Autotrader.com, an example of poor customer service
I try to list the great and the terrible reviews. I try not to be biased, I just like when companies take care of their customers. I think it's totally unacceptable for a company to crap on your after you pay good money for their products and I hate seeing others get duped. To make it worse so many companies have customer service that don't read or listen to your question, cuts and pastes a response or reads it from a script, or generally tries to give you the runaround so you eventually give up. On the other hand, I think there are companies that go above and beyond in making sure their customers are happy.
On October 1 I attempted to list a car for sale on the popular Autotrader.com. Creating the ad online through their website would not allow me to list the trim of the car I was selling, while dealer listed ads had the trim listed. Since this was a car with leather, V6, etc I really wanted to list the trim level as that would make it stand out amongst the base model cars.
I tried calling, but like the majority of customer service centers now, the hours of operation weren't any time convenient for people who actually have jobs. So on the evening of October 1 I send this email:
"Hi, I was trying to place my ad today. I put in the VIN, the right trim, etc... When I went to post it just lists it as a "Honda Accord Sedan". I see others listed as their trim level such as "Honda Accord EX V6 Sedan", why can't I post that?"
Over ONE MONTH later, on November 6, I receive this stern reply:
"Thank you for using AutoTrader.com. I understand that you purchased a Magazine/Online Combination ad. Since all magazine listings and information must be maintained by the print office you will need to contact your local Trader Magazine office to place, renew or correct those ads. Ads placed with Trader Magazine are posted onto our website but unfortunately we cannot edit, renew, or make any changes to those ads and they cannot be edited on AutoTrader.com. All Trader Publications offices can be reached by dialing 866-678-2852. The magazine office must administer all Trader listings in order to keep the print and online copy matched. You can also find your local Trader office at http://www.traderpub.com/usaindex.html. Click on your state then the office closest to you. Then click on LOCATIONS to obtain their phone number. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Thank you for contacting AutoTrader.com!"
Well... I wasn't placing a magazine ad and I SURELY wouldn't go through all the trouble of calling or visiting a local office during my working hours to simply get a trim level listed in an ad I was trying to create online. I replied back with this, because of the difficulty and lack of help I cancelled my ad creation and never paid for or used their service:
"Lame... I did this online through Autotrader.com... thankfully I never went through with the purchase process because it just didn't give me what I needed... I sold it in two days on Craigslist... thanks for making it WAY harder than it needed to be..."
5 comments:
That's too bad. We sold our mustang on Autotrader.com and they never charged my credit card! The ad ran for about 2 weeks.
I'll keep this in mind though if we have another vehicle to sell.
AutoTrader.com is a rip-off. If everything goes right in placing your ad, you're one lucky customer. If anything goes wrong, you're out of luck. I listed my Jeep with them ten days ago, and wondered why I wasn't getting any calls. It turns out the ad was missing the picture and they failed to list it in the local magazine. Calling their customer service was an exercise in frustration and futility. According to them, everything is the customer's fault. Other businesses will bend over backwards to make their customer's happy. But, AutoTrader.com made it perfectly clear they don't care how I feel. Their lousy service is the customer's problem and we should be grateful for it. That unfortunately, is the way it is with some companies based in the Southern United States. I suggest everyone use Craig's List. It won't cost you a dime. Are there any lawyers out there willing to file a class action against these clowns?
Yes I listed on tues and wed morning all was fine. But I checked wed afternoon and no photo. I called and was told no supervisor available. I checked thurs morn no picture still, called was rad the same script as the day before. told no supervisor available. I've goggled this and have found other with same problem.
I am NOT a fan of AutoTrader.com at the moment. Here's my experience.
Great blog, by the way!
Autotrader.com is the biggest ripoff.... List my truck on there and for 2 weeks straight all I get are calls from solicitors trying to get me to sell the truck with them. Also a lot of the calls I get are very late or early in the morning from recordings, pisses me off big time. they wont refund me either even though I got no bites, from any real actual interested people and the ad has been removed. Fuck them
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