Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2000 03:20:54 -0600 From: Mark Plumlee <turbospgnopsamsouth.net> Subject: Re: Swedish Solution - Volvo/SAAB Service - Memphis, TN (Copy of my Better Business Bureau Complaint)
MR REEVES- please come by and see us at Gossett SAAB, we will be happy to help you with your car. Mark Plumlee Gossett SAAB msrnopsamoubelievethismechanic.com wrote: > I have heartily recommended the Swedish Solution to this newsgroup > before, but am recinding the praise now. Below is a copy of my letter > to the Memphis Better Business Bureau: > > January 6, 2000 > > Better Business Bureau > Complaint Department > P.O. BOX 17036 > Memphis, TN 38187 > > RE: The Swedish Solution > John & Nancy Alexander, Owners > Volvo-SAAB Service > 5436 Pleasant View > Memphis, TN 38134-6401 > > Dear Sirs: > > I am not certain the story I am about the tell you is an isolated > incident or not, so I am reporting it to you, along with other > institutions I have deemed appropriate. On Thursday, January 6, 2000, > my wife and I brought in both of our cars: a 1999 Volvo V70 XC and a > 1998 SAAB 900 SE Convertible -- to get their 5,000 and 20,000 mile > services, respectively. My complaint is not about the quality of the > work, but the treatment I received (including a physical threat) when > I registered my disappointment with the owner, John Alexander, when I > voiced my displeasure at his employees placing without my knowledge or > permission license plates reading "The Swedish Solution Volvo SAAB" on > the front grills of our cars. > > After voicing my complaint, Mr. Alexander got extremely defensive, > launching into a diatribe about how he cannot afford to service Volvos > and SAABs at the prices he charges without advertising his firm on the > front grills of his clients' cars. He indicated it really wasn't an > option not to have the tag, and if I didn't want it, I could take my > business elsewhere, "but you're going to pay - do you know what they > charge at Pat Patterson?… Do you? … a $74 per hour labor rate [Volvo > dealer, here in Memphis]." > > I reiterated my position that I did not think it was right to plaster > advertising on clients' cars without their permission. I several > times indicated in the context of this conversation that I had no > complaint with the service I'd received from the Swedish Solution, > and, in fact, that I advertised for him word of mouth. I told him I > had heartily recommended his shop to "4 or 5" Volvo and/or SAAB > owners/friends, including the colleague [owner of a Volvo S70] who had > not five minutes before dropped me off to pick up my car. > > At my further insistence that customers ought to be given the option > of whether or not they want to advertise the Swedish Solution on their > cars, he shut down, and the conversation dissembled into cursing one > another, at which point, I was physically threatened and literally > asked, "… to take my best shot." I stormed out of his business, and > Mr. Alexander followed me to my car, threatening to call the police on > me, while I pulled out my cellular phone, confident that the threat of > physical assault came from him, not me. The last thing he told me as > I got into my car was, "Your car [the SAAB] is a piece of sh*t by the > way." His assertion will no doubt please the Volvo folks being copied > on this letter, but does this sort of thing really happen in the 21st > century United States? > > If Mr. Alexander had spoken to his wife, who gave me a ride to the > office this morning, she would have indicated my satisfaction with > their company. What's more, I have recommended his shop on global > forums such as the Internet-based www.saabnet.com and the newsgroups, > alt.autos.saab and alt.autos.volvo. I will rescind those > recommendations with the full text of this letter now. Good service > is so much more than the repair of the simple mechanics involved with > the car. Good service is a satisfied customer leaving each time > feeling like they received good value for the price paid. > > Not even the cigarette companies, notorious for getting their > omnipresent logos on everything from the obvious ashtrays to the > not-so-obvious hiking gear, force me to stamp "Marlboro" on my mouth > for lighting up one of their cancer sticks. Proctor & Gamble doesn't, > without my knowledge, stamp "Tide" all over my pants while they are in > the wash. Therefore, I do not expect to pick up my car, run an > errand and -- arriving home as my wife did this morning -- notice that > I've been driving a billboard for the Swedish Solution. > > Regardless of what skill Mr. Alexander's employees may have as > mechanics, this incident seriously calls into question the long-term > viability of Mr. Alexander's business model. We live in a competitive > market economy, after all, and a service business that does not pay > attention to the total value equation will not survive. > > Respectfully submitted, > > (signature) > > Michael Reeves
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