Marine Blue

I know what you mean. For me, the length of service isn't an issue as long as it is communicated to me and I'm assured that the car will be well cared for while there. For example when I owned 928's there was only one mechanic I trusted to work on the car. We planned the service in advance and he would provide an estimate on how much time would be needed. He also mentioned that it may take more time if parts weren't readily available. This was all comunicated at the time the car was dropped off and at times it took 2 weeks to complete the work but I didn't care since he stayed in touch. He also had my car in the garage under two car covers during its stay to insure that it wasn't scratched.

I guess my point is that if you're paying a premium for service at the dealer you should expect premium service. There's no excuse for not making a 2 minute phone call.

Spiffyjiff

first off, i totally understand where youre coming from - it is exTREMEly frustrating. but if i may for just a minute...

let's face it, no matter where we go - stealership or indy - we're not immune to sub-par customer svc. i dont go to the dealer any more (i'm out of warranty) but when i did, i experienced some of the same, uh...lack of concern/attention, as you describe. i just tried to grin and bear it as a necessary evil while justifying it as either an "overworked/understaffed" scenario and/or simple lack of quality staff and management.

but it happens at the indy's too. the shop managers arent secretaries to CEO's, they arent doctors scheduling an operation. i.e. they're not the most customer-svc-thinking, detail-oriented bunch. theyre more focused on the actual fixing of cars and (justifiably) making money thus their people skills might not be a high priority.

that said, i think it is possible to have good dealer customer svc but it might take some effort on your part as well: make it a point to friendly chat for a few extra minutes with your advisor or the shop manager...stop in once and awhile if you're in the area and have time to kill...send an email now and then asking how it's going, or "seen any carrera GT's lately??" etc. should you have to do this in order to get better customer svc? no way. but the reality is, in the absence of an ideal world, every little bit helps.

and FWIW, i used to go to rkvl porsche. i know max and he's a really nice guy who i would talk to a lot starting back when he was a salesman there. i also knew the lead tech danny who i would stop in to chat with now and then (he helped me a few times with technical questions i had, gave me free coolant once so that i could top off the tank, etc. see?? it helps to be friendly! )

lastly, there are plenty of indy's around - TPC, intersport, IMA, atspeed, etc. personally i try to do most of the routine maintenance myself but use TPC for the heavy stuff. research them all and make up your own mind.

ok, done.

Da Hapa

Respectfully, I disagree and think you're giving this dealership way too much latitude.

There's simply no good reason why a customer bringing his car in for service (whether it's a crap box, used Kia or a brand new GT3RS) isn't told that this service should cost $x and take X days to complete. If either of those markers are in danger of slipping, there's no good reason for facility not to communicate that to the owner in very short order. I'm not suggesting that this dealership need to respond to emails in 5 minutes or less but come on? A day? That's not acceptable.

I think the OP is handling this very well. But if I had other options, I'd probably think hard about picking my car up and taking it elsewhere.

997, esq

I agree with OP. Most of us are busy people -- we need a reasonable level of speed and professionalism. He has received neither.

Edgy01

Their communication skills are lacking. Find a dealership that communicates better. In this day in age you should be getting stellar treatment, and you're being taken for granted. If they need more mechanics they should be hiring.

TommyV44

It would for me....who's the customer here! 3 days? You're way more understanding than I would ever be! I'm spending my money...that means you bend over backwards for me.

Bizarre!

Bob in NY

One thing you should be aware, Porsche has a 3rd party follow up with customers after the service was done to verify customer sat. When you let them know of your dis-satisfaction the dealer gets dinged by Porsche and it has some negative impact on their status or rating. Try giving your dealer a negative rating and you will be amazed how quickly they try to fix the issue or make it up to you. This is a good way of checking up on service levels.

Jay H

I agree. Over the last year, Porsche has gotten very serious about customer service in the sales area and in the service department area. You may get a survey from Porsche and then you can 'have at it' with Porsche directly.

Most good dealerships have personnel from other car lines than can do service work on Porsches. General maintenance and other misc. issues can be completed by someone from Audi, Mercedes, or other brands that the dealership also sells. Cross training is part of the game and that helps cover absent Porsche mechanics.

I also agree that continuing to call on your car until you reach the service advisor is probably the most effective way to get the most recent status on what's going on.

chuckla

The end result: having sent emails and VM's to the GM and Porsche service mgr and the service advisor of the dealership and not receiving a response, I was finally able to get the service mgr on the phone, who was "surprised" that the service advisor had not called me. In two minutes the advisor called and said that most of the work had been done by end of day yesterday and that they were finishing the last issue. I asked him why he had not called me since Wed and kept me up to date on what was happening. He had no real response (I did not look at my emails Wed afternoon, etc) to s/o who brought his car in Tuesday and reasonably expected that it would be done on Wed.

I went to the dealer this afternoon and picked up the car. No apologies from anyone. The car was dirty so I waited another 15 minutes while they cleaned it. Discovered that 4 months ago they had switched to Pennzoil 5W-40 syn from Mobil One, which i keep in my garage-ugh. I was happy to escape from that place. My wife will get her new Audi but not from that dealer. And I filed a complaint with Porsche NA.

This was all about communication or the lack of it-I once had my 993 in the dealer for 10+ days while they got a part from Germany. No problem, just tell me what's going on so I can decide what I want to do. Rockville Porsche Audi is in my rear view mirror.

TommyV44

Good for you!!

Tom

Gaspasser19

Hey Chuck,

Nice to see you still have the C4S. How's the Smartop working out?

Regarding local dealers, I'm afraid I have had similar experiences to your story when dealing with both Rockville and HBL/Tyson's. I can, however, give a glowing recommendation to the Silver Spring store. My Porsche experience there has been limited(one significant repair) but positive. My Audi experience has been very good! The service writers really understand the importance of quality customer service and the techs have been top notch and very professional.

Chris from Cali

I can vouch for HBL's service department, but their sales department (Porsche) leaves much to be desired, unless you happen to be the guy who buys a new Turbo/Panamera/Cayenne annually...

hpowders

The few times my car has been kept for a few days, my SA is right up front with that information when I bring the car in. Never any surprises. I would take my business elsewhere.

chuckla

Tim-Hope all is well. The mod works beautifully, thanks to you. I used to use Tischer exclusively, but then my trusted salesman (Ara Eurajian, one of the great men in the otherwise sordid car biz) died unexpectedly and then long-time SA Tom Valhe left for...Rockville P-A. So I followed Tom, but he left them earlier this year and I am stuck with unseasoned, uncaring SA's. Had to laugh-when I went to get my car, I saw that the car was dirty as did the porter who brought it around so i accepted his offer to do a quick wash and went inside to wait. The SA saw me several times sitting there and had neither the curiosity nor the interest in asking why I was still there. Anyway, it's either back to Tischer (tho George, the SA after Tom, has gotten bad reviews from a reliable friend) or HBL, which is geographically distant from home and office. Unfortunately, there appear to be no recommended indies in MontCo and Hanover (thanks Nat) is too far away.

trcox57

I like Intersport near HBL Tysons. They do good quality work, do what they say they and have very competent technicians. Just had them do a pretty good go over of my 997.
They also work on my S63 and their mechanic caught a noise coming from the rear of the car and suggested I take it to Mercedes. They replaced my differential which was on the way out.
I think Omar Hilmi is the owner. 703 242-8680.