TVR1977

I spoke to the Parts manager at Riverside - Vinnie Pirruccio - yesterday about returning my non-functioning cell phone cradle. Got the same song and dance.

I was exasperated and finally said, "Why are you guys being such dicks about returning a part?" He got all arch and offended, and told me to "watch my language," and pretended to be upset that I was "cursing" at him. My only reply was, "Yeah, a guy from New Jersey named 'Vinnie,' and you've never heard anybody called a 'dick' before!"

What I should've said was, "You work at an Audi dealership and nobody's ever called you a 'dick' before?"

Anyway, yesterday, I e-mailed the following to Audi USA. Mostly re-caps the issues in the thread below. I'm curious to see if I get a response. Any bets on a) whether they do respond, and b) what the response will be?

***********Letter Follows************

Sirs,

Recently, I purchased a CPO 2005 Audi A6, and I'll start by saying that I love the car.

Unfortunately, I'm saddened to see that customer service hasn't improved one whit since my last unpleasantness with Audi/Volkswagen over the matter of a 2000 Jetta that was returned under Maryland's Lemon Laws. That case is too involved to detail here, but suffice to say it took several months and everyone from the dealer to the service department, and right up to the corporate level fought me tooth and nail the entire way.

BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE, CHAPTER ONE

As far as my current experience with AoA, I recently purchased a cell phone cradle for my A6, because I wanted to have the capability of an on-board recharger and also to be able to use the car's antenna for the phone.

I actually had to go out and buy a somewhat outdated cell phone (Motorola V710) to do so, but I thought it might be worth it for the above features.

I ordered the part on-line from Riverside Audi in New Jersey, because they sponsor one of the Audi forums.

The part arrived, and when connected to my car and cell phone, the part would not work at all. I followed the instructions that came with the cradle (part # 4F0-051-435-C) as well as the owner's manual itself, but when I attempted to make a call, nothing happened.

I contacted Carson Heter who handles on-line sales in the parts dept. Was told that electrical parts are non-returnable (?!?!?!). It seems to me you should tell your customers that BEFORE they buy the part, but this was the first I was hearing of that bit of news!

He told me he'd "have to check with his manager" and get back to me. I never received any return call.

Then I sent 7 e-mails over the next 2 weeks, all of which were ignored.

Last week I called, and he told me that he hadn't had a chance to read his e-mails. Bear in mind, this is the guy in charge of on-line sales! Then he asked if I "had the part diagnosed," and if I'd "checked on the forums for advice." WTF? Hello, I bought an Audi part, followed the Audi instructions and owner's manual, and this guy is telling me that it's somehow incumbent on me to do more homework? Sorry, Buddy, that doesn't cut it.

Finally, he said (as if he was doing me a huge favor) that he'd take the part back, but there'd be a 20% re-stocking fee (again, out of the goodness of his heart - the "normal" restocking fee is 30%). So my options are either eat a $240 part (not counting the damn phone) or pay Audi $48 bucks for the privilege of getting jerked around for 3 weeks.

I asked to speak to his manager, and was told that he would not be back until this week.

Today I called his manager, Vinnie Pirruccio, and got the same run-around. After being interrogated ad nauseam about what I did and didn't do when I connected the part, he, too started giving me the run-around. He finally said that I could send the part back, but he was going to test it, and if he found it checked out okay, he was going to charge me the full 30% re-stocking fee.

Frankly, I don't care if it works or not. If it doesn't work in MY car, I don't want it! Why are the people at Riverside's Parts Dept. so recalcitrant in accepting a return?

Mind you, all of this hassle and headache is over a part that a) costs a measly $240 bucks, and b) DOES NOT WORK!


BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE, CHAPTER TWO - The Saga Continues

In a separate and unrelated incident, the day after I bought my car, the TPMS warning light went off. Sure enough, the left rear tire was soft. I took it back to the dealer, and was told that the valve was leaking and they "fixed it."

A few weeks later, I was checking the tire pressures prior to a long road trip. For some reason I had a hell of a time removing the valve cap on the left rear. About 40 miles later, the TPMS warning light came on again, and low and behold, the left rear was down 10 psi.

Then it came to me - the way they "fixed" the leaking valve was to put the valve cap on Reaallly, reaallly tight. Wow, way to go, guys! Talk about band-aid repairs! "Vorsprung durch Technik," my ***!

It's only a small thing, but it's still pathetic coming from a dealer in high-end vehicles. I had the inconvenience of the tire going soft on the road, as well as the added hassle of having to bring my car in for service. All of this is compounded by the fact that when you short-cut a repair to the wheels and tires, you are potentially causing a very unsafe driving condition.

CHAPTER 3 - WHAT FUTURE SURPRISES ARE IN STORE FOR OUR HERO?

Since I had to bring the car in to service anyway, I brought up another issue I was having -namely, the clouding and spotting on the chromed plastic trim on the trunk lid and around the windows.

This is a known issue with the early C6 chassis, and it is the result of faulty materials used in construction of the vehicle. From my reading on the forums, it is also widely known that Audi has thus far tried every means of worming out of responsibility. While some customers have had the trim replaced as a warranty issue, others have been denied because "trim isn't covered under warranty," or because "it's caused by acid rain." Still others have had the onus shifted onto the owner, and Audi has merely recommended a polish that (temporarily) removes the clouding (another band-aid).

I was told by my service rep. that she was "talking to her manager" about it and would get right back to me.

That was a week ago tomorrow, and I've still heard nothing. Apparently "talk to my manager" is some sort of Audi-speak for "go jump in a lake."

I can only imagine how much fun it's going to be dealing with you guys over this issue.

EPILOGUE:

So, here's the question. What, exactly, is it that you at Audi don't get? There seems to be some sort of "corporate culture" of arrogance and foot-dragging when it comes to customer service and doing the right thing.

The way I see it, the situation is this. A) You sell expensive, luxury cars (the A6 is a $50-60K car), and B) the economy sucks. In this environment, can you really afford to alienate potential return customers over such piddling crap as this? A $240 part? An extra 40 minutes labor to do a job right? Admitting your mistakes and standing behind your product?

I would appreciate any help you can provide with the above issues, but I am a realist and don't have much hope of that.

I can tell you this, however. I will not be purchasing another product from Audi or Volkswagen, even though I love the cars.

Frankly, it's simply not worth the hassle of dealing with you. I haven't even had the car 4 months, and already I've had 3 fairly major issues with your service. One issue per month? It's a good way to remind me to make a payment - whenever you jerk me around, I get to send you more money! What a great car-owning experience!

Not to worry, though, there are a couple of other German car builders out there that I'm sure will happily take my money. Maybe one of them will buy you someday.

ESN

With a letter like that, why on earth would you ever expect a reply from AoA?

TVR1977

I'm working on the "squeaky wheel" approach.

TVR1977

Of course if I actually had a squeaky wheel it'd take a regional service rep to authorize grease!

ESN

It's the style in which you wrote. "WTF" in a business communication = don't take seriously

schnellmb

my advice if you have the coin, dump it and get another car. you'll never be happy dealing with these morons.

and LOL @ Vinnie.

TVR1977

Yeah, that snuck in. I cut & pasted the passage from my post on here.

Buddah

I would have thrown you out of the dealership with a mouth like that

TVR1977

I hear worse on TV every day. Plus, this is N.J. we're talking about - I'm a native, I know.

If I'd used the word "recalcitrant," I don't think it would've carried the same impact.

Egil A64.2s - S6

you would be better to cut your losses and go elsewhere.

Audi will be happy too. They don't seem to care about customer service.