"I cannot stress how much we appreciate her taking time to deal with us from a distance. It made all of difference in the world for us."
Hi Andy,
My
name is Erin McClure and I am a long-time customer of Royal Motors
Service Department (first with our Volvo and now with our VW suv). I
have stayed with Royal Motors specifically because of Patty Hudec. What
happened this week is yet another reason why she is superior. We were
for a final trip before our baby is born. We decided to come to
Solvang, about an hour north of Santa Barbara. About 10 miles from our
destination, the car stopped running. We had it towed to the VW dealer
in Santa Barbara. Upon arrival, we were told it was a fuel pump issue; I
immediately called Patty (she was on a break so I spoke with Jim, who
is very good, as well). Jim right away got on the phone with the Santa
Barbara dealership and provided all of our warranty information and so
on. We got in a rental car and went to the hotel. I will just say here
that the level of service we experienced, even those first interactions
with VW Santa Barbara, was so different than that at Royal Motors.
The
next morning I called to follow up because I had not heard back from
them (something I never have to do with Patty or the Royal Motors
team). The service advisor informed me that we were not covered under
warranty and that he had yet to order the part (even though we had
authorized it) so it would be another day or two. Irritated and not
convinced he was correct about the warranty issue, I was going to call
Patty to see what she suggested, but before I could, she called me to
see how things were going. I explained the situation to her and she
told me it did not sound right. She said to sit tight and she would
check with our warranty and the technicians up there for an opinion.
She called me several hours later and advised me on how to reach the
warranty company and what to say. She provided me with all of the
information I needed to make the call. I did as she instructed and,
sure enough, we were in fact covered under warranty. That call alone
saved us nearly $700 dollars. With a new baby on the way and the added
expense of the hotel and rental car, it was an overwhelming sense of
relief for us. But for her efforts and advice, we would have taken VW
Santa Barbara's word and spent the money.
I
cannot stress how much we appreciate her taking time to deal with us
from a distance. It made all of difference in the world for us. Her
usual sense of calm combined with her sense of urgency is her best asset
and certainly was again here. I am not nervous, like a lot of women
are, to have my car serviced anymore because of my comfort level with
Patty.
I
wanted to let you know about what happened because I have never
properly taken the time to express my appreciation to anyone beyond
her. We have sent her flowers and cookies in the past as a thank you
but, as a business owner myself, I think it probably means even more to
her for her superiors to know.
I
am very grateful for her help in this situation, but I want to be clear
that her efforts are always genuine and above and beyond. In other
words, I am not surprised she was willing and able to help us, as she
always is. I wish we had been home so we could have brought our car to
you but we are grateful that we had the benefit of Patty's guidance and
know-how, even while away.
We will see you for our next service!
Many thanks,
Erin McClure