My sister has a black 2004 Ininfity G35 sedan that was in an accident this past winter. The rear quarter panel on the driver side was hit and they held the car for almost 1.5 months. They did the repair for $11000 and this place is supposed to be one of the best in the area. She was out of town and I decided to wash the car and dress up the tires. I pulled it out into the sun and all these swirls jumped out at me in the area that they fixed. I also noticed white specs on the passenger side on the roof area. Then I saw that they put the directional tire that was on the passenger side onto the driver side which is just WRONG (rear driver side tire was flat from accident). For a place that commands that much for a repair, wouldnt you think that they would do a PERFECT job? How do you handle a situation like this? Ill probably do full detail once the paint cures.
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How do you tell a body shop to fix swirls they caused?
- Thread starter johnson
- Start date
imported_Totoland Mach
New member
I would take the vehicle back to the paint shop (I think I know who you are talking about judging by the cost alone) and ask their manager about swirls. They shouldn't be there at all. I've seen a few poor examples of a well known paint shop in the KC area and I end up finishing up their work.
Toto
Toto
Saintlysins
New member
I might have handled more than a few cases like this before, my tactics are calculated for positive results.
Take pictures!!! Take detailed pictures of the way it should be (maybe off a car in the dealer lot), compared to the way they gave it back to you. Write down everything wrong on separate lines. Make 3 copies of everything and put them in separate folders.
I can not tell you how important dress codes (collared, button-down, wrinkle-free shirt tucked into pants [not jeans] and shoes, not sneakers, sandals or loafers) are when presenting problems that need solutions and remedies. Go down to the shop early, before their day gets wound up, with the car washed and the sun out (not in the rain!). Park the car several yards away from the main entrance, in the sun and with the bad areas getting the direct sunlight. Ask for the owner, if he’s not in, ask when he’s getting back. Once you have that answer ask for the manager, and tell him you want him to see something as you walk out to the car. This walk is getting him/her as far away from the shop and also moving him away from his comfort zone and to your advantage. Have another person with you, and they should wait out by the car. Under no circumstance are they to utter a word, just stand there a step or two away! Present you case calmly, without raising your voice or ever mentioning the repair costs. Open one file and hand him a picture of the correct way it should be done, followed up immediately with the picture of the way you got the car back – while directing his eyes from the picture to the physical example on the car. Quickly, go through this procedure step by step in repetition, trying to keep him from speaking. Once you’re done, give him that entire file, while you reach into the car and grab another copy.
Before he can answer, give him an ‘out’ … say something that is understanding, but at the same time needs a solution. Like: “… hey, everyone has a bad day and it’s obvious it happened with someone on the crew last week, but this really needs to be rectified don’t you think?â€� My bet is he’ll quickly get this remedied. You’ve shown him a lot at one time and you’re not yelling or freaking, just looking for a solution to a well documented problem.
If it is bad, you mention you’re going back to the insurance company with this, (wave the file), reminding them of how much they paid for this repair and they’ll handle it from here. And do just that! Go right back to the insurance company and share with them your file. Ask them for a loaner while you’re car goes back to the shop as your car is unsafe to drive with that tire situation! Ask for the name and number to the mediator they’ll provide. He’ll do the most for you, so make sure he gets the third copy as his weapon. Stay in touch with him daily – usually around 4:00 is best.
I’m hoping you’ll get great results from this procedure and you won’t need to go to insurance mediation. Sorry for the long winded reply, but guess I got amped up over your story and the lack of attention to directional tires in your story did it for me. I hate when I can smell a money-machine –vs- quality body shop.
Best of luck.
Take pictures!!! Take detailed pictures of the way it should be (maybe off a car in the dealer lot), compared to the way they gave it back to you. Write down everything wrong on separate lines. Make 3 copies of everything and put them in separate folders.
I can not tell you how important dress codes (collared, button-down, wrinkle-free shirt tucked into pants [not jeans] and shoes, not sneakers, sandals or loafers) are when presenting problems that need solutions and remedies. Go down to the shop early, before their day gets wound up, with the car washed and the sun out (not in the rain!). Park the car several yards away from the main entrance, in the sun and with the bad areas getting the direct sunlight. Ask for the owner, if he’s not in, ask when he’s getting back. Once you have that answer ask for the manager, and tell him you want him to see something as you walk out to the car. This walk is getting him/her as far away from the shop and also moving him away from his comfort zone and to your advantage. Have another person with you, and they should wait out by the car. Under no circumstance are they to utter a word, just stand there a step or two away! Present you case calmly, without raising your voice or ever mentioning the repair costs. Open one file and hand him a picture of the correct way it should be done, followed up immediately with the picture of the way you got the car back – while directing his eyes from the picture to the physical example on the car. Quickly, go through this procedure step by step in repetition, trying to keep him from speaking. Once you’re done, give him that entire file, while you reach into the car and grab another copy.
Before he can answer, give him an ‘out’ … say something that is understanding, but at the same time needs a solution. Like: “… hey, everyone has a bad day and it’s obvious it happened with someone on the crew last week, but this really needs to be rectified don’t you think?â€� My bet is he’ll quickly get this remedied. You’ve shown him a lot at one time and you’re not yelling or freaking, just looking for a solution to a well documented problem.
If it is bad, you mention you’re going back to the insurance company with this, (wave the file), reminding them of how much they paid for this repair and they’ll handle it from here. And do just that! Go right back to the insurance company and share with them your file. Ask them for a loaner while you’re car goes back to the shop as your car is unsafe to drive with that tire situation! Ask for the name and number to the mediator they’ll provide. He’ll do the most for you, so make sure he gets the third copy as his weapon. Stay in touch with him daily – usually around 4:00 is best.
I’m hoping you’ll get great results from this procedure and you won’t need to go to insurance mediation. Sorry for the long winded reply, but guess I got amped up over your story and the lack of attention to directional tires in your story did it for me. I hate when I can smell a money-machine –vs- quality body shop.
Best of luck.
Can't add much to Saintlysins advice -- That is excellent. Just act confident, and like you obviously know what you are talking about.. which you do.
The guy is going to try to eventually butt in as fast as he can with either excuses as to why this and that happened.. or he will just end it and say we'll take care of it before you finish showing him the problems.
If he does the latter make sure you go over your complaints in full with him before you let him go, and let him have a copy of the documented problems, so they don't miss anything.
This is basically --
A tire change, and a good polish. -- With the new paint, that will be up to the body shop to determine. They might have to respray it and simply not introduce swirls into it like they did the first time -- then polish the rest of the un painted car.
The guy is going to try to eventually butt in as fast as he can with either excuses as to why this and that happened.. or he will just end it and say we'll take care of it before you finish showing him the problems.
If he does the latter make sure you go over your complaints in full with him before you let him go, and let him have a copy of the documented problems, so they don't miss anything.
This is basically --
A tire change, and a good polish. -- With the new paint, that will be up to the body shop to determine. They might have to respray it and simply not introduce swirls into it like they did the first time -- then polish the rest of the un painted car.
Besides the specifics of what others have mentioned, I would only add that professional appearance and behavior go a long way.
Is it frustrating? Absolutely. But yelling, aggressive or ignorant behavior will only make the shop that much less willing to help.
I work in a Service business. Contrary to popular belief, most companies DO strive to provide good customer service. Most employees have limited ability to resolve issues. The manager has most, if not all, of the authority to resolve the issue. But its not required. In other words, you'll receive as much help/respect/goodwill as you present to them. In my job, we are always willing to fix any mistakes we make. But if a customer comes in screaming at us for it, we politely tell them there is nothing we can do about it.
I'm not advocating being a pushover or a kiss-up. It is very possible to be both polite and professional while being firm with your request to have the problems resolved.
Remember the Golden Rule (Treat others as you would expect to be treated) and you'll do fine. If that gets you nowhere, I agree with the suggestion to take the car back to your insurance adjuster and report them.
Is it frustrating? Absolutely. But yelling, aggressive or ignorant behavior will only make the shop that much less willing to help.
I work in a Service business. Contrary to popular belief, most companies DO strive to provide good customer service. Most employees have limited ability to resolve issues. The manager has most, if not all, of the authority to resolve the issue. But its not required. In other words, you'll receive as much help/respect/goodwill as you present to them. In my job, we are always willing to fix any mistakes we make. But if a customer comes in screaming at us for it, we politely tell them there is nothing we can do about it.
I'm not advocating being a pushover or a kiss-up. It is very possible to be both polite and professional while being firm with your request to have the problems resolved.
Remember the Golden Rule (Treat others as you would expect to be treated) and you'll do fine. If that gets you nowhere, I agree with the suggestion to take the car back to your insurance adjuster and report them.