These folks really do deserve a 5-star rating. To me, so does the entire Toyota company in the U.S.
I am driving my 6th Camry, over a 30+ year period. The last one I traded in after 16 years and 235,000 miles. (Or maybe it was 233,000.) I commuted weekends for 18 years. The first 3 to Cheyenne, which is 280 miles one-way. The last 15 to Green River, which is 137 miles one-way.
Going to Cheyenne involves nearly 150 miles on I-80 which is notoriously treacherous in the winter. The route to Green River goes over South Pass, which in winter is no picnic either.
Obviously, the reliability of my vehicle was primary.
In all that time the ONLY problem I ever had was when the water pump died of old age. The car had over 150,000 miles on it at that time. The situation was pretty crumby, night-time on I-80 35 miles east of Rawlins, but that's Murphy's Law not Toyota's fault.
4 months after I bought my current Camry I lost the keys. Really and truly lost them. They never have surfaced. I was in a Denver Airport parking lot; it was 43 degrees and raining; I had just returned from 10 days of post-op caring for my sister. Not in a good emotional state.
I called Fremont Toyota. They gave me the number for the national HQ. When I called there, they sent a tow-truck to pull my car to the nearest Toyota Service location which was 11 miles away. NO CHARGE. Apparently that's the policy if the car is still that new, but good grief! Even if it's the result of the owner being scatter brained?
The manager of the Service Department where I and my car were taken, Julie, was off the charts in effectiveness and efficiency. She should be promoted to some position on Toyota's international management staff. Or maybe appointed to the POTUS' cabinet.
She asked me if I had the master key for the car. I remembered that Chad, the salesman who sold me the car, had been quite firm about my not losing the master key. Well, I didn't have it with me. Julie told me that UPS made deliveries to them twice a day.
So I called Chad and asked him to go to my house to get it. He should call me when he got there for explicit instructions. He called and I verbally walked him through the house to the jewelry box on the dresser in my bedroom. Not a comfortable assignment for Chad, but he was accommodating and reassuring.
He had learned that if he got the key to UPS by 3:45 it would reach me the next morning. He made that happen.
Then Julie assigned a staff person to drive me to a motel. He dropped me off and left. But the motel had no vacancies. I had to call Julie back. She sent another shuttle to pick me up. I heard her give the driver explicit instructions not to leave me until he was sure I had a room.
I was picked up the next morning and returned to Julie's "custody." No charge for all this shuttling.
When my car was ready, Julie drove a "pilot car" to lead me to a place where I knew I could navigate successfully on my own. To my mind that was "above and beyond."
On December 22, on my way out of town to spend Christmas with a friend in western Montana, I hit a deer. The car could be driven, but as the investigating officer said, "NOT to Montana."
I drove to Fremont Toyota. There the General Manager authorized giving me a "loaner," a Highlander, told me to go to Montana, helped me transfer my luggage, Christmas gifts, and dog into it, and wished me Merry Christmas and safe travels.
Before I returned the Highlander the windshield cracked. The General Manager said, "So? That often happens when it's this cold." (as in minus 16 degrees) Not one word of criticism or charges for damage.
OK, this "essay" has gone on long enough. But if you need any more praises sung for Toyota, and Fremont Toyota, Lander in particular, just let me know.
Helen H read more
