- Report: #216232
Complaint Review: Bill Brown Ford - Livonia Michigan
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Bill Brown Ford
32222 Plymouth Rd. Livonia, 48150 Michigan, U.S.A.
Phone:
734-421-7000
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Bill Brown Ford ripoff dishonest concerning vehicle repairs Livonia Michigan
*UPDATE EX-employee responds: How to get your point across at BBF
*Author of original report: Re: Rain in Califonia
*Consumer Comment: In 2009, Bill Brown Ford was 1st in the Nation in Car Sales, 2nd in Vehicle Sales and in the Top Three in Customer Satisfaction.
*General Comment: RE: Owners name
*REBUTTAL Owner of company: Our Sales Manager's Recent Response to a Customer Concerned about this Report
Took "04" Mustang in for warranty door adjustment on the drivers side. Waited almost two hours for repair to be completed by their technician.
When I returned home I noticed with the window in the up position I really had to force the door to close completely. Also noticed the upper left corner of my fender was pulled away from the window pillar.
I called dealership back and was informed that they would take another look at the door when I returned to have the window molding installed. Upon returning to the dealership I was informed the car would be sent to body shop for further adjustments.
After two days of being told the car was not finished I called the body shop and was informed to call the customer service manager John Houle. I left a message with John, and received a return phone call from Tim Gorman stating I needed to call my insurance company because the repairs are not covered by warranty.
Tim informed me that the door had been opened with such a force that it bent the upper door hinge breaking the door stop, separating the door skin from the shell, and bending the fender. This must have taken place during a wind storm as he was told by the body shop.
I informed Tim I would be down to pick up my car because I was not buying the story he was laying down. Upon looking at the vehicle I noticed the door was even further out of adjustment, and the door skin separation he described was so noticeable that their technician would have noticed it on the first service attempt. I went to see John Houle and informed him that my vehicle was not in that condition when brought into their dealership, and asked why their technician would even attempt to align a damaged door.
John continued to dance around the question with some very well rehearsed answers and stated out of good will he was willing to pay my deductible if I filed a claim with my insurance company. I was put in a position where the only way the dealership was going to perform the repairs was to file a claim.
I went to three other dealership and was informed that the damages seen on my vehicle were not caused as described by Tim Gorman. I again approached John with the new information I had acquired and was disappointed when he determined to stand behind what his body shop concluded. I called Ford Motor Co. to get their intervention and was informed that my issue was between the dealership and myself.
I ended up calling my insurance company to file a claim with the damage happening as stated by the body shop. A few day later I received a written estimate in the mail from Bill Brown Collision and I find no mention of replacing the bent door hinge.
Once again I contacted John Houle to discuss why certain parts I was informed had caused all this damage were not being replaced. Once again he danced around the questions with small shop talk but never admitted any wrong doing by his employees.
Dave
Livonia, Michigan
U.S.A.
When I returned home I noticed with the window in the up position I really had to force the door to close completely. Also noticed the upper left corner of my fender was pulled away from the window pillar.
I called dealership back and was informed that they would take another look at the door when I returned to have the window molding installed. Upon returning to the dealership I was informed the car would be sent to body shop for further adjustments.
After two days of being told the car was not finished I called the body shop and was informed to call the customer service manager John Houle. I left a message with John, and received a return phone call from Tim Gorman stating I needed to call my insurance company because the repairs are not covered by warranty.
Tim informed me that the door had been opened with such a force that it bent the upper door hinge breaking the door stop, separating the door skin from the shell, and bending the fender. This must have taken place during a wind storm as he was told by the body shop.
I informed Tim I would be down to pick up my car because I was not buying the story he was laying down. Upon looking at the vehicle I noticed the door was even further out of adjustment, and the door skin separation he described was so noticeable that their technician would have noticed it on the first service attempt. I went to see John Houle and informed him that my vehicle was not in that condition when brought into their dealership, and asked why their technician would even attempt to align a damaged door.
John continued to dance around the question with some very well rehearsed answers and stated out of good will he was willing to pay my deductible if I filed a claim with my insurance company. I was put in a position where the only way the dealership was going to perform the repairs was to file a claim.
I went to three other dealership and was informed that the damages seen on my vehicle were not caused as described by Tim Gorman. I again approached John with the new information I had acquired and was disappointed when he determined to stand behind what his body shop concluded. I called Ford Motor Co. to get their intervention and was informed that my issue was between the dealership and myself.
I ended up calling my insurance company to file a claim with the damage happening as stated by the body shop. A few day later I received a written estimate in the mail from Bill Brown Collision and I find no mention of replacing the bent door hinge.
Once again I contacted John Houle to discuss why certain parts I was informed had caused all this damage were not being replaced. Once again he danced around the questions with small shop talk but never admitted any wrong doing by his employees.
Dave
Livonia, Michigan
U.S.A.
5 Updates & Rebuttals
Ruth Ann Brown
Livonia,Michigan,
United States of America
Our Sales Manager's Recent Response to a Customer Concerned about this Report
#2REBUTTAL Owner of company
Mon, June 28, 2010
Mr. L. Anderson,
Thank you for the opportunity to respond. We are aware of the posting but do not feel it is an accurate report of the facts. It would be inappropriate to get into details. But we can say that out of the 52,000 new vehicles that we have sold in the last 10 years, this single report was posted back in 2006.
We are proud to be one of the few approved AAA insurance repair facilities in the region. Having passed their strict requirements, including careful review of repairs. For the last several years we have been ranked in the top 5 of all Ford Dealers in the nation for customer satisfaction. Our customer retention is one of the highest in the nation. We do all of this while being the #1 Ford Dealer in the nation in car sales and the #2 in overall sales.
I say all of this not to point out how great we are, but to defend our reputation. No one in the nation can match the tenure of our staff. We are proud to work for Bill Brown Ford. I hope that you reconsider, give us a chance and make up your own mind. If I can help in any way, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Mike Schrieber
Sales Manager
734-524-2723
Report Attachments
Anonymous
clinton township,Michigan,
United States of America
RE: Owners name
#3General Comment
Tue, April 20, 2010
Just to let you know Dave the owners name is Ed Brown. I hope this helps.
Proud Customer
Plymouth,Michigan,
United States of America
In 2009, Bill Brown Ford was 1st in the Nation in Car Sales, 2nd in Vehicle Sales and in the Top Three in Customer Satisfaction.
#4Consumer Comment
Tue, January 26, 2010
In 2009, Bill Brown Ford was 1st in the Nation in Car Sales, 2nd in Vehicle Sales and in the Top Three in Customer Satisfaction.
Article Below as it was Reported in the Livonia Observer Newspaper
Bill Brown Ford's race to finish No. 1 in car and truck sales in 2009 fell a little short.
The Livonia car dealership reported Tuesday that it finished with 4,358 in sales, just behind the 4,372 total sold by Galpin Ford of North Hills, Calif.
They passed us at 11:45 p.m. Monday, said Mike Schrieber, sales manager at Bill Brown Ford. Monday was the last day to report. There was a flurry of sales they reported especially in the last half hour. They are a fantastic dealership, but we are very proud with the effort we had.
Bill Brown Ford maintained its No. 1 ranking in the country in car sales.
Nancy Wade of South Lyon has been a customer with Bill Brown Ford for about 10 years. She recently bought an Escape from the dealership. We were really rallying for them so I did an early lease termination which was set to end in February, Wade said.
She bought the Escape after salesman Bill Beam suggested it to her. I like Fords, Wade said. My dad worked at Ford for 30 years, and I love the cars. I feel an obligation to my family and the community so I buy Fords. They have good products.
Wade said she could buy the car at another dealership. But I go there because of their service, Wade said.
Schrieber attributes the dealership's success to owner Ed Brown. We are fortunate to work for Ed Brown, Schrieber said. He's put together an organization of people who have been here for several years and have stayed here. Sales persons average 14 years of employment at the dealership, Schrieber said.
But Schrieber credited the customers who came from all over metro Detroit, including Downriver and Detroit's suburbs, and as far away as Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo to buy a car. The people were really behind it, Schrieber said of the sales drive to finish first.
Even though we finished in first (for cars) and No. 2 in overall sales, we also finished in the top three for customer satisfaction. Customers are extremely pleased with sales staff and service department.
The sales staff also pushed with significant markdowns to move the cars, Schrieber said.
Last year's big sellers were the Fusion, Focus and Escape for the dealership. Bill Brown Ford finished No. 1 in sales for each of those vehicles, Schrieber said.
For 2010, Schrieber said he expects those cars to continue to sell well. The Fusion was just awarded the 2010 Motor Trend Car of the Year. But the Ford product that will turn heads will be the new Taurus, which a potential customer looked at the other day.
Is there an automobile out there like the Taurus? He looked at the fuel economy and he couldnt believe it.
Ford has done a lot of good things. The company didn't take any bailout money, and they have the right product coming out.
Schrieber wanted to thank the customers. In the end we came up a little bit short, but we had fun trying and we made a lot of friends and happy customers, Schrieber said.
Dan West, president of the Livonia Chamber of Commerce, said the Chamber was proud of Bill Brown Ford's success along with Ford Motor Co.'s overall success. Bill Brown Ford has operated in Livonia since 1952..
http://www.hometownlife.com/article/20100107/NEWS24/1070564/1041/Bill+Brown+Ford++1st+in+car+sales++2nd+in+overall+numbers
[email protected]|(313) 222-2591
Report Attachments
Dave
Livonia,Michigan,
U.S.A.
Re: Rain in Califonia
#5Author of original report
Wed, January 24, 2007
Thanks for the update on Bill Brown Ford. I have not been back since the car was repaired. I even got AAA of Michigan involved but without proof of them causing the damage they declined to pursue the matter. However I would appreciate nay information concerning how to contact the owner.
Rain
Anaheim,California,
U.S.A.
How to get your point across at BBF
#6UPDATE EX-employee responds
Tue, January 23, 2007
I worked for Bill Brown Ford for all of one month as a porter. I watched a few cases like yours come in and sat in the back talking with the service people about everything. With thier bold faces and rehearsed lines they hate dealing with customer complaints and I will clue you in as to why. On a few occasions, people will demand to speak with the owner, they have to comply immediately. The owner is a (very) not nice guy. hes friendly to the customer but he takes it out on his service people hard. Ask to speak to him, I cant remember his name I may update later with all the contact info if I can find it. If you ask to speak to the owner direct , they will flip out and run to the back for a few minutes. I've seen john shake. infact I will get that info tomorrow and post it here but I needed to get this info to you so you can know for sure there is hope. I have long since moved on and they have no clue who I am (its been several years) so I dont even put them on my resume now but I know the owner is the same as my dad used this tactic and got a free transmission for his truck AND a free extended warranty, just to keep him from chatting with the owner
