Costomer bad exprince

TTEC4849 Business Practice and Vehicle Safety

Customer Story of a Bad Experience

Instructions:

Divide up into small groups. Read the following story, and

discuss the following questions in your small groups. Then write your answers

in the space provided.

This is a true story.

The year was about 1958, in California, before there were strong consumer

laws. Don Higgins owned a laundry and dry cleaning business, in which he

used one of the new Volkswagen bus trade vans for his deliveries. He would

pick up dirty clothes from businesses (like restaurants and auto repair shops),

clean them and deliver them back. He liked his Volkswagen van: it had lots of

space to hang the clothes and it got good fuel economy. Up until recently, it

had been very reliable. But lately the engine wasn’t running very well. The

engine was regularly missing and had low power.

So in the morning, Don took his van to his local auto repair shop. He told them

it needed fixing, maybe just a tune up, and he got a ride back to his cleaning

business. Then in mid-afternoon, he went back to pick up his van.

To his surprise, the van wasn’t ready. If fact, the repair shop owner showed

Don the engine that was now out of the van. The exhaust valve for number 3

cylinder was burnt, causing the poor running engine and lack of power. The

shop owner said he could have the engine fixed and back in the van in 3 or 4

days. And the bill would be about $400.00. (In 1958, this was a lot of money.

Don’s monthly mortgage on his house was only about $120.00 per month.)

Don was very upset. He was so upset that I (Steve McAfee) heard about this

as the little boy who lived next door to Don.

Discussion Questions:

1. From Don’s point of view, what was wrong here? What did the shop do

wrong that upset Don so much. (After all, they were fixing his van.)

Don was so upset becasue they didnt fix the car in the time they had , they waited until don came the following afternoon and they told him then, they said it would take 3-4 days to fix it, don worked with his car to deliver his goods but he cannot do this because his car will be in repair for 3-4 days he can not work.

2. From the repair shop owner’s point of view, what was wrong with Don

getting upset at them? What did they do right or wrong?

The repair shop owner thought that he fixes his car he will tell Don how much it will cost

3. What should have been done in this circumstance? If you were Don, what

would you have wanted to be done?

I would want the repair owner to wait until i coem to tell me whats wrong and how much it will cost.

4. When the repair was finished, and Don went to pick up his van, he took the

van and did not pay the whole repair bill. Did the repair shop have the right to

hold the van until they got paid?

No they didnt have the right because it costed alot and don didnt have that much to pay at one time so don had the right to pay the money in parts.

5. If Don took the repair shop to court, what would you have ruled if you were

the judge? Should the repair shop pay for a replacement rental vehicle?

Should Don pay the whole repair bill? Should the repair shop pay Don for lost

business because he could not pick up and deliver clothes to his customers?

If i were the judge i would not find the repair shop guilty because they had to wait until don came back, because don didnt know the cost. The repair shop should pay for the replacement rental vehicle.

 

6. What New Zealand laws relate to this story? What do New Zealand laws

say should have been done in this case?

The Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 (CGA) provides that goods and services must meet certain guarantees. In most cases, the manufacturer or the trader is bound by these guarantees.

The Act covers goods you buy, like materials and appliances for the house, as well as the services provided by your architect, designer, builder or other contractors. The Act does not apply to goods bought at auction or tender or at a private sale, for example, if you buy a second-hand mantelpiece through the paper. Neither does it apply when you buy an existing house and the land that goes with it