Hey folks. I write this post as a semi-rant but also looking for advice. Not quite sure if I should pursue this further…if you are interested, please read on. If not, feel free to scroll down to some food porn down below. 🙂
I recently took my car into my dealer’s service station to get its last complimentary service done. This service included a required safety check since I hit the two year mark. The customer service representative that signed me in was very nice as he always is. I told him about a loud squeaking when my trunk opens and closes so he said he would look into it.
About mid-morning, I get a voicemail mentioning a few things. Air filters should be replaced but does not need to be done right away, windshield wipers need to be replaced before safety check could be given (who knew?), the trunk issue is covered and they would have to pick up a park to get it fixed (good thing I never spray em with WD-40 ah?) and there was a nail in my rear tire. I called them back and said no to the filter changes, yes to the windshield wiper since I wanted the safety check done and found out the tire patch job was covered by warranty. Great.
Then I get a call at about 3:30 or so that my car is ready so I would be picked up by the shuttle to get my car. The pick-up is very smooth, in fact, the customer service rep lets me know that he took care of the safety check charge so I thought, wow, that’s pretty awesome of them. My services were done, my safety check complete, tire and trunk fixed, I happily left on my merry way to drive back to work.
So I drive out of the dealership and start heading down the road when my car starts ROCKING AND ROLLING. I already knew. Something was wrong with the rear tire they “fixed.” I immediately turned down the next street and fearfully hoped my car would make it back to the dealer. I initially though, the patch was no good, the tire was flat! As I turned on the street, there two cops attending to another accident. One of the cops starts flagging me down and pointing at my tire wildly. I roll down my window and tell him I know but I’m trying to get back to the service station. He tells me, you should really pull over. So I do. Awkwardly.
I get out of the car and look at the tire. I could not believe it. The tire they fixed was hanging on by one lug nut. My tire comes with 5, and here I am looking at my tire barely holding on with one left…and this one was about to come off too. Forreal. So I start calling the service station, no one picks up initially. The cops, bless their souls, both gentlemen were so nice. One of them told me he will drive over to the service station to let them know to come over…I was so close to the service station still. As he goes, I am still calling and they finally pick up. I tell them what happened and of course they panic too and he tells me he’s going to talk to the manager. I say okay and wait there.
Then I see the cop drives back and comes towards me telling me he found two lug nuts on the road. He even had to stop traffic because one of them flew off into the middle lane. This man, what a saint right? I thanked him but I was still very shaken. Both cops were in disbelief that the service station did this. The irony was not lost on me that I drove away with safety check in hand and one tire loose.
The cop that helped me initially told me he was going to leave because he was actually off-duty already but the other cop offered to stay with me since the accident he was assisting with was done. Nice right? Both cops still couldn’t wrap their heads around what happened. One of them even asked if he could take pictures, cause well it’s unreal and I said ok. Shoot, I should have taken pictures too.
So after a little while of waiting, I see one of the service station workers walk over. I really hope this was not the manager because this guy casually walks over cell phone in one hand and coffee cup in the other. I kid you not. Seriously with the coffee? No urgency. He’s on the phone, probably about my car but he doesn’t say a single word to me. Not a single apology. He continues on his phone and when he gets off he just goes straight into what the plan was. They would have to remove the lug nuts from the other tires to put onto this tire so we can drive it back to the station. I hand him the two that was found on the road. Still nothing coming from this guy’s mouth.
Then another service station worker drives in with all the tools they need. They start working on my car to get the tire back on. It’s really the second worker doing all the work. The first one that comes just stands there and then only helps out when it’s obvious someone has to hold the tire as the second worker screws it back in. Jesus. They get the nuts back on and the second worker signals that I can go into my car in the passenger seat, I guess he will be driving my car to the station. The second worker gets in the car with me and apologizes for what happened, I mean, was that so hard for the first guy to do?
We drive to the service station and I get greeted by the customer service rep, he apologizes profusely. I can tell they all shocked by what happened, not as shocked as me of course. He tells me they want to keep the car overnight to check up on it the next day and make sure there was no damage done and that everything is working fine. They issue me a loaner car and I leave.
The next day, I get a call at about 2 in the afternoon. It’s the customer service rep and he’s telling me that the technician is still working on another project and that he would work on my car next. I ask for a timeline because well…it’s already 2 in the afternoon. Give me some timeline on what I would expect. He said it would be the same day. Okay. I get a call at about 4 and my car is ready. I get there with my coworker and we are told they checked everything thoroughly and did a test drive and everything was okay. I asked if anything happened later on, can I bring it in? The answer is yes, as it should be. My coworker asks him if they fell asleep (LOL!) but poor customer rep guy, he’s not the issue. He mentioned that the tire was the last thing they did and it won’t happen again. I don’t know how my tire being the last thing they did was reason for them not to screw on the lug nuts…but once again, I’m not blaming the customer service rep.
My car seems to be working fine. I mean, they should really be thankful I wasn’t heading home. I could have ended up on the freeway and imagine if my wheel flew off in the freeway! And how thankful should they be that the cops were there when I turned to make me stop? I received a voicemail from the customer service rep the day after asking if everything was okay, I didn’t call him back. Sure everything is okay for now. I think I’m more affected emotionally than anything else. I have this paranoia with tires and cars so this certainly did not help at all.
My asking of advice…do you believe I should pursue this further? I don’t mean anything serious but I’ve been told I should write in about this. It was such a dangerous incident and that I should really let upper management know. My coworker mentioned that if they were smart about this, they would minimally offer me an extended warranty. Technically this warranty would not cost them anything especially if the car is okay as they said it was. I’ve been waiting it out to see if they even send me a little of apology but nothing has come. But it can’t be good that I’m sharing this with all my friends and colleagues, and while I’m not sharing their name publicly on my blog right now…word still gets around. Those two cops will certainly tell this story to their friends and family too. Ah, what are your thoughts?
Wow, that came out a lot longer than I expected. So sorry! I will reward your patience with some food pictures…
Homemade Banh Mi
I love the sandwiches from Bale. I’ve always gotten the tuna sandwich for some odd reason, but it just goes so well with the pickled vegetables, cucumbers and cilantro. It’s my go to sandwich. Well I bought the bread from Bale and the pickled veggies from Bale…hahaha. So I don’t know how homemade this is…but I love that I can put as much cilantro as I want in this sandwich. It was delicious!
Kahlua Chocolate Cake
Did I tell you one of my most favorite desserts is kahlua cake? My coworker makes this every year and the first time I tried it, I fell in love, it is just so moist and chocolate-ty. I made this one in a 13×9 pan but it just isn’t the same. You need to make it in those mini foil pans, which will yield 3 of them. Why? The glaze you pour over soaks up much better in the smaller pans than in one big pan. More edges of the cake mean better glaze distribution. I always look forward to the holidays because of this cake…
Kahuku Garlic Shrimp
Well not really Kahuku but the recipe is shrimp truck inspired. That is all garlic. All garlic, all the time makes Jenny happy. I found a recipe to make this online and it came out DELICIOUS. Terrible for you considering all the butter but I guess I can say YOLO? Anything that can help me eat more of this. Fresh squeezed lemon and a bowl of steaming white rice and you’re garlic…I mean golden (sorry, Freudian slip).
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