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Dealer blacklisted me

12K views 53 replies 19 participants last post by  Byrdman  
#1 ·
I've had used this Cady dealer since 2017 and had many services done. Notably the rear axle problem took a few weeks to fix. As you experience, every time you get a service done, you receive a survey. I participated in the survey and wrote a truthful review (re loaner issue, service length etc.). Now the same problem seems acting up again and I tried to make a service appointment but the dealer refused to take care of my vehicle, telling me the poor survey was one of the reasons.

Now I brought up this issue to Cady Customer Care (online) but they handled my case poorly and the designated dealer even did not get back to me. I guess I am blacklisted among the area Cady dealer. My ATS has 38500 and still qualifies the premium service care till 50K miles.

This is my rant.
 
#37 ·
Warranty service not honored is a lawsuit waiting to happen. Send Cadillac notification of breach of contract and sue.

Steve
That is not true.
Every business has the right to refuse service to anyone. Our dealership has done this, also, based on our history with you. If it seems that we cannot satisfy you, a note will be put in your file to not write a repair order on your vehicle, for any reason. We never suffered any backlash for doing it.
 
#4 ·
I am appalled! We'd expect a top notch service and courtesy but it seems that's our dream.

Warranty service not honored is a lawsuit waiting to happen. Send Cadillac notification of breach of contract and sue.

Steve
I listed up all incidents happened recently and sent it to Cadillac Customer Care Center in writing.
 
#5 ·
While CCC is part of The Cadillac Division of General Motors they have little influence over GM franchisees - dealerships - which are locally owned businesses.
 
#6 ·
I've had used this Cady dealer since 2017 and had many services done. Notably the rear axle problem took a few weeks to fix. As you experience, every time you get a service done, you receive a survey. I participated in the survey and wrote a truthful review (re loaner issue, service length etc.). Now the same problem seems acting up again and I tried to make a service appointment but the dealer refused to take care of my vehicle, telling me the poor survey was one of the reasons.

Now I brought up this issue to Cady Customer Care (online) but they handled my case poorly and the designated dealer even did not get back to me. I guess I am blacklisted among the area Cady dealer. My ATS has 38500 and still qualifies the premium service care till 50K miles.

This is my rant.
Remember, "they" (the dealer) have a side to these events as well, and apparently they feel justified in banning you. I'm not saying your side of events is wrong, it's just that the dealer's employees are reporting things differently to their superiors. The ratings given in these surveys are taken pretty seriously by GM. To the extent the dealer needs to remedy its deficiencies, it's decided to ban you instead, and those deficiencies will continue unfixed only to bite the dealer again with some other customer. The dealer SHOULD engage you and find out FROM YOU PERSONALLY what you experienced. They need an inside person to take on that task to get to the "truth" before any banning goes on. Sorry for your situation.
 
#42 ·
this...did you try to deal with the manager before submitting the survey? did you bring your issues up with them directly? a lot of companies take these customer sat surveys very very seriously, and I could see why if yours was negative enough they would feel its not worth their time to try to win you over.

not saying it is right, and we see this all over the place, but even if they did want to take you back at this point would you really trust going?
 
#7 ·
Assuming the service appointment was denied by the Service Advisor I would start by calling the general manager or whoever is in charge of the dealership. I would expect unless things got far more out of control than what you are posting that the general manager would prefer to work things out over "banning you".

If this doesn't solve it I would get in touch with the Cadillac area manager. Again, if things are as you post them I would expect this person would also prefer to work things out over having you banned. I agree he likely can't make the dealership do anything but at the same time the point of the surveys is to do well and get good rating with GM. Having customers that had bad experiences calling the area manager is the opposite.
 
#8 ·
.......

Now I brought up this issue to Cady Customer Care (online) but they handled my case poorly and the designated dealer even did not get back to me. I guess I am blacklisted among the area Cady dealer. ....

This is my rant.
Counting CCC and the newly 'designated dealer' you're batting .000. You could have uncovered one of those unfortunate type issues that's been determined as a chronically "unfixable" design defect with no effective lasting solution in sight. With those, the usual tipoff is permanent feigned confusion, exasperating non-speak and non-action, along with goading and insults attempted to get you to break stride and blurt out something that validates their writing you off as an unreasonable ingrate.

If any time during the past several months, they may have really been down low on loaners, and may have had zero to do with delayed parts delivery. Incorporating those as the dealer's willful neglect is sure way to kick a horse when it's down. In their eyes anyway. And their enduring resentment. And, that they'll gladly embellish for CCC's and any other inquiring dealer's follow-up regarding your case.

Cliffs: I got no way in hell knowing how far off or close any of that is, but that's the reason to always persist in fighting just the issue, never the people involved. It's impossible to ignore facts surrounding unsuccessful service, but it's impossible to defend against even a smidgeon of real or even perceived personal slight. Alot of preaching fershur, but just reading what's typed. Good luck getting it pulled back around.
 
#12 ·
What you are unhappy about and what you said isn't known enough to understand or take a side.

CCC doesn't do much. Maybe you can ask for a supervisor there.
You could contact the service Mgr and request the appt.
Maybe the service writer wasn't reasonable about a new appt, but I never heard of black listing
someone from warranty service. Maybe the issue is more than the review or issues were out of
their control, like no part avail?
 
#14 · (Edited)
Anytime I ever get a survey and I would be giving a bad one I contacted my SA to discuss it. I made sure that he knew that I would be all over the Dealership like white on rice. using Facebook, Yelp, and any other social media site o spread the word so too speak. It's amazing how fast they will change their mind. DO NOT I repeat DO NOT mention that you will lawyer up unless you really plan to, then have the attorney contact them.
 
#15 ·
I am overwhelmed by the replies from Cady mates. I do not have a copy of review (survey) that I did online after the service was done. I can however share what the dealer sent me after I attempted to make an appointment.

"Mr. XXXX

This is XXX at XXX Automotive. I hope this email finds you well.

We here at XXX Automotive take great pride in our efforts to make sure we continuously satisfy every customers. Considering our history with you and your vehicle, it seems that we cannot reach the level of expectation you have for service on your Cadillac. This is evident in the surveys we receive pertaining to the services we have performed. Those poor surveys, we feel are not issues that we could have handled any differently, or with more concern for your needs.

With that in mind I would like to give you numbers to other Cadillac Dealers that you may call for your service needs that may reach you service goals."
 
#17 ·
 
#19 ·
Thanks, there was a dealer that was just as bad as the one you mentioned, if not worse in Toronto. It was called Dean Myers Cadillac and had been doing shady business for years, if people spoke up about it and were more vocal it could have saved future GM customers from having such terrible experiences. This goes for staff as much as customers, horrible place all around for customers and employees. Appreciate you being vocal on this, this is much worse than the runaround I got with the CUE delamination, and side mirror corrosion.

The council’s spokesperson Terry O’Keefe said he has heard from seven other customers and expects there may be more people affected. In one case, he said a customer paid $77,000 for a brand new GMC Yukon and was planning to pick it up soon.

“The dealership requested payment in full for the Yukon. The person was going to take possession of the vehicle the next day and the doors [of the dealership] were locked,” O’Keefe said.
-CTV News

Dean Myers Cadillac- CTV News Article
 
#18 ·
Generally a service advisor isn't going to "blacklist" a customer without input from the general manager because the chance for blow back is too big from the sales side in addition to customer feedback to GM. Dealership culture doesn't start with the service advisor, it is rooted in the general manager, sales manager, and owner (if the owner is actively involved) and what the service advisor does is part of what the organization expects. So if this is a customer management/relations problem then it is generally a dealership problem.

CCC is pretty much worthless, it is a very poor replacement for the district reps that were long used in the GM system. Those people were usually human relations and logistics experts and could and did quickly solve any reasonable customer problem. I had to deal with that structure three times over the years and each time the problem was resolved very quickly and without hassle. I tried CCC once when dealing with the rear defroster recall issue and quickly determined it was a pure waste of time.

GM has a lot of structural problems and one of the most apparent is dealership operations which allows a lot of brand image damage to occur via rogue/incompetent dealership behavior. GM dealers are independent businesses but they are highly dependent upon the mothership which doesn't properly employ the power it has for the good of its brands (and customers).

I don't have the specifics of what happened with your past interactions so I won't try to provide any input on the specific situation. It is a rare combination but if you can find a dealership that is a combined Cadillac/Chevrolet franchise that sells a few Corvettes that might be the dealership for you. A lot of Corvette owners are over the top rabid in their service expectations and how their "baby" is treated. There are a significant number of Corvette owners who will not take their car out when there is any chance of rain and most owners of recent models with the PDR option use the locked valet recording option while the vehicle is in for service. I drive my 2016 Z06 in the rain and I expect it to be serviced like my ATS and GMC Sierra Denali although the Chevrolet dealership I use for the Corvette puts both the Cadillac dealerships I use to shame in terms of care and competence. In the Corvette forums you often see people complaining that Corvette should be moved from Chevrolet to Cadillac which for me would be like shifting from not fancy but stable McDonald's to a restaurant with a three star Michelin rating in the past that now is just as likely to provide food poisoning as exquisitely cooked food. This is why I am toying with the idea of replacing my ATS with a Camaro 3.6 with 3LT trim because the Chevrolet dealership I use is exceptional on both the sales and service sides of the equation.

Rodger
 
#20 ·
oof. Still lacking details from the OP.

Loaner cars are a privilege - not a right. It would be unrealistic to expect every single service appointment to be provided a loaner. Generally I book my appointments at least a week in advance and early in the morning - I have had no issues getting a loaner so far. I have gotten 4 or 5 of them.

As for the "service length" in regards to your vehicles rear end. The drive train on these cars is glass, i.e. its weak and frail. That is not the dealer's fault. It's well known that if you need a rear end replacement, expect to wait several weeks for the part to arrive at your dealer as it will most likely be back ordered. Once again, not their fault. I was told the rear end replacement on my ATS would take 6 or more hours of labor....They had it done in ~2.5, a telling sign that they replace quite a few of them.

Don't get me wrong here - Im not defending the ATS - these are bargain bin, garbage cars that have steered me away from Cadillac and GM in general... But that is not the dealer's fault.
 
#24 ·
Perhaps a wrap here, but (frequently in life) reminded of some old adages that frequently show up together:
Never trust initial reports from the field.
Trust, But Verify.
There's always 3 sides to every story; yours, theirs and the truth.
 
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#29 ·
If GM didn't have the survey where would they get input from how their dealerships are doing ? As it is they use the survey to see and rank all of the dealerships service departments. And then have a rank showing as a comparison how they do. They all are on equal standing and all have a chance to shine or be dull (or non existent to customer service too) . I have a friend in the GM business for the last 40 years. (he's almost retired now) And he's mentioned about this survey for years and years and how the dealership watches their numbers. He's said it affects a lot of things about a dealership that aren't mentioned here. The CSI index is just one part of it. And GM has in the past dropped dealers who have performed poor enough regularly on the CSI. At his dealership he mentioned they put a board in the parts dept that shows these numbers just to remind every single mechanic and service advisor who walks through the importance of those numbers. And the technicians are held accountable there along with of course service advisors. (Sales has it's own board) I know the owner of these (family) of dealerships and the guy is on the up and up and has grown his fathers business much further than his dad ever had it previously. The CSI and the effort he's put into it makes the difference for customers and makes it a good place to shop for a car. (we've bought several from there) As for what this person who's reported the "ban" says, I agree that there's more to the story but this is a public forum and unless you have supporting video of the incidents you'll never hear it all. (think the current police environments)

Steve
 
#34 ·
Well, the 2 posts above combined to prompt me to go back and sure enough the OP's latest service request in question pertains to a follow-up issue related to the --> warranty work <-- previously performed. So it's not a case of the first dealer (or even the following one) simply being snotty and refusing some random periodic maint. repair. Without taking anyone to court the wisest tack may be to "require" of CCC that they "produce and make available" their designated service center to effect remedy, and not just throw out a name of the closest nearby dealer.
 
#39 ·
I am a native Japanese, born and raised there. When the dealership is located in the middle of country side, where all associates are white dominated, an Asian man gets nervous as I sometimes get strange looks as I drive Cadillac. It's very difficult do explain and you won't understand unless you put my shoes on. When the incident happens like this (refusal of service, blacklisting), I feel I got terribly discreminated because of my nature. You probably say, 'that's not a case', 'that's another issue', etc. but I do feel that way. For the dealership, I must be a pain-in-the-ass, annoying foreign customer. BTW, I was a loyal Honda owner for 17 years but ATS caught my eyes (because Honda no longer makes coupe) and swtiched. I did own a Camaro Z28 ('91, '94 model), Chrysler Eagle Talon, so not new to American vehicle (Talon is a Mitsubishi blood though). I was raised in metro mega cities and lived in US top 5 largest cities before. I never felt I was singled out. Please understand this is my honest feeling now.
 
#40 ·
Mr._san,

No need to explain. Perfectly understandable. While many Americans look at you and presume you're a robotics engineer and don't know jacksquat about a car, they look at many others of other cultures and default to their made-up stereotypes for those as well. Now, add in that you're a woman and it's multiplied by 50x. So count your blessings!

It's good to have you offer your perspectives. For any dealers you perceive that think you "must be a pain-in-the-ass, annoying foreign customer", just simply do the same as snapping your fingers at a dog to get its attention by immediately laying some fact-laden background, painting a mechanically detailed issues list, present your needs, and then ask their plan of action.

No personalities, no distractions, no confusion. Success!
 
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#41 ·
Completely understandable, and honestly your situation isn't isolated and I think its great that you're voicing your concerns. The legal system provides backing where individuals fail; in your case good morals, ethics and common decency.

It's a shame people lack principles and have such poor character especially when they are held to agreed upon facts and contracts, and you've in no way, shape or form have caused any undue hardship to cause such behaviour.

For this reason it is clearly evident that there is malpractice above and beyond a simple breach of contract. I truly support your opinion, and although I can't be in your shoes, it is just as troubling for me to hear that you've experienced this type of conduct. As you've stated before, you have experienced many different environments and have been in many different situations, so no one should doubt your ability to detect a discriminatory act versus a "misunderstanding".

I hope this all works out for you, and i'm sorry about your experience.

Take care.
 
#43 ·
No I did not try anyone at the dealer before the survey was sent. In fact the survey was done via online so no chance to talk to. One service advisor there was extremely nice and even after he moved to different branch (within same dealer, different brand), he took my appointment since I prefer his care. It seems to me he was under the pressure from his superiors not to deal with me. He is the one who sent me a refusal email, which I posted earlier.

As of today I have not heard of any from Michigan’s CCC after I snail mailed the complain dated 6/8/20.

The said dealer is about 35 miles from where I live, all other dealers are located 45 miles to 60-70 miles. I do not live in a big city where Cadillac services are somewhat readily available. Therefore the refusal and being blacklisted is really hurting. I bet the said dealer feels they put me in trouble and laugh their ass off. That’s how I feel.

Oh btw, I sent this link to the dealers service dept. They should know there are more than 2K views on this thread and even the site categorized the thread as trending.
 
#49 · (Edited)
As of today I have not heard of any from Michigan’s CCC after I snail mailed the complain dated 6/8/20.

The said dealer is about 35 miles from where I live, all other dealers are located 45 miles to 60-70 miles. I do not live in a big city where Cadillac services are somewhat readily available. Therefore the refusal and being blacklisted is really hurting. I bet the said dealer feels they put me in trouble and laugh their ass off. That’s how I feel.

Oh btw, I sent this link to the dealers service dept. They should know there are more than 2K views on this thread and even the site categorized the thread as trending.
If they are as bad as you say they are I recommend instead of driving 35 miles just drive 45 miles and be done with it. I am confused as to why this is "really hurting" as over the last 3 years you have only been there a couple of times per year. New dealer will add 20 minutes round trip and likely happen 2-3 times per year? I am also confused as to you giving them reviews, pointing out how bad they are here, posting their name, sending them the link to how you complained on this forum but still hope to take your car back there? If it was me I would call this business relationship over and move on. The chances you will get things worked out have gone down and anyone forcing them to work on your car can't force them to be pleasant or helpful when it happens.

As said above, going forward, I recommend if you get bad service talking to the people directly about the problem, get their side of it and then send it the survey, also consider that if you are reviewing the dealership what part of it they had control over.

Someone else's post above said they gave the dealership a bad review because his problem outside of the warranty mileage wasn't covered. This was Cadillac's call, I wouldn't blame the dealership for this.
 
#44 ·
If you wanna know what services were done by this dealer;

oil changes
State inspection
Replaced peeled off aluminum wheels
Fixed squeaky front seats
Rear axle (steering wheel stutters), checked twice
No response on CUE screen
I complained once the tire pressure was set 39psi on front after service was done ( should be 33psi)
I complained about loaner (died the day after, no cad loaner available)
I complained the said rear axle repair took 2 wks plus.
 
#45 ·
Regarding your three complaints, I can understand about the tire pressure complaint (even though I prefer 30-40 psi). 39 psi is clearly out of the recommended range.

The loaner "died?" Definitely an inconvenience; I might complain if I missed something important as a result. "No cad loaner?" Not worthy of a complaint, IMHO. The dealer WANTS to give you a Caddy and loses out when they can't give you a Cadillac loaner because they've missed the opportunity to let the you experience a different model and maybe buy that model next time. (That's how I first got to drive an ATS ... it was a loaner.) But, depending upon the number of cars being serviced, they might not have enough available as was apparently the case with you.

Rear axle parts were backlogged from the UAW strike (don't get me started on how stupid and harmful that was) and may still be in short supply ... the dealer has no control. A parts shortage complaint should be directed at GM, not the dealer.

You indicate that you've had your car serviced at this dealership since 2017. I suspect the accumulation of their experience with you was what resulted in your being "banned," not just this last list of items in your post, above.

Finally, any business that deals with the public knows full well that there's a group of people out there who will complain no matter what. That's just a fact, and EVERY business knows this. Those people can never be satisfied. My sister in law comes to mind. I have no idea if you fit in this group or not. Doesn't matter. The group exists, and the dealer has lumped you in there.
 
#47 ·
Actually, the consensus is that it's the dealer that must consider you a complainer. No one is complimenting or disparaging anyone, and what I've seen constantly posted is a strenuous attempt to offer objective 3rd person insights based on piecemeal input from just one side of a dispute regarding service.

If you read all that as surmising that you identify with characteristics of those associated with a complainer, then you have connected those dots all on your own.

A ton of time and calories have been expended by nmerous folks in all the posts in this thread. Wise readers will do well to apply as much as possible in their dealings with others.