Volvo Of Charlottesville

Review: I purchased a PROGRAM VEHICLE from Volvo Of Charlottesville. At the time of purchase, there was no damage to the vehicle. In addition, I purchased a package to have the exterior and interior of the car protected. I returned to the dealership to have the work done. No one checked in my vehicle or looked at the condition of it when I arrived; however, I had done so because I wanted to make sure there were no areas that required touch up before having the protectant put on. Upon completion of the work, the vehicle was brought out to me. Before leaving the lot, I noticed a VERY DEEP and LONG vertical scratch on the rear driver side. The entire panel containing the scratch was not shiny but left very dull and had buff marks on it - I believe in order to cover the damage. I called the [redacted] out to address it and additionally the [redacted] observed it. Neither did anything. Lastly, the young man who had detailed my car came out. He was wearing pants, a belt with a large solid square buckle and a long t-shirt that covered the pants and belt. Based on the scratch being vertical, it seemed very obvious to me that the scratch occurred while he was stretching up across the vehicle to detail it - as his belt would have been directly where the scratch occurred.

I have gone round and round with [redacted], the [redacted]. He tells me they will WET SAND it but it may make it worse and that the paint is hard to match. The car has less than 10K miles on it, it is a custom 2014 Volvo color, and I have no desire for their repair to make my vehicle look worse.

I am 100% confident the damage occurred while the vehicle was in their care, and I want it repaired to the original condition at no cost to me.Desired Settlement: I want my vehicle repaired to its original condition at no cost to me. I also want an apology for their refusal to accept responsibility and to fix the car in the first place. I have spent hours with absolutely no satisfaction on this issue.

Business

Response:

Tell us why here...Thank you Revdex.com for providing this forum, to resolve issues of this nature.I have spoken to my [redacted], [redacted] who is familiar withthis customer concern.[redacted] has investigated this concern, and he feels quite confident that the damageto this particular vehicle, was not caused by our employees, and sites thefollowing reasons:This particular employee is outstanding, honest and reliable. When asked about thisparticular scratch, he was quite was certain that he did not caused it. It’simportant to note, that on several other occasions where concerns havearisen, this same employee has not only been honest, but has brought issues to ourattention prior to the customer picking up their vehicles, and has been part ofthe solution in resolving these issues in a proactive manner. [redacted]is the sort of employee who returns money and other personalbelongings if left in vehicles that are traded, and on occasion has even drivenpersonal possessions back to the vehicles original owner. He is upset that Mrs.[redacted] thinks he has caused the scratch to her vehicle. He is the consummate professional,and takes pride in his work. [redacted] track record of honesty and integrity incustomer service is simply outstanding.. a model for all of our employees.[redacted] asked [redacted] directly about Mrs. [redacted] vehicle, (with noconsequences associated whatsoever), and [redacted] is very surethat he did not put this large, rather deep scratch on this vehicle. [redacted]believes him and feels certain that [redacted] would have surely told him. Also, it’s important to note, that this vehicle was presented to us soiled,and a had a number other minor scratches that he did buff out, and did this atno cost- and as a courtesy to the customer. It is certainly possible, to notice scratches and other vehicleimperfections once a vehicle has been fully cleaned, as the dirt and debris cantend to mask these issues especially on a brown colored vehicle such as Mrs.[redacted].Also,[redacted] explained that this particular scratch could not have likely beencaused by a belt buckle, which is Mrs. [redacted] contention. Nordo we have any tools utilized that could have possibly made this deep long,vertical scratch. Mrs. [redacted] has asserted that it was likely [redacted]'s'belt buckle. Firstly, the conventional cleaning process has us moving from“side to side” while detailing a vehicle, not up and down- this is not aconventional car detailing method. This scratch is vertical . Also, The lowerportion of this scratch, is very low on the bottom of the vehicles panel.As [redacted] explained to Mrs. [redacted], in order for his belt buckle to maintaincontact with this scratch all the way to the bottom of where this scratch ends,would not be very likely as his belt buckle is much higher than the bottomportion of this scratch. [redacted] went on to explain that they pulled asimilar [redacted] aside, and tried to re-create this occurrence. He learnedthat [redacted] would then have had to arch his back, and thrust his waist forward whileleaning into the vehicle intentionally, also while trying not to lose contactwith the vehicles surface, sliding downalong the side to the bottom of the vehicles panel. When we clean the lowerportion of a vehicle, one must bend at the waist. While bending at the waist,it would be natural for the belt area of one’s body will recede backward, down and away from the vehiclewith every inch dropped, at an increasing angle all the way down to the lowerportion of the vehicle. In order for his buckle to maintain contact that lowdown on the vehicle, one would have to contort their body intentionallyand unnaturally, in effort to maintain contact throughout. Also, here's acritical point: [redacted]'s belt bucklewas purchased for him, and it was mandated as Carwash standardequipment. It’s a plastic issue belt buckle head, designed not to scratch vehicles.It is made exclusively for carwash employees, as it’s designed not to be capableof scratching painted vehicle surfaces . It looks like metal, but in fact is plastic. He and [redacted], (our other car careemployee), wear this scratch proof belt to work every day. So,where do we go from here? Purely as a measure of good will, [redacted] has offeredto pay half the cost, (approx. $350 of $700) it would cost to havethis repaired along with one of our new loaner vehicles for the days itwill take to complete this repair. Mrs.[redacted] has been given this option, and thus far has not responded. We arepart of a 10 car dealer group. I insist that we always error on the side of ourcustomers, listen intently to their concerns, and that we always find away in the end to try and turn conflicts around in a way that is always mindfulof customer retention, while at the same time being fair to our dealership’semployees. Volvo of Charlottesville enjoys one of the highest customersatisfaction ratings, and they were actually in the Top Ten of Presidents clubstandings recently in our region, which is largely a measure of customersatisfaction. In fact, this dealership hasn't received a complaint from youragency that I can recall, going back at least 5 years, with thousands andthousands of customers served. This doesn't mean that we can stop working. Thisdoesn’t mean that we are perfect. And this certainly doesn’t mean that we are alwaysright. But it does mean that we care, and take issues like this very seriously and do our very best to make a fair resolve. Success in customer satisfaction and customer retention is always going to be an ongoing process, and we must always continue to listen to our customers, address concerns quickly and efficiently, and inthe end make sure that we always do the right thing. Businesses that aren’t listeningand responding to their customers in the end, won’t be in business very long. I do think that our offer to pay for half of Mrs [redacted] repair, is fair, reasonable,and is in keeping with our desire to always error on the side of our customers.It represents a very equitable resolve in light of these circumstances.Mrs. [redacted] has indicated that she has spoken with her attorney, so at this point-she’d need to agree in writing to our resolution if she accepts. I am hopingthat Mrs. [redacted] does agree, and that she also finds it appropriate to also removeher [redacted] posting on our [redacted] page, which is one of only two negativereviews ever recorded at this dealership. Mrs. [redacted] is free to call [redacted], to make arrangementsfor this repair at a time that is convenient for her schedule, or even todiscuss alternative solutions. I know that [redacted] will receive her call, and provideher with outstanding service as though this never happened. He will continue towork with Mrs. [redacted] as we know how busy she is, and we both just want to makethis as easy as possible for her in a manner that demonstrates how much weappreciate her choosing Volvo of Charlottesville. My desire, and that of our [redacted] is once again to shake Mrs. [redacted] hand, and to do all we can toencourage Mrs. [redacted] to continue to use our dealership with a promise, of evenmore outstanding personal service in the future, despite this “bump in the road”.Some of our most valued long term client relationships have been built on the heels ofdifficult circumstances like this, properly resolved. We hope that this is one of those scenario's with Mrs. [redacted]. Sincerely,[redacted]

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

There are several items that I believe are noteworthy:a. It is possible the employee was unaware he caused the damage. b. The car had a few gravel dinks, etc. I made note of all imperfections before going to the dealership, because since it was being cleaned and coated, I wanted to see if there was a need for any touch up paint, etc. All other issues were minor and presented truly visible scars on the car. I have not asked them to repair any of those, as they were pre-existing.c. I drove 2.5 hours to the dealership, so yes, the vehicle was not spotless when I arrived. However, neither was it filthy. The finish was very visible.d. As recently as last week, [redacted] continued to address the scratch on the "DOOR" of my vehicle. It is not on the door - it is on the rear quarter panel. e. I brought the scratch to their attention upon receiving the vehicle back from service. The Service Writer and [redacted] both observed it, knew I was unhappy, and kind of shook their heads and blew me off to attend to other customers. I was an unhappy customer with a problem. They seemed less than concerned.f. In my opinion all vehicles should be inspected upon arrival, and departure, therefore, everyone is aware of the condition. IF the technician saw this damage on my vehicle upon pulling it into the bay, I should have been told immediately. This was not the case. Also, the quarter panel was left with a dull finish and not buffed like the rest of the car. That seems odd to me. g. I had a local body shop look at the vehicle. In their estimation, anyone from 5'2" - 5'10" in height, approximately, could have caused the scratch. Depending on how low or high they wear their pants.h. I specifically asked the detailer about his belt buckle when I was at the dealership. It was large and square and he indicated he got it at EXPRESS. I checked with EXPRESS corporate, and they do not do commercial attire and have nothing marketed as SAFE in dealing with car repairs or detailing. I. I filed my complaint many many weeks ago with [redacted]. The only resolution he offered me was a 'wet sanding', which he admitted could technically could make the problem worse. WHY would I even consider such a thing.j. Only when [redacted] became aware that I had contacted an attorney did he make the FIRST offer to repair the vehicle correctly.k. I previously asked him for the owner's contact information, and he refused to provide it.Based on my disappointment with the service department at Volvo of Charlottesville, and how long it took to offer any viable solution, I do not wish to return my vehicle there for Service or Repair. Additionally, I think it is unfair that they should PROFIT from this repair by having me pay half. I consider the following two options acceptable:1. Repair my vehicle at no cost to me at Volvo of Charlottesville. 2. Volvo of Charlottesville pay 1/2 the cost of the repair at the Body Shop of my choice. I would prefer option number two, and will gladly provide estimates for their review. There are two reputable shops in [redacted]A and also a Volvo Dealership. It is most convenient for me to choose one of those.

Regards,