Customer Service Issue: Escalated Tickets Ignored?

[cdmbrennan]

First and foremost: I have my Bronco, and understand there are many that haven't received theirs yet. For that I'm grateful and empathetic; it's worth the wait.

HOWEVER: In April I ordered the canvas bimini top and tonneau cover from the Accessories page and chose to have them delivered to a local dealership. The top arrived; the tonneau did not. Ford shows the order fulfilled, and the parts manager says they never received the other. Due to the complete jankyness of the bimini top, too (the hard top does not fit on snugly with the bimini top left on) I opted to return it. Now the dance begins...

I've spoken with @Ford customer service every week since then, and they're constantly "reviewing the notes" and "updating the ticket". It has been "escalated" three times already, and twice the customer service rep has promised that if the issue isn't resolved in two days, they'll send me an email. Crickets. The frontline customer service reps are really kind- I think it's their superiors who must be incompetent or unwilling to devote an ounce of brain power to trying to respond to a customer's legitimate complaint.

I spoke to another rep today who said "the dealership is the bottleneck here". I spoke with the dealership, who says "since you ordered it online, we don't have anything to do with the order and can't help." WTH.

So...caveat to those who order accessories: be really certain that you want those parts, and also be really content paying for them and not receiving them, either.

Anyone else having issues?

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[osoblanco]

I was told that the 'Reservation team' would be reaching out to me soon. That was in early January. No email, no other contact. Nothing from Ford since my order was converted from a 21 to a 22 last October

 

[RunNGunArk]

I ordered a part on 4/30, got confirmation email stating order received and i would get an update when it shipped.. after a month, i called cust svc,... they said it shipped 5/2 and was at the dealer. I called the dealer, they said, nope.. havent seen it. called ford back, demanded tracking number.. couldnt provide it as it was a weird number.. but their system showed it delivered.. i was pretty irritated at this point. Called the Parts Service manager.. he did research, found that that part had been received into their inventory, but that he had never been made aware of my order.
Long story short, the Dealer system for those accessory orders changed a couple months ago.. and they haven't gotten the system right for the dealers yet.. Dealer stated their volume of accessory orders like that have sharply fallen off and had issues (on ford side). He was very helpful and apologetic..

Good luck.. ive heard a couple other issues with returning things not go so well..

 

[DaveInSA]

First and foremost: I have my Bronco, and understand there are many that haven't received theirs yet. For that I'm grateful and empathetic; it's worth the wait.

HOWEVER: In April I ordered the canvas bimini top and tonneau cover from the Accessories page and chose to have them delivered to a local dealership. The top arrived; the tonneau did not. Ford shows the order fulfilled, and the parts manager says they never received the other. Due to the complete jankyness of the bimini top, too (the hard top does not fit on snugly with the bimini top left on) I opted to return it. Now the dance begins...

I've spoken with @Ford customer service every week since then, and they're constantly "reviewing the notes" and "updating the ticket". It has been "escalated" three times already, and twice the customer service rep has promised that if the issue isn't resolved in two days, they'll send me an email. Crickets. The frontline customer service reps are really kind- I think it's their superiors who must be incompetent or unwilling to devote an ounce of brain power to trying to respond to a customer's legitimate complaint.

I spoke to another rep today who said "the dealership is the bottleneck here". I spoke with the dealership, who says "since you ordered it online, we don't have anything to do with the order and can't help." WTH.

So...caveat to those who order accessories: be really certain that you want those parts, and also be really content paying for them and not receiving them, either.

Anyone else having issues?

I feel you. My issues with ordering online for dealer pickup have led to me starting a chargeback on my credit card. Some people have had no issues, and I've had no issues ordering for delivery straight to me. But to the dealer... Hassles. Online reps not knowing anything, getting multiple conflicting answers.

I don't have any more OEM Ford accessories I want thankfully, so don't have to deal with ordering but I'd only do it via local dealer now.

 

[FrankyHotdogs]

I ordered a part on 4/30, got confirmation email stating order received and i would get an update when it shipped.. after a month, i called cust svc,... they said it shipped 5/2 and was at the dealer. I called the dealer, they said, nope.. havent seen it. called ford back, demanded tracking number.. couldnt provide it as it was a weird number.. but their system showed it delivered.. i was pretty irritated at this point. Called the Parts Service manager.. he did research, found that that part had been received into their inventory, but that he had never been made aware of my order.
Long story short, the Dealer system for those accessory orders changed a couple months ago.. and they haven't gotten the system right for the dealers yet.. Dealer stated their volume of accessory orders like that have sharply fallen off and had issues (on ford side). He was very helpful and apologetic..

Good luck.. ive heard a couple other issues with returning things not go so well..

I am not saying the Manager you spoke to mislead you, but Ford has had their ordering process in place for well over a year, and there have been no major changes since. Some stores are still on boarding to e-commerce, so maybe that is what he meant.

The disconnect was probably between the employee receiving parts and the Parts Manager who presumably keeps track of online orders.

When an online order ships direct to the dealership there is nothing on the shipper to indicate it was a special order. It is essentially indistinguishable from a stock order. This is most likely why it was put into stock. However, the designated employee (usually Parts Manager) gets several emails about status of order fulfillment, as well as several indicators on their parts locator that an online order was placed. It should have been on them follow through and arrange for pickup.

They being said, the system is not completely obvious whether the order was shipped direct to the customer or not so it is easy to make mistakes.

From personal experience, I will say the team that supports FordParts.com sales is extremely friendly and very helpful. It sounds like the original posters issue could have been resolved if the Parts Manager took the time to call into the hotline for instructions on how to file the proper shortage and return claims.

To the person I quoted it sounds like the dealership just dropped the ball. Mistakes do happen though.

I am all for blaming Ford when they are at fault (ie back-ordered cabin air filters for Escapes/Explorers going on 11 months now), but I am not sure that is the case here.

 

[cdmbrennan]

...From personal experience, I will say the team that supports FordParts.com sales is extremely friendly and very helpful. It sounds like the original posters issue could have been resolved if the Parts Manager took the time to call into the hotline for instructions on how to file the proper shortage and return claims...

I am all for blaming Ford when they are at fault (ie back-ordered cabin air filters for Escapes/Explorers going on 11 months now), but I am not sure that is the case here.

Glad you've had good experiences and appreciate the feedback. I'm still blaming Ford since it's a Ford (exclusively Ford) dealership and the parts manager represents Ford, in my opinion- but appreciate you explaining how the issue could have devolved and most likely been resolved easier!

 

[FrankyHotdogs]

Glad you've had good experiences and appreciate the feedback. I'm still blaming Ford since it's a Ford (exclusively Ford) dealership and the parts manager represents Ford, in my opinion- but appreciate you explaining how the issue could have devolved and most likely been resolved easier!

I am sure it doesn’t feel this way but a Ford or Lincoln franchised dealership is no more part of Ford than a Chevy, VW or whatever competitive auto-make you want to choose is. We sell and service their products but essentially have no control of their policies, practices, and production other than some quarterly surveys that almost certainly are ignored.


The biggest thing a Dealer can control is communication. It is why Granger and some other places here are held in such high regard, and others are not.

It also seems to be the root of both of these issues, from what I have read.

Regardless, have a nice day and I am glad things got sorted out.

 

[MayhemMike]

I ordered the canvas top as part of my BL order. The vehicle arrived but the top did not. Took about three weeks before I received the top. So it happens even when you place it through a factory order.

 

[cdmbrennan]

Just ordered the garage door storage bags from a different dealer; they were extremely nice and the guy was totally upfront about how it might take weeks to get them. He says there doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason behind the delays, other than a backlog and shortage of parts. Makes sense.

 

[Silver-Bolt]

Contest it on your card and call it a day.

 

[cdmbrennan]

Not a bad idea; thanks.

 

[DaveInSA]

When an online order ships direct to the dealership there is nothing on the shipper to indicate it was a special order. It is essentially indistinguishable from a stock order.

... There should be:

 

[FrankyHotdogs]

... There should be:

Hmm. We get neon green stickers for accessories ordered and priced into vehicle builds, but nothing on part orders otherwise. Would be helpful.

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