Service Cleanliness

Just a poll: How many of you find it important to get your car back from
the mechanic in clean condition? If you got your car back and the seats or
mats were greasy or stained, would you care? Is it Important that the shop
covers your seats and floors so the mechanic doesn't get them dirty or is a
"little dirt" acceptable"?

 

NO,it's not acceptable! the car came in clean and should come back clean.

 

Just a poll: How many of you find it important to get your car back from

No dirt - especially grease - is acceptable. Mine washes the car so it
generally come back cleaner than it went in.

Had them get grease on the seats once. I went back in, found the service
manager who took my work order to find the mechanic's name (number), and he
went out and fetched the mechanic who came up front and cleaned it up. I
could tell on the guy's face he was more than pissed about doing it though.

B~

 

Honestly, I would have to be bleeding out of my eyes to go to a mechanic for
any form of service. If I found grease on the interior as well as exterior
(fenders & front end), I would prolly go to the service manager also. I
wouldn't make a scene but I'm sure the bill would be shaved.

Mike

 

Yes, that's definitely worth complaining about.

Nothing that takes more than a few seconds to remove is acceptable IMHO
- for instance, I don't mind if they leave in the 'clean' paper sheets
they put down in there, because I can throw them away myself in a jiffy.

I care less about exterior parts where, for example, if they've done an
alignment or something, I might notice that the wheels are grimier than
they went in, but I don't mind so much about that because they get dirty
from the road anyway.

-- Mark

 

I'd go fecking ballistic if I had dirty seats after a garage visit. Here
they use the protective paper seat covers for the inside. I can't see why
anything should come back dirty. Today's cars aren't dripping with
lubricant and any messes can be wiped up promptly.

Now if you were running steam locomotives, that would be dirty!

 

I had my car in for transmission change last winter (too cold to do it
myself) and when I got my car back the seat was pulled as far ahead as it
would go, there were greasy hand prints all over my fenders and the best
part, there were cigarette ashes in my cup holders and all around my
shifter. If someone wants to take a smoke break they can go do it in their
own f**king car.
When I got in my car and saw this I immediately went in to the owner of the
shop and he didn't seem too concerned so I told him I was done using them
and I would never recommend them to anyone again.

My main pet peave is that they ALWAYS leave the seat ahead. I'm 6 ft and
over 300lbs so when I go to get in my car and all of a sudden I'm wedged
between the seat, wheel and door frame I get a little frustrated (usually
because I just smacked the side of my head on the door frame). The good
thing is that I'm starting to get used to it so I usually remember to pull
the seat back first.

Sad thing is I rented a Caravan a few weeks ago and kept hitting my head
getting into that too. And every time I got out I jabbed the seatbelt guide
into my ribs (not sure who decided that was a good placement idea). A few
times I even hit my head on the DVD display built into the ceiling between
the front seats(and yes it was closed). Made me think even a minivan isn't
built for larger people.

Sorry I got off topic there but once I start to rant it's hard to stop.
Hopefully at least some of you got a chuckle out of it.

 

Where does this greese oil and dirt come from? A lot of times from the
external surfaces of the area's being serviced. It helps out a great
deal when the cars "owner" hoses down more than just the cars body. Hose
out the damn engine compartment and wheel wells now and then! Grrrr...
Though it's also nice when the shop owner actually invest in interior
coverings and latex gloves.

No ONE should ever smoke in your car. Make a note saying so and tape it
to the steering wheel for added insurance. Also if in doubt cover
everything yourself...

 

Glad to see I'm not eccentric, like some of these dolts want me to believe.
I keep my SC2 spotless including the engine compartment. That way, if
something leaks I know about it. Anyways, I am appalled with the mentality
of the new shop at the place I transferred to. The old shop and every other
Saturn shop I have been to always covers the seats and puts floor mats down
before the car ever enters into the bay.

This place covers nothing. No mats, no plastic visqueen covers. Their
mentality is if it gets dirty (which duh, it will) they have "a process" in
which they will clean the car up afterwards. Now don't confuse that with the
complimentary car wash after service, this is solely a CYA clean-up in
addition to that to remove grease from seats and floors AFTER the mechanic
has grimed the car up, (to save money on paper mats and visqueen seat
covers). Then the standard complimentary car wash. WTF????

Have any of you had a Saturn dealer shop do this? I don't think there are
many out there who practice such ethics and I am not a believer in
Collateral Damage if ya know what I mean. Not how I want my families cars
treated, definitely not how I treat my customers.

Anyways, what's this rant about? I just came from a top-notch Saturn
dealership where this was never an issue. Car in clean - car clean while
being worked on - car out cleaner than when brought in.

So, my mother buys a used car from this dealership. A Beautiful light tan
interior, in near perfect condition considering it was used. I had to bring
it in for a minor repair the next day. An hour after I put it in the shop,
our insurance agent asks me to get the buyers guide. Its in the glove box,
so I go into the garage to get it. No seat covers, no mats. I figure ok, I'm
sure the mechanic is clean. Nope! a big fat black grease stain on the seat,
one on the rug and floor mats and the steering wheel is greasy.

I was coolheaded but went to the Mgr. and asked him to take care of if asap
before the stain set in. 5 hours later, I am given back the car with the
seats sopping wet and just as dirty. I went ballistic. The Mgr. had the nads
to tell me that I am the only one who has complained about this and that I
interrupted their cleanup procedure, that its normal for a car to get greasy
then they clean it up afterwards. Did I have stupid written on my forehead
or is he insinuating that people in this area simply don't care?

His explanation was that it is cheaper to replace owners seats and rugs than
to simply cover them up so that they don't get damaged in the first place.

Great, I cant wait to take my pristine leather seats into him to get them
slopped with grease then returned back to me stinking of orange cleaner.
Please help me, I am in bizzarroland.

marx404

 

It cost less than 50 cents for the materials needed to bag the steering
wheel, seat, and cover the floor mate. And if need be you can reuse them
so long as you dont reverse them. Ask them how much one complaint or
lost customer cost them?

 

well, thats just it. The shop mgr precicely said that it costs less to
replace a seat or rug than to buy a roll of plastic seat covers or use paper
floor mats. What an r-tard!

Honestly, I am 100% Saturn, and this is not how I would treat my customers.
I have real issues with this.....

 

Seems like they dont do vacuuming inside anymore,they're in a hurry to
get you in &out,i dont notice these things til after i'm home.

 

Hey, this sounds GREAT! I wish I were in your area, marx, I'd be at your
dealership in a New York minute for service. I'd LOVE new seat covers and
rugs in my '99 SL! <grin>

 

IMHO seat covers should always be installed on seats when the car is new to
protect from damage and wear. Same goes for floor carpeting which should be
covered with carpet scraps or properly fitted mats to prevent damage from
right heel and mud and grease and winter salt. All are easy to remove for
cleaning or replacement when worn or damaged. When you are ready to sell
the car you can remove these and the interior will look new with no stains.

I do not think that the garage needs to do any cleaning or washing of my car
as part of any servicing and I do not want to pay any hidden charges for
'complimentary' car washes. I certainly do not want to pay shop rates for
car washes or vacuuming. If the engine compartment or fenders get dirty
during servicing then I do expect them to be cleaned properly. IMHO the
best strategy is to clean your car before you take it to the shop as it will
indicate to them the standard of care you expect and will prevent them from
saying that the car was dirty or damaged when you brought it in.

That said, if a garage fails to protect your property when it is in their
custody and care then they are intentionally disrespecting YOU and they are
trying to make sure that you know it. Some mechanics are just ignorant
pigs, but if the shop management fails to provide direction to them, or
tries to shine you on or whines that it is your problem or that nobody else
complains then it is time to go straight to the general manager or
dealership owner and do not accept anything less that a complete and
SUCCESSFUL cleaning or replacement of the interior with NEW components.
Expect them to supply a free courtesy car to use while they make good the
damage they have caused to your property and also that they fully compensate
you for your loss of time by needing to return to the garage again to pick
up your car after the cleaning. There is no excuse for ignorant and
careless damage and nobody should be smoking or eating or drinking anywhere
near your car.

All the above is just another reason to avoid the whole problem and save
yourself a pile of aggravation, time, money and taxes by maintaining and
repairing your own vehicles.

Happy trails, YMMV

 

Had this happen to me .. drove back .. grabbed Service Manager, showed
him grease on LEATHER seat and dash from mechanic's clothing and/or
hands.

Received a complimentary inside detail a few days later from a very
embarassed Service Manager.

A dash of shop soot near hood/fender .. hey that's "reasonable" .. a
"thrased" interior is not.

 

I should add, I just had a routine service done[1] on my car and when I
got back to it they'd indeed left a paper sheet covering the floor down
in the driver's footwell and a long plastic bag enclosing the driver's
seat. So, yes, it seems like it's the sort of thing that I'm used to.

[1] *cough* at a Subaru dealer

-- Mark