[cory4281]

Ok well i guess I have to try this again, since the moderator removed my first post. This time I'll do this without names.
Ok, so I am not one to traditionally complain, or to even go as far as to write a letter, but I wanted to share my experience with you guys just as a warning. I have heard numerous stories of excellent experiences with MINI dealers, so I think you should know where customer service is bad. I wish that i would have gotten a warning myself.

After submitting my survey results, I got a letter from my MA telling me that she was very disappointed and could no longer help me, referring me to her manager. In a previous email she had mentioned that if i could not issue 5s on the survey if I would avoid answering, so that she could win some trip. Before she even told me this I had already gone ahead and filled out half of the survey, and because 5s are for exceptional service there were some areas where I did not vote 5. Below is the response email I wrote after she refused to be of service any longer.



Needless to say I am less than shocked that you are soooo upset over a
rating that is not a 5, looks like you care more about winning a trip than
you do about the satisfaction of your customers.

<quotes where here in the original message but I have removed them since they may be too personal>
Summary: She told me that BMW only considers a 5 as passing and the rest of the scores as a failure, so if i couldn't vote 5, don't answer the question. She then asked me in 2 other emails if i gave her all 5s so that she could have a chance at winning the trip, and that i could issue comments but the number rating was appreciated.


I find it quite disappointing that when a customer of your dealership is
dissatisfied that you just throw your hands up and refer that person to your
manager for future problems. We are both grown adults here, and as such we
should be interested in self improvement. Given your attitude I can see that
you don’t agree with me.

I gave you the rating I felt you deserved, after all that is the purpose of
giving customers a survey to begin with, so that you can receive honest
feedback on your performance. I would however like to clarify that I never
completed the last half of the survey, as I was waiting for our transactions
to be completed (i.e. my front grill arriving), and was unaware that there
was some time limit. That being said… the first half of the survey I had
completed prior to your even mentioning it to me in email, and prior to me
being told “if you cannot issue a 5 on a particular question, please do not
answer it”. Does BMW and Motorwerks support you when you are telling your
clients this? If you are padding your stats to win some trip how is that
fair to other hard working MAs? And as a pointed out before, isn’t the POINT
of a survey to get feedback NOT to just get all 5s? I think that you are
very lucky that the MINI sells itself, because you surely couldn’t sell it
with an attitude like yours.

Getting 5s on that survey has NOTHING to do with the time it took for you to
get me my car, as a matter of fact I don’t even remember a question that
remotely pertained to how satisfied I was with the wait time for my MINI.
You really have nothing to do with that at all, rather it just so happens
that your dealership has a shorter waiting list. As for the fact that I am
out of state, all that means is that our correspondence is through email and
the phone, and this is where a lot of my dissatisfaction stems from. I don’t
feel that corresponding with you through email was very efficient or
effective. I had to contact you in order to get any status updates, while I
was being told by other fellow MINI owners that their MAs were keeping them
informed throughout the entire process. I asked for only a few things to be
taken care of, like not installing my front license plate, and my car
arrived with the bracket drilled on. I only order one accessory, the chrome
grill and that didn’t even arrive correctly (I know that you say this is not
your fault, but it’s still disappointing for the buyer). But worst of all
you didn’t take the necessary precautions to ensure that when my car arrived
I could legally drive it. I had paid weeks in advance for you to take care
of the paperwork regarding registration and then you decided to take the
chance using standard mail to mail my the temp license on Monday when you
know my car would be arriving on Tuesday or Wednesday. Granted you did send
me another license using DHL, but that shouldn’t have been necessary if you
would have just done this correctly to begin with (the first license you
mailed did finally arrive on Friday of that week). You should be able to at
least sympathize with me on this one, here I am waiting nearly 3 months for
my new car to arrive, and when it gets here I can’t even legally drive it,
talk about ruining the moment.

The above reasons are why you didn’t get all 5s, 5s are meant for
outstanding performance, and this is not what I felt I received. I am sorry
if what I rated you is considered a ‘fail’ by BMW just because it’s not a 5,
I think this is something you should take up with them, not me.

[agranger]

Clap Clap Clap Clap Clap Clap!

A round of applause for you and your well-written letter. I've never had anyone tell me how to answer a feedback questionaire and, as a manager, I'd be horribly disappointed in anyone working for me who would try to stack the deck in this manner. I had a car salesman (Nissan) one time say that I would be getting a questionaire and that he wanted all 5's, but he said that he would have to earn them and that if I felt that any part of our transaction wasn't 5-worthy, to let him know immediately and he would take care of it.

Knowing my nature, I probably would have gone to the manager and immediately requested another MA since that one was going to be unhappy with any honest review I gave her.

Thanks for letting us know!

[Threat]

Excellent letter, you are totally justified. While I don't agree with 5 or nothing, it's their system and does encourage advisors to go the extra mile.

I had an Audi service manager pull that kind of thing on me. He insisted that he get all 5's in his letter and that if the car wasn't washed it wasn't his fualt and I shouldn't downgrade him (it was a question on the survey). He stupidly did it in writing and signed it. After a very bad experience with him I wrote a letter to Audi customer service and included his letter. About a month later he was no longer with Audi, perhaps I wasn't the only one that had a problem with him.

If they would take the time to do the job, instead of begging for a good score they would get it. I don't recall ever begging my boss for a good review. I did the job, and if he was satisfied I got rated well on my review.

[gtshnzr]

I tend to get these for every car, with almost every service. Don't know why. The Ford and Lexus dealers always call me when they get less than a 5, and ask about how to improve whatever the issue was. So far, MINI hasn't followed up on the last less than 5 I gave them about 3 weeks ago. Makes you wonder.

[sith33]

... *nod*...

Though I will say, the motorwerks service people seem to be pretty good. Only had the car in once, but I found the service to be good. Not as good as Whitebear subaru though, if we're comparing local dealerships...

But yeah, the sales experience was less than stellar. Oh well, I have the car now, love the car, don't need to deal with the MA anymore, all is well.

[rustyb]

Quote: Originally Posted by gtshnzr

I tend to get these for every car, with almost every service. Don't know why. The Ford and Lexus dealers always call me when they get less than a 5, and ask about how to improve whatever the issue was. So far, MINI hasn't followed up on the last less than 5 I gave them about 3 weeks ago. Makes you wonder.

I could not give all 5's either. My car was covered with fingerprints, empty gas tank, holes drilled through the front bumper, wrong mats, key not programmed, etc. upon delivery. Additionally, the MA was unaware of new upholstery options for 2005, and I had to return to the dealership to change options due to the poor knowledge base of the MA. I received a call from the sales manager asking why I had given them such a poor survey. When I was finished, she said in a very mocking and glib tone--"well, what is done is done." No apology, no concern, nothing . I have heard nothing from MINI / BMW regarding my problems, and I do not expect to because the cars are flying off of ships and into American garages faster than expected. Sad, but true--dealing with people you sometimes get poor MA's. I still love my MCS, though.

[Ebrian_x2]

I am truley sorry for your mishap... I wish i could have seen this post earlier because i bought
my car through the same dealership, and i had the exact same MA!!! And yes she asked me
to do the survey and only to give 5's...
At the time i didnt think it was to big of deal, i just didnt fill the survey out, i wouldnt lie just so she
could get the trip....But all in all i recieved really good service form this dealership and i hope this
doesnt ruin your experience with your new car.
I understand you cant use names on the posts but i am interested to see if i truely had the same
MA or if all the employees there are doing this, i PM'ed you to see.

[MaxaMiniBro]

While I didn't buy a MINI from Motorwerks, I did buy a BMW from them back in '99. I had warranty coverage for all service up to 36K, and then went back for my first service check after that expired. I had posted this comment a few days ago on another service-related thread. I love those surveys! If you can't rate us highest on all questions, let us know. I let 'em know alright....

"Based on my one experience in MN with BMW service after my warranty cover expired, I'm not sure I'd want to go to a service location associated with them!
The oil change charge was over $90! But the SA said he had found a coupon that brought it down to $80. thanks!
They also did the mandatory warranty check, and handed me a bill for $900. Ouch!
BMW is big on service followup calls to see how their dealers are doing. The guy called and asked "How did you feel about your service experience?" I replied "I felt like I took it up the ***!" He laughed and said that that response wasn't on his survey form. I took the opportunity to fill him in on my feelings, and that was the last time I have used an official BMW dealer for any service. My mechanic does a great job at reasonable rates, and hopefully will have more Mini experience by the time I go to acquire one."

I hope they don't screw you as bad on MINI service as they did me on my 318i.