TripleTransAm
05-16-2003, 11:03 PM
Please bear with me, whoever is interested in this story, as it's simply a reflection on the kind of day I had yesterday, and how "helpful" Ford Roadside Assistance turned out to be. Also, apologies if this isn't the proper forum to post this in, I defaulted to this one after much internal debating...
In another thread, I outlined the harness-slicing antics my Cuisinart-wannabe MM decided to pull yesteday, while on a visit to Quebec City with international visitors. In short, the car just up and quit on a steep sloped road smack in the middle of the touristy Old Town, while I was trying to back into a parking spot.
Sometime between noon and 1 pm, I called the 1-800 number for Ford Roadside Assistance. Being my first automotive failure requiring a tow ever, I didn't know what to expect. However, I was led to believe that I could put my trust and faith in these folks helping me out in times of trouble, which was especially emphasized during the sales discussions with the dealer as a definite perk. They also harped on the fact that such a prestigious automobile naturally commands a certain level of service and attention. Heck, I have no problem with that! :up:
After providing my information to the Roadside Assistance personnel, I was asked what dealer I wanted to tow it to. Not being familiar with the area, I informed the gentleman I had no clue whatsoever. If I recall correctly, he contacted someone who informed him all dealerships within the Quebec City area were on strike, and I'd have to find a dealer outside the vicinity. I was then asked if I had a pen and paper handy, and he proceeded to give me the number of another dealership to call. WTF? Maybe I'm off base, but shouldn't that be handled by the assistance personnel?
Of course, that dealer was booked solid for 2-3 weeks, once I called them myself. They graciously provided me with 3 alternatives, but all gave me the same story: 2-3 weeks backlog due to the strike in the Quebec City area.
So, I'd have to essentially leave my new car for close to a month some 160 miles away from home.:mad:
So I called my dealer back home, and he pulled rabbits out of hats and made wine from water... he convinced them to have the car towed back home. Now, the situation was a little more complicated in that I was stuck some 3 hours away from home, along with 3 other adults and my NINETEEN MONTH OLD SON. We certainly would not all fit into a tow truck. :mad2:
To add insult to injury, the 2003 MM doesn't appear to have a steering column locking mechanism. That means it needs a flatbed exclusively (which I would prefer anyway, especially considering the extended towing). By the time the car was up on a flatbed, I had spent 4.5 hours calling my dealer and Ford Roadside Assistance arguing... :argue:
Oh yes, the arguing part: by the time they managed to get an authorization to tow the car back to my dealer (heck, they were initially okay with towing it 100 miles or so, but 160 was a problem), we had spent 4.5 hours dicking around on the phone in the cold windy old town. Finally, I got confirmation from the roadside assistance folks regarding the tow, but I'd have to find my own way back to Montreal. WTF again? This time I lost it... I think I must have killed a transceiver or two in my serving cell tower with the way I was screaming into my cell phone. I guess it was the stress of a father stuck with a 19 month old boy in a cold windy alley after his 1.5 month-old brand new car failed miserably in its mission to provide unconditional service and safety. :censor:
The result: they revoked my towing. Nice. Classy. Real classy. :flamer:
Once again, my dealer's service department came through for me and escalated it such that the towing back to Montreal came through, plus a rental car to cart my family back to Montreal. Not in style (a crappy worn-out Sentra with 60 mph vibrations and deadly-sounding creaks and groans from the front left transaxle) but we got home okay.
And once again, my dealer resolved the problem in admirable time, and helped me get the rental to the proper drop-off point, then back to the dealership to pick up the repaired MM. :up:
And next week we should be having a discussing with the higher-ups, hopefully to find the root cause of where things went wrong. While the technicians' strike situation was certainly an exceptional case, I find it unacceptable that an owner be subject to this kind of runaround when a warranteed product fails in this manner. Not to bring up that whole 'prestigious automobile' thing, but I kept reminding myself just how much I had paid for this inoperative hunk of metal, and how I was being treated. :fire:
Essentially, I could have called the CAA (Can. equivalent of AAA) myself, paid for the excess in towing, called directory assistance and asked for a list of Ford dealerships in the area, and I would have received overall less hassles than I did by going through Ford Roadside Assistance. :uzi:
It may sound petty, but it's stuff like this that will remain in the back of my mind when it comes time to make another car purchase... this assistance experience may have cost Ford any future $$ from me. :down:
In another thread, I outlined the harness-slicing antics my Cuisinart-wannabe MM decided to pull yesteday, while on a visit to Quebec City with international visitors. In short, the car just up and quit on a steep sloped road smack in the middle of the touristy Old Town, while I was trying to back into a parking spot.
Sometime between noon and 1 pm, I called the 1-800 number for Ford Roadside Assistance. Being my first automotive failure requiring a tow ever, I didn't know what to expect. However, I was led to believe that I could put my trust and faith in these folks helping me out in times of trouble, which was especially emphasized during the sales discussions with the dealer as a definite perk. They also harped on the fact that such a prestigious automobile naturally commands a certain level of service and attention. Heck, I have no problem with that! :up:
After providing my information to the Roadside Assistance personnel, I was asked what dealer I wanted to tow it to. Not being familiar with the area, I informed the gentleman I had no clue whatsoever. If I recall correctly, he contacted someone who informed him all dealerships within the Quebec City area were on strike, and I'd have to find a dealer outside the vicinity. I was then asked if I had a pen and paper handy, and he proceeded to give me the number of another dealership to call. WTF? Maybe I'm off base, but shouldn't that be handled by the assistance personnel?
Of course, that dealer was booked solid for 2-3 weeks, once I called them myself. They graciously provided me with 3 alternatives, but all gave me the same story: 2-3 weeks backlog due to the strike in the Quebec City area.
So, I'd have to essentially leave my new car for close to a month some 160 miles away from home.:mad:
So I called my dealer back home, and he pulled rabbits out of hats and made wine from water... he convinced them to have the car towed back home. Now, the situation was a little more complicated in that I was stuck some 3 hours away from home, along with 3 other adults and my NINETEEN MONTH OLD SON. We certainly would not all fit into a tow truck. :mad2:
To add insult to injury, the 2003 MM doesn't appear to have a steering column locking mechanism. That means it needs a flatbed exclusively (which I would prefer anyway, especially considering the extended towing). By the time the car was up on a flatbed, I had spent 4.5 hours calling my dealer and Ford Roadside Assistance arguing... :argue:
Oh yes, the arguing part: by the time they managed to get an authorization to tow the car back to my dealer (heck, they were initially okay with towing it 100 miles or so, but 160 was a problem), we had spent 4.5 hours dicking around on the phone in the cold windy old town. Finally, I got confirmation from the roadside assistance folks regarding the tow, but I'd have to find my own way back to Montreal. WTF again? This time I lost it... I think I must have killed a transceiver or two in my serving cell tower with the way I was screaming into my cell phone. I guess it was the stress of a father stuck with a 19 month old boy in a cold windy alley after his 1.5 month-old brand new car failed miserably in its mission to provide unconditional service and safety. :censor:
The result: they revoked my towing. Nice. Classy. Real classy. :flamer:
Once again, my dealer's service department came through for me and escalated it such that the towing back to Montreal came through, plus a rental car to cart my family back to Montreal. Not in style (a crappy worn-out Sentra with 60 mph vibrations and deadly-sounding creaks and groans from the front left transaxle) but we got home okay.
And once again, my dealer resolved the problem in admirable time, and helped me get the rental to the proper drop-off point, then back to the dealership to pick up the repaired MM. :up:
And next week we should be having a discussing with the higher-ups, hopefully to find the root cause of where things went wrong. While the technicians' strike situation was certainly an exceptional case, I find it unacceptable that an owner be subject to this kind of runaround when a warranteed product fails in this manner. Not to bring up that whole 'prestigious automobile' thing, but I kept reminding myself just how much I had paid for this inoperative hunk of metal, and how I was being treated. :fire:
Essentially, I could have called the CAA (Can. equivalent of AAA) myself, paid for the excess in towing, called directory assistance and asked for a list of Ford dealerships in the area, and I would have received overall less hassles than I did by going through Ford Roadside Assistance. :uzi:
It may sound petty, but it's stuff like this that will remain in the back of my mind when it comes time to make another car purchase... this assistance experience may have cost Ford any future $$ from me. :down: