the saga comes to a miserable but completely forseeable ending:
Lori E. Hook
Mazda Canada Inc.
305 Milner Ave., Ste. 400
Scarborough, Ontario M1B 3V4, Canada
Dear Ms. Hook,
I do not believe you understood the original tone of my letter, nor did you fully take the time to read it in detail. You did not address all of my concerns. I believed I had been deceived, and still do based on the responses I have received by yourself and the dealership. You should have been reading my original letter as a customer who could have been through the same thing, not as a customer service coordinator. I too work in customer service and am well aware of the difference in perception between the corporation and the customer. $143 is not a "slight" difference in price versus the Mazda offered warranty for brakes. Let me re-iterate that the price charged was for the front brakes and not all four, as I had understood. I was told the only thing available was the extended warranty and I felt forced to accept it, but based on all four being replaced, not two. By the time I brought the car to the dealer for servicing I had 10% front brake level. I don't know if you've ever driven a car in that state, but it feels as if the car will not be able to stop if it really needs to. Like most people, I work, during the day, when the dealer is open. I was not able to shop around or take the time to really think about whether or not I should get the work done. Ultimately, the responsibility was mine for not being careful about what I accepted. I don't think anyone in they're right mind would think that $450 is reasonable for the front brakes, but I digress. I still believe I paid the high price to cover the cost of the bumper.
As for the claim that 2-20 was unaware that there was an issue with the exhaust and the belt whine, well, I told the service person when dropping off the car that the exhaust needed to be checked for a leak. The belt wasn't whining until AFTER I received my car back from the dealer (which I should have mentioned in the original letter). You also did not address my claim that the lighting system was not checked, how could it have passed the test with a dead headlight bulb (which I replaced at my own personal cost)? Does that not mean the test was not done at all? That is what I believe.
I contacted Mr. Gamache from 2-20 (20/04/2004 5:30PM) and I asked for a refund on the lifetime warranty. Funny, when I announced myself he wasn't sure at all who I was. He then realized that he had "received a letter about me". He said to hold on while he checks Mazda's cost for the brake job without the warranty. After a long pause, I was told he would call me back the next day and took down my cell phone number. I did not hear back from anyone as of the evening on 22/04/2004. I called Mr. Gamache and he transferred me to the person that was supposed to have contacted me. I was informed I would receive a $143 credit for the brakes.
You had asked me to readdress the remaining issues with the dealer. I don't feel like risking my fairly large purchase after the failure in operation I have seen so far. I dont have the luxury to deal with problems like this, I have neither the time or the money. I don't think "you can trust that my constructive feedback regarding my dissatisfaction will be reviewed with the intent of avoiding this type of situation in the future." since Mr. Pierre Gamache never felt it necessary to return my call as promised. If this dealership really took its customers seriously, that would not have happened. If they did, maybe they would have contacted me and arranged to correct the problems. Instead, I contacted them.
You see, I was prompted to write the letter in the first place because of all the small odd things that added up to be a big problem. I have spoken to many people in person and on the internet regarding this specific dealership. In one week, I have found 7 people who have directly had problems with the service department at 2-20. I am not the only one having trouble with them and I did not have to try hard to find those people. Imagine how far I might get if I put as much effort as I have in trying to get satisfaction from Mazda!
I am now in a position where I must make the time to get the car fixed, as it should have been by someone else, of course, at an extra cost. I have an exhaust system issue, a belt that whines for no reason and must replace my rear brakes. I have to wonder how accurate the dealer was if they claimed I had 55% brakes in the rear and four months later that they need replacing (back brakes are squeaking). Unless it has something to do with the MT000003995 Technical Service Bulletin. The least I could explain is that I am frustrated.
I'm sorry to say that this has had a "negative impact on my overall ownership experience". In my mind a company does not get more than one second chance, this was Mazda's, and I feel Mazda came up short. I don't expect anything will be done, I just feel that someone at head office needs to be told that whatever good Mazda marketing, designers and engineers are doing is being obliterated by bad after purchase support at all levels.
