This is one of those knee-jerk posts designed to get a business bad Google hits. I admit it. I really hate Clements Auto Company of Mankato, Minnesota. There, I said it.
A couple years ago I was on the hunt for a diesel Volkswagen Jetta. Mankato is a 45-minute drive from my home, and Clements Auto Company claimed to be a Volkswagen dealer. Naturally The Family packed up and took a ride over to Mankato to check out the VW’s.
Our experience at Clements Auto Company was horrible. After walking around in the showroom a bit, someone finally approached us. We explained our desire to take a look at a diesel Jetta. The response was essentially, “Nah, you ain’t gonna find one of those. Anything else?” Then the salesman was gone. This was all the salesman at Clements car dealership, a business presumably in existence to sell cars, had to say. A rude “no way” and he was done with us.
Well, this past weekend The Family (minus me) was on a three-hour drive west. Unfortunately, the Jetta diesel we eventually purchased elsewhere stalled near Mankato. After getting past the frustration of it all, we realized it should probably be towed to the Volkswagen dealership in Mankato, Clements Auto. I called the dealership, described the problem, and asked if they could take a look. The answer was, “No way do we have time to look at it today.” Gruff and dismissive, just like I like it. It was before noon and the service center was open until five in the afternoon.
So off I went to pick up The Family. While at the dealership, I gave the car a turn and she did start up eventually. Not wishing to tempt fate, we chose to leave the car there for a once-over and also asked them to do some recall work that we had been putting off. Fairly early Monday we get a call that things are done. A clogged fuel filter was the culprit and the recalled break switch had been fixed.
Off to Mankato again to deal with Clements Auto. Picked up the car, charges seemed exorbitant, but at least it was running. Ten miles out of town and the left turn signal quit working. A phone call to Clements Auto today resulted in their absolute refusal to take accountability. Purely coincidence they told us. The brake switch was under the dash, not near the car lighting.
In our experience, when something in a vehicle quits working immediately after driving it away from a shop, it is the shop’s fault. Something was either damaged in the process or left undone. Five years ago we took a car in (to a different shop) for a checkup and left with the throttle position sensor disconnected. The car lurched all the way home. A call to the shop resulted in very insulting “we didn’t touch the thing, we just read sensors.” So it was our turn to dig around in the car and find that indeed the sensor was disconnected. We called in again and eventually the owner of the shop called us to profusely apologize for their error. It took about five calls for them to admit the mistake.
Step back a second. How much would it cost Clements Auto to create a good experience out of this, whether or not it was actually their fault? To “make good” with a customer on something as simple as a turn signal? Hardly anything.
I cannot even fathom how a business sector can be so consistently underhanded and anti-customer. As much as I dislike cable and phone companies, I don’t think anything approaches my hatred for car dealerships. If I ever find a great car dealer, I’m not gonna buy a car anywhere else. I suspect there is no such thing, however, or other dealerships would have to improve to compete.
Technorati Tags: car dealerships, auto dealerships, Clements Auto, Mankato
Comments (10)
As of the posting of this comment, your entry is listed at #8 on the first page of googling “Clements Auto Mankato.” Good luck on your quest. :)
I’ve generally had a good experience with the Morrie’s SAAB dealer, but I still suspect I’ve been over-charged at times. It’s probably best to always approach businesses like that with a skeptical eye.
After cooling off, I must admit that I probably wasn’t overcharged in any horrible way. It should come through that my main beef is with the customer service.
Now your post is #6!
I feel ya! The same thing goes for motorcycle dealerships. It’s impossible to find one who actually CARES about you and your ride.
I think your best bet is to find a mechanic who really knows his/her stuff, and pay them well.
My uncle’s shop, Tire Experts, isn’t too far from you in Manly, IA. I trust his guys.
Check out Snell Motors in Mankato next time. I think you will be impressed. They give a ton back to the community… and there people are wonderful. It seems a dealer is only as good as the people that deliver the experience. We love the place, wish they has an import!!! I know they service my neighbors Lexus. Very impressive place!!
I have gotten 3 vehicles from Clements in Mankato without any problems. I deal exclusively with Kurt K. Rude employees should be reported to the owner. I doubt any owner would want to keep someone who drives customers away. Same goes for the repair people.
I have been burned by Mankato Ford,Snell,they treated me terrible over the years and have vowed to never to do anything with them never again, but the customer service at Clements is the best out there as far as car dealers go.They treated me like they wanted my bueiness and like a human unlike the others that talk like they are better than anyone and they have the best product out there and you cant do any better, Well hate to break it to you think again. Chevy by far makes a better product and I have been a Ford man since I’ve been able to drive.So for this guy to say that Clements did him wrong what did he do to the folks there you only get what you give.
We have ONLY dealt with Clements and get GREAT, immediate service. It probably helps that we don’t DEMAND things and realize like every other business while it is important to help us there are others that also needed to be helped. Patience and being polite has paid off and we are valued customers. We have had good and bad experiences with other dealers in Mankato but keep coming back to Clements! Perhaps you need to look at how you responded or reacted, and your voice tone.
Since the only comments coming in now are assuming that I was being a full-on asshole in my correspondence with Clements, I’m going to shut off comments. I shared my experience, the Internet assumes I was the asshole, I’m done with it.
Internet FTL!