Herb Chambers Complaints or Commentary to the Herb Chambers Corporate Office

At The Herb Chambers Companies we sincerely value your personal experience at our dealerships. Whether you visit Herb Chambers to shop for & buy a vehicle, have your current one serviced or simply to pick up parts or accessories - we hope that you find Herb Chambers’ staff helpful, courteous and professional at all times.

Please use this form to provide feedback directly to the Herb Chambers Corporate Office regarding any aspect of your experience with any Herb Chambers dealership. We appreciate you taking the time to do so and you will receive a response promptly after completing this form.

I want you to know that we value feedback that compliments great service OR highlights areas in which we need to improve the service we provide to you, our valued customer.

Sincerely,

October 23, 2010

Dear Herb Chambers,
 I would like to express my thanks for the actions of some employees at the Honda Seekonk dealership. I have purchased multiple vehicles from Herb Chambers Honda over the years. Recently I had an issue with my 2008 Accord, the front driver’s side leather seat was showing unusual wear. The auto was still under warranty so I took it to another geographically closer dealer to correct the problem. I was treated poorly (never even spoke to the service manager who made the decision) and summarily dismissed with the comment that it was normal ‘wear and tear’. I decided to bring it in to H.C. Honda in Seekonk with the intention of trying another brand/dealer for my next purchase if I received the same treatment. While I waited for Sandra Lotero the assistant service manager to assess the leather seat damage I spoke with a new salesperson Michael Boucher about the 2011 Accord Coupe. To better serve me Michael enlisted the aid of veteran salesperson Cliff Stern.
Sandra’s approach  to my issue was very customer friendly, she allowed me to accompany her to the Accord and we discussed the issue. After review she informed me that the  seat should be covered and that she would fill out the paperwork. Subsequently I took a test drive in the 2011 Accord Coupe and decided to purchase it. I would like to commend Cliff for seeing the newbie through the process start to finish which made my experience much smoother.
So to wrap up this communication I would like the General Manager of Herb Chambers Seekonk Scott Birttles to be made aware of the excellant customer service provided by both Cliff and Sandra.
Thank You

Regards

Robert

10/4/10

Thank you for providing a rewarding and very positive car buying experience!  Seamus was extremely knowledgeable and helpful in purchasing our ‘08 Honda Accord.  We weren’t planning on buying that day (our first day in a dealership), but the honest and hard working employees all around from Seamus to Chris Behrendsen impressed us.  We are recommending your dealership to our friends and will be back.  We are glad to have a reliable dealer so close by.

October 1, 2010

Hello~

Let me begin by telling you I did not purchase my 2004 Honda Accord from a Herb Chambers dealership.  I say this because I’m amazed at the service I received from one of your employees even though I did not make a purchase.
The employee is Tony Ngo (he works in service). About 3 weeks ago my husband changed my battery and consequently the navigation panel and radio needed codes to be entered.  I had no idea where to find these codes and the owner?s manual had nothing.  I called the Westborough site simply because I live in Shrewsbury.  On my first call, I was immediately impressed with Tony’s professionalism.  He was clearly busy with another customer but ensured me that he would call me back – and he did.  He told me where to look for the code and asked me to call him back if I had any problems.  Can
you believe it??    Remember, I didn’t buy my car at Herb Chambers!  Anyway,
the code worked for the navigation panel but not the radio (different panel, yet connected to the nav).  When I called Tony back he suggested I stop by so he could take a look.  I went on a Saturday, pulled up to the bay and this very professional young man came to greet me.  He had a big smile and a bigger handshake.  By now, I had entered the wrong code 9 times, so we only had one shot at getting it right. Unfortunately the code he entered did not work.  He felt so bad.  My car was due for inspection so he suggested I wait until after the inspection and then disconnect the battery to reset the coding system.  I did just that.  I called him back for a new code and as I’m writing this email, Tony is texting me the information.  Some people may say, “He’s just doing his job”.  I agree, he’s doing his job but he clearly goes above and beyond.  I have had too many experiences that are negative when it comes to customer service. This was truly a positive experience and he deserves to be recognized.

In conclusion, I want to tell you about a book I read over the summer. The title is QBQ! The Question Behind the Question.  Every business should ask their employees to read this (very easy read).  The author, John Miller, consulted with many corporations to recount real life situations in customer service.  The book essentially talks about how we should stop blaming others and take ownership and in doing so; we can work towards positive solutions.
Anyway, there was one story about a young man who worked in a restaurant and one of his customers ordered lunch and asked for a Coke.  The restaurant only had Pepsi.  The young waiter told his manager that the customer wanted coke, so the manager went across the street and bought a coke for the customer!  Now I know that seems a bit extreme to some, but I’m reminded of Tony when I think of that story.  Tony will be a happy employee wherever he works because he truly believes in customer service and personal accountability.

Because of Tony, I may just buy my next vehicle at Herb Chambers!

Thank you.
Joyce

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Hello, I wrote to you the other day regarding a friend of mine who was having difficulty regarding his “Certified” Honda Accord.

My friend told me that Honda Seekonk contacted him the other day regarding his situation, apologized and asked that he bring his Honda in so that they could perform the necessary repairs – which he did yesterday.

As you and I know, this individual was not treated fairly, but that in itself doesn’t mean that Herb Chambers would make this right. So the fact that you took action to make this “right” I would like to say “Thank You”. I know my friend is grateful as well and I am at least hopeful that he can be treated more fairly in the future when bringing his car to your dealership for future service needs. Again, thanks!

Bill

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Monday, July 26, 2010

Friend of mine was looking for a used Honda Accord “Certified” he looked at the Seekonk dealership but left not able to agree on the price of a vehicle. I was passing your Honda dealership in Westborough and saw a “Certified” used Accord that looked good and seemed to be price right. I suggested to my friend that he should give your dealership another chance and go with me to look at this vehicle even though this location is much farther away (he lives in North Providence, RI). The salesman at the Westborough dealership was willing to work with my friend on this car and my friend did in fact buy it from your Westborough dealership. During this process the question of honoring any warranty work would be covered by any of your Honda dealerships. So now a couple of months go bye (about 4,000 miles) and he is enjoying his Honda Accord however he hears a noise when braking and decides to bring it to your dealership in Seekonk, which is about a mile from where we work. They tell him the vehicle needs rear brakes and rotors – he asks about the warranty – they say it is not covered – however, when buying this “Certified” vehicle he was told that this vehicle had at least 50% or more life on the brake components. My friend does not drive fast, aggressive or in any other way that would cause his brakes to wear out at 4,000 miles. That is not in my opinion the No. 1 problem – the problem is the service department at Seekonk. They told him they couldn’t help him because he didn’t buy the car from them??? He bought a “Certified” Honda from one of your Honda dealerships and they are unable to help him. He calls back to your Westborough dealership and the person there tells my friend to have the Seekonk service department call him for verification etc. so Seekonk can do the work on his car. He then calls Seekonk and they tell my friend they will not call Westborough, have Westborough call them – completely blowing him off. My friend is not an aggressive consumer and does not wish to cause anyone any discomfort however he is not in a position to pay for new brakes this soon after buying a “newer” car, one that was sold as “Certified” and sold for more money than a comparable non-certified vehicle.

This is no way to treat a customer – he did buy a car from Herb Chambers, in my view this behavior wouldn’t even be acceptable if it was about an individual who bought a car not from your dealership.

This person deserves to be treated with respect – he’s not looking for something for free. When the warranty period is over for his car wouldn’t you want him to still bring his car to Herb Chambers for service – service that he would be paying for over numerous years to come?

July 26, 2010

To whom it may concern,

I wanted to take a moment and send along my compliments to your company. The reason for this correspondence is that I came away from Herb Chambers Honda last week feeling as if true old fashioned customer service still existed in the world. I can?t recall the last time I felt so well served in any place of business.

Last week I came to your Boston Honda store interested in purchasing a 2010 Honda Accord Coupe, which would be my 7th Honda, 4th from Herb Chambers. I was greeted by Kathy Smith and she refused to give up on finding the car that fit me best.

After a short time trying to match me into a car of my liking, I walked away very pleased with my experience dealing with Kathy for the third time.

I want you to know that I have repeated this story numerous times in the past week. There is no neighbor on the cape nor friend I have not told of your companies? kindness. I found Kathy to be not only professional, but personable and kind. It meant a lot to me,  because I was very excited to get a new Honda. When friends or family are in the market for a new car you can be sure I will recommend them coming to your place of business.
As for Ms. Smith, she is extremely capable in dealing with the public.  Having spent the past 5 years working with the public in Sales, I recognize and appreciate her excellence in this field. She is a credit to Herb Chambers and I thank her for her patience, perseverance and personality.

Sincerely,

Kevin

July 22, 2010

On July 12th, I had a major problem with my 1 year old Honda Accord
that I purchased at your Westboro location.  To make a long story short, a
new engine was installed.

The reason for my email is to say what a great job your service advisor,
Allon Swift did in keeping me informed.  He called me atleast twice a day
with updates and when I ask him to call at a certain time he called.  Allon
customer service was great even though my situation with the car was bad.

Once again, thanks to Allon for doing a wonderful job.

Rich