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In August 2008 I purchased a near-perfect 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis with something over 25,000 miles on it. During the twenty-six months I have owned it, I have not put so much as a tiny scratch on it and the mileage is still under 27,000.
On Wednesday, October 6, 2010, I decided to go to Green Lincoln Mercury Mazda at 3760 Sixth Street Highway West in Springfield, Illinois (62703), for an oil change. I arrived shortly after 11:00 a.m. and slowly approached the service bay as I had never been there before. There were two cars in the service bay when I arrived. I nosed my car into the bay, a couple of feet behind the second car and shifted the car into park. At that exact instant, a huge overhead door came into my view and continued down to the windshield, completely shattering it.
The service writer immediately attempted to place the blame for the accident on me. The only way the accident could have been my fault would have been if I had turned right toward the service bay, accelerated to 60 mph or more, then jammed on my brakes, just in time to nose under the door as it lowered onto my windshield. This would have been a physical impossibility, since I could never have stopped in time to avoid damaging the two cars which were parked in front of my car.
The service writer even went so far in his accusations as to point out to me that he had another employee who witnessed the event, thereby insinuating that I was obviously at fault for the accident. I said, are you saying I was at fault in this accident?” He said, “Yes.” The fact is, when I nosed my car into the bay, there were no employees in the bay. None. He also made a smart-ass remark, referring to me as “Hollywood,” because I happened to be wearing sunglasses.
The employees I met at Todd Green’s Springfield dealership are not only extremely
rude, they are all liars.
The general manager said the windshield would be replaced by the dealership and
gave me the key to a “loner” car, a late-model white Mazda, which he said was parked in the parking lot. I asked him if I could get the oil change for which I came to his dealership in the first place and he said there was no way I could get an oil change, since an appointment was required. This is not true.
I had called Green the previous week and talked to the girl who answered the telephone about service. I asked her which day of the week was the slowest day for service and she said if I came in either Wednesday or Thursday morning around 10:30 or so I would not have a problem getting service or having to wait very long. I specifically asked her if I needed to make an appointment and she said, “No.”
I was able to handle what happened to the car I have babied for over two years, but the insinuations, the efforts to place blame on me and the outright lying I have had to endure from the employees of this dealership have really been beyond the pale.
I located the loner Mazda in the parking lot, spent some time trying to figure out the basics of the vehicle (having never driven a Mazda) and started to drive home. Since I was still trying to figure out the accessories on the car, I drove a pretty good way before I discovered the gas gage showed the car was on empty. Since I had only a short distance to go, I continued on home.
On Thursday afternoon I received a telephone call from the service manager. He said the car was ready and I could come and get it. I again asked if I could get the oil changed before I picked the car up, since they had not serviced it on Wednesday. He said he could not change the oil without an appointment, he could not do it “today” and he could not do it on Friday.
I said, “In other words, you are saying you refuse to service my car?” He denied this accusation and again said I had to have an appointment. I replied, “You don’t mind if I don’t believe you, do you?” He said, “Okay, so call me a liar,” and hung up on me! If oil changes were such a big portion of your dealership revenue, why did the parent corporation break a national advertising campaign the day after my car was returned to me, promoting a $10.00 discount on their already low oil-change prices?
I immediately called the general manager, and told him about the conversation I had with his service manager. All he said was that I could pick up the car. I asked him why they could not change the oil since the car was already there, but he did not answer me, simply repeating the fact that I could pick up the car.
I then told him that he would have to have somebody drive my car to my house and pick up the Mazda, because he had given me a loaner that was out of gas. He said, “The car is out of gas?” I said “yes” and asked him when he would be returning my car. He said, “When I get around to it,” and hung up. It seems the insults never end with Green.
I finally got my car back, 28 hours after it was promised. In order to get my car back, I finally had to call Todd Green, the owner. If he had not returned my car, I might never have gotten it back.
The two Green employees who arrived with the car were not carrying chips on
their shoulders, they were carrying railroad ties. Apparently, I am the talk of the dealership.
One of the employees told me I was lucky to have had my windshield replaced. He said they spent $500.00 to replace it and they did not have to fix it. I asked him if he was a lawyer and he said, “No, but my mother is.” He did not wish to pursue the matter any further, although he complained about everything else of which he could think, including the fact he had to put gas in the Mazda and pay for it out of his own pocket, which would seem to indicate he would not be reimbursed by his employer. I would say, if true, that is his problem, not mine.
Aside from a whole lot of tiny shards of glass, which had popped out of the windshield due to the tremendous pressure the door had put it under, I found two things of interest. I expected to find bits of glass for a long time, but I did not expect to find my front floor mats missing. Believe it or not, the battery in my key-chain flashlight, which was attached to my car keys, is also missing. Who can say for sure why anyone would take the battery and not the flashlight?
The young idiots who delivered the car were especially helpful. Aside from calling me an ******* under his breath, the spokesman for the two said he would return the floor mats if he found them. I said, “If you find them?” (Apparently they have never found them.)
The second issue is inconceivable under any circumstances.
Seems that since I had their vehicle with an empty tank of gas, someone decided to take my vehicle and my gas out to lunch today. I found a cash-register receipt from Cheddars for a sit-down meal on the east side of Springfield, at Dirksen Boulevard and Horizon Drive.
My car was supposed to have been ready to pick up 24 hours earlier. The receipt is dated today (October 8, 2010) at 12:57 p.m., and it includes a $3.00 tip for a $7.88 (with tax) meal. It seems those who drive my car tip exceptionally well with their Visa cards. Incidentally, Green Lincoln Mercury Mazda is located on the southern end of Springfield, quite some distance from Cheddars on Horizon Drive.
I also know they do not drive at all carefully. The things in my trunk were all
bounced around from “jack rabbit“ starts and stops. These items are never, ever moved when I drive the car, even during the occasional times when there is a need to stop suddenly.
There is no way to know where else they went in my car. I believe I can document the exact number of miles they drove it, but the Springfield police say the use of my car by the dealer’s employees for joy riding is a civil matter and does not break any laws. While it may be true that no laws were broken, this whole brouhaha is the result of a number of Green employees who think their intellect is vastly superior to that of their customers.
This customer used choice words towards or staff that was above and beyond any accident and the way it should be handled. We serve our customers and strive for exceptional customer care.
If we treated people this way we would not be the biggest, and quickest growing network of dealerships in the state.