Volvo vs. Smørebrød
Yes, there's still some other things in my life.
Like Smørebrød.
I've mentioned parts of this story to different sides already... but the latest turn just happened on Saturday.
So... (rewind to, well, about one year ago)
The engine wasn't running smoothly, some rather erratical ignition problems were around. Especially when the engine was cold, especially when I accelerated. An appointment at the local Volvo dealer was agreed upon - grounded in the belief that a certified Volvo garage could probably crack down on the maybe electronical problem most quickly and efficiently.
It's always quite a deal to get to the local Volvo dealer here - it's further out, and one needs to plan how to get back home, and return to the car to pick it up later. Yes, there's no replacement car service.
Next day upon pick-up, I was handed my car, left the premises, and it became very clear very quickly that the problem has gotten worse. I u-turned, returned the car and had somebody drive me home.
The next day, it was a little better.
(fast-forward to last winter holidays)
One cylinder failed. In the midst of the winter holiday trip, with many people relying on Smørebrød to function. It's was not catastrophic, there's enough cylinders to keep the car running, but slowly creeping up steep alpine roads to over 2000m above sea level isn't everybody's idea of fun.
On Jan 2nd, the next Volvo dealer was assigned the task of tackling with this issue. When I received the car back, I was told one ignition cable was broken, but they had no replacement parts for my less-than-ten-years old model in their garage. So I left the authorized Volvo dealer with a hand-woven, manually repaired cable.
(fast-forward to 1.5 months ago)
Spring's coming, a nice, working car would be great.
Two minor problem have nagged me for some time; since they came to my mind together, I decided to give the local Volvo dealer another shot. (After the dealership had gone bankrupt, and found a white knight in the shape of another multi-branch dealership which bailed them out and took over operations, there was enough reason for me to believe they might be running smoothly now.)
I got an appointment, organized a colleague of mine who accompanied me there and dropped me off in the afternoon there again, left my car there, and returned in the afternoon.
I was not told any results, I had to wait while my keys were being searched for, I was told to be patient while the invoice was being searched for... I left the place later without a report, or an invoice, or any kind of account of what had been done. When I entered my car, I soon found that nothing had been repaired. Everything I had asked for was in the same state as before. Not even ashtrays cleaned, as the very bottom of what might be construed as service.
Somewhat naïvely I assumed somebody had messed up, and that would be it. However, several weeks later I received an invoice... 70 EUR for what I perceived as zero achievement.
I tried to reach the working proprietor three times, was promised callbacks which failed to materialize, then I showed up there personally. (Insert some heated discussion here.)
We agreed upon the actual replacement of one part on terms actually favourable to me; it had to be ordered first, then I'd be called back.
Needless to mention this callback failed to materialize as well.
A week later, I called, and to my astonishment I was offered an appointment without problems.
This Saturday, I showed up there, handed over my car keys, sat down, got a coffee, and started reading. A few minutes later, a crestfallen technician appeared in front of me, showed me a part, and told me there's bad news. They received a wrong part.
So.
Is it just my personal impression, or does anybody share my point of view - which places any kind of authorized Volvo dealerships at the bottom of technical competence and customer relationship management?
Labels: Personal



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