Van's Honda

I just wrote a Google review for Van's Honda, but then thought better of it and took it down because I figured it didn't look too good to speak against my own company so publicly.  Instead I sent it to their company inbox.  I didn't include my name and email address for reply.  I don't care, I just want them to get a piece of my mind.

Note: all of this happened back in July 2012, and I've been stung about it ever since then.  Weirdly enough, it didn't really come out and fire me up like this until today, when my friend Amber messaged me about some work she knew she needed to have done on her all-new CR-V.  (Yay, Honda!)  I warned her about "stealership" work, and then decided to speak up as best as I could about how I got ripped off.  So I aired my dirty laundry towards Van's.

Revenge is best-served cold.

Begin:

"I was born and raised in Green Bay, WI, before moving away to Marysville, OH, to become a quality engineer for Honda at their auto plants there. 

I had to make an emergency trip back home to Green Bay in my 2012 Acura TL (also made by Honda, here in Ohio). Caught without any tools and any preparations, I needed my first-ever oil change on my vehicle before driving all the way back to OH. I was anxious to take my car to my very-own hometown Honda dealership, Van's, to bond a little bit. I should have known. 

It was a standard oil change, and I was looking forward to a free car wash out of the deal because that is what Broadway Automotive always did for me and my Volkswagen previously! However, after an hour and a half (????) to complete the oil/filter change, Van's returned my Acura to me all soiled. No car wash, and finger prints and grease all over my parchment-white interior. I could tell the technicians must have played Ricky Racecar too, because there were smudges all over things that had no need to be tampered with: my map lights, radio, NAVI screen, etc. 

Normally I am not so anal and whiny. But come on, you return to a customer their $38000+ vehicle in this condition?!?! Especially a pretty-well educated customer in this case, who is more prone to SCRUTINIZE than your typical driver? If they treat your A-surface areas like this....then you can't help but think how they treat the nuts and bolts under the surface, too? 

Honda should know that the best way to retain customers, and bring them back, is how they run their storefront and their service departments in their dealerships. Many studies have been done over this, and it has been proven every time. I am disappointed. 

Above all, I had my parents with me in this experience, so this was their little window into seeing "what kind of company" I work for out on my own. Come on Van's, call all of your service guys into a meeting and get your [expletive] together. 

Should I ever be in this position again I will be driving my Acura all the way to Appleton to have it serviced, before I ever set foot on Van's property again. Clean up your act and do a better job for our company."


Can't say you haven't been warned now, either. If you want it done right, get it done by the factory!!  :-)  Proud of who I work for, and motivated to clean up the rest of the cement-heads that are a part of the Honda network.