Customer Service...

So there I was...

Speeding to the studio yesterday to appear on Rob's show when all of a sudden I look out my back window and there is a fog bank trying to catch up to the car!

It turns out not to be a fog bank but much rather an overheating issue.
I pulled to the side of the road, called my wife, called AAA, and then called a work associate, Tony.

My wife pulled up just as the tow truck got there.
She dropped me off at BART, while the truck delivered our poor Subaru to our driveway.
I made it to Bart, took the train to West Oakland where Tony picked me up and we drove to the KRON studios.
We made it just in time! Rob was in a snippy mood (I think that just adds to the flavor of it all) but we had a great show with lots of callers.

Then this morning I went out to the driveway to see if the Outback just needed new radiator hose or something easy. I am mechanically compitent, and anything external of the engine block would be easier for me to fix than to tow it to some mechanic.

Not a chance!
As I got into it deeper and deeper, it looks more and more like a blown head gasket.
Probably #4 Cylinder, not that it matters.

I have an extended warranty but didn't have any of my paperwork.
The best I could find was the original brochure from when we first bought the car.
I called them and they looked my information up and said I was indeed covered!

Next it was off to Diablo Mazda Subaru.
I talked to Dean who went over everything in a clear and concise way.
I had AAA tow the car there and they'll diagnose it, then they'll call and deal with the extended warranty people straight away.

Having an aftermarket warranty is not tha same as having a factory warranty.
My factory warranty expired at 3 years, while this extended warranty is for 7 yrs or 100,000 miles.

The problem is that the motivation of the factory is oposite of the motivation of the aftermarket guys. Simply, the factory wants you to be happy with your car. If you are happy with your car you'll buy another. The aftermarket guys don't care how happy you are. They do not have a vested interest in your future cars.
So they have a tendacy to disallow, to nickel and dime, and to overall be a pain in bottom to deal with.

So when Dean says, he'll talk to them and deal with them directly, I know that they know what to say and how to say it. they do this kind of thing every day.

Bringing it back to mortgages, I was talking to a potential client the other day and suggested I call their lender and see what I could do about getting their pre-payment penalty waived or reduced.

She didn't understand that while she may refi maybe once every 10 years or so, I go through the same motions 10 times a month. I know what to say and how to say it.

So when Dean at Diablo Subaru says he'll call them and deal with them direct, maybe I understand the "why" better than most people.

Go Dean!