The New Attitude at Sacramento Mercedes Dealer Service Department

You’re treated like a celebrity at Mercedes dealer service department in Sacramento.

My first experience at the Mercedes dealer service department was less than satisfactory but that was also 14 years ago, and a lot has changed over at Van Housen since then. I had just moved to Sacramento from Minneapolis, and the differences between the two service departments was dramatic at that time, like today’s Clinton vs Trump. I can’t recall exactly why I was so upset but it was enough that I never returned, and I’m the type of person who doesn’t stomp off in a huff just because they serve cold coffee. It actually takes quite a bit to make me feel like one of those cartoon characters who morph into a boiling thermometer and explode.

Management has made changes at the Mercedes dealer service department, though. Incredible changes. They whipped the entire department into shape. For some customers, it might be a bit much, over the top, but at least the service is going in the other direction. They have mastered the art of communication and acknowledgment. Yes, I would go so far as to give them 10 stars. And let me add that some Sacramento Realtors could maybe learn a thing or two from that service department.

For starters, when you pull into the Mercedes dealer service department, immediately you are welcomed by a person who dashes over to stand silently by your driver’s side door until you deem it necessary to open the door. At another dealership, they might open the door, yank you out of the vehicle, grab your shoulders and spin you toward the service entrance. Not here in Sacramento at the Mercedes dealer service department. The appointed service rep will stand by your door until you’re finished blowing up portals in Ingress or checking your emails or whatever urgent matters are at hand on your phone, and that individual will patiently wait for you to open the door.

Oh My God, We Are So Honored Your Feet Have Touched Our Blacktop

At that moment, you will be graciously thanked for your feet touching the blacktop when you exit the vehicle. They are very grateful that you have allowed your feet to come into contact with the ground on which everybody now stands. That thrill for them is made perfectly clear. I am not making this up.

The service rep then will personally escort you toward the service department door and hold open the door. When I entered Emerald City, there were no hairstylists, shampooers or foot massagers but there was a Starbucks. I sat on a high-top chair alone at a table until a few moments later a service rep appeared to assist with my navigation to an office located directly in front of me 10 feet away. Because other customers would probably request a magic carpet ride to journey into the office, he quivered with excitement that I was willing to place one foot in front of the other and walk 10 feet by myself, without further assistance. This is not an embellishment.

My dash had been making a rattling / crackling sound. In a way, it sounded like rain on the windshield. It still produced that noise with the engine turned off until everything shut down. I showed the service manager a video. He touched my cellphone and expressed his undying gratitude that I let him touch it. He called another service manager to listen. This guy went down on one knee and I thought he was going to propose. Instead he shook my hand and thanked me for breathing the air in the dealership and allowing him the privilege to speak. Again, not making this up.

I explained the rattle is not intermittent and offered to show them. The service manager escorted me to my vehicle. The window had been rolled down, the driver door open. I slid in, pushed the starter button and we listened. It was my speakers. Aha. I use my speakers all the time for GPS and for cellphone conversations. I’d like to say I blast the Foo Fighters, but being a successful Sacramento Realtor means never really listening to music in your car ever again. The service rep said he greatly appreciated the fact I had expended my valuable energy to push the start button.

After sending a text message to my phone so I could pester them with questions like why isn’t my car ready or where are the belly dancers, the two of them then proposed that they needed to keep my car for a while and unanimously concluded it would be inappropriate to make me wait. They summoned a vehicle driver who slid into an E350 to transport me home to Land Park. She waited in my driveway until I unlocked my front door and entered the house. When she didn’t hear any screams like, oh my god, I’ve just been bludgeoned to death by an unknown ax murderer lying in wait, she stealthily slipped out of my driveway and sped off.