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GM - Ah
That’s Bullshit
“Let me get this straight. I’m on
vacation with a hundred and thirty pound lab, my family and my four
week old grandson and you’re telling me you can’t fix my new Suburban?”
That was my question to the serviceman at a GM dealership in American
Fork, Utah this past July. I was sporting a year old Suburban and
the air conditioning had just went kerplunk.
“Yes sir I’m telling you that. We can’t get the compressor you need.
GM is out.”
I stood in the garage, my mouth open, catching flies I’m sure.
“I don’t mean to be rude, but you all do know its 2003, how can you
be out of a part like this in this day and age?”
The young man explained that it was, in his words, huge problem. The
Parts Manager came out and decided to set me straight I guess.
“Fella', even if we get any compressors in, you’re behind thirty soccer
Mom’s”
Well, it was Utah and the Suburban is the Mormon Cadillac but its
still 2003 and how can a company like GM be out of parts? This was
a challenge made for me. I drove back to where we were staying and
called my dealer back in Montana as I drove.
The dealer is a small shop with big service. I figured this would
be my best hope. The Montana dealer had one of these compressors on
order and hadn’t heard about this ‘huge’ problem yet. They told me
to call around Salt Lake and in the meantime they would do a computer
search of dealers in Montana.
I proceeded to call five GM dealers in the valley along the Wasatch
front and of the five dealers’s, only two even returned my calls.
One said they couldn’t help and the other jumped in headfirst and
said they would fix the problem. They did try.
I get a call from my dealer and they found five compressors but none
of the dealers would give them up because of the shortage. So there
was a shortage of some kind. The dealer in Salt Lake tried everything.
Finally a frustrated Service Manager called me.
“Mr. Kugler I am sorry. In 26 years in this business I don’t know
if I’ve ever been unable to get a part or a date when it would come
in. I am sorry but they just don’t know. It’s a nationwide problem
and getting worse. There are no compressors like yours to be had anywhere.”
The guy was nice and apologetic but I had a Suburban full, it was
July in Utah and we were in our third day of one hundred plus degree
heat. It would go on for several more days. It was hot, Vietnam hot.
With a four-week-old grandbaby I needed my vehicle fixed.
GM had just started a Customer Care Center to take problems off the
Dealers and I thought well why not give them a try. I was desperate,
we all know those call centers are black holes that employ lots of
well trained people and have voice mail systems with more levels of
entry than Al Qaeda has cells. GM’s new one proved to be no different.
I did get right in to a well trained, cheerful and cordial young lady.
She jumped right on the problem but I knew I was in trouble when she
told me …
“Mr. Kugler you are the first one to report this problem to Customer
Care.”
“No dealers called to report the problem?”
“No sir.”
I love a challenge but I could see this was going down hill fast.
She worked with me for half an hour and finally declared that well,
there just weren’t any parts. However, she told me, I was under warranty
and I could rent a vehicle until mine could be fixed. There was a
catch though; I could rent one for five days at a maximum of thirty
dollars a day.
“That’s great. I have two questions. Will the dealer here in Salt
Lake rent me a Suburban for thirty dollars a day and will you have
the part here in five days?”
She was a great person. She took that in stride and said no. They
didn’t cover ‘things like that’ and they had no control over the parts.
“Well just connect me please to whoever has control over the parts”.
Now having been a Vice President of Compaq Computer I knew that no
one in GM really knew someone ‘in charge’ of the parts but it was
worth asking. Of course this went nowhere but she was very patient
and understanding and well trained. We were having a good time until
I asked to talk with her Supervisor.
“Hello I’m Miss Supervisor, how can I help you?”
“Ma’am I’m having a problem.”
I started to explain the problem when she pardons me and states her
opening position.
“Sir, I will listen to your problem but I do have to tell you that
nothing is going to change from what you have already been told.”
Now that was pretty plain so she gets points for brevity and directness
but boy did her bedside manners suck.
“Nothing will change whatsoever?”
“No sir. You have a warranty and it covers what it covers. We do not
have the part available so that is the best we can offer.”
I attempted to explain to her that the circumstances were a little
different than if I were home and being a fifteen-year Suburban owner
and thirty year GM customer I had just hoped for a little understanding.
Miss Supervisor was undaunted by my tears.
“Well Ma’am rather than you and I fight could you just transfer me
to your Supervisor, or whoever in your organization has the authority
to authorize what I would like it would be helpful.”
I wasn’t really prepared for the answer.
“I cannot do that Sir.”
“Of course you can”.
“No sir, I will give you the number of the Better Business Bureau
if you would like but that is the only number I can give you.”
“Of course you could give me another number you choose not to. At
this point I would like to transfer to the Vice President of Customer
Care.”
She was getting a bit irritated with me at this point.
“Sir, I will give you the number for the Better Business Bureau but
that is it. Is there anything else I can do for you?"
This was becoming a real challenge.
“Ma’am I want you to know that I will speak with the Vice President
of Customer Care whether you give me the number or not. I just think
you should have a little more empathy with customers. I would just
like to talk to someone who could solve my problem.”
“Sir, I will give you the number for the Better Business Bureau but
that is all I can do.”
I explained to her that there is no reason for me to have that number.
It is one of the oldest black holes in American commerce, similar
in results to the United Nations. We ended our discussion, I asked
for her name and she very clearly and indignantly spelled it for me.
I was certainly impressed with the new GM Customer Care Center.
When I was a VP at Compaq I learned an important principle. That is,
if you can get through the defenses of a company, are always respectful
and get to a VP, you’ll get most anything. They don’t want to deal
with real, live customers. I was now on a mission. They won day one
but by morning we will prevail.
The Internet is a wonderful thing and if you search and go to chat
rooms you can find a lot of information. I found out the direct phone
number of the VP of Customer Care! I couldn’t wait until morning.
“Sir, are you the VP of Customer Care?”
The voice on the other end was kind, but surprised.
“Yes I am.”
“Do you have just ten minutes of your time to talk with a long time
Suburban owner with a serious problem?”
He was very nice actually and said that he did but was heading to
a meeting and would call me back. Well, having been one, a VP, I knew
that they could rarely work because they lived in a meeting so that
was fair.
“I will call you in one hour. I do have to ask you though how you
got my direct number.”
“Well, sir, the Internet is a wonderful thing.”
He just said he guessed it was and hung up. He called back right at
the appointed time. He had an answer.
“Mr. Kugler I have good news. You have a part on the way, it will
be there tomorrow.”
“Well that’s great but it will be where tomorrow? I talked to the
dealer here in Salt Lake a little while ago and they don’t know its
coming but it is.”
He asked to put me on hold and came back in just a couple minutes.
“Well, it looks in the computer like your dealer in Montana put in
a SPAK (don’t know if I got the acronym right) and it is being taken
off the production line in Detroit and will be there tomorrow.”
As it turned out a SPAK is a rush request for a critical customer
that is down. Now I am still trying to figure out why all those people
I’d been talking with didn’t know to do that? It sure makes you wonder.
Thank God for little dealers like Mission Valley Motors in small towns
who still care? What I went through a good customer shouldn’t have
to … ah, that’s bullshit!
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