Riverhead Toyota, Riverhead NY

For truly awful customer service, head over to Riverhead Toyota on Long Island.

We bought our 2010 Mag Grey I4 4x4 there (after trading in our 2009 2wd Tacoma when we got stuck in a gravel parking lot!) and regularly take it in for scheduled service (10 free oil changes negotiated as part of our purchase deal. We bought the extended warranty from them after getting them to come down on the price to match what was offered through the MA Toyota dealer. When the paperwork was drawn up, the lower price of the warranty didn't show up, hence the 10 free oil changes...)

We brought it in this week for oil change/tire rotation as per our appointment.

Showed up 20 minutes early, pulled truck into the empty lane for service, went in and registered, handed over the keys.

Truck was pulled into service bay within 5 minutes. An hour later the truck is brought out to the customer hand over area.

Now, there are two girls at the service counter, Kristen and Michelle, who must have failed at waitressing (the kind of servers who run past you over and over averting your looks so they don't have to add your request to their list as they're so awful they're always behind the curve).

But I digress!

When we first got there, there were about 5 other people waiting for their vehicles. By the time our truck was pulled out to the customer waiting area, we were the only ones left.

We now had to suffer watching Kristen and Michelle chatting happily back and forth for 15 minutes before I went up to the counter where my keys were sitting on the service report. Michelle said, "I just have to bill it".

Another 10 minutes before she stopped kibbitzing with Kristen and the service guys who kept coming out of the back to flirt w/ the girls and shoot the breeze.

I mean, basic oil change/tire rotation. The billing is to punch in 2 codes, get a total, swipe credit card, say adios. 20 minutes...

There's a table in the customer waiting area w/ "bagels" and such.

The table was in such a sorry state at 4 pm that it looked like a horde of hungry Mongols had been at it since 8 in the morning: picked over bagels, crumbs all over, knives w/ butter and cream cheese on the table, an open container of store bought cream cheese with the foil pulled back and a knife stuck in it, an empty tray of cookies w/ a big sign inviting you to "help yourself to homemade cookies".

The table sits in full view of our two helpful service desk agents who are clearly too busy chatting to do any billing or tidying up.

And all this goes on under the nose of Ted Lucki, the owner, who is another one w/ blinders on as he makes frequent trips around the place and doesn't see what's going on.

All this after a totally frustrating experience getting reimbursed on the extended warranty 2 years ago that was negotiated up front and then mysteriously billed at full price when the paper work was finished.

To Riverhead Toyota: if it weren't for the remaining 8 free oil changes, you'd never see us back there for service. I now know why the only other Toyota owners I know who have purchased vehicles from you swear to never go back again.

Thanks!

 

^This or email the GM of the dealership. That treatment is unacceptable!

 

Someone from customer service called me and I explained it to her.

The problem is that it's the culture over there.

I have been and still am, in the customer service business, all my life.

I waited tables for years and was always the #1 or #2 earner in both sales and tip % - it was EASY to do it well. You got there early, prepped like mad, ran like crazy and never got caught with your pants down b/c you tried to anticipate everything, never made an unnecessary trip, never made a trip empty handed, etc, etc.

I worked a live-aboard dive charter vessel for 4+ years that accommodated 20 guests/7 crew for week long charters 40+ weeks per year. I was the First Mate for 2 years and the Captain for 2+. It was hard work, but the customer service part was EASY - you never let your guard down, you never stopped giving 120%, you never let your fatigue or your boredom, or your disinterest affect the job you were doing for the guests.

I worked as a dive instructor for another 5 years and always bent over backwards to give guests the best - even on my last trip to the RMS Rhone (yeah, the wreck I'd already dove on over 1,100 times!) You can't imagine how I'd feel when I heard a new instructor moan about "having to go to the Rhone again"! This when they'd maybe been there 30 or 40 times!

I now have my own small yacht business helping owners of small boats keep their ever depreciating asset in top notch shape and looking as good as it did they day they bought it.

My wife and I have been at it for 10 years. We don't drop the ball, we don't let people down, we don't slag off. We stay in constant contact w/ every owner. Frequent check-ins, frequent emails, frequent texts.

It's EASY when you do it right. But it's HARD to do it right, I guess.

 

Good customer service is a rarity these days. GREAT customer service is nearly impossible to find. It bugs the hell out of me too - and businesses that show that they care by having great customer service get me as a return customer every time. And I let them know why. The bad ones? I share my experiences online and with friends and tell them to avoid. Simple as that