Just when I thought I had heard and gone through enough with my Honda Civic, The Star has a article on the top 10 most-stolen vehicles.

And guess what the Honda Civic leads the pack… whooo hooo!

Please note that you need a username and password to access the news article below:

Five models of popular Honda, including three older hatchbacks, are among 10 most-stolen vehicles

Canadians can help keep their cars out of chop shops with immobilizers, writes Tony Van Alphen

TheStar.com – Car thieves offer Civics lesson

A few days back I had a strange car problem that has to be something only Mr. Lobo would experience. I could be wrong and stand to be corrected but let’s say I’m the unique lab mouse who has all of these unfortunate experiences when it comes to Honda.

Anyway, I start driving my car home on the highway and I hear a few initial squeaks that are out of place. So I pay more attention to the sounds and they seem to be increasing. By this point I’m alarmed enough that I’m thinking worse case scenarios and how to save the car, my passengers and myself from any further damage.

This god-awful sound seems to be coming from the front section of the car and it’s like metal rubbing on metal. Can’t be good under any circumstances. Next I roll down my window and the sound is so loud other motorist a looking. There seems to be no smoke or odd smell coming out of the car even though the noise is scarily loud.

I call Honda Plus (Roadside & Emergence Service) and tell them that I’m getting off the highway and they need to get my car towed into the nearest Honda Dealership ASAP.

Regarding Honda Plus they need to have a better map locating software to determine where I’m at and the nearest Dealership to me. They also need to realize that when I get my car towed in that I will need another set of wheels to drive me around but this seemed to be a detail only realized when I bought-up it up (Honda Plus CSR very begrudgingly mentions that there is travel replacement coverage up to $100 CDN). I digress and may do another Blog on this topic specifically at a later date.

So the car is taken in to the closest dealership and I am told the following day that a small stone had lodged itself between the wheel rotor and housing. This little stone was causing all the loud noise and nothing was wrong with the wheel… phew!

So be very aware Honda Civic drivers stone’s on the road can cause you a life of grief and wasted time.

Mr. Lobo

I was asked to bring the car in on Saturday and was given an appointment for 12:00 noon (Markham Honda does not do appointments on Saturdays). I got in and was told it would take 2 or more hours to replace the radio.

The reasons given:

1) Very busy
2) They would have to “squeeze me in” (When I was assured that a Saturday appointment would be doable)
3) The whole front panel of the car has to be removed
4) There are street festivals in the area so the volume of work is very high (What does a damn street festival have to do with more Honda’s in the shop???)

I asked for a solution if I waited for the 2 hours or more and recommended the following:

1) A rental car for another day (Honda not the dealership but Honda does not allow rentals for radio work)
2) A loaner for the day or for the hours it would take to replace the radio (Honda has stopped loaners and we have none)
3) Dropped to McCowan & Finch (We cannot drive you there as it’s outside our drop-off boundaries)

Honda Advisors Options:

1) Sit and wait till the car is ready or
2) Get a ride to the Mall and wait for a call from us (Not many single guys would spend 2 hours in the frigging mall!!!)

Outcome:

I took my car home since waiting there for 2 or more hours with idiotic options was NOT AN OPTION

Day 1

I am coming to realize that car dealerships don’t give a rat’s ass about the end customer and operate more like organized crime syndicates.

The point is re-enforced with the legal birdseed that separates dealerships from the mother-ship in this case Honda Canada.

Honda Canada wants nothing to do with the dealers that sell their cars so they build a wall of “Privacy statements”, “Corporate laws” and “A whole lot of dog-poo” to distance themselves.

If the mother-ship wants nothing to do with the Dealerships what becomes of us the customer who flock to them and their promise of excellent service and low financing rates???? Once the deal is done your done!!! Bend over and expect your faith…

Scenario:

I had flaking bumper paint and a radio that was faulty (both of which are covered by warranty). The car was taken in for body work and I was given a rental car for 1 day.

The radio came in the very next day (or so they say) and it takes 2 to more hours to get the radio replaced. So I had to take my car in again to get the radio replaced.

This is a Day 1 to 3 Blog – To read more go to Day 1 above…

As some of you may know I have been having a streak of shittyness with my Civic Honda lately – My new tire that was plugged recently had to be replaced because the plug was leaking again (Total expense $193.00 tax included).

I then noticed some flaking paint on the side of the back bumper and had to take the car in for a paint job. The painting took a day and is now completed and looks fine.

While there I asked for the car radio to be checked as it has been loosing stations/reception when driving. They checked and there was a Honda Technical bulletin out for faulty radios (why the hell was I not sent a notice of the same is beyond me!!!) and so my radio has to be replaced.

They tell me that it will take about 2 hours to replace the radio as the entire front interior body/paneling has to be taken out… whooo hoooo!

Given the total amount of under warranty issues with my new 2005 Honda I think it’s fair that I bill Honda for my time that has been wasted taking my car in and waiting for it to get repaired.

I estimate I have spent approx 8 hours there already and if my billing rate is approx CDN $200.00 that would mean Honda Canada owes me CDN $1600.00…

So I get a call from the Facilitator @ Richmond Hill Honda whose name is Carol, a pleasant lady with a great phone manner about her.

Carol seems to get Customer Service but then again it could be a customer engagement tactic – Agree with the person complaining on the phone throw in a few “yes I agree” and “we should be doing things better” and all is well and good.

Carol did listen very patiently and provided a point of view on customer service at RHD which consisted of an apology for the crappy customer service, acknowledgement of sub-par waiting area amenities and the need to update the dealership services to better address customer requirements.

She say’s that the location will be going through a face lift sometime this year to make things better and that my recommendations will be taken to a general team meeting that she has every month with key Dealership managers.

What this means for Mr. Lobo – He will be taking his Honda somewhere else for his next service appointment.

Whoo Hoo! I am now a proud owner of a Honda Civic 2005 (HC05). I really do love the color of the car – Steel Gray (very manly!)

I took my HC05 in for a service appointment (Type A – Oil & Filter Change) on Monday and here’s how the day went down:

- I called Honda at 7:45 a.m. to get an early appointment.
- The girl on the line tells me that they have three appointments and one is a “waiter”
- I ask what a “waiter “ means – She say’s that is when a person is coming in for something small and waits in the lobby for their work to be done
- Since we have only 1 “waiter” at 8:30 a.m. I ask to be put on the list. She agrees, which means that they do take more than 1 “waiter”
- So I get there and there’s no person to talk to. I am told to go to the “Service” area with a ton of signs but no receptionist
- By this point I do not know who to talk to as everyone is moving around or tending to other people
- I finally piece together the process – Gavin needs to talk to the Customer Service Rep who look’s very busy at 8:30 a.m. in the morning
- I proceed to talk to the CSR who makes me sign a estimate and he informs me that it’s going to take anywhere from 1 to 1.5 hours to do
- I say I have no problem with that and proceed to hangout in the common lobby/waiting area
- I check email on this odd kiosk type of Internet set-up that I have to stand at with a sloping screen that reflects sunlight (Why not just have a monitor on a table with a chair???).
- 2 hours go by and during the time the CSR, the receptionist and the manager of the department pass me by but nobody say’s anything about my car being ready.
- I walk over to the Service area and ask the Service receptionist if my car is ready since it’s been 2 hours. The receptionist proceeds to tell me that they came looking for me and could not fine me (WHAT THE!!!)
- You came looking for me – please don’t insult my intelligence WANKER (the voice in my head screams out)
- So for a good 45 minutes they had my car out in the parking lot waiting for me since I was “LOST”

Some advice for the Richmond Hill Honda Dealership

I know I took my car in for the Type A oil/filter change and if they had only given my car a quick wash it would seem like they gave me a clean/inspected/serviced car (talk about an easy way to fool the mind). That little gesture would have gone a long way in making me a loyal customer.

The Service receptionist could be given gift voucher’s to give to customers who are put through any kind of inconvenience thus empowering her to ensure a flawless customer experience – BUT NO!

My bill had an online customer opinion form section that I filled and got a call today from someone at Richmond Hill Honda.

I’ll Blog about our conversation tomorrow.

Mr. Lobo – Over an Out

I leased a new 2005 Honda Civic SE over the week-end and what surprises me is that Honda Canada does nothing to build customer relationships with new car buyers.

They do nothing at all! – Except for a courtesy survey call that you get from their Customer Relationship Manager when you buy/lease the car. To date not one customer survey that I have taken has resulted in any better customer service to me.

Their web site is designed with Flash and has all the essential aesthetic bells and whistles but no VALUE to their current customer base.

Honda if you’re listening here’s what you can start to do:

- Get new customers to register online
- Once signed in provide the new customer with discounts from your Honda Boutique
- Get the owner/lessee to enter in the car details so you can start a database to better server your customers in the future
- Once they enter in the car km details set-up a printable/mail-able Maintenance Schedule (This way you limit the customers you lose to 3rd party car service shops)
- Get the new customers to take an online survey to learn more
- Offer discounts on Service & Parts (Which would encourage customers to use Honda Service and/or upgrade their cars)
- Provide cool print posters/brochures exclusively for Honda customers

“Get Me Addicted to Honda”

I do give Honda props for have a Model Feedback form that allows a customer to provide Honda departments with upgrade recommendations/ideas to the car model of their choice.