Is it just me, or do all service advisors (the person who writes up the work order) act as if they are the Wizard of Oz?

The latest incident revolves around a simple oil change.

When I got home, I checked the dipstick. It was a quart low.

I called the servise advisor to inform him that they had a quality control problem. It is a :45 round trip to the dealer and I had all intentions of buying the quart of oil myself.

He said that he believed that I thought the dipstick read a quart low, but he wanted me to return to the dealer so that he could verify my claim before he talked with the tech.

I informed him that I have been driving 30 years and that I could read a dipstick. He just wouln't believe my claim and was rather nasty about the whole thing.

Needless to say, my next call was to the service manager. He was cool about the incident and said he would talk with the advisor.

This is not my first run in with these service advisors.

Is it just me, or do they really think and act like they are the Wizard of Oz?

 

The problem is the Service advisor is a "dip stick"

 

That sounds exactly like what you should expect when you go to the Ford dealership.

 

Be lucky that you don't have to *work* with them...

 

The service advisor at my dealership is the same way. Thinks he knows a lot about vehicles when in reality he can't tell the difference between a dipstick and a valve-stem. Whenever I take my truck in for repairs I talk to one of the mechanics there before I arrive so I dont have to deal with the guys up front.

 

My service advisor told me he needed my truck for a whole day to change the gas filler door. I asked him why that long? He said, "they have to drop the fuel tank and pull the filler neck out the bottom. It's going to take a whole day". After I dropped it off about 3 hrs later, I got a call that it was finished. I found the tech when I picked it up. I asked if he had to drop the tank? He said, no way just pulled the assembly out of the fender and put the new one in. No problem, about 2 hours total.
Makes me wonder about these service writers/advisors. I won't even mention what he told me about my brake noise.

 

Two sides to every coin...

In the advisor's defense, I'm sure it is his/her job to confirm that this has happend prior to moving it to the next level. I say this only as an opinion as I certainly didn't hear how things were said nor did I actually read the dipstick.

Same scenario, roles reversed. Wouldn't you want to see the stick as well to confirm it before you went and chewed on someone's butt?

Again, I'm not trying to be a 'dip' about this but, there is another side to this coin.

RP

 

In their defense, service writers have the worst job in the dealership. They catch flak from technicians when they do their job and write up the customer's complaint, no matter how silly it seems, and the tech comes up asking "WTF is this you <expletives deleted>."

They catch flak from their managers when they don't sell enough labor. Most service writers have a weekly base salary plus commission on whatever labor they sell, some places include commission on parts too. If they have a bad week or business is just slow, the DP gnaws on the service managers, the service managers gnaw on the service writers, the service writers throw the dumb technicians under the bus. Stuff flows downhill.

They catch flak from their customers when something goes wrong with their car. A pissed off customer looks for the first person they can vent on when something didn't go as planned, be it a factory flaw or a recheck. More times, often than naught, that's the service writer.

I butt heads with our service writers on a regular basis for several reasons out the scope of this post. Often times, I frankly don't like 'em. But I can sympathize with them.

 

My response was more generic than you took it. I always expect trouble when I go to the dealership because 9 out of 10 times I get it. No, I would never ask a customer in a million years to bring his truck back 45 minutes to look at his dipstick. I will reverse roles just for you. I would have told the customer..."I'm sorry for your inconvenience. Next time you come in, you'll get a free oil change. We want to go the extra mile to show our customers that we take their needs seriously." Then, I would handle the mechanic totally separate. Anyone who ever took a Marketing 101 course would know this.

 

If I called my ford dealer like you did they would not question me cause they know I would not call if it was not a good reason...They would go see the man that did the work and find out what was done...I could have a oil leak or he could have made a mistake...I would get a call back to tell me what happened...and if I should bring the truck back in...

I would never deal with a place that got nasty to me...

One GMC dealer I did business with found after I complained I did not get everything I paid for . that the tect guy was stealing parts and using them in his under the table night time business working on cars...

Of course when they go a great job I call to thank them and tell them that as well...

 

Marketing 101 isn't required for service advisors. Neither is English 101 nor Math 101. Hence the required IQ of 50. Cops on the other hand, have to have 32 whopping hours of college. Hence required IQ of 60.