Lou Fusz Ford Service Department: Chesterfield, MO
Local Marketing
It was past due time for my 3000 mile oil change service, and I was going to run it up to Jiffy Lube for the $19.95 early bird special, when a piece of direct mail came to me from Lou Fusz Ford.
Normally, I throw away direct mail, but the timing was right, and I take the car in for work I can't do myself. The piece was part of a Service Advantage Campaign, personalized to my car, with descriptive articles, money-off coupons, and a chance to enter a contest by going into the dealership. It was sponsored by Ford Customer Service, and the promotion was for all Ford/Lincoln Mercury Dealerships. Not a bad little promotion.
I was focused more on the oil change, so I ripped off the little coupon and went down to the dealer. $21.95 for an oil change. I like the guys in the Service department at this dealership - when I go to Valvoline or Jiffy Lube I have to listen to the sales pitch of someone who knows less about cars than I do, and there always seems to be bit of an oil smell when I'm done (they're not smearing oil on the filter before putting it in).
I went to pick up the car, and to my surprise, the bill was $33, instead of the $21 promised in the promotion. When I was asked about the discrepancy, a comment was made about using different oil, but I never requested a specific oil, and the car is a 2003 Ford Taurus - pretty generic.
They made a correction, altering the bill down to $25 (which is what the promotion coupon said was $21.95 + tax and misc charge0 and I happily paid the bill and left.
Lessons learned.
Always check your bill and read the fine print. Always read the bill and ask what specific charges mean (don't let official sounding acronyms fool you).
Other oil change tips:
1) Change the Air Filter and the Cabin Air Filter yourself before you take the car in. Sometimes shifty mechanics will show you a dirty filter to get you to buy a new one. It's cheaper to do it yourself, and takes about 30 seconds.
2) Know the difference in different types of oil. If you're going to buy synthethic oil, make sure you know what the difference is before you get sold $70 worth.
3) Time your oil changes with major car repair. You can often get the oil change discounted if you have a major service done.
It was past due time for my 3000 mile oil change service, and I was going to run it up to Jiffy Lube for the $19.95 early bird special, when a piece of direct mail came to me from Lou Fusz Ford.
Normally, I throw away direct mail, but the timing was right, and I take the car in for work I can't do myself. The piece was part of a Service Advantage Campaign, personalized to my car, with descriptive articles, money-off coupons, and a chance to enter a contest by going into the dealership. It was sponsored by Ford Customer Service, and the promotion was for all Ford/Lincoln Mercury Dealerships. Not a bad little promotion.
I was focused more on the oil change, so I ripped off the little coupon and went down to the dealer. $21.95 for an oil change. I like the guys in the Service department at this dealership - when I go to Valvoline or Jiffy Lube I have to listen to the sales pitch of someone who knows less about cars than I do, and there always seems to be bit of an oil smell when I'm done (they're not smearing oil on the filter before putting it in).
I went to pick up the car, and to my surprise, the bill was $33, instead of the $21 promised in the promotion. When I was asked about the discrepancy, a comment was made about using different oil, but I never requested a specific oil, and the car is a 2003 Ford Taurus - pretty generic.
They made a correction, altering the bill down to $25 (which is what the promotion coupon said was $21.95 + tax and misc charge0 and I happily paid the bill and left.
Lessons learned.
Always check your bill and read the fine print. Always read the bill and ask what specific charges mean (don't let official sounding acronyms fool you).
Other oil change tips:
1) Change the Air Filter and the Cabin Air Filter yourself before you take the car in. Sometimes shifty mechanics will show you a dirty filter to get you to buy a new one. It's cheaper to do it yourself, and takes about 30 seconds.
2) Know the difference in different types of oil. If you're going to buy synthethic oil, make sure you know what the difference is before you get sold $70 worth.
3) Time your oil changes with major car repair. You can often get the oil change discounted if you have a major service done.
posted by franki durbin @ 11:26 AM PERMALINK
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