How We Resolve Customer Service Complaints

Customer complaints are an inevitable part of a business. No business gets it right 100% of the time or pleases 100% of the people. How a business addresses and resolves those complaints tells you a lot about its integrity and how much it values customers. This is how our Service Department addresses and resolves complaints. No one does it better.

With a 4.9 out of 5-star rating, it is clear that our Service team values its customers and delivers exceptional service on a consistent basis. And when they do have a problem, they bend over backward to resolve it to the customer’s satisfaction.

Parts & Service Director, Mitch Jones says, “Essentially, we are in the business of problems. About 1/3^rd of our business is people coming to us because something is wrong with their car so you are starting off with a negative.” And for the 2/3^rds scheduled for routine maintenance work, issues may be identified that need to be repaired.

Although problems can cover a wide range of issues, there are three recurring examples that form the bulk of all issues and complaints.

1. Not being able to duplicate a problem or concern. With Kia Master Technicians on board, it’s not often that our team cannot identify and repair a problem and on the rare occasion that they are stumped, they have a team of Kia engineers ready to assist. However, the biggest frustration is not being able to replicate a concern. For example, a customer will say, “The car makes this noise but only when I first start it in the morning,” or “The car rumbles after I’ve been on the road a few hours”. In these cases, our technicians perform a thorough examination but are working somewhat blindly if they cannot see or hear the problem. That frustrates both customers and our team.
2. Warranty Issues. Misunderstandings regarding warranty coverage are not uncommon especially concerning what is included in the 5yr/60K coverage vs. the 10yr/100k coverage. Warranty work is governed by Kia Motors policies and procedures which dealerships are bound to follow. Many customers inaccurately believe that we do not want to perform warranty work, but that is simply not true and Kia fully reimburses us for any warranty repairs. Even so, our team will go to bat for a customer if an issue surfaces soon after the warranty expired, especially if it is a loyal service customer and we have documented service history.
3. We make mistakes. As we said at the onset, no one gets it right 100% of the time and that includes us. Fortunately, our mistakes do not pose any danger to our customers or their vehicles, but if we forget to top off windshield wiper fluid or do not notice a parking lamp bulb out, our customer will be inconvenienced and have to return to the shop. Sometimes, there are problems beyond our control such as a part not being delivered or being boxed wrong. We make every effort to resolve these problems in a timely fashion and make appropriate amends to make up for the inconvenience and oversight.

Our Assistant Service Managers are able to resolve most complaints fairly quickly. If an issue escalates, our Parts & Service Director, Mitch Jones steps in. With 12 years’ experience at Kia Country and over 30 years in the business, he has seen and heard pretty much everything. “Of the thousands of customers, we serve each year, less than 1% result in complaints. But when we do receive a complaint, I listen, I sympathize and I tell the person I will research the issue and get back to them. Sometimes that means talking to my staff, sometimes talking to Kia, as well as other activities. And, I do get back to them as quickly as possible. I will do whatever I can to resolve a complaint to the customer’s satisfaction and if that’s not possible, I’ll offer a sincere apology.”

At other times, customers do not complain directly but will post a negative review. In those cases, we will either contact the customer or ask them to contact our management team so their concerns may be addressed.

Our Service team is dedicated to taking care of both our customers and their cars. If you have any concerns, please contact us.