This isn’t the first time that I have written about the customer service provided by Ladin Lincoln Mercury & Hyundai and their Sales Manager Gary Faga. See http://tinyurl.com/ygeyx4w. Here is an update on Gary and his company.
A couple years ago, I leased a new car for my oldest daughter when she turned 16. She drove the car for a couple years, went off to college, and at then we gave the car to my son when he turned 16. Recently, the lease on the car came up and I purchased the car outright. As part of the transaction, I asked the dealership to touch up a few items on the car before we took full possession of it as the owners.
The dealership, where we have done lots of business, readily took the car in and called one of their vendors to come in and make the touch ups.
Unfortunately, the painter bumped the car into a city light pole. The painter jumped out of the car, looked at the rear bumper and determined that it would be just a small repair, so he gladly washed his hands of the new dent. Twenty seconds later, after the painter made his assessment, a quasi-explosion occurred in the rear part of the car.
The painter, after he regained his composure, become aware that the lamp from the light pole high above the street had dropped straight through the roof of the car, breaking the back window, the defroster system, and spewing glass all over the inside of the car.
The dealership immediately called me and described the incident. I went over to the dealership and looked at the car. Gary immediately took responsibility and offered to repair the car at their expense and indicated that the insurance company had already agreed to take care of the entire problem. I looked at Gary and told him that I didn’t want the insurance money and I didn’t want the repair because we had just purchased the car with the expectation that it would last for several years. We planned to eventually pass the car down to my little daughter, who doesn’t even drive yet.
The sales manager asked me what he could do to fix the problem. I told him that I didn’t want this car anymore and that I considered the car to be totaled. I know – like he knows – that a car, once damaged seriously like this one, is never going to be the same again. There might be a leak; there might be fog in the windows; or there might be some other issue that we couldn’t predict at this time. So I told Gary that I wanted out of this car and that I wanted his dealership to buy the car from me and make me whole.
He immediately agreed. I wasn’t really surprised because this is the kind of customer service that this dealership always provides. Secondarily, I asked Gary to replace the car with a comparable one at his cost. He readily agreed to that too.
Customer service doesn’t get any better than this. We have bought at least a dozen cars from Gary and this dealership knows that his action would generate more business in the long run – which it certainly will.
Gary did the right thing. Our loyalty to that dealership increased yet again. And it’s my goal for everyone who reads my column to strive for the ultimate in customer service. Whatever you have to do, even if that means taking a loss once in a while for your best customers, you have to do it. Whatever it takes, you do it. And in this case, the dealership stepped up to the plate and did exactly what was necessary under the circumstances. It’s my hope that you’ll think of this little story when you’re asked to render excellent customer service to your customers as well.
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