patience pays off

Sometimes we have to have extended patience. Like mega doses!!! Even when we think we have given something enough time to be resolved, we have to give it more, lots more. Sometimes we have to simply not give up and just keep being kind and fighting for something we know we deserve. Long after we want to quit. Long after we are extremely done with the whole deal. Sometimes we have to try a different route when the previous one isn't working.

You may or may not remember a post I did in August 2016 sharing with you the hassles I had been having with the Honda Dealership here in Burleson on my 2013 Honda Civic purchased March 2013, [yes, rapidly approaching 4 Years], over Prepaid Maintenance issues. The deal is simple: I paid for Prepaid Maintenance when I bought the car that was to last for 6 Years / 80k. Yet, every single time I went in, without fail, I was charged for Oil Changes, Filters, balance and rotation of tires, and stuff that I should not have been paying for! I would explain that I didn't owe this. I was told they didn't see this in the system. I would show them the "alert note" they put in their database that they had given me a copy of from a previous visit when they told me this would fix it. I was told that this department didn't have access to it or the service adviser forgot to check that or some other lame excuse. I would bring my 2013 Honda Civic File with me each and every appointment because I knew I was going to have to argue and prove my point. This is the only thing I could do to ensure that I would walk out with not owing a thing, after arguing about it, as long as I had my paperwork with me. If I forgot the paperwork, then I had to pay, then I had to submit paperwork to get a refund, which took weeks. There were times they said this or that wasn't covered and I would have to pay when I shouldn't, simply because I had argued all I could with the fine print and it was time to just walk away.

Believe me. This was exhausting. I was frustrated. I knew I could go to another Honda Dealership, because the Prepaid Maintenance goes to any Honda Dealership, but until my Prepaid Maintenance plan was loaded in the Honda Dealership system correctly, going somewhere else would not solve the problem.

I tried asking who I could talk to and attempt to go up the chain of command, not just talk to each and every service adviser each visit. I would attempt to ask who could help resolve this issue once and for all so that the next time I came I didn't have to fight and argue and bring my folder with all the details on my car with me, to prove I didn't owe anything. I talked to the gal that always texts me after each and every session, wanting to know if I had received excellent service and if there was anything else she could do for me, always asking and reminding me that if I got a survey in the mail that they would like it if I would please give them 5 stars. I let her know I wanted a survey and I hoped I got one because it would not be 5 stars and I would be glad to share. She then would ask details and I sent them along with screen shots and information. She always promised to get my concern and issue to the right department and that she would have someone call me. I never got emails or calls to follow up on this.

I finally reached my limit last August and I mailed 6 letters out to various individuals at the dealership, including my the guy who sold me the car who has become a great friend of mine, and to Honda Corporate Offices. I left negative reviews on every site online I could along with posting comments on social media and tagging their dealership and Honda in the posts. This got me call backs and some action, even from corporate, but not resolution.

I emailed the General Manager directly in August and he said he never got my letter. I scanned it in and sent it over to him along with copies of all the text messages between me and their Text Media Gal. I offered to do Customer Service Training for free to help them and their team, sighting other reasons things are amiss. I asked for compensation beyond just fixing the issue because it had gone on so long! I asked if we could have a meeting.

I am here to tell you that I got ALL that today. After 2.5 hours of waiting, and 1 hour of talking, we have come to an agreement and they have agreed my request for Prepaid Maintenance for life on my car is fair, on top of refunds for what I paid for that I should not have paid at the time of service. They admitted that they dropped the ball and they did not follow through, even after their last phone conversation with me in August when they told me that they would get back with me with a resolution and have this fixed.

Would you have fought 3 Years and 10 Months on something like this? Would you have kept trying to work it out despite the hassles and fighting and frustration?

Yes, sometimes my determination annoys people, but sometimes you have to just stay at it!

In the end, they thanked me for being kind, honest, patient, being reasonable, fighting fair and giving them a chance. The general manager gave me a big bear hug in the end. Some people might feel to fight like this is wrong, some people might have gotten ugly and made a scene, some people might have just taken their business elsewhere and cut their losses. I get it. The cost to me was too great.
#Patience #LifeIsAFight #StayFocused #HondaCivic #CustomerServiceFail#BeDifferent