Why I'll never buy another Lincoln again...

This past July I bought myself a brand new 2015 Lincoln MKZ.  Great car I must say.  I got it with nearly all the options... Leather/heated everything (wheel, front & rear seats), air conditioned seats, sun roof, navigation... you get the idea. 

The car has all the bells and whistles one could ask for.  So why won’t I buy one again? 

Well it all boils down to one thing.  Customer Service. 

Going on 3 months, the car itself has been great.  My vehicle before the Lincoln MKZ was a Mercedes ML350.  Yes, I know not to compare the two vehicles for obvious reasons and I don’t plan on.  It’s the dealerships and service I’m going to focus on.   

Owning 2 Mercedes over 4 years, and a Lincoln for just 3 months I’ve already come to the conclusion I will not buy another Lincoln again – solely based on the service experience.

All the times I was in for service/repair with my Mercedes, I have not a single complaint about their level of customer service and commitment.  From the moment I pull in to the service department to the point I drive away with my car – I’m constantly getting a true luxury experience. Their service advisors make me feel like I matter on every visit and their techs do the same for my car.  The team always walks me over to the waiting area and ensures I’m comfortable while providing me a beverage.  The experience is designed to be stress free and comfortable.  All the staff handling your file know who you are and deal with you in a very personable & respectable manner.  This is several years after I’ve closed the deal with them in another part of the country.

At Lincoln, even though the sales reps promised me a similar experience – it’s actually been the complete opposite.   The car has been great – don’t get me wrong.  But the little things about their service experience is what’s eating away at me.

From the time I took delivery to the first scheduled service I’ve had 2 visits. Both disappointing.   My new car was delivered to me dirty from the inside and a scratch on the hood.  Both promised to be taken care of while providing me a loaner vehicle.  I figured it would be as simple as dropping off the car and picking it up when it’s ready. 

Now that you have the back story – here’s a point form version of what happened when I took the car in to Lincoln in comparison to my past visits at Mercedes. 

Lincoln	Mercedes
Pulling in to the Service Center – I can never find parking. I’ve had to park at the back of the dealership and walk all the way around.	I pull in to the service bay and they take the keys and car from me. I’ve never had to think about parking.
Service didn’t know I was supposed to receive a loaner vehicle. I had to go talk to sales for them to put me in a car.	The departments are always in sync. I’ve never had to remind them about the loaner vehicle as it’s always ready for me.
The loaner car provided was from their used car lot. Wasn’t a Lincoln.  It had a “Demo Sale” sticker on the windshield and a sales sticker on the rear window.  Not washed.  Empty gas tank with 21 KM’s remaining.   I felt embarrassed driving around in such a car.  When asked for another car, the answer was no.	Brand new demo vehicles with all the bells and whistles designed to make me want to stay in the loaner car more than mine.  It was something to brag about.
Picked up my car.  Washed and vacuumed but dust on the dash and doors even though it was specifically in for a cleaning.  Spoke to the sales manager again and his answer was – “this is the best I can do because that department doesn’t report in to me. Sorry.”	Never have had to ask for the car to be cleaned or vacuumed.  It was always given back to me looking as clean as it can.  There was a time they couldn’t wash it because their carwash was down.  They handed me a free car-wash voucher to the gas station next to the dealership.
Service Visit 2.  Got a rental as they were out of loaners when I arrived. Had to go to Enterprise to pick up the car which had a long wait (1hr).  Again not a Lincoln.  When I picked up my vehicle it wasn’t even washed or vacuumed.  Felt very disappointed when I got in to my car – a feeling I’ve never had to experience before.	See above.

You may think these things are very minor but I can’t help but compare the experiences every time. Mercedes has really set the bar high and the smallest things at Lincoln are starting to bother me.  When their sales team promised to provide me similar service to Mercedes – I shouldn’t have just taken their word for it.   Perhaps I should let one of their sales managers take my E350 in for service to experience what real customer service is all about.