11/23/08
I am writing to commend to you your staff at HC Toyota of Boston, in particular Timothy Renaldi and James Pope, as well as Nate Piasta.
We purchased our 2006 Hylander Hybrid in February of 06. We accepted Nate’s recommendation that we Simonize the car inside and out. Within a few months, it became clear that there was something very wrong with the ability of the upholstery to handle exposure to water. The least little wetness turned into an enduring and unsightly spot.
I brought this matter to the attention of the service department on numerous and successive occasions. At one point, we even involved the representative from Toyota, who made it clear he did not think it was a manufacturing problem. Each time, the interior was professionally cleaned without cost to us; it looked fine when we drove it out of the service garage, but just as bad as ever within a few weeks of use. Ultimately, Nate involved the Simonizing contractor in reviewing the situation, but their re-treatment of the seats did not improve the situation.
Finally, we wrote a letter to Nate recapping the efforts made to remediate the problem, and asked, once and for all, that the dealership take steps to solve this unacceptable situation.
Within a week, Nate had forwarded our letter to the manager of the dealership, Tim Renaldi, and Tim had contacted me (Dakota) to come in for a review of the situation. That day, Tim involved the service department manager and a local interiors contractor to discuss options with me present. Within a day or two, Tim had reviewed the cost of various options, and presented his offer to me of recovering our seats with leather upholstery. We volunteered to pay for the heaters that would make the seats more comfortable in winter months.
Tim had me coordinate my service call directly with the service manager, and a rental car was graciously provided so that I wouldn’t have to be without my vehicle during the reupholstering. The car was returned to us in sparkling condition, having been cleaned inside and out.
I can’t tell you what a pleasure it has been this week to get into and drive our Toyota. After over 2 years of disenchantment, frustration, and distaste over getting into the vehicle, we both have a completely different experience, and are grateful to your team for working with us so professionally and generously to resolve this situation. It would have been nice to have resolved the problem sooner, but we are very glad to have reached this resolution.
Thank you for running an operation that focuses so directly and consistently on customer satisfaction. It’s clear your staff at Toyota Boston understand this corporate commitment, and we will continue to bring our business to you because of it.
Sincerely,
Dakota & Chris
