I call to get my ATV in because the kill switch is bad. I have to wait two weeks to get it in as they tell me they are backed up. I took it in the day before the appt. I also told them to look at the winch, but do not fix if the winch is bad, just if it is a relay.

So, after a week and a half, I call to find out the status. The service manager, who wrote it up when I took it in, says I am now second up to get my machine worked on. He says they will call when done.
I wait another week and call, it was a Thursday, and the same guy tells me they have fixed the switch, but were waiting on a new relay for the winch, said it would be Friday or Saturday before done. So, today, Wed, a different guy calls me and said they worked on my machine and found a bad on/off switch(heck I told them that) and that the winch needs replaced. He asked if I wanted them to order the on/off switch as they are $92. I said yes, but do not fix the winch.
I figure I will switch that out.

Heck, so the service manager lied to me???

Is this an accepted practice, lying to the customer?

I realize if they had told me, it would be over a month to get my machine fixed, I would have, like most people, take it elsewhere.

Uh, no. Not right to lie to the customer. They sound as bad as RV stealerships. These guys in N-E Ohio? Hope not as I need to take my Grizzly in for service soon.

Did the manager lie or did he receive inaccurate information; or did he not understand the information received?

In my experience, 9 times out of 10 a dealer service operation will blow smoke up your ass to get you off the phone.

Which is why for non-warranty service, I try to use a small independent that lives or dies by word-of-mouth.

Is it possible the winch didn't/wouldn't work with the bad relay and they couldn't tell/didn't know the winch was bad until the relay was replaced? The tech may have bypassed the relay or had a "test" relay in his toolbox for diagnostic purposes.

Just a thought..Yesterday I worked on a car that had bad A/C compressor bearings. They were so bad that the front of the compressor got so hot it melted the compressor clutch wires. Anyway, today the compressor arrived and after installing it I found the serpentine belt tensioner pulley was noisy. The customer was a bit peeved at the extra expense and delay to replace the tnesioner. But, I couldn't hear the tensioner noise until the compressor was replaced. Sometimes it just happens that way.

quote:

Originally posted by LS1 GTO:
Did the manager lie or did he receive inaccurate information; or did he not understand the information received?

Good question. When he told me they were waiting on a part that was ordered, relay, not sure how that could have gotten messed up?

No, N.W. Ohio, near Toledo.

quote:

Originally posted by Rotndad:
Is it possible the winch didn't/wouldn't work with the bad relay and they couldn't tell/didn't know the winch was bad until the relay was replaced? The tech may have bypassed the relay or had a "test" relay in his toolbox for diagnostic purposes.

Just a thought..Yesterday I worked on a car that had bad A/C compressor bearings. They were so bad that the front of the compressor got so hot it melted the compressor clutch wires. Anyway, today the compressor arrived and after installing it I found the serpentine belt tensioner pulley was noisy. The customer was a bit peeved at the extra expense and delay to replace the tnesioner. But, I couldn't hear the tensioner noise until the compressor was replaced. Sometimes it just happens that way.

I guess that is a possibility too.

All they had to do was to see if the relay was passing current or not. I really could have troubleshot that myself too.
I troubleshot the kill switch and knew that was the problem and told them that wss the problem there. At the last minute as I took it in I decided to have the winch fixed if it was the relay.

Now, I will just replace the winch.
It just seemed that the story changed to the point that it seems like they lied.
I think that they must be so far behind that they did not want to lose business by telling you that it would take a month or longer from when you call to fix.

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:
In my experience, 9 times out of 10 a dealer service operation will blow smoke up your ass to get you off the phone.

Which is why for non-warranty service, I try to use a small independent that lives or dies by word-of-mouth.

I agree, I do that with my autos, but I do not know of any that work on ATVs.

As one who spent my career as a buyer, purchasing agent, procurement director etc. I can tell you that lying is an approved business practice in the USA. It's even taught in business schools and is part of the MBA programs. You see, lying is perfectly OK if you call it "marketing". The use of the phrase marketing practice" automatically neutralizes any negative connotation associated with the term "lie". It seems that a major part of my job description was to detect half truths, specification inconsistancies,fudging,capability enhancements, exaggerations, lies, dam lies and statistics. I must say that in the commercial world, most salesmen are honest and it always pays to treat them with respect. He's just another poor devil trying to feed his family. But if they sound like a Zig Zigler student or a corporate shill, be wary my friends. Specifications, cynicism and specific contract language written in your favor are your friends.

If you are a consumer, you prob will not be protected by contract language and "marketing" aka outright lies are the norm. It's the American way. Ethics? Hahahaha! "Marketing" you dummy!

when I had to get ladies shoes shipped to L.A. from all over the nation ,I always told them ten working days minimum.

75% of the time they would come in , in 4-6 days.
and I looked like a hero that gave them all "special" priority .

they were always appreciative.

the other 25% of the special orders,actually took 9 working days , so none of my customers ever got hacked off.

Sounds like you have multiple different people molesting your ATV. Some of them probably dove right in to troubleshoot without reading the customer instructions on the service write up. This is assuming the service manager noted your instructions and assuming those doing the work can read and comprehend what was noted.

One of the techs at the marina I worked at had a great saying, "We guarantee fast service, no matter how long it takes."

I will add, having been a service advisor, sometimes the techs will find new issues as they move along in the repair process. It sucks being the guy to call the customer and tell them of new issues, I hated it because I knew exactly what they were thinking.

Well, geez...still have not gotten a call to say my atv is done. Maybe I will have it by Christmas.
My wife and I kinda wanted to take a trip and take it before the weather gets bad or my hay fever gets really bad.

I took it in July 27th.

quote:

Originally posted by Aquabird:
Well, geez...still have not gotten a call to say my atv is done. Maybe I will have it by Christmas.
My wife and I kinda wanted to take a trip and take it before the weather gets bad or my hay fever gets really bad.

I took it in July 27th.

You're reminding me of me last summer when we brought our Boston whaler in and it sat on the back burner FOREVER. I pitched a bitch here and the forum gave me some good advice. I went and picked it up and told them to give me a call when they could actually work on it. I refuse to sit out the best days of summer waiting on some made up bullshit. In my case, it wasn't crucial to the running of the engine. I was just furious that they kept blowing us off when it was under warranty, they were a certified dealer, and they kept yanking our chain every time we called. Of course it was at least an hour away. Had to break out the broom stick on that one..

Irr, yeah, my son told me to call and tell them I was picking it up next friday regardless of if it is done or not.

I suppose I could have jumped around the kill switch. I always managed to be able to get it started, so, it was usuable.
I told my wife I was calling friday morning and telling them I would be up saturday.

So, far I still have not gotten our ATV back.

I went online and searched this place. They sell a lot of motorcycles and ATVs and jet skis.
I also found a bunch of bad reviews. Mostly they say how slow and expensive their service is.
When I go to the company website, it says timely and good priced service?

I wish you luck. Hopefully you get it back intact!

As to the OP....say you own a dress shop. A rather large customer asks "does this dress make my ass look fat"? How ya gonna answer that?

quote:

Originally posted by Krazeehorse:
As to the OP....say you own a dress shop. A rather large customer asks "does this dress make my ass look fat"? How ya gonna answer that?

Two choices:

Actually your ass makes that dress look slim!

That dress must be cut a little slim, let's look at this one over here.


(I'd end up on the first too often to do this for a living)

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:
In my experience, 9 times out of 10 a dealer service operation will blow smoke up your ass to get you off the phone.

Absolutely. Most of these places, if they told me it was Thursday, I'd still check my calendar.

quote:

Which is why for non-warranty service, I try to use a small independent that lives or dies by word-of-mouth.

Same here. I go to the dealer for warranty work, but anything that I'm paying for we take to an independent shop. It's a one-man operation who works out of a shop he set up in an industrial park near us. He is trustworthy and does great work. All his business is by word-of-mouth and he is always busy.