Thank you for contacting the Ford Motor Company Customer Relationship Center regarding the fog light kit for your 1999 Ford Mustang.
Ford Motor Company is concerned with the satisfaction of all Ford and Lincoln-Mercury owners. We regret the circumstances that have prompted you to contact us. However, to help us ensure that your concerns are properly addressed, we recommend that you reply to us with the following additional information to allow us to proceed.
Address:
City:
State:
Zip Code:
Cellular Phone Number:
Daytime Phone Number:
Home Phone Number:
Vehicle Identification Number:
If you would prefer to provide this information over the phone, you may call us toll free at 1-800-392-3673 between the hours of 8am and 5pm, local time, Monday through Friday. Hearing impaired callers with access to a TDD may contact us by calling 1-800-232-5952.
Sincerely,
Christie
Customer Relationship Center
Ford Motor Company
To which I replied with our address, phone number and "I see no reason to supply the VIN number on the car as it has nothing to do with the issue at hand."
I feel that there really isn't a reason to supply them with the VIN on the Mustang seeing as how it wasn't something they needed when we ordered the part and it really has nothing to do with the problem we are having.
I received another reply yesterday:
The information requested enables us to investigate the possible options that will directly address your request. In addition, this enables us to efficiently process your inquiry and update our records. Please provide the following information to allow us to proceed.
Vehicle Identification Number:
If you would prefer to provide this information over the phone, you may call us toll free at 1-800-392-3673 between the hours of 8am and 5pm, local time, Monday through Friday. Hearing impaired callers with access to a TDD may contact us by calling 1-800-232-5952.
Sincerely,
Christie
Customer Relationship Center
Ford Motor Company
Now I am a little irked by this. What I am getting is that if I don't give them my VIN number then they aren't going to do anything about this situation.
I am still debating my reply to them on this subject.
I guess at this point however it really does not matter since we cancelled the order, however we are still waiting for the refund to show up in the account. I love how when you order something they get their money right away, however with a refund they can take their own sweet time. In Ford's case we were told that it could take up to 10 business days to show up.
I still may reply to Ford. Just to let them know I cancelled the order and that I really think their customer service needs some work. I should not have to give them my VIN number to get some sort of help from them. Honestly... Customer Service seems to be a thing of the past these days. Companies really need to rethink who keeps them in business. *shrugs* Guess we let them do it so we all only have ourselves to blame.
Sorry that this is a less than ideal situation, CL. It's bad enough that you're without your fog lights; having a hard time with getting them just adds to the pain.
ReplyDeleteThe reason we require a VIN is for our internal tracking system that's required by the TREAD Act, a government requirement to ensure the quality of the products. Every time there's a customer issue, we need to log it to the fullest extent possible. This allows us to keep as comprehensive a record as possible about the customer, as well as the vehicle, which may change hands over time.
I think part of the confusion is that at Corporate, we don't sell parts directly to customers. That's handled through the dealers. If the dealer submitted a parts order for your vehicle, he would have put the VIN number into the system. Therefore, if you supply it to us, we can research the issue for you much more efficiently.
We hope this helps you understand the reason behind what may have seemed like a meaningless hoop to jump through. If we can be of further assistance, please let us know. On Twitter, we're @FordCustService.
Scott Monty
Global Digital Communications
Ford Motor Company
Scott,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the comment on the issue. Now I understand the request for the VIN, however the problem now is the fact that never once were we asked for the VIN when placing the order for the parts, nor on any of the phone calls that followed. Perhaps that is where the problem lies. A communication breakdown between Corporate and Parts where Parts is not always asking for VIN numbers for items.
Giving you the VIN on the vehicle will not do any of us any good as no one at Ford Parts made note of this at anytime.
As I stated in the original post on March 24 ( http://kaoskritters.blogspot.com/2010/03/saga-of-mustang-fog-lights-and-fords.html ) we have cancelled the order now since it had been 3 weeks or so and still no part shipped and no idea of when it may ship on Titus Wills part.
I would have included that post on my @Ford tweet however the limited character spaces prevented me from doing so.