
To their credit, we left the car for them to clean up. When we returned the sales guy was cleaning up the scuffs (with 409…on leather) and the car had been washed. We were told however that unless the gas tank was under 1/4 tank, they will not fill it on a used car. They are ordering us a new key and owner’s manual.
While we honestly feel great about the value of the purchase – and the car - the customer service (or lack there of) has left us completely questioning the experience. Needless to say, the likelihood of our going back to Lithia in a few years to replace our other car are slim to none.
Good customer service seems hareder to find these days… At the risk of becoming a grip string, I am going to open this up and encourage you to post your experience. Especially if you’ve had an experience counter to ours at Lithia, I want to hear it. Since it’s easier to find fault than praise good actions, I encourage you to balance the bad with the good. If we get too much griping, I’ll shut down the comments on this one.
8 Comments
May 12, 2008 at 11:46 pm
Wow, that’s good to know! 409 on leather, huh? LOL.
One example of awesome customer service is a little sandwich shop/deli on Fairview in Boise called Deli George.
The owner is always out and about checking on the customers, and seemed to know his “regulars” by name. Then he always brings my one-year-old a little plate of meat and cheese. I thought that was so awesome! The sandwiches rock too.
I also agree with Albertsons customer service. They have a great deal on chicken this week, so I bought 30 lbs. and the young man behind the butcher desk was so awesome to package it all in 1 lbs packages for me. He was so friendly! Then my baby had had it by the time we were checking out, so the cashier gave her some smarties.
May 16, 2008 at 5:04 am
The Lithia story is insanity. Whether it is a new car or the ugly duckling on the lot, I have NEVER had a dealer not fill up the tank. It is standard practice in the industry.
May 16, 2008 at 5:14 am
[...] a sounding board to point out when a business just sucks. Boise Goodlife Gal recently experienced horrible customer service when buying a car at Lithia. From being treated rudely by the salesman, to taking 2 hours to [...]
May 16, 2008 at 5:27 am
Has anybody been to Fox Trot yet in the Linen District. It’s a clothing store and I think has the best customer service our valley has to offer. The owners will help you find something amazing to wear and WILL not let you go home if it looks any less. And, they do it in a way that is non-pushy and helpful. The clothes look very expensive and are great quality, but prices are reasonable. For some, the clothes might be a bit hip. But, if you don’t need clothes – check out their fresh cut flowers and other items. I have never known anyone to come away from Fox Trot disappointed – even if they didn’t buy anything.
May 16, 2008 at 4:08 pm
Customer service is almost a lost art but for those of us who live in southwest Boise, love good coffee and appreciate good customer service – stop in at Shamrock Coffee Company on the corner of Maple Grove & Overland. This delightful coffee shop has an Irish theme done in a reading room atmosphere with wonderful Irish posters on the walls, Irish music, comfy leather chairs and great sandwiches, fresh teas and of course, the best coffee around. Shamrock uses only shade-grown organic coffee from Oregon and the taste is remarkable. Every drink has an Irish name and each barista has their favorite drink on their name tag. And yes, that’s the key here – you can actually know the name of who is serving you and each barista is knowledgeable about their coffees as well as their loose tea – which you absolutely have to try. A drive through is also available when you are in a hurry! Don’t miss out on the wonderful service, coffee and atmosphere of Shamrock Coffee Company at Maple Grove & Overland!!
May 29, 2008 at 5:01 am
not newbies to buying a car huh? come to buy with you laundry list, tell the dealership what you want, don’t assume you get those little extras that the manufacturer provides in the purchase of a new car (ever wonder why used saves you so much money?) and make it part of “the deal.” everyone wants to style themselves as such a shrewd negotiator when buying a car. Prepare yourself. You want to negotiate? Learn about “reserve”, you wanna save some money. There’s maybe a thousand bucks there. That’ll buy you a nice owners manual. Or a tank of gas. Speaking of which Bryan, it’s a “standard un the industry” to “throw in” a full tank of gas? what planet? 4 bucks a gallon? And compain about taking two hours to do a car deal. How much did percieve you saved? one, two thousand? that’s 500 to 1000 dollars an hour. how long didja stand in line at your beloved Albertsons? oh, yeah, probably zipped right thru. Cause they don’t have any customers any more. there’s you customer service.
May 29, 2008 at 2:51 pm
Dong – if not filling up the tank is standard, then that’s a new one to me. It’s pennies on the dollar compared to the sale in my view. Are you defending their service (or lack there of?)?? I still think it was rotten. In my experience, companies only focus on customer service when the HAVE TO. In other increased competition is better for everyone because it really make words when they have competition… As for Albertsons, I don’t shop there all the time, mostly I go to Winco for the prices. But, I have to say when I do go to Albertsons, the service is noticably different from the meat counter to – yes, the checkout line. And, at my Albertsons, I usually do have to wait for one or two customers in front of me. Not saying that Winco’s employees aren’t nice, they are just not near as friendly and helpful. And that doesn’t have ANYTHING to do with how many customers you have in the store – just take my Home Depot example above. Thanks for the post!
May 29, 2008 at 4:52 pm
no, i said filing up the tank is NOT a standard of the industry. i’m just saying everybody goes in wanting “the best deal.” best deal for what!?!? the car, or the car, the owners manual, gas, floor mats, etc. you shrewd negotiators didn’t mention tires anywhere. apparently your expectation don’t reach those safety items, rather just the conveniences. hey, the car came with new tires when it sold “new”, why aren’t you “best dealers” whining about having to take the car home with slightly used tires? the car also came with (at least) a 36 month 36000 mile comprehensive warranty when it sold “new”, why aren’t you negotiating for that?
learn how to buy a car, you’ll get what you ask for, or not. then you have a decision to make. buy with or without the owners manual, full tank of gas, at least if the dealership says “no” to your request, then you can whine about “customer service.” I’ve seen too many 40 dollar car deals to empathize with any of you.