Launching the Web Site

Monday, November 1, 2004
This web site was launched at 5:30am this morning. All I've done so far to advertise the site is to send out e-mails to 100 friends and relatives. Advertising, a public awareness campaign, and some proper search engine positioning are coming in the next few weeks.

My wife talked to Frank, the General Manager at MacIVER Dodge, at about 9:30am this morning. He indicated that our van was out of the shop and would be returned to us within an hour. Great! I wonder if they've actually fixed anything... Frank was already looking at the site. He was absolutely irate as he mentioned it to my wife. "How could you have done this? Do you know what this is going to do to us?". Well Frank... The answer is a definite YES! We do know what this is going to do to you. It is going to expose how you have treated us. The truth hurts, eh?!?!? Several other people at MacIVER Dodge and at Daimler Chrysler Corporation (in Windsor and the US) have also been spending a LOT of time going through the site. Aren't web site statistics great?

At about 10:30am, our van was returned. The service guy who returned it also brought us a letter from Frank re: our bumper repairs. I had requested this a week or so ago. It was agreed with Frank that this letter would state that the crack in the bumper was not caused by the customer, but that it occurred while under the care of MacIVER Dodge. It was also supposed to indicate that instead of replacing the bumper, MacIVER Dodge had selected to repair it and therefore MacIVER Dodge accepts the responsibility of paying any costs that are charged to the customer at lease end due to these damages. Do you think the letter actually said that? Of course not! All it said is that damage to bumpers is common and that Frank, out of the goodness of his heart, repaired it for the customer in good will. Nice! Frank, you have such a good heart! So, we told the service guy to take the letter back.

We took our newly repaired van out for a little test drive. Within fifteen minutes of driving, the heater turned on by itself. Nice repair job MacIVER Dodge! So, I went back to MacIVER this afternoon with the van. I actually saw Frank in the parking lot with a nice big grin on his face. After explaining our continuing problems with the van, he directed me to service and indicated that they would take care of me there. No loaner vehicle though. They don't have loaner vehicles anymore. I wonder why that is...

I went into the service department to make an appointment and ended up chatting with a gentleman waiting for his vehicle. He made a comment to me about the problems that he's been having. "Not a surprise to me", I said, "You won't believe the problems we've been having." He was quite interested in hearing more, but Bill's ears perked up and I simply responded, "I'd love to tell you more, but Bill over there will call the police and have me charged with trespassing if I tell you anything else."

What really sticks with me in all my visits to the service department at MacIVER Dodge is how often strangers just start talking about the problems they're having with their vehicle. I've owned vehicles from several other dealerships/manufacturers, and when I have taken them in for service, rarely have I ever heard people complaining. And, when I did hear complaining, it was only to the service advisor. People never came up to me to tell me their story. At MacIVER though, it's a LOT different. Almost every time I'm there, I meet one or more new people who want to tell me all about their vehicle problems. I'm not asking these people - they just start talking. I wonder why this is...

Anyways, I made my way to Frank's office and requested a short meeting with him. Also in his office were Bill, the service manager, and Scott, the leasing manager. Frank requested that they be present for the meeting - which, of course, I had no issues with. Well... it was an interesting conversation.

• Bill, the Service Manager for MacIVER Dodge, said to me that "My service staff has put forth their best effort to resolve the issues with your van, and there is nothing else that we can do. I recommend that you take your vehicle to another dealership and have them attempt repairs." What?!?! But, I thought that MacIVER Dodge was a Six Star dealer. I asked Frank if maybe he could recommend a Seven Star or an Eight Star dealer that I could try out somewhere, but he had no comment. So Bill, are you saying that other dealers will have better trained and/or more experienced service staff than MacIVER Dodge? "No Brad, I'm just saying that you should have someone else attempt the repairs." OK, so that makes sense... Sounds more like a line that you've been practicing all morning.
• Now comes Frank. He always has something interesting to say. "Brad, the real problem here is that you and your wife are never happy." OK, so that can only mean two things - (a) We should be satisfied with a $45,000, 18-month old vehicle with ongoing electrical problems, or (b) We are making up all of these problems. Which is it Frank? "I'm not saying either Brad, I'm just saying that you and your wife are never happy." Well, Frank what you're saying can only really mean one of those two things. "I'm not saying that Brad, I'm just saying you're never happy." Good one, Frank.
• Now it's Scott's turn. I don't think I've ever met him before but he certainly had a lot to say. "Brad, you're just here for entertainment purposes - so that you can get nice content for your web site. You're going to go home and spend a couple of hours tonight typing away into your web site, instead of spending quality time with your children. What a great family man. It's sad. And you can quote me on that." Wow, a car salesman with a degree in psychology! And someone who has obviously taken extensive training in dealing with customers as well. Frank and Bill, you should take some lessons from this guy!

So... My dealer is unable to fix my van. That's re-assuring. So, I tried to call Phil, the district manager who was in charge of my case. I got his voicemail and left a message. Then I called Charles, Phil's boss. I was able to speak with Charles and he backed up Bill's recommendation that I take my vehicle for service at another dealership. He thinks that another dealer might look at my issues from another angle and be able to resolve them properly. He cannot recommend another dealership and he can't say that any one dealership is better than another. However, you know what... I'm going to do that. I'll find another dealer and see if they have any luck. I'm not optimistic though!

I also asked Charles if he could arrange a loaner vehicle for my family while our van is being looked at by a new dealer. After all, these problems are a result of a manufacturing defect, and these problems are still here because the last round of major repairs was not extensive enough. He said that this would not be a problem if he knew that the current problems were stemming from the same issues as before. Come on Charles... If these current problems are not related to the original issues, then we must have a new water leak. Either way, I should be given a loaner.

As of 5:30pm - that's a total of 12 hours since launch - I've had over 14,000 visitors. The average amount of time that people are spending on my site is just over 15 minutes. Lots of people are really reading this. I've had lots of very nice comments and several good ideas for new features to the site. Thank you everyone for your input.

I had a friend call me this evening to let me know that he saw a news heading indicating that Daimler Chrysler is recalling 23,000 mini-vans in Canada due to problems with water leaks. Wow! Very interesting! I wonder if my vehicle falls into that 23,000? I've searched everywhere, but I can't find any more info. I'll have to wait until tomorrow and see if more info is available then.

Tuesday, November 2, 2004
More information on the recall was available this morning. It is for vans from the 2001 and 2002 model years and is to address a potential issue with water intrusion into the radio that could trigger a short circuit and potentially result in a speaker fire. Details are available here.

I called Chevalier Chrysler in Aurora today to see if I could get them to look into the issues with our van. I explained the problems to the service advisor over the phone and I was told that I should be taking the van back to MacIVER Dodge for repairs. I explained that I had been talking with Charles, the Service and Parts Manager for Daimler Chrysler, and that he had asked me to take my van to a different dealership so that they could look at the problems. The service advisor indicated that this would have to be handled by the service manager and that he was not in today. She is going to leave him a note and he will call me tomorrow.

I talked to Frank (General Manager at MacIVER Dodge) this morning as well. I wanted to find out when I can get the letter from him regarding the crack in my front bumper. Remember that Frank and I have already agreed on what this letter is to say (read my Nov 1 entry above if you want a refresh). He sent a letter yesterday that did not meet these requirements. I again reviewed with Frank what the letter needs to say. He apologized and said that I would be faxed a letter this afternoon that contains the wording I've asked for.

Frank did fax me a new letter (view in PDF format), but it is still not anything close to what I've asked for. He feels that the damage to the bumper was not done while the vehicle was at MacIVER because it was noted by them very early in its stay with them. That's an absolute lie! If it was noticed by them, why would it not be pointed out to us when we picked up the vehicle? My wife found the crack and she pointed it out to Nick, the service advisor. His response was "I wonder how we never noticed that". I made notes on that day (September 8, 2004) and my notes actually indicate that this is how Nick responded.

Back to the letter though... It sure makes Frank sound like a really nice guy - doing all this stuff as "goodwill" and with his "goes the extra mile" attitude. And, I love their slogan (that I somehow have not noticed before) - "The Dealer Where You Would Send a Friend!" I don't think so! However, anyone reading this... You have the right to make up your own mind. If you want to buy from MacIVER, tell them that Brad sent you. :)

Index

Previous  |  Next