If I have learned one thing from this whole mess with the repairs to the MINI Cooper it's how much of a difference a little bit of good old customer service makes.
The start of the USAA process was handled by a person that was either over worked, burned out, or maybe just didnt give a crap. It's unfortunate but that was my first image of USAA. Throughout the entire process the claims adjuster did not follow up on anything, let things drop through the cracks, and never returned phone calls.
On the other hand Phillips has had great customer service. They have returned voice calls. They have had things done when they were promised. They informed of everything that was going on between them and USAA because they were also having trouble with communication from USAA.
This is where that customer service comes in.... I went to pickup the MINI at Phillips on Friday. When I inspected the car I found the work to be unacceptable, as I had mentioned in a previous post. My contact there apologized, assured me that everything would be corrected, and promised that they would do everything possible to make things right. She followed up and continued to keep me informed of the cars progress. Apologies or not, I was very disappointed and frustrated. What did I do? I vented about the work quality and the way my claim was being handled here on my blog.
It appears that my little corner of the net isn't quite as secluded as I thought and someone at USAA came across the post and contacted me. This person was apologetic and promised to make sure things were handled properly. He has done an excellent job of that. He has been doing what I had expected from the beginning. Acting as a liason between me and the other parties involved in the claim. He is making me confident that there is someone actually properly handling the claim.
What my contact at Phillips and the new contact at USAA have in common is a commitment to good customer service. They have called me, returned phone calls, and kept the lines of communication open. Despite the fact that there have been many problems that are beyond their control. They seem to be doing everything in their power to take care of their customer.
That brings us to this last night.....
I understand that I may be overly picky about the quality of work. It's my car, a brand new car with less than 5,000 miles on it, I just want it to look like it did before the accident! I don't want two shades of paint! I don't want scratched glass! I don't want paint edges that may or may not peel in 6 months! Sure, there's a lifetime warranty on the work. Who cares.... it's a pain in the butt to go back in six months and go through the whole mess of getting the shoddy work repaired. Why can't the work be done right the first time!
The contact at Phillips has assured me that I am not being unreasonable and again has said that she understands my concerns. I feel bad for her being caught in the middle between me and her substandard body shop!
This morning I should hear from Phillips as to what they are going to do to fix this mess!!!!
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