irritation, thy name is Volkswagen
Sep. 2nd, 2004 11:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cellio6:50: Return to car after a quick stop on the way home from work. Learn that pulling out of parking space is hindered by absence of power. Battery-shaped idiot light is on. Call Dani, on the theory that he's faster than AAA. [1]
7:00: Dani arrives with car and jumper cables. I have spent the previous 10 minutes trying to remove the little plastic shield that protects my battery from the elements -- or rather, that subset of elements that can slip past the hood. Dani finds magic button. Meanwhile, I discover that my binder of car manuals does have a global TOC; it's just neither first nor last in the binder.
7:10: Multiple jump attempts have failed. "Electrical system" idiot light joins the battery light. Dani goes home; I call the dealer. Their service folks have all gone home, so I call VW's "free road-side assistance".
7:15: Get to a human, who takes my information and promises to dispatch a tow truck to take the car to the dealer. How will I get home (and back in the morning)? Oh don't worry; they have loaners.
7:50: Call again and ask for an update on that tow truck. They haven't found one yet. Err, does this jeopardize arrival at the dealership before they close at 9:00? We'll get back to you.
8:15: Still no dispatch. Also discover that dealer has no loaners today in any case. Their answer is that I should go rent a car from a place some miles away. I decline and ask if it's true what the warranty says about unlimited towing. They agree to tow the car to my house tonight and the dealership tomorrow:
Me: So when can I expect that tow truck?
Them: We really have no idea.
Me: Well since you're towing it to my house, you
don't really need me for that, right?
Them: ???
Me: I'm close enough to home to walk. May I go
home and have you bring me my car later?
Them: Sure, just leave the keys in it.
Me: Err... (Yeah, it's dead, but still...)
Them: We need the key so we can put it in neutral
for towing.
Me: It's a manual. It's in neutral now.
Them: Ok. Go home.
8:35: Voicemail signal on cell phone goes off. [2] Call them right away, but we're not giving you a number to expedite this. Get into support queue again. [3]
8:45: Get a human. No tow-truck drivers will take the call if I'm not at the car. The person who told me I could go home shouldn't have done that, so can I go back and wait without any information about how long it will take? I counter-propose that the driver swing by my house on the way; they agree. They will call back in a few minutes with an update. (Meanwhile, I'm wondering what I can safely do about dinner.)
9:00: They found a driver who can be there in three hours. !!! They say they'll keep looking in the meantime.
9:15: The midnight guy withdrew, and no one else will take it. WTF? There's a game downtown. So? On game nights the police have a lot of DUI stops, with resulting cars that need to be towed to the impound lot. Police trump regular people. Thus, the tow trucks are all busy.
Ok, I said, can I make an appointment for a tow first thing in the morning? No, but I can call in the morning and take my chances. I mention that it will become an illegally-parked car at 8AM [4] so it needs to be before then; they say this is a problem because most of these businesses open at 8 or 9. (Pause) Ok, here's a 24-hour one. You can't make an appointment, but it usually takes about an hour so you should call us between 6:30 and 7. Oh joy. Oh rapture.
So I get to deal with this bright and early tomorrow, on the Friday before a holiday weekend, when (I'm betting) they won't be able to actually fix the power train (or whatever has failed) the same day, so they'll have to give me a loaner until Tuesday. But I might have to do lots of extra running around if they still have no loaners, on a day already constrained somewhat by Shabbat.
Grumble. I can't shake the feeling that -- game or no -- I should have gotten much better service. Everyone I talked with was very friendly (as was I in dealing with them), but their ability to actually deliver was lacking.
By the way, AAA implements VW's roadside assistance, so no, there was no point in calling them for a tow. It's the same pool of drivers.
[1] As the later narrative reveals, I did nothing to drain the battery. In fact, you have to work really hard to do that, what with all the noise the car makes if you leave the lights on after stopping the engine, not that I had the headlights on in broad daylight anyway.
[2] The phone didn't ring, though it has done so before and since. Remember to consult phone's attempt at documentation to find out wy.
[3] Aside to the guys who recorded the "thank you for holding" messages: you keep using that word "momentarily"; I don't think it means what you think it means.
[4] This is technically true but really a bit of a white lie: that's when enforcement begins on the two-hour parking meter. Not that I'm going to tell them they've got until 10, mind; I do have to be at work tomorrow. And I'm sure as hell not going to walk to my car before 8 and begin feeding quarters into the meter for, potentially, two hours.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-09-03 02:30 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-09-03 08:38 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-09-03 12:45 pm (UTC)