Playing with the 'big boys'...

This morning, I woke up with a sense of dread. For the first time in three years, I would be needing to deliver myself and vehicle to the VW dealer. Why should such a simple act be so loathesome, you ask? Well, let me tell you all about it....

I had used the Mazda service within the same dealership for years. I'd walk in and be all like, "Hi". They'd be all like, "Hi, what can WE do for YOU today?" I'd be like, "This needs tweaking, this needs tuning, and I've still got my warranty going on." They'd be like, "Sure thing. Can we perform our Mazda full-circle check for you? How about a free car wash?" I'd be like, ":)". Can't argue with any of that...

Sometimes, when I was still primarily driving the Mazda, I'd swap cars and service my husband's VW. I'd walk in and be like, "Hi, I'm here with my Passat". They'd be like, "(ignore)". After a minute, or so, the service adviser would be able to detach his/herself away from the computer screen to deal with me, the "live one". I'd then be like, "My windows are not operating well, and my door locks are malfunctioning." They'd be like, "Well, you might have done something to that vehicle. Sometimes we open these things up and find gummy bears in them. If that's the case, VW won't honor your warranty." So, I'd be like, "No worries about the gummy bears, dude. My daughter and I are both vegetarians, and gummy bears have gelatin in them- an animal derived substance that we do not partake of." They'd then look at me like, "What the hell, lady!@#?" Needless to say, to get anything repaired under warranty on that vehicle required a stressful interrogation...

So, after the last "gummy bear situation", I decided to just have the local tire store/oil change guys do anything routine. There have been some "oopses" with these guys, but they're pretty good about fixing their mistakes. Recently, one of my gauges went cattywaumpas crazy, and started moving all around, as if it was detecting seismic activity. My local guys were a bit shy to peek under my car's dashboard (awwww isn't that so sweet!), so they recommended that I go to the...gulp...Dealer. This blow was softened a bit by the fact that my husband found an extended warranty for the car he forgot we even had! Yee Ha! Just let them try the whole gummny bear excuse again...

At 9:30, the car and I arrived. Since my last visit, I noticed that they had gotten rid of the VW dudes, and replaced them with some VW chicks. Please don't think that I have anything against women working in this field, because I don't; I just want the person on the other side of the counter to have a little more background on cars than I do. Today, my service advisor was Anne. I told Anne the reason for my visit (possessed gauge, and vent system making noises that could raise the dead). She then lumbered over to my vehicle to check it in. She came back to me and said sweetly, "Your warranty is up. You have too many miles." I told her that she was mistaken, and to go back and recheck it. She did, and replied" I hate when I read the wrong numbers." Catherine: 1, Anne: 0. With that little snafu unsnarled, she sent me up to the waiting room, while the area under my car's hood was CSI'd.

About an hour later, Anne came up to see me. Turns out that my initial diagnosis of the gauge was correct, but the tech couldn't reproduce the ear-peeling noise through the vents, and wanted to go out for a drive with me. Yee ha... I got to drive around Glendale with some dude I didn't know... I explained to the tech that the noise was set-off when going over uneven roads/railroad tracks/thick asphalt patches. He looked at me like, "I get paid no matter what you say lady. I really don't care." I drove the two of us around, trying to hit any, and every, pothole that I could find to "show him". Heck, I even wove around in front of the Glendale PD trying to find a road defect to prove my point. Bottom line: I could not get the car to cooperate. At that point, he was probably happy that he was "sprung from the office" for a bit. I was frustrated that my car, like a child, would not perform on demand. I asked him if he could diagnose the issue from my description. He had a pretty good idea of what it could be, but still felt he should hear it before doing anything. I sat there, as a woman with an extended warranty with less than 2 months to go... I was desperate: time to talk to the "big boy"!

Tech and I met up again with Anne, and told her that we could not reproduce the noise. She tinkered with that thought for awhile, and then said, "Maybe we should get Steve?" That sounded good to me- let's climb up the ladder, and get this moving! She proceeded to page Steve three times, all to no avail. While she continued to summon him, I rehearsed in my head what to say, how to stand, etc. Anne looked up and announced, "Oh, there he is." As Steve approached, I assumed my "power stance" (which I have read is used by men in negotiations to basically assert their dominance): legs slightly apart, arms loosely folded across chest, full eye contact. Much to my chagrin, Steve didn't need to much convincing. Between my description of the issue, and the tech's opinion, I would be set to get a new vent blower system. Now came the most difficult part; Anne would need to call the warranty company and convincingly tell them what needed to be done at THEIR expense. Steve told Anne what to say to the adjustors, and waited for her to dial the phone. The look on her face could best be described as the major "DUUHHH" expression that Joan Cusack is always sporting. I asked her point blank if she was experienced at making these types of calls. She assured me that she was, and Steve and I hung-out while the call was placed. Go 'Team Anne'- bring it home for us! Between mouthfuls of diet yogurt, she somehow managed to work her "mojo" with GE Auto Warranty, and both repairs were authorized!

Just like in a game show, there was a consolation prize in this story. Anne wasn't able to get the work done today, and arranged for me to get a compensated rental through the warranty. I am driving a CLEAN (as compared to my vehicle, "The Garbage Can on Wheels") vehicle, both inside and out, with touch screen radio controls for the next twenty-four hours (contented sigh). This comes at the perfect time, because all I asked for for Mother's Day was for my vehicle to be washed/vacuumed: I might just get that twice this week :) !