Toyota shocking service quality could have result in terrible accident and harm to my family!

<p>Good day,</p> <p> </p> <p>I would like to lay a complaint of gross negligence, poor service experience and general disregard for any customer care.</p> <p> </p> <p>I have been driving Toyota vehicles for the last 10 years and have always believed them to be of high quality and greatly reliable. However my recent experience with the Pretoria Lynnwood Branch (McCarthy) during my Prado's last service and the interactions thereafter have most definitely made me reconsider my view of the Toyota brand.</p> <p> </p> <p>I had booked my Prado to be serviced at the McCarthy Toyota on the 25 April, as I have before, believing that although the service rates are more expensive than general service facilities, the quality of workmanship and piece of mind was worth the extra cost. However this proved to be a naive belief on my part as the service quality, customer care and workmanship have been shockingly poor!</p> <p> </p> <p>First, after dropping my vehicle off at 7:15 am on the Monday morning, I was contacted late that afternoon (25th) requesting that I leave my vehicle overnight as the service was not complete. On further investigation however I found out that not only was the service not complete but it had not even been commenced! The explanation was that a number of the technicians did not arrive for work. I did not leave my vehicle overnight as I said I would prefer the service is delayed than rushed during the night. With the inconvenience of rescheduling my day, I dropped my vehicle off again at 7:30 am the next day (26 April). The service was complete by that afternoon, which included the fitting of new front breaks. I did not drive the vehicle much, until I left on holiday with my family that next weekend.</p> <p> </p> <p>On the drive down I noticed that my vehicles breaking seemed softer than before and appeared to be getting worse the further we drove. When we reached Ladysmith it was clear there was something seriously wrong with the breaking system and it would not be safe to drive any further. We therefore had to stay over at the Colenso Hotel and wait for morning to have the breaks inspected. I drove back into Ladysmith the next day and had the vehicle inspected. The findings were that</p> <p>1. THE BREAKLINE HOSE HAD NOT BEEN RECONNECTED TO THE BREAK PAD AND HAD DRAINED WITH EVERY PRESS OF THE BREAKS,</p> <p>2. THE BREAK PADS HAD BEEN INSTALLED INCORRECTLY AND THE PINS HAD COME OUT AND LUCKILY BEEN BENT WHICH STOPPED THE BREAK CALIPER FROM COMING LOOS AND POTENTIALLY SEIZING!</p> <p> </p> <p>This inexcusable service error, for which I paid a premium for, as well as being inconvenienced due to delays was only the start of the shocking service! I reported the indecent to the service manager at McCarthy Toyota the Tuesday (3 May) after my return. Not only did he appear to have little concern for the indecent, or any form of customer care training but he informed me that they were having a number of these issues with their technicians regarding poor workmanship. This highlighted the neglect to correct this obvious service issue and focus on pushing as many vehicles through the system as possible, charging a premium irrespective of the "quality control" , customer satisfaction or client safety. The only actions that were offered were to replace the bent break pin and reimburse me for the cost of the mechanic that corrected the error. Considering the time and payment for the original service, let alone the fact that this error could have easily resulted in a very serious accident and harm to my family, I believed this to be a poor attempt to remediate the situation at best!</p> <p> </p> <p>I was told that the spare part could be ordered and I would be contacted to arrange the installation. No contact was made with me thereafter, so I returned to the dealership the next week Wednesday (11 May) to complain and query on the progress of the spare part. The excuse was that they were waiting for me to send them the slips to be reimbursed and that I needed to complete a number of forms. The part was also not there, which I can not believe as new break pads should be a stoke item and AGAIN shallow excuses were rather used, instead of any committed client service. AFTER ALL THIS WAS THE GARAGES ERROR NOT MINE! However I submitted the required refund forms and associated proof of bank account and slips on that Friday 13 May. I was told that the spare pin for my breaks would be ordered and I would be contacted to have them installed.</p> <p> </p> <p>TO DATE (14 June), 6 WEEKS, 30 WORKING DAYS AFTER THE INITIAL COMPLAINT, NO ACTION, COMMUNICATION OR CORRECTION HAS TAKEN PLACE!</p> <p> </p> <p>THE COMMITMENT AND CLIENT SERVICE OF THE LYNNWOOD TOYOTA SERVICE CENTER IS NON EXISTANT AND AN EMBARRASSMENT TO THE BRAND!</p>