Friday, December 19, 2008
Take Your Time
This week I decided to bring the Acura in for a once-over at the Carmax service department (I have a warranty through them so why not check them out?). I've had the car since January and have put 18,000 miles on it but have done nothing but change the oil. No tire rotations, no tune-ups, etc.
So I brought it in and asked for those two things, plus a check of my brakes. I never like to ask for this because I always think they think "ch-ching" when you talk about brakes. So I said I felt a "slight" pulsing when braking hard. In actuality, the car was like the one Fletch drives in Fletch Lives -- "If you want to stop, you have to plan ahead."
I dropped it off Monday night with the help of my lovely wife and they had me scheduled for an 8:30 am appt, meaning they'd get to work on it right away so I could pick it up that night.
The Carmax guy, whose name I'll magnanimously withhold (let's just say it rhymes with "Freg") calls me up early because he needs my address. Are you shipping me the car?
"I bought this car from you guys," I tell him.
"Yeah, but departments don't talk to each other," he tells me."
Great, so I give him my address and he proceeds to tell me HOW they're going to test the brakes. Terrific, pal, I don't care.
He calls me back a little while later to say that yes, indeed, I do need new front pads and rotors, of course. But the rears are fine. The price is actually reasonable so I say fine, go for it.
He calls me back in the early afternoon to tell me that while working on the car, they discovered a valve was leaking. How they discovered this when working on brakes and tire rotations, I don't know.
He proceeds to tell me that the good news is it's covered under my warranty and do I want to fix it. I asked him if anyone's ever said, "No, don't bother fixing it even though it's covered. I'll take my chances." We have a laugh and we're buddies.
Day goes by and I never get another call. My friend from work takes me down to the Carmax, we walk it at about 5:45 (they close service dept at 6) and I ask for my car. His response?
"Are you gonna need this car tonight?"
No, I was just here to see how you were doing, Freg.
"Uh, yeah, that's why I'm here."
"Well, the part for the valve won't be in until the morning," he tells me.
"Didn't you get like ten calls today describing every single step?" my now-irritated friend asks.
Freg then offers to let me take the car and bring it back once the part is in. Which is in the morning. Why would I do that?
He then says there's another option.
"I take your car home?" I ask.
Instead, he offers me the option to rent a car, which I initially scoff at. Then he tells me it would be covered under my warranty. So I perk up. Then he tells me that I can't get the rental car at Carmax and so I'd have to get a ride to the rental car place and then, of course, have help from someone to drop it off. So I scoff again.
He helpfully tells me it will be done in the morning. How early, I ask, thinking my wife can drive me there in the AM and I can get it.
"Oh... maybe 10:30."
Not convenient.
"The guy who is working on it gets in around 9...."
I don't care.
And as my friend then said to me, "He won't begin working at 9 -- he's got to eat his bagel and have his coffee first!"
So I leave and basically have now disrupted my day, my friend's day and my wife's day (normally I take her to work) all for nothing.
The good news is the car was actually done the next day and was immaculate. I mean, my hiney was sliding off the leather seats they were so clean and shiny. Of course, we'll now trash it over the next two weeks, but it sure was nice to get into a car so clean it looked like it was out of the showroom.
So I brought it in and asked for those two things, plus a check of my brakes. I never like to ask for this because I always think they think "ch-ching" when you talk about brakes. So I said I felt a "slight" pulsing when braking hard. In actuality, the car was like the one Fletch drives in Fletch Lives -- "If you want to stop, you have to plan ahead."
I dropped it off Monday night with the help of my lovely wife and they had me scheduled for an 8:30 am appt, meaning they'd get to work on it right away so I could pick it up that night.
The Carmax guy, whose name I'll magnanimously withhold (let's just say it rhymes with "Freg") calls me up early because he needs my address. Are you shipping me the car?
"I bought this car from you guys," I tell him.
"Yeah, but departments don't talk to each other," he tells me."
Great, so I give him my address and he proceeds to tell me HOW they're going to test the brakes. Terrific, pal, I don't care.
He calls me back a little while later to say that yes, indeed, I do need new front pads and rotors, of course. But the rears are fine. The price is actually reasonable so I say fine, go for it.
He calls me back in the early afternoon to tell me that while working on the car, they discovered a valve was leaking. How they discovered this when working on brakes and tire rotations, I don't know.
He proceeds to tell me that the good news is it's covered under my warranty and do I want to fix it. I asked him if anyone's ever said, "No, don't bother fixing it even though it's covered. I'll take my chances." We have a laugh and we're buddies.
Day goes by and I never get another call. My friend from work takes me down to the Carmax, we walk it at about 5:45 (they close service dept at 6) and I ask for my car. His response?
"Are you gonna need this car tonight?"
No, I was just here to see how you were doing, Freg.
"Uh, yeah, that's why I'm here."
"Well, the part for the valve won't be in until the morning," he tells me.
"Didn't you get like ten calls today describing every single step?" my now-irritated friend asks.
Freg then offers to let me take the car and bring it back once the part is in. Which is in the morning. Why would I do that?
He then says there's another option.
"I take your car home?" I ask.
Instead, he offers me the option to rent a car, which I initially scoff at. Then he tells me it would be covered under my warranty. So I perk up. Then he tells me that I can't get the rental car at Carmax and so I'd have to get a ride to the rental car place and then, of course, have help from someone to drop it off. So I scoff again.
He helpfully tells me it will be done in the morning. How early, I ask, thinking my wife can drive me there in the AM and I can get it.
"Oh... maybe 10:30."
Not convenient.
"The guy who is working on it gets in around 9...."
I don't care.
And as my friend then said to me, "He won't begin working at 9 -- he's got to eat his bagel and have his coffee first!"
So I leave and basically have now disrupted my day, my friend's day and my wife's day (normally I take her to work) all for nothing.
The good news is the car was actually done the next day and was immaculate. I mean, my hiney was sliding off the leather seats they were so clean and shiny. Of course, we'll now trash it over the next two weeks, but it sure was nice to get into a car so clean it looked like it was out of the showroom.
Labels: Carmax, Houston, stupidity, things move slower here
