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.
