Toyota Customer Service: How to get what you want.
by Jason Lancaster
You've got a problem with your Toyota or your Toyota dealer and you don't know what to do. No one seems to want to solve your problem. Even worse, it's starting to be time consuming and frustrating you. How can you get it taken care of?
If you've had a problem with your Toyota and it hasn't been taken care of, your best hope for a solution is to work with your local dealer. Believe it or not, the dealership is invested in solving your problem because they know that's the best way to make you a lifetime customer. In fact, dealers spend thousands of dollars in advertising trying to create trust with their customers but statistics show that the best way to create trust is to solve problems.
However, this doesn't mean that a dealership will solve every customer service problem free of charge (or even solve them at all). If you want to get your problem solved, you're going to have to convince the dealership that you're going to be a good future customer and give them good publicity.
Show your dealer you're a good future customer by being nice to everyone at the dealership. Even though belittling these people may be therapeutic, all it will do is prove to the dealer that you're not worth saving. Instead, treat everyone like gold and you'll make them want to help you.
Being nice is crucial, but speaking with the general manager of the dealership is easily the best thing you can do to help yourself. While there are many managers in a dealership, the GM has the power to solve nearly any problem. The GM can pick up the phone and speak with one of Toyota's regional executives, authorize an expensive repair, or even decide to warranty a vehicle. Toyota empowers every dealership general manager to act on their behalf -- perfect for solving customer service problems.
If the GM at your local dealer can't help you, your next point of contact is Toyota Motor Company. I suggest you try a two-pronged approach and call both your local Toyota regional office and the national help line. You can find the phone number for the national helpline in your owner's manual, and the local regional office can usually be found in the yellow pages of your regions larger cities. While the local regional office will often refer you to the national helpline, with a little persistence you can speak with a regional executive about your problem.
To recap, when you have a problem with your Toyota that isn't resolved to your satisfaction, start by working with your local dealership. The dealer wants to earn your faith and trust, and they will often go above and beyond to do so. When you speak with anyone at the dealership, be nice. You want them on your side. Ask to speak to the GM too -- the GM has the power to solve your problem and they also have the full backing of Toyota. Finally, if the GM at your local Toyota dealer can't solve your problem, work with Toyota's national hotline and try to talk to someone at the regional office. If you're persistent and you're nice, you'll get the best Toyota customer service possible.
Author Jason Lancaster has worked in the auto industry for the better part of a decade. He runs a
Toyota Tundra website,
www.tundraheadquarters.com, as well as the
Provo Toyota website. You are welcome to reprint this article - but get your own
unique content version here.
