I always wanted a Mitsubishi car, and in July of 2013, I
purchased a brand new 2014 Mitsubishi Lancer GT from Columbus Mitsubishi West
in Hilliard Ohio. Until last weekend, my experience with my car, my car
company, and my car dealer had been good. Today I can honestly say it changed
for the worse. What could have been a great customer experience, turned into a bad
customer experience.
What happened is a compact disc (CD) got inserted just above
the CD slot. Instead of going into the proper CD slot just below, it actually
went into a slot between the dashboard and the CD unit. The picture below demonstrates
what I am talking about, showing how the CD slides effortlessly into the
dashboard:
It was an honest mistake that anyone could make. The space
between the dashboard and the CD unit is extremely accommodating and inserting
it basically deposits the CD behind the dashboard.
On Monday, I took it into the dealer. I had halfway expected
them to easily remove the dash and get at the CD. The dealer Service Manager
admitted he really didn’t know how the dashboard would come off and would have
to do research and I would have to make a service appointment with cost to me.
I maintain that Mitsubishi should have foreseen that CDs
could have been lost this way and either put some sealant in the space, or
provided pieces of metal or plastic that would have stopped the CD from being
inserted into the dashboard. I offered to take the matter up with Mitsubishi
Motors to see what they could do.
I called Mitsubishi on Monday. A very helpful customer
service representative, Sophie, was very sympathetic and took down my
information and advised that a case manager would call me to discuss my case.
Yesterday, I got a call from the District Service Manager (DSM)
for Mitsubishi. We discussed what happened, and he said he already spoke
with the dealer Service Manager. His position was that this was not a
warrantee-able repair and could offer no other assistance other than to contact
the dealer to see what they could do for me.
I made my point that to have an open gap like this in the
dashboard is a design flaw and was an open invitation to having a CD inserted
into the dashboard. The DSM literally laughed in my face at my contention. I
was shocked that anyone in customer service would be so disrespectful and
called him out on it. He didn't apologize. He was a bully who was condescending
and almost acted like he designed my dashboard, and my criticism was a personal
insult to him. He reiterated his point that what happened was “human error” (my
fault) and he couldn't help me, and the best he would do to see if the dealer
could help.
He basically pushed the whole thing back at me. I understood
his position, but his total disregard for my position hit hard. I realize that
under the letter of the terms and conditions of the warranty it was not reparable.
I was hoping that Mitsubishi would come through and help this new customer of
theirs. No such luck!
Instead I am an extremely dissatisfied Mitsubishi customer
and regret my purchase. I called into the Mitsubishi case manager, who advised today there was absolutely NOTHING they would do for me. I actually understand their
position that it was not something under warranty. It was however a chance to
show me that Mitsubishi values their customers and lend me a hand. They Failed.
I did tell the case manager that I understood their position
on the work, but made sure they understood the extremely poor customer service
given by their DSM. He wasn't empathetic or understanding; he was a bully and
should not be in a position having direct contact with customers.
I got a call into a car stereo installer who will help me
out and get at the CD. They are even going to see about sealing up the gap so
it doesn't happen again. They said this is extremely common.
