What did you do to your NNBS GMT900 Tahoe/Yukon Today?

[Rocket Man]

And the story gets better. Today I picked it up and the service adviser was evasive when I asked if the “sublet” part on the paperwork was OEM. A quick look under the hood and an internet search told me it was a reman from the retail sector. Back inside I go.

Confronted the weasel about it and he tried the line that they’re just trying to help me out and speed the repair so I don’t have to wait. I reminded him I made the appointment a week in advance and they had told me the part would be on hand.

So, after some back and forth I expressed my distaste for their dishonesty, and declined to wait another week so they can get a GM part.

Adding insult to injury they charged a big markup on a part from CarQuest. I told him I don’t go to dealership service to get CarQuest parts.

The only small satisfaction I got was the expression on the faces of other customers and employees who heard it all.

Later, when I have the time, there will be a complaint to GM corporate. Then they can have the fun of responding to that.

And no, I won’t out them here. This is just venting. Better results in my experience come from working inside the system, and I’m pretty sure GM would like to have my future business.

My experience with dealer service departments is they don't care if you give them future business. They seem to think that just because they ARE a dealer service department they have an endless supply of customers. Which they pretty much do. It's not like the small businesses that repair vehicles that rely on word of mouth. Not once have I ever got the feeling they care one bit. So good luck. I would have made them order the OEM part and taken my vehicle in the meantime. It's not like they can return that CarQuest part anyway.

 

[Sparksalot]

Let my wife drive theothertwin today. She hates riding in either of the twins, but really liked driving one.

 

[gooffeyguy]

Put gas in it.

As I stated previously, my wife has been driving it to/from work, about 35 miles each way. I work for a local school district and have summers off, do a lot of honeydo's around the house this time of year, lol

Anyway, I usually put E85 in it, but last time I put 26 gallons of Mobil/Exxon Supreme 93 and noted the Ethanol content went from 70% to 10%. Well when I just now took it to get gas the Ethanol content was 6% and I put 25 gallons of Mobil/Exxon Supreme 93 in it and ran some errands and noticed the Ethanol content dropped to 0. So I'm guessing that Mobil/Exxon Supreme is Ethanol free.

Oh, and it got 14.5 mpg average on the last tank. I usually get 11.5 mpg average on E85

 

[Bill 1960]

My experience with dealer service departments is they don't care if you give them future business. They seem to think that just because they ARE a dealer service department they have an endless supply of customers. Which they pretty much do. It's not like the small businesses that repair vehicles that rely on word of mouth. Not once have I ever got the feeling they care one bit. So good luck. I would have made them order the OEM part and taken my vehicle in the meantime. It's not like they can return that CarQuest part anyway.

Agreed, if I was home I’d have them obtain OEM and exchange it on their dime. But as a traveler passing through, I don’t care to take the time. But I’m not done with them…

 

[Bill 1960]

I do a lot of work with companies on their people strategy, and one of the golden threads through it is that the employees themselves are often left holding the bag for a broken system. Hypothetical example: service manager talks to you to set up the appointment, but does not have the authorization to order the part from GM. At the same time, their employer sets metrics for them (meet their goals, they can keep their job, miss their goals and they lose their job) for getting the customer fixed and out the door on the same day. That employee is in a no-win situation at that point and does what their metrics and constraints dictate they must do: They order the part from CarQuest when you drop off your truck, and not before. Who's fault is it? The dealership owner can blame the service manager if he wishes, but in my example, there was nothing that service manager could've done differently except delay the repair, which would've hit his metrics, and by extension his pay or job security.

Doesn't help your experience, but you might consider that the poor bastard may not be the right person (or system) to blame for it.

I completely agree, however this case was not a system issue. No warranty involved, this is customer money, GM has no say. And I offered to pay for the part in advance when I made the appointment (which I have done plenty of times before at other dealers).
I swam a lot of laps myself in the corporate shark tank and I can smell the difference between trapped workers and the hastily made up CYA lies people tell when they took a shortcut and got caught.

 

[wsteele]

My experience with dealer service departments is they don't care if you give them future business. They seem to think that just because they ARE a dealer service department they have an endless supply of customers. Which they pretty much do. It's not like the small businesses that repair vehicles that rely on word of mouth. Not once have I ever got the feeling they care one bit. So good luck. I would have made them order the OEM part and taken my vehicle in the meantime. It's not like they can return that CarQuest part anyway.

I was thinking back trying to remember if I ever had a "bad" experience in a dealer service department and besides perhaps paying $1.50 for a $1 job, I can't say I have. Here in Boise, I use the local GMC dealer service department from time to time and they have been more than great. In fact, I can say for certain they have saved me thousands working with GM NA. In addition, they charge $25 for an oil/filter change. The only reason I don't use them for oil changes is I prefer WIX filters (Napa). I am certain other people have the polar opposite to say about them, but I am certain the crap Bill had to put up with wouldn't happen at the local GMC dealer here.

I know for a fact my anecdotes don't represent the norm (just based on credible people here), but I would just say, I don't think they ALL are bad or don't care what I think about the service. Hell, they badger me constantly to "know how they did", when I go in for something.

 

[Bill 1960]

You might get some remuneration for their dishonesty if you write a quick note to the owner of the dealership. Sometimes the ultimate boss doesn't have a clear picture what is going on below him. You never know, maybe at least get your money back.

Thanks, yeah I’ll noodle over it this weekend and decide which road appeals to me. Start with the dealership management to get some $$ back, or just escalate to corporate and ask them if it’s GM’s policy for dealers to use cheap aftermarket parts instead of genuine GM.

The second option might never get me a dime, but it’ll cause enough emails and teleconference calls to make them think about their practices.

I have no illusions that the dealer will ever give a rat’s rear about me, I’m not local. But GM has sold me a few new ones, and may again. Or not.

 

[wsteele]

Thanks, yeah I’ll noodle over it this weekend and decide which road appeals to me. Start with the dealership management to get some $$ back, or just escalate to corporate and ask them if it’s GM’s policy for dealers to use cheap aftermarket parts instead of genuine GM.

The second option might never get me a dime, but it’ll cause enough emails and teleconference calls to make them think about their practices.

I have no illusions that the dealer will ever give a rat’s rear about me, I’m not local. But GM has sold me a few new ones, and may again. Or not.

Pretty sure if the regional people hear they are selling non-OE mechanical parts somebody won't be happy. Although somebody probably has a letter (so faint you can barely make it out from recopying) from somewhere north that says in these "extraordinary times" aftermarket is OK to meet a deadline...

 

[Bill 1960]

I was thinking back trying to remember if I ever had a "bad" experience in a dealer service department and besides perhaps paying $1.50 for a $1 job, I can't say I have. Here in Boise, I use the local GMC dealer service department from time to time and they have been more than great. In fact, I can say for certain they have saved me thousands working with GM NA. In addition, they charge $25 for an oil/filter change. The only reason I don't use them for oil changes is I prefer WIX filters (Napa). I am certain other people have the polar opposite to say about them, but I am certain the crap Bill had to put up with wouldn't happen at the local GMC dealer here.

I know for a fact my anecdotes don't represent the norm (just based on credible people here), but I would just say, I don't think they ALL are bad or don't care what I think about the service. Hell, they badger me constantly to "know how they did", when I go in for something.

My experience over time is pretty similar. At home I mostly do my own work, but when traveling I almost always go to dealers, even for mundane things like oil changes. It costs more, but it is rare to have an unsatisfactory experience.

 

[Charlie207]

Today I received my BBP AutoCal V3, so I had to dust off an old Windows 7 laptop, install some software and drivers, and data-log for a bit. Sent some files off, and hope to have a new tune in my truck in a week or so.


Fun times.