Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Spreading The Word


After spending a week at Fyda Freightliner in Columbus, Ohio - for an electrical problem we've been having since we bought the truck in 2009 - only to be told, "We can't find anything wrong with your truck", you might say I'm not very happy. And anyone who knows me or reads my blog knows what a stickler I am for good, if not exemplary, customer service.

We have dealt with everyone from the salesman we bought the truck from (who was useless from the get-go, which should have been the first red flag), to the service manager, to the General Manager Gary Tiffan (useless), and finally even the dealership owner, Tim Fyda.

Ed is easygoing and gives everyone the benefit of the doubt.  I don't.  First, we spent as much money to buy this thing as some people spend on a house, and since they sell this truck, they should probably know how to work on it.  THAT is their job.

When it got to a point where I couldn't take it anymore, I spoke to the General Manager, Gary Tiffan.  After much back and forth, he said to me, "I don't know what you want me to do."

What??

"I want you to fix the truck.  That's what I want you to do." I said.  


Are you fucking kidding me??  I can't even believe he uttered those words, essentially throwing his hands up in the air.  And Tim Fyda, the guy with his name on the door, wasn't much better.  Funny thing is, they have these plaques displayed in the lobby area, customer service awards recognizing them for their excellent customer service.  The majority of them are over a decade old, many are even older than that.  I'd like to know whose ass they had to kiss, or what organization they gave money to, or which executive they took out to lunch in order to receive them.  Because it's certainly not truck owners who are filling their mailbox with letters of praise.

I will never recommend these people to anyone.  I will never buy another truck from them.  And I will warn anyone who crosses my path, whether they're in the trucking industry or not, of their business practices.  They may cater to fleets, who largely use Freightliner trucks, but they certainly don't give a shit about the individual truck owner.

Remember the old adage, "A happy customer tells one friend, an unhappy customer tells everybody"?

I do.

And thanks to a readership of tens of thousands of people, the world wide web, blogs, online forums, trucking industry websites, Facebook, Twitter, and all the other social networking sites out there, "everybody" truly means everybody.

And we all know how much I like to talk.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
1 YEAR AGO:
He Had A Dream. Tomorrow We See It Come True.
2 YEARS AGO:
Who Do You Know?
3 YEARS AGO:
South Beach Blue
4 YEARS AGO:
Jawl Spake Anglesh??

2 comments:

Gil said...

Sorry to hear about all of your time being wasted on a your new truck having problems.

Electrical problems are just about the hardest thing for the techs to diagnose and fix in today's cars & trucks. What kind of problem are you having?

Gil said...

Ed, I wonder if they messed up a ground wire as I'm sure a bad ground will cause bulbs to burn out. This is what I remember from my days of messing around with cars and trucks. Something like that can really drive you nuts. Good luck!