No News on the F450

Still no news on the F-450. I realized this weekend after reading a complaint from a Ford dealership regarding Ford's advertising of non-Ford collision centers, that perhaps dealerships also feel some of Ford Motor Company's poor customer service. So, I decided that I would give the dealership with the largest piece of history on the vehicle a chance to respond and potentially save some customer relationships.

The letter was delivered to the general manager today which included a cover letter with a brief history and the letter delivered to Ford. Time will tell if Ford or its dealerships will take ownership of the issues and stand by their products.

No news update on 2011 Ford F450

So, still no word from Ford Motor Company regarding the engine surging issues that have been occurring for almost a year that the factory certified technicians have been unable to diagnosis. I was told twice Wednesday alone that someone would reach out to me as soon as possible. Seems more like, maybe sometime if we feel like it. They have known that I wanted to hear from them since November 23.

From Ford Service Facebook Administrator: 

Wednesday, 12/16 - 9:10am - "I've reached out to request that someone contact you as soon as possible." 

3:37pm - "As I requested earlier today, a regional customer service manager will be reaching out to you as soon as they can."

I would think it would not take too long to simply state that they were working on a response. But, I would also think it would be pretty easy to call when you have a customer with a vehicle history like mine, in the shop for over a month. But, apparently that is not part of Ford's #1 goal.

From the 2011 Ford Super Duty Warranty Guide: "Your satisfaction is our #1 goal."

Update on Ford Issues

__________.

That is about all I have heard. I sent a final notification to Ford Motor Company to provide them a final opportunity to come to a mutually beneficial agreement and put this issue behind us. I hope this will come to a conclusion soon, but have my doubts based on the customer service (or lack thereof) received thus far.

The letter was sent multiple methods to ensure Ford Motor Company had as many opportunities to receive it and take action...

First, It was emailed to my regional customer service representative assigned to the case that Ford apparently closed without following up to see if the issue was resolved. I have yet to receive response from her or from anyone at Ford Motor Company since September 21st despite numerous voicemails, emails, and letters.

Second, I sent it to the Ford Service Facebook administrator(s) which I had to drag a response out of them. Then, they would not actually acknowledge receipt like I requested, but rather purposefully attempted to avoid a direct response. Even the final response was an attempt to avoid my question to, "Please acknowledge that you forwarded the previously attached letter as you indicated you provide assistance via social media platforms." The ridiculous response provided was on their FB page and was stated, "Thank you for reaching out. I see Mariel has been in touch, and I see your newest message in our inbox." And, that was after several hours of requesting to respond (their page states they typically respond within an hour). They are quick to respond to posts on their pages though. I can empathize with their social media reps having been on that end myself and having to figure out what to do. But, acknowledging receipt of a letter is pretty easy.

Third, it was mailed, which was received today.

And no, I will not discuss the specifics of my requests at this time other than that I am seeking to replace the vehicle and do not believe that I should take a hit in value because of a defect that occurred under warranty that Ford has not been able to correct. I do not find my requests to be unreasonable and truly feel like I am being quite generous based on the number of family camping trips that have been cancelled and that my children were not able to get to museums, libraries, etc. for all the time we were down to one vehicle. But, I'm not a person, I am just a number, # 7666439.

More to follow...

Ford's Systemic Customer Service Issues

Here are my thoughts on the systemic customer service issues that are based on some forum discussions. I have receive numerous comments echoing my experience over the last few days...

My F-450 has been to three different dealerships throughout the 10 month timeframe totalling more than two months out of service. Hard to explain to kids why so many camping trips and learning opportunities had to be cancelled during that time. Ford Motor Company has always quickly made it clear that dealerships are franchises not owned by Ford Motor Company and they are not responsible for their actions. However, the lack of customer service from Ford Motor Company seems to be emulated by all the dealerships. Not to mention, if you allow a business to bear your logo, you should probably enforce some set of business practice rules (similar experience with Cingular quite a few years ago, however, they were able to keep me as a customer by correcting their franchise's poor practices). I move frequently so my experience ranges more than 30+ dealerships over almost two decades. My sales experiences have always been great, minus one visit about 15 years ago. However, service centers are typically slow, unresponsive and/or incompetent.

Adequate service is as simple as a phone call when an oil change is completed or a call to say, we are still working on your issue but have not identified it yet. How do you explain Ford Motor Company's Regional Customer Representative that was assigned to my case not following up as promised, not returning any emails or voicemails, or asking if the issue was addressed? 

Two weeks I went without any updates from Ford Motor Company or its franchise dealership that was diagnosing the vehicle with a 'technical assist' from Ford Motor Company. The end result was a simple phone call from the dealership stating it was ready for pick up. Ford Motor Company has still not followed up to close out the case. 

I will contrast this with my experience with Volkswagen. Four dealerships so far in the last three years for purchase and service. I have felt like I owned a luxury vehicle with my experiences at every dealership I visited. The salesman was the only one that I felt had a little less knowledge than he should, but he was fairly new. It is hard for any salesman to know everything and I do not expect that since I heavily research any vehicle I consider purchasing. And, I just bought new tires and had service performed for free, not because my car has actual issues, but because VW wants to reassure customers due to the recent TDI claims. I love that car and I doubt that it actually pollutes anywhere near what my F-450 does, but that is off topic.

So, now we are at a point where it is completely in Ford Motor Company's hands until they respond (there is a time limit). I was going to include the discussions on a Ford Motor Company Facebook site, but it appears to have been removed and I did not think to print early enough (you got me there). However, I still have plenty of examples of bad service. I have provided my final notification to the email provided by my assigned regional customer support representative that has not contacted me since September 21st despite emails and phone call attempts and a letter that was received by Ford Motor Company on November 23rd. I also sent it to the message thread from the Ford Service Facebook page administrator that has asked at least twice about my vehicle 'for clarification'. I am sure that it is unclear if it is at a dealership when the response is 'no'. I realize their job is to fish for documentation rather than to actually support a customer and that the recorded phone calls are not to ensure customer service. Supposedly, the page administrator will reply within an hour (typically). The hour is up since receiving the letter and no acknowledgement that it was received as I requested.

So, now off to the post office...

Thoughts of Craig Schmatz, Chief Engineer of Ford Super Duty?

As another day has began and I have yet to receive any attempted contact from Ford as I discussed in previously regarding the F450 engine surging and Ford's terrible customer service...Actually, that is not true, Ford Service Facebook Page asked for my contact information (which Ford case # 7666439 was included in the posts and they have my contact information provided in multiple letters).  I looked for the thread on facebook, but it seems it may have gone missing...hmmmmm. I do have the message with my reply, timestamps and the lack of Ford's response even on Facebook (claim they respond within an hour, HA!). However, after immediately providing the requested information more than 24 hours ago, no attempts for contact have been made.

But, I digress. As I have been half working on my final paper for the semester and cruising social media; I was developing thoughts for a construction question and found myself wondering what Craig Schmatz's opinion on this issue would be, a fellow engineer (not sure if that's engineer or Engineer since his bio does not bear the post-nominal title of an Engineer... https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia/fna/us/en/people/craig-schmatz.html).

Let's equate this to an engineering problem. If a facility such as a Ford Motor Company's manufacturing plant or office building were constructed and a defect was found, I am quite certain that Ford would demand that the issue be resolved. This would be especially true if it occurred under the contractual warranty period. Imagine if the constructor of designer of record refused to provide the required customer service and address the issue. I am sure Ford would be quick to threaten legal action and I doubt that the contracted firms involved would leave their client in the dark for months hoping the issue would go away.

There is an obligation for engineers to conduct their practice in an ethical manner just like all other professionals. So, what are your thoughts Craig Schmatz on Ford's response to my issue so far? I would love to hear them.

I could spend a lot of time discussing this issue, but you get the idea and I have a paper to finish...

2011 Ford F450 Engine Surging Follow-up

I wanted to follow up with my Ford Super Duty engine surging. I was fortunate enough (sarcasm for those that do not know me) to have my truck at the dealership for over 30 days. Ford Motor Company regional customer service provided regular updates (weekly or more) for the first few weeks. After that, silence. Nothing from Arrow Ford of Abilene, no response from the customer service rep assigned to my case by Ford Motor Company. No response at all, not to multiple emails, not to phone calls and now not to my most recent letter.

After two weeks of silence, I finally received a call from Arrow Ford that they performed some tests, including 'wiggle tests' (which is a legitimate test) and it was no longer showing symptoms of the issue. That was the extent of the closure I received from Ford Motor Company aside from a phone survey to see how satisfied I was with my customer service experience (not very good I will say).

So, I had my truck picked up by family since I was out of the area as I cannot sit still for a month because my vehicle is not working and Ford factory trained technicians cannot figure it out. I was hopeful and made room in my schedule to go pick it up a couple weeks later. And not surprisingly, it was not fixed.

I wrote Ford a letter and asked that they respond within 15 days. It has been 21 now and silence (which is what Katie thought would happen). I'm done with this truck and simply want Ford to stand by their product and guarantee private party, good condition on a trade since they have not been able to identify the issue after two months of time and I cannot in good conscience sell a truck with an engine surging because of the safety hazards.

I'm hoping Ford will come around, but the clock is ticking towards seeking alternative actions available to protect consumers that I have been hoping to avoid.

I expect that I will provide frequent updates, in the mean time, here's what my truck likes to do when it's running, including when parking and stopped (imagine someone stepping on the gas when you are on the brake, that's what it is like). I have lots of videos since this issue started, but Ford dealerships seem to have trouble experiencing the issue that I have every time I drive this thing.

#fordprobs