(this page last updated 7/26, 8/3/2017)
A Shoreline Antique Auto Connection Editorial...
DON'T ASK ME ABOUT VOLKSWAGENS
(this page last updated 7/26, 8/3/2017)
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The opinons stated here are only those of the author and any descriptions that bear any resemblance to actual people are purely coincidental. I just felt I had to get this down on paper, to have it handy, for the next time the need arises...
A car person asked me for some advice recently about where to bring their recently-acquired old VW for some service and repairs. I gave my best advice about what shop or shops I thought might best be able to serve their needs, based mostly on my own personal experiences--but flavored also, I think, a bit by what other people I trust have said about their experiences dealing with the same shops.
I don't know how much my comments may have influenced the person to take their car to a particular shop, but ultimately, it unfortunately turned out to be an unsatisfactory experience for the customer.
I know there are two sides to every story, and I have only heard one, but the customer felt that they were not communicated-with well enough along the way while the work was being done, and had to take extra measures to get status updates on what was going on with their car, during what they felt was a longer-than-expected stay. And ultimately, when the work was finished, it was apparently not satisfactory to the customer, with what sounded like some excuses by the shop about why certain things did or did not get done.
I feel doubly bad because a shop that I trust appparently did not come through for the customer, to the level that they expected, possibly based on my original recommendation. Secondly, I feel at least partially responsible for this person having wasted at least some of their time and resources, based on my recommendation--and I don't like that feeling.
I am not a mechanic, and have frankly very limited mechanical skills and equally limited self-confidence. I have, however, been inovolved in the old VW hobby since the mid-1980s, and I feel I've learned my fair share along the way--but like they say, the learning never stops, and today was another lesson learned.
I don't have any "Bottom Line" statements to make about all of the above. I just felt I needed to write it down, to give my perspective. Thanks for listening.
Epilogue (added here as of 8/3/2017)
I wrote this out one day last week. I’m not sure if I’m going to leave it here, but it’s here for now. It felt kind of therapeutic writing it out… As a much later update, it sounds like the customer may be a little happier, now that they were able to talk directly to the shop owner and get direct explanations about how and why certain things did or didn’t happen, and have the car back in their own garage once again.
- THAT IS ALL -