I bought a new Toyota Highlander from the dealership in - Kelceyh
I bought a new Toyota Highlander from the dealership in 2022. The sales experience wa great. Service afterwards, however, has been a constant issue and continues to decline. 1. My trunk liner was not available at the time of delivery. It was covid times, so I understood. I was told that I would be called when it was in. I never received a call and when I followed up, they had sold my liner and had to order a new one. 2. I was noting an issue with my transmission during specific rpms. The service advisor arranged to have me do a diagnostic drive with the foreman, to replicate the scenario. I was told to drop off in the morning (pre 8 am). I arrived and was told the foreman wouldn't in until close to 10 am, and did I want to wait? Umm. No.... why book me in this early then?3. I've never had service wash my vehicle, return my settings, or clean my mats. My previous dealer would do one of those items, and return my settings, as best as possible.4. This was the straw that broke the camels back. I booked for a regular maintenance service and asked for my tire pressure monitors (TPM) to be reset. When I picked up my car after service had closed, I noted new scratches on my vehicle and the TPM sensors weren't reset. I emailed the dealership that night and dealt with Doris the Service Manager in subsequent replies. Doris was dismissive, and often argumentative. In the end, she offered to have a tech buff my vehicle out of goodwill. A nice reply to me could have said, "i understand that you're unhappy with your service and we want you to be comfortable with your service here. We can have a tech look at the scratches and buff them out for you." I would have been happy. Instead it took emails of her arguing that the videos showed nothing (the walk around video definitely showed no damage on the hood of my vehicle), and my car was on two diagnostic test drives, in addition to sitting in the lot without video. I don't expect the dealership to admit fault, or an apology, but how i was spoken to was unprofessional. Never did Doris pick up the phone either, so we could have a logical conversation. Regarding my TPM reset (or lack thereof), Doris stated that my tires arrived with different pressures, and that they topped up the air "free of charge." Good grief, I should hope so! Never has a dealership charged for that service during a maintenance service on one of my previous vehicles. During that service, I was told the vehicle would be washed (it wasn't, and some of the new scratches had the dirt wiped off as if someone was trying to see how bad it was). In addition, my paperwork stated they called with a quote and update in the morning. They had not - I didn't receive an update until 1 pm, when Iwas told that they would require my vehicle for a second day. On the second day, I failed to hear from them at all, and had to call them in the late afternoon. I don't care about the wash. And politely offering, and buffing out the scratches would have been enough. But the tone and method in which communication was given was not ok, and my trust with the dealership was at a breaking point. I went out and bought a new Mazda and traded in the Highlander. I've never gotten rid of a car that was so new before but, the stress and hassle of dealing with Doris and Gateway Toyota was enough for me to go elsewhere. Avoid. Avoid. Avoid. Doris would benefit from some additional training on customer service, and perhaps a verbal judo course to ensure her language de escalates a situation. Parts Desk could use additional training on customer service, and a new method for tracking arrivals and communicating to their waiting customers.
Edit - wow, how is Doris still employed, or hasn't received corrective training yet? Gateway Toyota, we can't all be the problem here.
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