Check your default settings on your new Cadillac

[Barry M Wheeler #2189]

I have had my 2016 ATS into the shop twice now as the electric seat heaters have been coming on without my switching them on.

This morning, they switched on, outside temp about 45 degrees. Took the car to the dealership and started it again to get the mileage, they didn't come on, temp in the high fifties.
Had to wait as they were out of loaners. I asked whether or not they had a default setting to turn them on when the weather was cold. Well, they "still had to check the car out."

After an hour and a half, the rep came to the waiting area and said, (With no mention of my suggesting they check the owner's manual) "That the car did have a setting that turns the seats on automatically in cooler weather."

Why did I have to tell them??? (Yes, I KNOW that I could have checked the manual myself, but I've been busy.)

[chrisntam]

I recently discovered how to reset the trip odometer on my '70 by reading the owners manual.  The cluster was on the list to remove and send out for repair.  A little owner's manual time saved me time and money.

[55 cadi]

Yes look at a large manual, fun.

But Barry's point and one I fully agree with is they should know all aspects of what they are selling, they should have been able to say " why yes there is an auto setting" and then say" let me show you how to disengage"
That's what I would expect from a "Cadillac" dealer in my opinion.
That's high end or even mid grade customer service.
Yet another possible reason they are not where they should be in sales.
I would expect Cadillac to be in the ranks of Mercedes, BMW type of customer service. And knowing your product with a quick answer not a wait while we check it out.
Sorry if it's a rant, just got done reading the Cadillac marketing thread.

[D.Smith]

Service writers are supposed to know every feature standard and optional of every model, every year, every package trim level?     The sales staff doesn't even know that much!  LOL

But seriously, your owners manual is filled with amazing information.   Or just sit in your car when you have a few extra minutes and scroll through the various "Settings" screens and see what is listed.     I always bring my owners manual in the house to read whenever I get a new car.   

With my latest 300C I found myself making several trips out to the driveway to try out the settings.   I love the heated steering wheel.  Best feature ever if you live in a Northern climate!

Enjoy your new ride!

[Scot Minesinger]

Ideally every feature on a new car is somewhat intuitive, and can be operated without reading a manual.  However that is becoming more difficult.  That is where the dealer comes in handy.  My wife bought a new Chrysler 300 luxury edition and the dealer spent a lot of time with here making sure she understood how to operate everything.  We even bought the factory extended bumper to bumper warranty.  Accordingly, more than two years later, trips to dealer are only for standard maintenance.

[55 cadi]

Dave,

I think that a salesperson should know all features as well. When I was in sales I had to know everything about all models of product.

Fact is people have "hot buttons" meaning it could be one small thing that really makes a person choose to buy something, whether it's small or a big feature, so in knowing all aspects of a car you can inform someone of all the great features a car has, it is a big and expensive purchase.
How hard is it to know facts about something you sell everyday, I see a lot of salespeople standing around doing nothing or gossip when they are not showing a car......pick up a manual and learn it, and be able to answer any question a customer might have.
And it plays into great customer service, is he went in and asked about it and the sales person gave the info, that customer would be leaving in a matter of minutes happy, not having to wait an hour for someone to give a simple answer.

Maybe I'm just better at customer service or more into customer service than others

[Rich S]

My Cadillac dealer, since the late 1980's, has the sales person (and in 2001 there were two or three specially trained and brought over to help the other "less able" sales staff with this task) sit-in and orient the new buyer to their vehicle, upon delivery, and going over and programming all seat settings, mirror positions, radio stations, dash displays, "blue-tooth" and then scrolling through all the menu of items and explaining their default settings, etc. It takes increasingly longer as the newer models have more programmable features. In this regard, my experience (in at least nine new Cadillacs) has been excellent from a long-standing Cadillac dealership. Around a week later, they always place a phone call to make certain all the features are functioning to the owner's satisfaction.

[Barry M Wheeler #2189]

Rich, I agree 100%. When I was selling Buicks/Cadillacs in the 90s, when I delivered a car, day off or not, I was there going over all of the features of the auto. Friday, I caught my Sales Associate when he came in for work and asked him to check and see if there was a default feature, and never saw him again that day.

Oh well, we are enjoying the upgrades that appeared over the two model years since our first ATS. I still have to find out how to regain the clock (which is somewhat bigger than in 2014.)

This is one time that I am looking forward to the customer satisfaction survey arriving. I usually give them the benefit of the doubt when I fill them out, but this time, I'm going to "tell it like it is."