Nissan 370Z Forum - View Single Post - Fontana Nissan does it right, please read

Guard Dad · 01-07-2011, 02:03 PM

Back in late November my wife and I were returning from a dinner in San Diego when what appeared to be a half-size roll of asphalt roofing "materialized" out of the darkness, directly in front of me. Well at 70 mph, surrounded by fast moving traffic and no place to go, I smacked it but good, right where the front tow hook mount is located. Man I was mad, The car had only 920 miles on it, not even broken in! The bumper cover was done, but my real worry was being able to get the paint to match. I was despondent, this car really is my baby, the the Z is the kind of car I've wanted for five decades and now it's screwed up!

Not long after I posted my remarks about my sorry state of mind, Anthony at Fontana Nissan saw my post and offerd to help. He said he could get a new bumper cover and have it painted and ready for my pick up in a week or two. Now Fontana is a 110 mile round trip from my house and several Nissan dealers are closer, but I liked the idea of supporting one of the forum sponsors and I hoped that because they are a sponsor they might have a better appreciation of my concerns about paint quality.

Well, in due time, Anthony (a very nice guy by the way) called, the cover was ready and I could pick it up any time. I hitched up the utility trailer and made the drive to Fontana. 55 miles later I arrived. My first impression was Wow! This place must have been built yesterday, it was immaculate. Backed up to the 210 freeway, it literally sparkled. The parts department featured several displays of preformance accessories for our favorite car and was a pleasant place to do business. Anthony had me meet him at a side door to pick up the bumper cover. Upon seeing the cover I knew we had a problem, the paint work wasn't even in the ballpark. The fang area was rough, like it hadn't been preped and two pieces of unknown material were imbeded in the paint, one on either side of the chrome emblem. My worst fears were confirmed, I knew it, I knew it! The paint was going to be a problem. With a sigh, I showed these areas to Anthony and without arguement he took the cover back into the shop for repainting. Since I had brought the old cover with me (for color comparison) I took the opportunity to cut off a good piece of the cover and give it to Anthony so the paint shop would have some original paint for matching pourposes when repainting the new bumper cover. A few days later I called Anthony to see what was happening, he said that he had brought the matter to the attention of the owner whereupon it was decided to send the cover to an outside shop for painting. Additionally, he said that it would not be necessary for me to make another trip to Fontana as they would deliver the bumper cover to me. Now we're talking! Some days later Anthony called to arrange delivery. It came (delivered by a pleasent young fellow, Cory as I recall) on December 23, but I wasn't able to install it for about 10 days. The color match and paint work were excellent! A true happy ending.

I have been is one form or another of sales or customer service for forty-three years and in my experience REAL customer service happens not when everything goes smoothly but when something goes wrong. How is the customer treated when problems arrise? That is the acid test. Fontana Nissan diddn't blame the customer (me) or make excuses (good paint work is REALLY HARD!), instead they quietly and efficiently solved the problem and provided the additional convenience of delivering the part to my garage.

That was real customer service.

01-07-2011, 02:03 PM	#1 (permalink)
Guard Dad Enthusiast Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: South Orange County, CA Posts: 422 Drives: 2010 370Z Silver A7 Rep Power: 15	Fontana Nissan does it right, please read Back in late November my wife and I were returning from a dinner in San Diego when what appeared to be a half-size roll of asphalt roofing "materialized" out of the darkness, directly in front of me. Well at 70 mph, surrounded by fast moving traffic and no place to go, I smacked it but good, right where the front tow hook mount is located. Man I was mad, The car had only 920 miles on it, not even broken in! The bumper cover was done, but my real worry was being able to get the paint to match. I was despondent, this car really is my baby, the the Z is the kind of car I've wanted for five decades and now it's screwed up! Not long after I posted my remarks about my sorry state of mind, Anthony at Fontana Nissan saw my post and offerd to help. He said he could get a new bumper cover and have it painted and ready for my pick up in a week or two. Now Fontana is a 110 mile round trip from my house and several Nissan dealers are closer, but I liked the idea of supporting one of the forum sponsors and I hoped that because they are a sponsor they might have a better appreciation of my concerns about paint quality. Well, in due time, Anthony (a very nice guy by the way) called, the cover was ready and I could pick it up any time. I hitched up the utility trailer and made the drive to Fontana. 55 miles later I arrived. My first impression was Wow! This place must have been built yesterday, it was immaculate. Backed up to the 210 freeway, it literally sparkled. The parts department featured several displays of preformance accessories for our favorite car and was a pleasant place to do business. Anthony had me meet him at a side door to pick up the bumper cover. Upon seeing the cover I knew we had a problem, the paint work wasn't even in the ballpark. The fang area was rough, like it hadn't been preped and two pieces of unknown material were imbeded in the paint, one on either side of the chrome emblem. My worst fears were confirmed, I knew it, I knew it! The paint was going to be a problem. With a sigh, I showed these areas to Anthony and without arguement he took the cover back into the shop for repainting. Since I had brought the old cover with me (for color comparison) I took the opportunity to cut off a good piece of the cover and give it to Anthony so the paint shop would have some original paint for matching pourposes when repainting the new bumper cover. A few days later I called Anthony to see what was happening, he said that he had brought the matter to the attention of the owner whereupon it was decided to send the cover to an outside shop for painting. Additionally, he said that it would not be necessary for me to make another trip to Fontana as they would deliver the bumper cover to me. Now we're talking! Some days later Anthony called to arrange delivery. It came (delivered by a pleasent young fellow, Cory as I recall) on December 23, but I wasn't able to install it for about 10 days. The color match and paint work were excellent! A true happy ending. I have been is one form or another of sales or customer service for forty-three years and in my experience REAL customer service happens not when everything goes smoothly but when something goes wrong. How is the customer treated when problems arrise? That is the acid test. Fontana Nissan diddn't blame the customer (me) or make excuses (good paint work is REALLY HARD!), instead they quietly and efficiently solved the problem and provided the additional convenience of delivering the part to my garage. That was real customer service. Last edited by Guard Dad; 01-07-2011 at 02:25 PM.