Dealer does not make appointments for service

[BillHanna]

Not Ford, but we used to be able to take our RAV4 to the Toyota dealer for service anytime; they changed managers and now require an appointment, which is usually a week or more away. We don't find this as convenient as before.

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[ZABSMAV]

I have never heard of such a thing and I'd no longer bless them with any business. One thing about Ford dealers: There's more than one of them...

Our metropolitan area only has one Ford dealership. Thank goodness they are responsive and good to work with. Maybe that is why we have done business with them for 30 years .

 

[Marcacox]

I was just wondering if this was a new, nation-wide trend?

It surprised me when I went to my dealer with a question about my wife's new Escape having some wind noise and air leak in the driver's side door/window. They assured me they could look at it but when I asked about making an appointment, the service writer said that they only make appointments for oil changes. I've taken my 22 Maverick in several times for various things including recalls, battery issues, etc., but have always had an appointment.

I think this is a great business prevention tool because all you can to is to take the vehicle in and hope they can work on it that day. That is nuts - at least from a customer's perspective. Is this just a local dealer thing?

Bad dealer. Find another one. That is the service advisors job

 

[JonP_Maine]

I was just wondering if this was a new, nation-wide trend?

It surprised me when I went to my dealer with a question about my wife's new Escape having some wind noise and air leak in the driver's side door/window. They assured me they could look at it but when I asked about making an appointment, the service writer said that they only make appointments for oil changes. I've taken my 22 Maverick in several times for various things including recalls, battery issues, etc., but have always had an appointment.

I think this is a great business prevention tool because all you can to is to take the vehicle in and hope they can work on it that day. That is nuts - at least from a customer's perspective. Is this just a local dealer thing?

My other vehicle is a little Chevy Volt. My Chevy Dealer DOES NOT make appointments for oil changes. Wildly annoying! They have a drive-up oil change service. I called them and said, "Hey, this vehicle was new to me last year. I need an oil change and inspection and would really like a tech to do a once-over given the vehicle is new to me." Nope. Falls under our drive-up service which always has vehicles waiting at the service bays lined up all hours of the day.

I could certainly handle an oil change but it is a new to me hybrid and I really want a certified tech to check it out. I agree this is awful.

 

[First Sergeant]

I haven't had to reach out to my dealer for service yet although there is one thing I found a little odd is that my dealer doesn't have its own "quick" oil change operation like the Chevy, Toyota, GMC/Buick dealers town.

Dealer (Kendall Ford) in Boise will do oil change and minor, easy fixes, including just looking at an issue with no appointment. i think they call it "Quick Lane" or something like that. I usually call ahead to check though, they get busy and it is first come first serve. I'm retired, so no big deal to wait a little, but I don't want to be there all day. I have made the appointment a couple times and a friend picks me up and we get lunch.

 

[WJOHNM]

I was just wondering if this was a new, nation-wide trend?

It surprised me when I went to my dealer with a question about my wife's new Escape having some wind noise and air leak in the driver's side door/window. They assured me they could look at it but when I asked about making an appointment, the service writer said that they only make appointments for oil changes. I've taken my 22 Maverick in several times for various things including recalls, battery issues, etc., but have always had an appointment.

I think this is a great business prevention tool because all you can to is to take the vehicle in and hope they can work on it that day. That is nuts - at least from a customer's perspective. Is this just a local dealer thing?

I worked at a dealer for about 35 years, we did it the other way around, we always had 2/3 lifts open for oil changes and state inspections, if you wanted to wait you could we would tell them how many people were in front of them, everything else had to make a appointment, unless something very minor like a bulb or wiper blades, we had 27 techs.
Some small shops in certain areas don't have the workload and will take you in anytime for anything. Its the business owner's choice how to do it, most ford dealers have lots of recalls and short on qualified techs. My ford dealer has a 2 week wait for anything.

 

[MaverickDragon]

Especially for anything beyond an oil change, not making appointments sounds like a great recipe for customer dissatisfaction.
Maybe a good idea to find an indie shop if there is only one Ford dealer available who decided that they don't care about the customer's time. ..

 

[Flyangler]

A year or so ago, I made an appointment at a different dealer than usual for the “dead maverick syndrome”. When I arrived, they refused to work on the truck if I wasn’t experiencing the problem right then. The service advisor said “You know you didn’t make an appointment with us, right? It’s a “national thing”.

Several times in my ownership of the ‘22 XL Hybrid I have gotten letters about safety recalls and customer satisfaction programs that promised not only that the work would be done, but also that a loaner vehicle would be supplied, both free of charge. It seems like there was a communication problem between FMC and local dealerships, because I was never offered loaner, not even when my truck was in the shop for over 38 days.

Now that I am three years in, replacement of the 12V battery was on me. It seems like a short lifespan for a battery. But, the work was done quickly, so there’s that. I won’t go back to the dealer that refused the work.

 

[Alex M.]

I haven't had to reach out to my dealer for service yet although there is one thing I found a little odd is that my dealer doesn't have its own "quick" oil change operation like the Chevy, Toyota, GMC/Buick dealers town.

My dealer doesn't have the quick change lane either

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