Re: Car dealer has customer arrested for his mistake
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: maggot</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: NorthernBorn</div><div class="ubbcode-body">My wife works for the biggest dealership in town here and my buddy went up to have some cosmetic work done on his Roush Stage 2 Mustang (unfortunately he didn't get to deal with her since she sells cars and he was dealing with the service department). They gave him a free rental car while his Mustang was in the shop.
Well... He hunts me down at work and asks for a hand in dealing with a rather interesting situation. The service rep forgot to fill out some of the paperwork on the car and lied to the GM about his mistake. They reported the rental car as stolen (dealership owned SUV). He gets pulled over and arrested for grand theft auto even though he has all the paperwork for the rental from the dealership.
First thing the GM of the dealership tells him after him and his wife go in the next day is <span style="color: #FF0000"> "What do you want from us? You own us at this point."
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Got everything from a full exterior overhaul of the car, upgraded exhaust and suspension, a ridiculous gas card and even a bunch of gift cards for him and his wife to eat free dinner all over this town.
He could've very easily of sued them for everything they were worth but <span style="color: #FF0000"> since the GM was stone cold honest and blunt about everything from the get go</span> they gave him a chance to make it right.
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That can go a long way. I think Id also base it on the fact that it wasnt the dealership, but a penny ante lackey that worked for them who did it. And that his wife might actually want to keep her job </div></div>
My wife wasn't involved personally in this situation other than bringing it to the attention of the GM and the Owner of the dealership.
On the other hand though... a multi-million dollar lawsuit against them for wrongful imprisonment and all sorts of other things related to the arrest very easily could've led to massive layoffs and bankruptcy once it got out.
People make mistakes all the time. No one is perfect...especially in a large scale business environment. The most important thing to do is immediately recognize the problem and do whatever is necessary to resolve it on the customer's behalf. Honesty from a business will make damn sure that people will keep coming back over and over and send their friends as well.
