Twelve Tips to Help You Complain Effectively

When you feel you've been wronged by a repair shop or dealer, do you:

• Run your car through their pansy bed?

• Hire a dynamite man to level the place?

• Climb their flagpole, refusing to come down until justice is served?

• Eat a garlic sandwich and then introduce yourself to other customers as the owner?

The correct answer was not listed above.

When you have a complaint, there are some do's and don'ts that will increase your chances of receiving fair treatment:

1. Subdue your temper. You can't think rationally when you are angry. You tend not to make good sense, and management will be paying attention to your temper, not your problem.

2. Ask to talk to someone in authority. Don't waste your best material on some flunky.

3. Ask to talk in a private place. So much more can be accomplished in a private office. Third parties cause trouble as remarks are weighed against what the third party might have thought.

4. Jot down the events and items that bother you. Write down exactly what happened, what you were promised, and in the order they occurred. Be as accurate as possible. Be truthful.

5. Don't get personal. Do not call anyone names, not even absent parties. Keep it professional. Don't let them stop thinking about your problem.

6. Don't make unfounded accusations. Try to avoid accusations. State your case accurately and truthfully. And state it fully, not just what's advantageous to your side.

7. Stick to the subject at hand. Don't get away from the primary item.

8. Hear the other side through. Don't interrupt while the other side is being presented. Take notes.

9. Accept apologies and promises to make good. Let them redo the job - at least once.

10.Restate what you understand about what happened. Ask them to repeat your case to you to see if they really do have a feel for it, and have been listening.

11.If after the above is exhausted, and an equitable solution has not been found, ask to see someone with more authority.

12.If you fail after going to higher authority, then advise them that you plan to consider all of your options, which will include the Better Business Bureau, Consumer Affairs departments of appropriate governmental agencies, and a private attorney.

This last resource is not intended as a threat, only a courtesy. It would be unfair, and not in your best interest, to fail to advise the other side of your intentions to pursue the matter. If you merely fold up your tent and leave, they may assume you have accepted their view of the matter. But if notified of your intentions, there might be some further negotiating, and even a satisfactory conclusion

Anti-Freeze, Freon, Coolant: Where, When,

There is quite a bit of confusion about anti-freeze, coolant and freon. Service personnel have been asked, "Would you put some coolant in my air conditioner, please?" And, "My car is overheating, do I need some freon in my radiator?"

It's not as crazy as it sounds. Coolant is the new word for anti-freeze. It's the same old product (Well, maybe improved), but they discovered that it not only kept water from freezing, it also kept the water in the radiator cooler. This made it necessary for summer as well as winter.
Freon is a gas that is put into the air conditioning system that causes it to cool. Forget about freon -until next July.

But don't forget about coolant, or antifreeze - let's call it antifreeze. Having it checked, and then adding more, year in and year out, is not proper maintenance. Due to a phenomenon called 'silicate fallout', failing to change the antifreeze every 12 months may cause you big-time radiator repairs.
Silicates protect aluminum engine parts, heads, and radiators from corrosion. These chemicals coat the inner surfaces of the cooling system with a protective silicate film. As the film wears down, the silicate is intended to break out and re-treat exposed areas.

However, over time, the "soup" of chemicals, impurities and corrosion byproducts in the car's cooling system can start to break down the controlled rate at which the silicate is to drop out. As it drops faster, it forms a `goo' that hardens to clog delicate radiator core openings, causing the car to overheat.
Nothing short of pulling the radiator and placing it in a vat, to be boiled out, will remove the hardened silicate.

Here are some guidelines to follow that will save you the big radiator repair bill.

*Use only reputable brands of antifreeze.

*Do not use a higher concentration than 50% antifreeze to water.

*Do not use cooling system additives that raise silicate levels unnecessarily. *Drain and flush the cooling system annually.

*Use distilled or filtered water in areas where the water is hard (High % mineral). But, do not use distilled water unless it is necessary, as distilled water absorbs oxygen and carbon dioxide, which promotes corrosion.

To be on the safe side, check the antifreeze in the spring, and replace it in the fall. If you do your own, make certain that you never have more than 50% antifreeze to water mixture.

Remember, when your car overheats, turn the engine off at once. Only about 10 minutes separate a $30 hose or belt replacement job and, a $5,000 engine replacement.

How to Speak "CAR" to Your Mechanic

With a stern gaze and jutted chin, the matronly woman looked the service advisor squarely in' the eye and said, "Uhden dunt, uh-dunt, dunt...dunt... dunt...psst!"

She and many other car owners are finding that their high tech marvels of the road make weird sounds. In their efforts to convey to servicemen any information that might help hasten the repair, they try to mimic their cars' final gasps.

"fuden... fuden...duff," one man muttered repeatedly while the mechanic watched his performance in amazement. But the man insisted these were his engine's dying words, and eventually the syllables clicked a spark of recognition in the technician and he was able to begin a diagnosis.

Believe it or not, this is a good way to communicate with a mechanic about a car that won't run, especially with today's technologically advanced models.

Of course, if the car runs, the best thing to do is take it for a drive with the mechanic, hoping the problem will manifest itself before a new audience. However, cars, like children, don't always do what's expected of them. They will limp and sputter and cough, until you arrive at the service department. Then when they see a mechanic approaching, they purr like a kitten and accelerate like the Russians just landed in Ft. Worth.

You're left with no choice but to describe the "konk," the "clunk," the "ping" that brought you to the shop. But, in addition to the age old "chunka-chunka-chunka" to describe a dead miss in the engine, high tech cars have brought with them new sounds that require owners to achieve a new level of creative communications.

So foreign are these sounds to our long-acquired instincts that traffic jams have been blamed on the "freeway chorus" as passing motorists slow and sometimes stop, not sure whether the strange noises are coming from their own cars or someone else's.

When you're in a service department and hear another unfortunate owner making the funny noises, you're tempted to snicker. But you'll make the sounds, too, when your turn comes. There just isn't much else you can do. Communication is important to getting the problem fixed the first time. Duplicating sounds and noises gives the mechanic something to go on. He has a real problem looking at a car that won't run and can't talk. So the owner must do the talking.

One woman described steam coming from the exhaust pipes this way: "Its breath is fogging, and it's not even cold."

Some people tend to take their cars' noise as a personal affront. One man insisted his transmission was "growling at me." Others have complained, "My car is whistling at me," or "my car is spitting at me."
The classic service department waiting room story is the one about the well cushioned lady who burst through the door and announced to the service advisor, "Quick! My rear end is bumping and grinding. I need some help, now!