I have given the manager (s) at Ron Carter Automotive Center in Alvin, TX more than ample time to respond to my concerns, problems, and my very simple solution to this issue. They have done very little but cost me more time, loss of use of my vehicle, and money. I have provided them with a very simple and reasonable resolution but they keep refusing to address all my concerns in a professional and in a timely manner. They have tried to turn this in to a very lengthy legal process, they would like me to sign away ALL my First Amendment Rights, and deny any and all responsibility, which they have already admitted to. So, I have been left with absolutely no choice but to let as many people as humanly possible aware of how I was treated, ignored, and refused a viable solution to this issue. I now know the breakdown in customer service starts at the top.
This is a true injustice, whatever happened to customer service, and the damage has been done!
According to Wikipedia SUCKS: (colloquial) Term of general disparagement, indicating the subject or situation has no redeeming qualities. With at, indicates a particular area of deficiency.
Don't believe me, a stranger, check them out on the Better Business Bureau.
What does the Better Business Bureau say? UNSATISFACTORY record with the Bureau due to unanswered complaint (s). WOW, I am having the SAME problem! Maybe, I should have looked there before I spent my hard earned money with Ron Carter Automotive Center in Alvin, TX. The Ron Carter name sells Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, GMC, Hummer, Jeep, Pontiac, SAAB, Scion, Toyota, and Hyundai. They are located in Alvin, Clear Lake, and Texas City.
Please do your homework before you spend your hard earned money.
Here is my nightmare!
I made an online appointment 3 days prior, to dropping off my truck, to have my truck serviced at Ron Carter. I dropped my truck off on 09/07 at 7:15am. I was scheduled to have a paint defect on my hood repaired (the size of a quater), cracking driver's seat repaired, a problem with cold starts, and a problem with my front end (ball joint or bearings). All of which takes time but 11 DAYS?
I first called Jennifer S., that same Friday I dropped my truck off, around 3 pm on the 7 th, to see when my truck might be ready. She told me they are still having trouble finding a problem with the front end but by tomorrow that should be taken care of. The body shop person still needs to take pictures of my hood and get Ford to approve it and that will happen in the next 5 minutes. I will call you back. I called her back at 4:30 pm because I never got a call back and she says the body shop will have my truck on Monday and return it on Tuesday. On Tuesday the upholstery shop will have to repair the seat and I should get my truck back on Wednesday the 12 th. Still no offer for a loaner car knowing that all the repairs will be covered under my 3yr/36k warranty plus my Ford ESP that I bought from Ron Carter.
I called Tuesday the 11 th to get a status report. After several messages and being put on death hold I finally get to talk with Jennifer. Try calling 281-388-8111 and ask for Ford service and then call back and ask for Jennifer in Ford service and see what happens. Jennifer tells me they cannot find anything wrong with the black smoke coming from my truck. BLACK SMOKE? What black smoke? I then get put on hold again and finally I get nothing can be found wrong with the front end, the body shop will get my truck sometime today and then go to the upholstery shop on Wednesday. We are now 2 days behind schedule and still no offer for a loaner car. Sure is fun carpooling with my wife who works in Dickinson and I work in Pasadena. Isn't this the second truck I have bought from Ron Carter? Hmmm
I called Wednesday the 12 th. After several messages and being put on death hold I finally get to talk with Jennifer again. Did I mention you should call 281-388-8111 and ask for Ford service and then call back and ask for Jennifer in Ford service and see what happens? Anyways, Jennifer says the body shop just got my truck today and hopefully the upholstery shop will get it on Thursday. We just lost another day? Still no loaner car. How much money have I spent in gas and time driving from Dickinson to Pasadena twice a day? Isn't this the second truck I have bought there? Wasn't I talking with Tony G about buying a New Eddie Bauer Expedition EL? What happens if I have to take it in for service?
I called Thursday the 13 th. Same old death hold and voice mail with no return calls. When I talk with Jennifer she say the upholstery shop still has my truck but it should be ready tomorrow. Now we are 3 days behind schedule and still no offer for a loaner car or apology.
I called Friday the 14 th at 12:30 pm to make sure everything is a go for the return of my truck. I leave a message and surprise no return call. I am seeing a pattern here. I finally get a hold of Jennifer around 2 pm, by the way I am making ALL the phone calls, and she say she has my truck back from the upholstery shop but now the tech thinks he knows what might be wrong with my front end. She is getting ready to go on a test ride and will call me right back. Yeah right! I call her back at 4:50pm and she did not get to go on the test ride but there is definitely something wrong with the front end. She also tells me they might have to order parts but she will have to call me back. I call her back at 6pm, more death hold, and I am told parts will have to be ordered. They might come in Saturday but the tech might not be here to work on it. So, that means my truck won't be ready till Monday. We are now 6 days behind schedule at this point. I tell Jennifer I will need a loaner car if my truck is not ready on Monday the 17 th.
Saturday no phone call so I guess my truck is just sitting.
Monday no phone calls. I call Jennifer at 12:45 and leave a message. I call Jennifer at 2pm and after some death hold I get to talk with her. She says let me put you on hold and find out what is going on. She comes back after several minutes and says my truck will be ready by 6pm.
I arrive at Ron Carter at 5:30 pm hoping maybe just maybe it is ready early. The cashier cannot find my paper work so she pages Jennifer. 5:50pm I track down Jennifer. She says my truck is ready and the ticket needs to be taken over to the cashier. I go back to the cashier and she say Jennifer still needs to close the ticket. I see my truck pull up. So, I decide to go check things out while waiting for the paperwork. I go up to my truck and it is covered in mud like someone has been off roading. Mud is caked in the wheel wells and the running boards. Didn't I just pay $17.00 for a car wash just before I brought my truck to Ron Carter for service? I did, so they could see the problem with the paint spot.
I ask the cashier if I could speak with the Service Manager. She goes away and while she is away a parts salesperson points out the General Manager to another customer as he walks by. The cashier come back and says the Service Manager is busy but his assistant can talk with you if you would like? I ask to talk with the General Manager then. She says I don't think he is here today. I said he just walked by 5 seconds ago and he is back in the parts area. The cashier walks away and Low and Behold the Service Manager is free now. I don't know his name because he never introduced himself. I tell him my truck has been here for 11 days now for some fairly minor repairs and now I get my truck back and it is covered in mud? His response and I quote Hmm, well 11 days is not to bad for everything you had done. I guess I could send your truck to the back and have someone rinse off some of that dirt. I let him know my truck has NEVER been off road and I will NEVER do business with Ron Carter EVER again. I told him to tell Tony G that I will buy my New Eddie Bauer Expedition EL from another dealership if this is how he treats a repeat customer. NOT ONCE did he offer an apology. NOT ONCE did he say Mr. Customer let me make things right. NOT ONCE did he ask how to he could fix the problem.
Once I get home, I find trash from the plastic seat covers stuffed in my truck, the hood had to have been left off for days because the battery terminal are corroded, dust, debris and water marks are all over the top side on the engine, grease all over the steering wheel, missing washer to my bug deflector, and mud caked to the underside of my truck. I spent 2 hours of MY time just rinsing off the big stuff.
You leave your hood off for a couple of days and tell me you have no concerns about future problems. You let someone off-road your truck and tell me the ball joints, wheel bearing, frame, and shocks are all OK. Ron Carter Automotive Center in Alvin, TX seems to think this normal care of a vehicle in their custody and control.
Ron Carter spends $200,000 a month on advertising. Maybe they should spend some of that money on customer service training!
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