I agree, but these guys are the only game in town. The next closest one is is 15 minutes down the highway or about 30 minutes for my mother in-law.

See, the Customer Service Agent still has a lot to learn in terms of dealing with people. I ain't saying all the customers are right, but that attitude shows his work experience and level of training.

They had the key. They stuck a tag on it. Everything that they were supposed to do, but make sure they knew where it was. The reasons were numerous. It could end up in someone'* pocket and it won't come back until the laundry company (who check pockets) brings it back. They get dropped down the grates and sometimes they don't notice it. Someone might have had and were moving cars and left it on the seat of someone'* car or new car or used car on the let. It might have been tossed accidentally in the trash. It might have dropped in your mother'* car down between the seat. I've seen keys get lost in the snow after they get dropped.

It takes a big person with dedication to the job to know how to make things right and what went wrong and to learn from it... maybe I am asking too much.

Yes. You read that right.

THEY FOUND THE MISSING KEY.

I just got back to the computer (work) and my wife called to tell me about two hours ago, that they found the key and she went to pick it up.

Seems the Service Manager actually got it. He understood the situation. And told everyone who had some free hands, to look for the key.

Well guess where it was? Below the key cabinet. The place where they hang keys of the cars that are next in line to get fixed or serviced. You'd think that this would be the first place to look, right?

It gets interesting here. Under the key cabinet, they stacked some new tires (for lack of storage?). And no one looked there on the floor before. If they did on Friday when this first happened, then they didn't look inside the tire stack on the floor there. One of the desk ladies looked at the key cabinet, looked down, saw a stack of tires, decided to MOVE THE TIRES, and look there.

Look, A KEY!


Now, here is where it gets good again. The Customer Service Agent guy called my wife and (are you sitting down?) he says, "I hate to say this, but I said it before that you just have to give it a day and the key will usually turn up."

Granted he said this on Friday afternoon over the phone to my wife, it didn't make my wife happy to hear someone say, "I told you so."

Am I being too picky, maybe. Maybe not. For all the empty words, 30 hours worth of oil change. Headache and running rampant with my mother in-law'* Friday and Saturday. And putting a crimp in my wife'* workday (next time, Mr. Customer Service Agent, you talk to her manager to explain things).


The proper response would be, "We found your mother'* car key. We found it under a tire stack. Sorry for the hassle and problems this has caused. Would you like to pick it up or someone to drop it off to your mother?"

My wife picked it up, Mr. Customer Service Agent said, "Here'* your key (holding it like a freshly caught fish). My wife said, "Thank you and good bye."

She was stewing in the car because no one came out to say, "We wrecked your work day on Friday and gee, we messed up. Can you forgive us and come back?"

Well, end of story.

I think that any other recalls, I will be picking up and taking the car down the road to the other dealership.

Any new cars, brother in-law needs a new clutch soon, new battery, and brakes after getting 280,000 kms out of his car... well he is due. My Caravan is six years old with the same number of clicks on it, so that is going to be soon to be replaced before the tranny goes (and they do go on the older Caravans... along with the water pump, tensioner, fan speed control, and suspension -- all of which I replaced at the 100,000 to 170,000 mark), my sister in-law needs a new car because she has racked up close to 320,000 kms on hers with a water pump being the only thing to go, and my parents are looking for something in a year or two.

Does this episode leave a bad mark/stain on the car? Sure does and it won't be easy to forget. And I like domestics. I can't make the argument for if it gets talked about.