Johnnyfive
Active Member
Hey all,
I wanted to share a positive experience I have had with the premium customer service we get with the Stinger. Two people with the exact same situation may not get the same results, but I wanted to share mine as a lot of times those with positive experiences won't share it. This is a bit of a read, so hang in with me. TL;DR at the bottom.
The Background
When I went to pick my car to get the PPF and ceramic applied, my installer pointed out some deep scratches in the roof glass. Deep enough to catch my fingernail in easily. There were several of them parallel to each other, and you could see them continue on either side of the roof. They didn't connect all the way across, but you could definitely see the connection. You had to be at the right angle to catch them, and I certainly had not noticed them before. The car had hardly been driven since I picked it up from the dealer a few days before I dropped it off at the installer, and I hadn't done anything that would have caused such scratches. He swore up and down that he didn't do it, and walked me around the shop to illustrate that there was really no tool he used that could have done it.
When I took the car to the dealer to get my license plates and take care of the trunk rattle, I asked them to take a look at them to see if anything could be done, and told them that my installer suggested these had come from some strapping or something that had been done during transport. The dealer, of course, swore up and down that they were not there when they sold it to me.
Now I did walk around the car for a bit when I went to buy it, but I didn't do a really close inspection so this is partially on me for sure. I just couldn't see how there would have been any other way for those scratches to have occurred.
Initial fail to achieve resolution
So now I am stuck between two parties who say they didn't do it, and I knew I hadn't done it. I asked if there was some way to buff them out. The answer, unsurprisingly, was no. So then I started looking into replacement. The PPF installer would not do anything, as they swore there was no way they did it. The service department of the dealer said the same thing. My dealer's service manager tried to help me out by cutting the cost as far as they could (reducing labor costs), but even then it was going to be around $1200 for parts and labor. The parts alone were nearly $1000. That's right. Replacing the glass required replacing the seals and some attached mechanical parts.
Enter Kia Premium Customer Service
It was at this point that I got called by KPCS. I did not call them. I did not ask my dealer to work with them. They called me. He knew what my problem was. He knew the details behind what had been discussed so far. Throughout the rest of the experience, he worked with me. Not some random service manager. He reached out to the dealer and confirmed there was nothing more they were willing/able to do. He then reached out to the regional manager to see if they would step in. The answer there was also no. At this point I was fairly resigned to having these scratches. I sure wasn't going to pay $1200. The last resort was a decision board, where the case would be finally decided. I didn't have much hope. I told my rep I wasn't looking for a freebie since I couldn't prove who did it. I was just hoping for some help in some way. He said it should take a few weeks to hear back for sure. Sure enough, between 1 and 2 weeks later, he called me back. The offer was to use the warranty price for the parts, which only Kia could decide to do (not the dealer), and that they would pay half the costs of the parts and labor. I was stunned. I had expected a "so sorry but no". I got the roof replaced last week.
Throughout the whole experience, the KPCS rep was courteous, friendly, and really seemed to be working to get the best he could for me.
TL;DR
Scratches in my glass roof of unknown origin could not be repaired. Kia Premium Customer Service stepped in to investigate all the options, and ultimately lowered the parts cost and split the total cost with me.
I wanted to share a positive experience I have had with the premium customer service we get with the Stinger. Two people with the exact same situation may not get the same results, but I wanted to share mine as a lot of times those with positive experiences won't share it. This is a bit of a read, so hang in with me. TL;DR at the bottom.
The Background
When I went to pick my car to get the PPF and ceramic applied, my installer pointed out some deep scratches in the roof glass. Deep enough to catch my fingernail in easily. There were several of them parallel to each other, and you could see them continue on either side of the roof. They didn't connect all the way across, but you could definitely see the connection. You had to be at the right angle to catch them, and I certainly had not noticed them before. The car had hardly been driven since I picked it up from the dealer a few days before I dropped it off at the installer, and I hadn't done anything that would have caused such scratches. He swore up and down that he didn't do it, and walked me around the shop to illustrate that there was really no tool he used that could have done it.
When I took the car to the dealer to get my license plates and take care of the trunk rattle, I asked them to take a look at them to see if anything could be done, and told them that my installer suggested these had come from some strapping or something that had been done during transport. The dealer, of course, swore up and down that they were not there when they sold it to me.
Now I did walk around the car for a bit when I went to buy it, but I didn't do a really close inspection so this is partially on me for sure. I just couldn't see how there would have been any other way for those scratches to have occurred.
Initial fail to achieve resolution
So now I am stuck between two parties who say they didn't do it, and I knew I hadn't done it. I asked if there was some way to buff them out. The answer, unsurprisingly, was no. So then I started looking into replacement. The PPF installer would not do anything, as they swore there was no way they did it. The service department of the dealer said the same thing. My dealer's service manager tried to help me out by cutting the cost as far as they could (reducing labor costs), but even then it was going to be around $1200 for parts and labor. The parts alone were nearly $1000. That's right. Replacing the glass required replacing the seals and some attached mechanical parts.
Enter Kia Premium Customer Service
It was at this point that I got called by KPCS. I did not call them. I did not ask my dealer to work with them. They called me. He knew what my problem was. He knew the details behind what had been discussed so far. Throughout the rest of the experience, he worked with me. Not some random service manager. He reached out to the dealer and confirmed there was nothing more they were willing/able to do. He then reached out to the regional manager to see if they would step in. The answer there was also no. At this point I was fairly resigned to having these scratches. I sure wasn't going to pay $1200. The last resort was a decision board, where the case would be finally decided. I didn't have much hope. I told my rep I wasn't looking for a freebie since I couldn't prove who did it. I was just hoping for some help in some way. He said it should take a few weeks to hear back for sure. Sure enough, between 1 and 2 weeks later, he called me back. The offer was to use the warranty price for the parts, which only Kia could decide to do (not the dealer), and that they would pay half the costs of the parts and labor. I was stunned. I had expected a "so sorry but no". I got the roof replaced last week.
Throughout the whole experience, the KPCS rep was courteous, friendly, and really seemed to be working to get the best he could for me.
TL;DR
Scratches in my glass roof of unknown origin could not be repaired. Kia Premium Customer Service stepped in to investigate all the options, and ultimately lowered the parts cost and split the total cost with me.
