Performance Audio: Great Customer Service!

As I shared in my last blog, I was referred to Performance Audio to get my automatic car starter fix. There I met and was very impressed with the owner, Kenny. His prices were fair and he communicated professionally; keeping me in the loop about my car (much unlike Audio Junction). Kenny ended up needing my second key to finish the repair, but I had no way to get it to him. He sent someone to pick it up who called to let me know he was on his way and showed up when he said he would. Audio Junction had previously told me that every time I would start my car with the automatic starter they installed, it would make my car alarm go off, so I would have to hit the unlock and lock buttons on the remote. This was annoying to say the least. They said there was no other way. When I verified with Kenny that this was the way it had to be, as I left, he said to bring it back and he would program it to operate properly for FREE. I ended up needing a few parts to make it work and it took a little longer, but now it operates better than before and was a relatively cheap fix. If you have any car audio or tint needs, definitely hit up Kenny at Performance Audio. His business is a great example of customer service and quality work!

The Car Starter Saga Continues

Earlier this year, I chronicled my car starter saga with Audio Junction.

Here are the three previous posts to give you some background: 1) Bad Customer Service Experience, 2) Audio Junction Issues, and 3) Last Chapter of the Car Starter Saga.

I regret to inform you all that the saga still continues.

Towards the start of warmer weather, I noticed the starter wasn't working properly; starting then dying. Over summer, I obviously didn't need it so, I didn't really think about it. Well, here in Kansas, we've already encountered a lot of cold weather and the starter still didn't work. So, I called Audio Junction, now AJRS and was told that they don't do car starter installs anymore and couldn't help me. I would have to pay to have it fixed elsewhere. They recommended I contact Performance Audio (more on them in a future post) to have them look at it. The result: well in the beginning, Audio Junction improperly attached a key needed to make it work and as a result it fell out and got lost. Of course, when I talked to AJRS they didn't mention that it was their fault it fell out in the first place. Now, I had to give up one of my two keys to make it work. When I asked AJRS to replace the key, they "couldn't make the call" because the owner was in Mexico on vacation for two weeks. You may remember from my previous posts that the owner was not professional and never got back to me about a partial refund like he said he would. The employees said it was very likely that he would say no, since it's been almost a year. I think, they should do the right thing and replace the key, but doubt they will. I just want it working and to end with as many keys as I started with. *Sigh!

Tweet?Tweet

Last Chapter of the Car Starter Saga

I'm so tired of this drama. Two weeks ago, Audio Junction, the installer of my car starter, said they'd call me to set a time to replace the screw they lost. No shock, they never called, so I called them. No response. I texted and a couple days later got a response. They said they could come to my work during the day, but they always texted at 5:30 asking about doing the repair. Finally, we set a day, Thursday at 4pm. I had to text to remind them. They said they'd be there in 5 minutes, but they're always late so I went out at eight minutes and had to wait five minutes for them out in the cold. I texted the owner of Audio Junction who said he'd give thought to a partial refund and told him that not only had I had to remind the tech of our appointment, he was also late. I asked him to again think about a partial refund. No reponse from the owner. So much for "we feel bad about this and will make it right." The tech arrived and said he brought the wrong screwdriver, but would try to make it work. It took forever. The tech said the owner didn't want him coming at all to replace the screw they lost. Really bad customer service! So, it took EIGHT weeks to get my car totally fixed by Audio Junction! What a nightmare! I've made at least three dozen calls to their store in that time, it was exhausting and felt like a part time job. So happy to be through will them. Would you report them to the Better Business Bureau? People have told me I should...

Bad Customer Service Experience

I'm a stickler for customer service. I especially think customer service is an important competitive advantage for local businesses. Generally, local businesses can't compete on price as much as big box stores, so they should focus on giving impeccable customer service.

For Christmas, I was given an automatic car starter. I was so excited! We've had such a rough winter already and just a couple of months ago it took me 15 minutes to break into my iced up car and only the back door opened. Yes, it also happened to be the day I was wearing a skirt. Thirty minutes later, I was able to head home and was quite cold.

We'd heard bad things about Best Buy regarding automatic car starters, so we went with Audio Junction. It's roughly 5 blocks from my apartment so it seemed like everything was a go. I took my car in for my installation appointment Friday, December 27. Install was to take 4 hours. Three and a half hours in, I got a call that they'd accidentally broken a chip they needed in my car key/remote. My other key was at my parent's so I couldn't pick it up. They said the installation part was done, they just needed the key for the final steps of the process. I said I'd bring my other key in the next day to pick it up. They said they'd order the key and it should be in early that next week. They said they'd pay for the key.

I went to pick up my car the next day and guess what, it wasn't ready. They knew I was picking it up Saturday. Why didn't they put it back together that night or in the morning? They told me it would take 10-15 minutes. Twenty minutes later I asked about it again. They again said it'd take ten minutes. Fifteen minutes later, still now car and they weren't giving me any updates, so I went into the bay and asked the technician. He said ten more minutes. A total of 45 minutes after arriving I finally got my car. I asked the technician about the key and he said they got a tracking number, but it hadn't shipped yet. They would call me when it arrived probably midweek. He also gave me the two remotes for the car starter and said that they would work to open/close my car. Later, I tried them and they didn't work.

Tuesday, we called to see if the key had arrived and were told they don't order keys. They said they never order keys, the customer has to do that and then they reimburse the customer. They said no one would've told us that. I told her that two people had told me about that. We'd hoped to have the installation all done by the time I went back to work. That wasn't happening. So, I ordered a key from the VW place in Topeka. I called Audio Junction to see if it came in, but the guy on the phone was new and didn't see it. Monday, I called again and still no key. Meanwhile, it was -9 degrees outside Monday when I went to work. The automatic car starter would've come in handy. So, I call the VW place and they said it arrived at the other Audio Junction location, Friday. An employee from Audio was supposed to take it to the location handling my installation. I call Audio and told them. They said they'd pick it up and call me a couple hours later. That was late this morning. Still no call.

The automatic car starter was not cheap. I definitely won't be going back to Audio Junction ever again. I'll let you know how this saga ends!

Any bad customer service incidents you'd like to share? I'd love to hear them!