About LAcarGUY
The LAcarGUY family of dealerships has been a Los Angeles fixture since “Sully” Sullivan opened its first dealership, Volkswagen Santa Monica in 1964. Today, LAcarGUY includes 10 award-winning dealerships throughout Los Angeles and a state-of-the-art body shop. Known for its outstanding customer service, long-term relationships, and word-of-mouth marketing, LAcarGUY is the first choice when shopping for a new or used car.
As a local family-owned business, LAcarGUY is recognized as a prominent supporter of community events, charitable organizations and environmental causes. As the number one hybrid dealer in the world, LAcarGUY is proud to lead the industry to a greener automotive future.
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On Monday, December 19, 2011, I brought my car in to Toyota of Santa Monice for service. I was assisted by Katie Shriver. In addition to the service, I told her that the inside right front door handle was broken. She said that she would have it fixed. I picked up my car that evening and paid for the repairs, including the door handle. I even specifically asked if she had fixed the door handle, and she said that she did. When I arrived home, I found that the handle still did not work. In fact, it had not been replaced (I recognized the cracked frame from when I brought it in). I phoned Katie. She apologized, but she had no explanation why the repair (that I had now paid for) was not done. She asked me to bring the car back in. I told her I would be able to return on the morning of Wednesday, December 21. She told me that the technicians began work at 7:30 AM, so that’s when I told her I would arrive. She would not make an appointment for me. She told me that she was not working on Wednesday, but I should talk to her “partner,” named Sam. She promised she would explain the situation to him. She also promised that the repairs could be done while I waited, in approximately 30 minutes.
On Wednesday, December 21, I brought my car back in, to receive the repairs that I already paid for. I arrived at 7:30 and met with Sam Mull. He was shockingly rude from our first contact. He told me that he did not know anything about my car. He said that Katie had told him somebody would be coming, but did not give him any details. When I told him that Katie had not done the repairs I paid for, he cut me off and said that Katie was not a technician, so it was not her responsibility to make repairs. The entire time I was trying to explain what had happened, Sam continually interrupted me and contradicted me. When he finally agreed to make the repairs, he told me that the technicians would not arrive until 8:00. He could not explain why Katie told me 7:30, and he clearly did not care. I was concerned, because I was having a dental procedure at 9:15, so I asked if Katie’s estimate of 30 minutes was accurate. Sam responded, “If that’s what Katie said.” Shortly before 9:00, I returned to Sam. Again, I received rude treatment and an appalling attitude. He went to check on the car, and then he told me it was not done. He suggested that if I needed to go, I should just take the car, without getting the repairs I already paid for. Because the dentist was located on less than a mile away, I decided to walk and return later. I returned to Sam after 10:00 AM. He then told me that they did not have the part. If they didn’t have the part, why didn’t Sam tell me that any time between 7:30 and 9:00? Sam suggested that the technicians had been trying to put a driver’s side door handle on the passenger side. I doubt that ANY mechanic would be that unskilled, but I can’t say whether it is true or not. Sam told me that I would have to take my car and come back another day. When I got my car back, there was no longer any passenger side door handle at all.
Before leaving, I told Sam, “There used to be people here who cared about the way the customer was treated.” His response was that I should talk to the Manager (apparently, caring about how a customer is treated is not Sam’s job). I went to the manager’s office, but it was unoccupied. I phoned and left a voice message. I phoned again two hours later and left another voice message. Perhaps LAcarGuy does not think it is important to have customer relations every working day. I went to the website and used the Chat function. Initially I was told that there was no email. When I pointed out that even the smallest business has email, I finally was given the email address for the customer service manager.
I have been coming to your business for almost 14 years now. I have all my service done there, on both of my cars (both of which were purchased at your dealership). My question is, why should I ever come back? Why should I ever trust you to work on one of my cars again? Why should I purchase another car there? There are plenty of other service centers and dealerships that care about treating their customers the right way. In fact, even if they didn’t care about the customers, they would at least be professional, because anyone should know that if you treat a customer badly, he will not return.
So sorry to hear about your experience at Toyota Santa Monica. I have forwarded your email to our General Manager Bill Rinker and Service Manager Gary Benson. Expect to hear from one of them shortly. Again, really sorry you had such a negative experience.