Great beer + amazing customer service = one happy customer

Last week we attempted to refill the fridge with delicious Mill Street beer. Dan is quite taken with the Stock Ale, while I prefer the Tankhouse Ale. As of late, our local beer store is often out of Mill Street. The last two times we've had to drive to a few different stores to find any in stock. When they were out of stock this week, with the price of gas and all, Dan decided to just buy his old brand. When he got home, he wrote an email to Mill Street to ask why they never have it in stock. Within an hour, they got back to him saying that they have been having production problems keeping up with demand, but that they'd ensure that our local retail outlet receives more product. Then they asked for his address so that they could drop off a case of his favorite beer. The next day, a full case of fresh beer was delivered to our house. Now that is customer service!

Compare this to Dan's experience with Mazda and the worst dealership: Dufferin Mazda in Toronto. Phone calls, letters, emails -- to the dealer, owner and Mazda HQ, yet all they said is -- that's normal wear and tear. Check out Second blown clutch on 2004 Mazda3: do not buy from Dufferin Mazda! Their record speaks for itself.

Coincidently, I was checking my web analytics today and saw the 4th most popular post on this blog is the one about the blown clutch. Seems that a lot of other people have had problems with the clutch on their Mazda 3. Coincidence? Humm.... you decide. I think not!!

Dan drives his Mazda every day for his job, visiting customers and retail outlets. He spends his day talking to people. Today, as he was getting out of his car, another motorist asked how he liked his Mazda as he was thinking of getting one. Dan told him his story of bad product coupled with appaling customer service, and this potential customer converted immediately against the Mazda move. Yes, word of mouth can also be bad for sales.

What I know is that Mill Street Brewery could teach Dufferin Mazda a lesson on customer service. They have a customer for life, whereas we will never buy another Mazda.

Second blown clutch on 2004 Mazda3: do not buy from Dufferin Mazda!

I just received word that Dan's relatively new vehicle has blown the clutch again. He was calling from Palmerston Blvd while awaiting the tow truck. The car had zero km on it when he drove it off the lot on September 19, 2004. It is less than 3 years old, and this is the second time that the clutch has broken. Is this really normal?

Now you might think that he doesn't know how to drive a stick? (I'm sure you'd expect that if he was female.) But, he does. With his 1991 Integra, the original clutch lasted more than a decade. As did the Honda that he drove before that. And the brakes on the 2004 Mazda3 needed to be replaced after just one year, whereas the Integra held out for over 5.5 years. Sure, city driving is hard on a car, but do the parts really expire in a year? Or is this a problem with Mazda?

Dan's phone calls to the Dufferin Mazda dealership were often not returned. He also wrote letters. And in the end, they said that it was normal wear and tear, and they would not pay for it. Nor did they pay for the tow truck up to the dealership, or for the rental car that he had to rent for five days while they fixed the clutch the first time. The level of service and customer support at both Dufferin Mazda and Mazda Canada are deplorable.

Look out Mazda. Look out Dufferin Mazda. You have a new enemy.

Now you may be interested to know that Conservative MP Wajid Kahn (who crossed the floor in January 2007 from the Liberal party) is the former owner of Dufferin Mazda. And as this clever writer says: Mississauga MP (and former Dufferin Mazda dealership owner) Wajid Khan further weakened the reputation of used car salesmen by betraying Liberal voters and defecting to the Conservative party. Switching parties mid-season? How can we trust this guy? When he retires from politics, will he be back full time at the dealership, doing television ads in a jailbird suit, a la Mel Lastman?

At Dufferin Mazda's website, they have the nerve to write: We do it better, we do it for less. Do they really???

Have you had a problem with the clutch on your Mazda? Do you have service horror stories with Dufferin Mazda? If so, comment and let me know. It is time that they learn that word-of-mouth can be negative as they witness the power of online communications.