To put it as kindly as possible ... my car is not the sharpest crayon in the box. In the past year it has been in and out of the shop about 8 times, for an average of at least 1 week each visit. Meaning I have spent at least 2 of the last 12 months driving a rental. I have become very friendly with my service manager, the receptionist, the rental car company, AAA and a few tow truck drivers. Normally I haven't had an issue with the fact that my car was crapping out on me. Of course it is a pain in the rear but all it really meant was I was putting miles on some car that isn't my own and getting better gas mileage than normal. The majority of the issues that my car has fallen ill with have been easily identifiable.
1. Heater stopped working. Entire heating system was replaced.
2. Sunroof was leaking. Sunroof was taken out and the drainage pipes around it were replaced.
3. Intake manifold (whatever that is) needed to be replaced. Done.
4. .... etc.
5. .... etc.
6. .... etc. the list goes on and on.
However this most recent event was a doozy. I had driven my less than reliable vehicle to Waco to visit C and on Saturday we decided to make our way to College Station to see our favorite college football team BTHO Lamar. Needless to say it wasn't as smooth sailing as we hoped. C was driving and right outside of Calvert he started to notice some engine issues; issues that I have unfortunately had before and knew all too well. By the time he was putting the pedal to the metal and we were only going 14 mph it was clear there was a large problem and I was furious. The anger stemmed from all kinds of places; not having the money to fix my vehicle for yet another time, being stranded in the middle of nowhere wasn't much of a plus, and so forth. I was cursing up a storm, calling my parents, and debating on whether lighting my car on fire or driving it through the front of the dealership was a better choice.
All the while C sat beside me, calm, collected and hysterical as always. Turns out he is just what I need to balance all of my chaos and crazy. Turns out he knows a bit about cars too and is pretty good with finding car dealerships in the middle of tiny towns. After cruising along at warp speed he coasted us into Derek Scott's Auto Park. And this is the point of my entire story.
Good customer service is hard to come by but not at this dealership. After sitting in the parking lot a few minutes a gentleman named Todd walked up and asked if we needed any help. They were already closed but he was insistent on seeing if there was anything he could do. After talking to C for a while about what exactly had been going on and getting a rundown of our situation he went inside and grabbed another guy to come take a look. These two guys, who work at a Chevrolet, Buick, GMC Dealership, that was already closed, were spending their precious time to help two college aged kids with a Volkswagen from a totally different town. They couldn't do much BUT they did get us back on the road and back up to speed enough for us to make it to the VW dealership in Bryan. Plus we managed to make it to the game, with time to spare, thanks to their help.
I was genuinely moved by their kindness. Not many people take customer service to that level; honestly, when Todd came up to the window I thought he was going to ask us to please leave the premises because they were shutting the gates. They went above and beyond for total strangers, knowing they would get nothing in return. It was something I so deeply appreciate and hope to be able to give back to the people I work for and with. Derek Scott and his team deserve some recognition and so I hope this helps do just that.
