Dear Mr. Clark;

I find this reply TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE.  Your lazy response has done more to
turn me, a loyal Volvo driver, off your fine cars then almost anything else
could!

Volvo retailers MUST uphold the standards of Volvo, or lose their franchise!

There MUST BE national standards for Volvo service, high standards.

Volvo USA MUST provide timely and excellent customer service, nothing less.
Quite frankly for the price of a S60 folks can be in a Lexus ES350, for the
price of a S40 folks could be in an Acura TSX, for the price of a XC90 folks
could be in any number of SUV's, including models from Lexus, and Mercedes
Benz.

While Acura and Lexus are known for unquestionable service quality, in
general folks I know are usually very happy with Mercedes Benz service as
well.  Mercedes has come a long way from their previous hit or miss service
quality, and Volvo must emulate the success of Mercedes.

There are many tools that Volvo can use to enforce compliance such as
vehicle and parts allocations, bonus monies paid with a caveat that a given
level of service must be maintained, and even yanking their franchise.

The treatment that Mr. Rawson received from Borton Volvo in Minneapolis MN
was totally unacceptable, and from a dealer organization that scored 3 tens,
one five and one zero I would think that the majority of clearly very fine
dealers would be glad to see a rapacious and poorly operated dealer, such as
Borton Volvo in Minneapolis MN either undergo drastic corrective action or
be stripped of their franchise.

Neftin Westlake Volvo in Thousand Oak, CA clearly has some work to do as
well, and I am sure that under the considerable pressure that the zone could
bring to bear such corrective action could be rapid and soon Neftin Westlake
could approach the level of service that Bill Pearce Motors in Reno, NV,
Smothers Volvo in Santa Rosa, CA, and Fields Jaguar/Land Rover/Volvo in
Madison, WI have all achieved.

Kudos to the high fliers, and you better do something, else Volvo might well
go the way of Jaguar.

Naturally I shall post your unhelpful reply to the usenet Volvo group so
thousands of Volvo owners both in the United States, and all over the world
will learn how concerned Volvo is about the unacceptable level of care that
some dealers provide, and does not even acknowledge the superb care other
dealers provide.

Sincerely yours;

Steven Kaess
 -------------- Original message --------------
 From: customercare@volvocars.com

 Dear Mr. Kaess,

 Thank you for contacting Volvo Cars of North America.

 Volvo retailers are responsible to conduct their operations according to
their own policies, and while responsible for

 the quality and integrity of the services they provide, we do take such
comments seriously.

 Their integrity and dependability as well as that of our organization are
factors in preserving owner loyalty and commitment

 to our product.

 We appreciate your sharing these comments with us.  We have forwarded your
correspondence to the appropriate

 department for internal review.

 Sincerely,

 Bill Clark

 Volvo Cars of North America

   ---- Original Message ----
   From : stevenholly@comcast.net
   To : customercare@volvocars.com
   Subject : [INTR:115636]
   Date : Sat, 02 Sep 2006, 10:14:34 PM EDT

   From the volvo board in usenet:

   My wife and I just completed two months of driving around the US in our
'05
   XC90 V8.  We put over 12K on the car with absolutely no problems at
all ---
   fantastic road car.  Highway mileage ran 23-24 MPG.

   We visited 5 Volvo dealers (4 for oil changes --- we change every 3750
   miles --- and one to check out an "open gas cap" trouble msg).  FWIW,
here's
   our report on those five dealers' service operations --- this report is
   being sent to each dealer, to Volvo USA (if they care), as well as to
this
   Volvo newsgroup.

   1) Bill Pearce Motors in Reno, NV.  OUTSTANDING!  En route, we drove in
   unannounced on a Saturday morning to have the 15K complimentary service.
   They took us right in, did everything that was needed, including
synthetic
   oil, at no charge whatsoever (our local dealer, Mooer's Volvo in
Richmond,
   VA, charges extra for the synthetic oil).& ;nb! sp; In addition, they
washed the car,
   removing the heavy coating of dead bugs that had accumulated.  All this
in
   just a little over an hour.  If you're in Reno, this is where you want
to
   go ---  very accommodating and friendly.  We'd give them a 12 on a
10-point
   scale. (6/24/06. Service Advisor 277 Jeffrey Maciel)

   2) Neftin Westlake Volvo in Thousand Oak, CA.  FAIR. We had an early
morning
   appointment here for a mid-service oil change.  They took several others
   ahead of us, even though we were the first ones there when they opened..
   Consequently, we waited around for over 2 hours for the oil change.
They
   didn't wash the car.  Total charge was $82.67.  We'd give them a 5 on a
   10-point scale, and next time might try the dealer in nearby Calabassas.
   (7/26/06 Service Advisor 6057 Robert Muzio)

   3) Smothers Volvo in Santa Rosa, CA.  EXCELLENT.  Again, en route and
   unannounce d, we stopped! in ear ly morning because we were getting a
trouble
   msg that the gas cap was not secure (although it certainly seemed to
be).
   They took us right in, did a variety of checks and found nothing amiss,
so
   reprogrammed the computer and that took care of the trouble msg.  It
took
   about an hour.  Very friendly and accommodating.  No charge (warranty)..
We'd
   give this dealer a 10.  (8/2/06 Service Advisor 37 Alex Ruiz)

   4) Borton Volvo in Minneapolis (Lyndale Ave), MN.  UNACCEPTABLE.  Before
   leaving Bismarck for Minneapolis, we made an appointment for the
following
   day for the 22.5K service.  When we arrived we were told that this was a
   major service and that they couldn't do it for about two weeks.  We
suspect
   that since this was a complimentary service (and in fact not a major
one),
   they just didn't want to be bothered with it.  They were not at all
   accommodating, and as a result we had to do some re-routi! ng to m ake
an
   appointment with a dealer who would handle this service (in Madison,
WI).
   We would give this dealer a 0 on a 10-point scale and strongly advise
you
   tpo stay clear. (8/10/06 Service Advisor UNK --- 30's something female)

   5) Fields Jaguar/Land Rover/Volvo in Madison, WI.  OUTSTANDING!  We
arrived
   for a mid-morning appointment and they took us right in and did the
22.5K
   service with no problem or delay.  We were there a little over an hour.
   They washed the car, and there was no charge at all.  Very friendly and
   accommodating.  This dealer had just bought the local Volvo franchise
from a
   nearby dealer (SMart Volvo) about 10 days previously, and now handles
Ford's
   Premier line (Jag/LR/Volvo).  Good clean operation.  If you're in
Madison,
   go there.  They get a 12 on the 10-point scale. (8/11/06 Service Advisor
   Michelle Gratz).

   Dave Rawson
   mdrawson@cox.net