Stranger than fiction

[Adam in CO]

So, I had a REALLY bad (they've all been bad) service experience at the Hummer dealer, so I wrote this letter:






Stacie Collins
Hummer Customer Service
P.O. Box 33177
Detroit, MI 48232

October 17, 2006

Dear Stacie,

Thank you for speaking with me on October 12th, 2006 regarding my experience with the local Hummer dealership and service department. This letter is to follow up on our conversation in order to provide you a documented version of our conversation regarding Medved Hummer in Castle Rock, CO. I think it’s important that you know the extent to which a representative company of your product lacks regard for the “Hummer experience”. I hope you agree, and will be able to improve the situation, so that Hummer can continue to thrive in the Denver market.

I bought my H2 in 2002 from the Castle Rock, CO Medved Hummer dealership. At the time I was literally forced into buying an extended warranty on the vehicle. The finance manager told me verbatim that he would not sell me the vehicle without it because “he simply didn’t have to”. This was at the height of Hummer popularity, when the vehicles were in much demand, and difficult to acquire. I paid for the warranty figuring that it may very well benefit me in the future.

Until recently, Dan Nohr, was the service writer at the Medved Hummer dealership. Under his tenure, I had experienced minor issues worthy of complaint but they were mostly to be expected from a large dealership. Until now I have kept my frustrations at bay. Dan proved himself to be an exemplary service advisor, and personally made up for the customer service that Medved Hummer lacks. For four years, he saw that all of my service needs were taken care of by Medved Hummer, and that warrantable services were covered under the extended service warranty that I was forced to pay for.

On Thursday, October 5th, I brought my Hummer to Medved for service work. At this time, I was told that Dan Nohr had been transferred to the Doge dealership and a new service writer would be handling the service writing on my vehicle. Unfortunately, this person was not in that day either, and I was introduced to a Chevrolet service advisor named Sean P. Smith.

When I initially contacted the dealership and Sean Smith about servicing my Hummer, I was told that they would have the vehicle back to me the next day. The next day, Friday, the service advisor told me that it would not be until the following Monday that an adjuster from the extended warranty company could come for an inspection. At this time, Sean suggested that I return the rental vehicle to the dealership since the extended warranty company would not pay for a rental vehicle during a time when my vehicle was not actually being serviced.

As you can imagine, I was frustrated with this proposal for a number of reasons. First of all, the Medved dealership is a forty minute drive from my house. Secondly, I was supposed to have had my own vehicle back by then. Thirdly, I fail to understand why no one at Medved had the foresight to schedule the warranty adjuster at the time that I made the appointment to have my Hummer serviced. Lastly, I am aghast that Medved so bluntly and obviously inconvenienced their client without so much as an apology, or the wherewithal to compensate me for the hassle. Left with no other choice, I agreed to pay for the extended time on the rental vehicle.

The following Monday did include a visit from the adjuster from the extended warranty company, or so I was told. It also included a call from Sean Smith advising me that he had in fact been there, that all was well, and that the vehicle would be returned to me the following day. I am sorry to say that Tuesday came and went with no vehicle, and no call to inform me of why I wasn’t getting it back as promised. I finally called the dealership at the end of Tuesday to be told that Sean Smith was gone for the day and that I would have to wait until the next morning to speak with him.

Again, I am astonished at the complete lack of basic customer service skills displayed by Medved, as I am sure you are too at this point.