Carless pt. 3

Here's what happened when I went to pick up my car on Saturday........the account is from the letter that I sent to the Service Manager at Garcia Honda (as well as the General Manager and also Honda Customer Service). Hopefully it's not too rambling. It was one of those experiences that you can't believe is happening becasue it's so ridiculous.

Dear General Manager,

On Saturday, August 12, I picked up my vehicle from your department after (amongst other work) the installation of a new starter. As I was preparing to leave, I discovered that my electric locks were no longer functioning. Also, my passive security system (a remote button that must be pressed to enable the ignition; the same button also remotely operates the door locks) was not operating. It appeared to me that it may have been disabled, a logical step in troubleshooting the problem with my car (my car, a 1993 Accord, would not start and I had to have it towed to your location).

I reached under the dash to pull down the security system box, to make sure that all cables were in place. Along with the box, a disconnected wire harness that I did not recognize dropped down.

I alerted your service representative, Mr. X, and he came over to look at the problem. What followed I consider to be one of the worst examples of customer service I have ever encountered. Mr. X explained to me that if there was a problem with my security system, then I’d have to go to an alarm shop to have them look at it. I tried to get my point across that the system was fully functional before I had the car dropped off (as evidenced by the remote operation of the electric locks, even if the car would not start). He countered that my system was old, and that you had no wiring diagram for it, so there was nothing that could be done. When pressed, Mr. X offered (apparently to humor me)to have it looked at when I brought my car in for a tune-up that I have scheduled for August 23rd. He also brought up, as evidence of problems with my security system that were out of Garcia Honda’s control, a totally irrelevant previous incident in your shop when, after having my thermostat replaced, my car would not start. My security system was initially blamed for that issue, but after nearly two hours of looking at my car (and two extra hours of me sitting in your waiting room), your technician realized he had improperly connected a
component of my car’s electrical system. Even after I corrected his recollection of this incident, Mr. X refused to concede that my problem was caused by Garcia Honda. (To his credit, he did briefly look under my hood, although the wiring harness was in the passenger compartment).

Needless to say, I left in a very negative mood. After returning home, I found a flashlight, got down on the ground, and examined the wiring underneath my dash. Within 60 seconds, I had found the problem: the security system had indeed been bypassed during the servicing of my vehicle. It was quite obvious how the dangling wiring harness connected into my car’s electrical system, and my security system/lock remote now works perfectly fine.

What bothers me is not the mistake that your technician made, but rather, the somewhat condescending attitude of Mr. X and his refusal to even entertain the idea that Garcia Honda might be at fault. If, like the vast majority of the population, I was not mechanically inclined, and actually had to take my car in to another shop, I could have wasted my valuable time (even if, as suggested by Mr. X, Garcia Honda ould have reimbursed me for the expense of the repair if determined to be the fault of Garcia Honda). All for 60 seconds of time with a flashlight!

I’m now debating whether or not to return to your business for my vehicle servicing needs, or to try another organization (i.e. Perfection Honda). I am sure, however, that my experience will weigh upon the minds of my many Honda-owning friends when they ask me for advice as to where to get their vehicle serviced.

Carless pt. 2 should follow soon.....