Customer Wants Auto Loan Payoff After Service Dept. Joyride

A customer took her vehicle in for service and once she picked it up, she checked out her dash cam. The results were telling. The customer quickly discovered a dealership employee took her car more on more than a test drive. Veronica Pief brought her Kia Soul to Peak Kia North in Windsor, Colorado. The vehicle was in for a simple radio fix. The volume control button was broken. However, when Pief picked up her vehicle, nothing was fixed and when she downloaded the video from her dashcam it told the tale of her vehicle being used for random errands.

Pief’s vehicle was taken to McDonald’s, to the employees home, to Sam’s Club, to the employee’s bank and to the small town of Ault, some 16 plus miles away. The vehicle was also driven though a red light at an intersection.

In total the Kia Soul was used for 17 hours and over two hundred miles of driving. The story made the local news and the dealer was quick to respond. Chelsea Clarke, the sales manager at Peak Kia North told KUSA, “I don’t want anybody to be upset with us. That employee has since been terminated. So, we have handled the employee on it and we’re working on the customer to get everything else resolved.” Clarke went on to point out that her store has the best CSI scores in the state.

However, the customer isn’t satisfied. Her radio wasn’t fixed and she told the local news that the only way in which she will be happy is if Peak Kia North pays off her loan and takes her vehicle back. For the time being, that request seems just a little out of reach for a broken radio dial.

This dealership faced a potential public relations issue and they responded quickly, going on local TV and firing the employee responsible for the joyride. What do you think of their response compared with other dealership PR issues that can go unanswered? Do you think that their swift response will help their public image?