AVOID AT ALL COSTS!
I will make this brief... Young's did great work on my JD in the past. As in the past, I arranged for my machine to be picked up at my home. I asked if it was the same driver as in the past as he was a terrific individual. I was informed they had a new driver. I immediately informed them that our address is NOT on a GPS map and e-mailed them directions as well as an annotated map to give to the driver.
I also informed them that the machine had four flat tires as well as a dead battery and the person getting the machine will need help removing it from our property.
Young's called and informed me they will be able to get the machine a few days earlier and that the driver will be at my home before noon.
8:45AM: On the day of the pickup, they called and told me the driver we 20min away. I told them I had a 10:00M conference call and would not be able to attend to the driver if he showed up while I was on the call. Here is where the debacle begins...
9:12AM - Call from driver. He is at wrong address. Used GPS. He is in a different County AND appears to have difficulty understanding English. I asked if Management old him NOT to use the GPS and he did not answer. He told me he would call Management to get directions. He was less than 3 miles from our home.
9:31AM - Call from driver. Still lost and has no idea how to get there
9:33AM - I call Young's and speak with Steve. I explained the situation and he apologized and told me he will give him directions.
9:40AM _ I send a text message to the driver with detailed instructions on how to get to our home and ask for confirmation of receipt.
9:50AM - Called Youn's again. Told Steve he still was not here and reminded him about my pending conference call. Once again, the driver was 3 miles away when he initially called. He said "You have done more than most to help him out. We will handle."
10:00AM - My conference call begins.
10:18AM - E-Mail sent to Young's of Ridegfield, "I shall assume the driver is not going to be here today...not happy.Please advise as to alternative for pick-up. I prefer to have you service my mower..."
NO RESPONSE
10:25AM - (1hr. 13min after the intial call) The driver shows up at the house and I am still on the conference call. Politely, I ask my team to hold on as I go outside to open our locked gate.
As I greeted him, albeit somewhat upset and frustrated by this quagmire... I told him I could not help him for another 30 mins or so. He said he would wait. However, when i told him the machine had no air in tire and a dead battery he said, "I don't know how I am going to get it out. You don'y have a battery charger?"
At this point, with my team on hold and the increasing frustration turning to anger... he takes a bite out of what appeared to be a freshly made sandwich.
I asked if he just got the sandwich and he smiled and said, "Yes, from the deli."
I instantly dismissed him and sent him back to Young's.
FOR OVER AN HOUR OF ME TRYING TO GET THE GENTLEMAN HERE TO HELP HIM LOAD MY JOHN DEERE AND MY RE-ARRANGING MY EARLY CALLS TO ACCOMMODATE THE NEW PICK-UP TIME... HE GOES FOR BREAKFAST INSTEAD OF FOLLWING THE DIRECTIONS SENT TO HIM AT 9;40AM.
Again, he was less than 3 miles away.
I completed my conference call and anticipated an apologetic call from Young's.
11:10AM: What I received instead shocked me and the motivation for posting this...
"Yeah, Ron, this is Dan from Young's of Ridgefield. I think we have a slight problem. You made my driver go over an hour drive to your house where a machine was supposed to be picked up before 12:30 and you turned him back So therefore we gonna charge you a pick-up and delivery charge which is $125. So be prepared to get a charge on your credit card for $125. If you have a problem with that please call me and 'thank you for your kindness'".
11:15AM Returned the call and spoke with Steve (Remember the 8:45am call?) and reviewed the sequence of events. At this point I was obviously pissed! What was initially and empathetic customer-centric person at 8:45am was now a rather hostile individual who truly did NOT understand my POV or why I sent the driver back without the machine.
He was informed that at no time does he or did he have authorization to charge my credit ANY amount as no services were rendered.
He response, "You can fight it if you want."
Once again, I tried to explain the previous history and explained he risks losing me as a customer.
His response, "Go ahead. Try finding someone else to work on you machine. Not many John Deere dealers in the area."
I DO HOPE ANY AND ALL READERS LOCATE AN ALTERNATIVE DEALER AS I AM ABOUT TO DO. read more