Good customer service is the bedrock of every successful business but for St. Laurent Volvo and Land Rover Ottawa, they appear to be adrift of that benchmark.

The dealership has been shown to engage in unprofessional practices which have left several customers unsatisfied. Rather than offering the high-end luxury services that the car brands they represent are known for, the dealership has shown contempt in how it treats customers since their management takeover.

Due to how poor the service rendered is, many customers are now advising others to steer clear of the dealership either for purchasing or servicing their luxury vehicle. The dealership is bound to lose more customers as they have failed to pay more attention to current complaints and address them timely.

Here are a few reasons why St. Laurent Volvo and Land Rover Ottawa are terrible at customer service:

1. Dishonesty and failed promises

Making a promising and failing to keep it is one of the major fails in customer service. Staff at the St, Laurent Volvo and Land Rover Ottawa dealership are notorious for making promises that they have no intention of keeping.

“For weeks they kept promising us they would get the vehicle checked. Cliff and Frank multiple times promised to inspect our vehicle and didn't,” said the disgruntled claimant whose car was unattended to for almost two months.

If a business fails to keep to their promise, surely, they would lose the trust of the customer.

2. Poor reception

Gone are the days were the St. Laurent Volvo were known for their top-notch customer service. Today, it is the direct opposite and just as Kim Render, a reviewer said, they now have the “worst customer service ever”.

Customers who walk into the dealership aren’t greeted to a warm welcome but have to wait endlessly before they can get attended to.

“First I spent 30 mins waiting for a salesman and then left. The second time I spent 15min waiting. During that time, I read these reviews and realized I was making a mistake. Even if I got the car of my dreams it sounds like it comes with the service of my nightmares,” said Rudy Dunno after paying a visit to the dealership.

When customer service representatives are not trained properly, they tend to keep customers waiting for a long time as is the case at St. Laurent Volvo and Land Rover Ottawa.

3. Late delivery times

When a problem takes longer to solve, it becomes deadly to the business. However, this dealership can keep customer’s unattended to for weeks and without any form of inspection being carried out.

“For weeks they kept promising us they would get the vehicle checked. Cliff and Frank multiple times promised to inspect our vehicle and didn't,” said a BBB claimant whose car was unattended to for almost two months.

Another customer, Ramin Mesgarlou expressed his disappointment with the customer service at the dealership after they kept his vehicle for about a year just to fix a suspension fault.

Delaying on delivery timelines puts a huge taint on the reputation of this dealership, especially with the blatant dishonesty by service managers.

4. Incompetence

There have been numerous online complaints on how the technicians at St. Laurent Volvo and Land Rover Ottawa fail to diagnose the problem accurately and end up causing more damage to the customer’s car.

Many customers have laid complaints about how their car was still experiencing faults—or developing newer ones— even after taking it for service.

Guy Lagace took his Land Rover for service only to end up with various scratches and dents that were not originally there when he dropped off his vehicle. Even after insisting the dealership fixed the new damage, they still show a lot of incompetence.

“One week later I again asked to pick up my vehicle and again scratches not repaired but a poor attempt on buffing it, so much it caused more damage (paint burnishing) and left my vehicle full of buffing compound,” said Lagace.

Experiences like these fuels most of the negative reviews left by customers after patronizing the dealership.

5. Inflating prices

This dealership gave a quote of almost $3000 to install an after-market Catalytic Convertor that cost less than half that price ($1400) at other dealerships.

Failure to keep it fair and transparent with customers is a major reason why this dealership struggles to provide proper customer service.

Customers now have the impression that the business is out to cheat them and nothing more.

6. Suspicious practices

From resisting to issue a formal invoice to racist behaviour towards certain customers, this dealership has been shown to involve in shady practices that shouldn’t be associated with a dealership of its size—or any dealership at all. 

“Then they resisted issuing a formal invoice for contemplated repairs like they are some shady garage,” said a BBB claimant.

The BBB claimant had been requesting for a formal invoice for weeks and when they eventually issued one, they refused to continue with the repairs. Another customer also claims to have been a target of racist behaviour from the staff.

“I have never met such an insolent salesperson who keeps pushing potential customers to other stores. I guess she may have a racist attitude because I reviewed the previous comments,” said Elain Luo, who came to buy a Volvo XC90 at the dealership with her husband.

7. Inaccessibility

Contact representatives at St. Laurent Volvo and Land Rover Ottawa can be very difficult due to how unprofessional they appear to be.

Customers have to endure days and even weeks of zero communication from staff at the dealership. This can be very frustrating for customers especially when they have already paid for the service.

“Receptionist beyond rude... I called to find out the payout of my vehicle and nobody would call me back, had to call 3 times. Never again buying a vehicle from this particular dealership,” said William Delton.

Rather than take concrete measures to ensure that customers’ satisfaction is prioritized, the dealership chooses to do nothing.

Customers are the key part of any business and losing even one customer can come at a cost for the business. Therefore, it is necessary to master the art of handling customers more professionally and effectively.