I have had a chip on the windshield of my brand new, 2012 Honda Civic, with less than 200 miles at the time, less than two days old (That I've owned it). I was upset about the chip, but it wasn't cracking, so I decided to let it be.
Then the weather got nicer. I noticed that the chip wasn't getting any worse still, but it annoyed me. Against my better judgement, I decided to use a windshield repair kit that I purchased from my local Advanced Auto. Here goes nothing!
I have done this before on my Dodge pickup truck (God rest your soul!), so I wasn't new to the process. I did know that I wanted to follow directions to the "T." I got a timer, washed my car thoroughly, and made sure the windshield was spotless, dried, and had set for about an hour just in case.
I applied the sticky part of the applicator. i remembered saying to myself, "D@%$, that is PERFECT placement! I then removed the sticky part on the other side, hooked up the crazy looking needle head, and poured about half of the gooey stuff inside. I followed the explicit instructions, including the amount of pressure to push the needle, the times to let things sit, when to release, and when to re-apply the goo, and when to put on the yellow paper. The chip was still visible, but looked a lot better. I remember the package said it might not fix it completely, so i wasn't too bothered.
The next day I come out to go to work. What did I see? A 8-10" rainbow shaped CRACK on the windshield, epicenter- The Chip! i was furious! How could this be? I drove to work and watched the crack grow, like a creepy YouTube video with time lapsed grass growing! After work, the crack was even larger! It had now decided to take a drive north on the windshield, taunting my vision, saying to the police "Come and get me, Cop-pers!"
I found the number for the company that made the product. I was mainly looking for an apology, and maybe reimbursement for the product. That was when i met Renee Patterson. This man told me about the chemical process of the product, and how it won't crack the windshield. I understood that, I said "I know you wouldn't make a product that did that, but I have a windshield with a crack in it, and it didn't have one until I applied the product." Renee the told me about the chemical process of the product, and how it won't crack the windshield.
He wasn't understanding. As I tried to explain that i wanted something done, he would not help me. I know he is probably an expert about the product, and I know that he is much more knowledgeable than I, but I wanted more than an explanation.
This is where it gets good.
I said to him, in a very polite voice, "I would like to speak to your supervisor."
He replied, "I would like to speak to YOUR supervisor."
"Excuse me?" I said.
He replied, "I said, I'd like to speak to YOUR supervisor." Then he promptly hung up the phone. HE HUNG UP THE PHONE!
As someone who has worked with customers in retail, restaurant, and teaching aspects, I understand that the customer is not always right, even though we are told that, "The customer is always right."
I was furious at the exchange between myself and Renee. I called back, followed the same steps to get to him, but said to the operator, " I was disconnected with the Tech. Support gentleman. I do not remember his name."
She replied, "There are only two. Was it Renee or Hank?" I said Hank (not remembering his name).
Hank was very understanding. I started the conversation the same way that i did with Renee, but Hank told me the process to file a complaint, the people to talk to, what to send, and asked if there was anything else he could do. Hank was very helpful.
But I wanted to talk to Renee. I called again, and this time I left a message with a supervisor.
I called yet another time. This time I got connected to Renee. I said, "hello, I believe we got disconnected."
Renee replied, "Uh, I haven't been disconnected with anyone today. Can you remind me what we were talking about?"
I said, "Yes, I called about a chipped window, that became cracked after using the windshield repair kit."
"Oh," replied Renee in one of those "Uh oh, I can't believe you called back" voices.
Renee and I talked about how I was being rude, and about how the product could not cause this kind of issue. I said "I don't care about that right now. I am concerned with how rude you were to me on the phone, then you hung up."
Through the constant interruptions, and attacks on my rudeness, I finally was able to say, "I want you to know that I have filed a complaint against you, and i will be following up on it until it is resolved. I hope you have a great day."
He replied, "You too," and hung up.
Needless to say, I wasn't thrilled about our interaction. I am STILL trying to get this resolved after a few days. I have yet to get a phone call back, like I was promised. I believe that next week, seeing as I do not have school, i will be calling on a daily basis until the issue is resolved.
My main goal for this phone call was an apology, and maybe a few bucks to pay for the product, but after meeting Renee, I am hoping for a windshield, which now has a 3 foot long crack in it.
Moral of the story: Don't talk to men named Renee!
Then the weather got nicer. I noticed that the chip wasn't getting any worse still, but it annoyed me. Against my better judgement, I decided to use a windshield repair kit that I purchased from my local Advanced Auto. Here goes nothing!
I have done this before on my Dodge pickup truck (God rest your soul!), so I wasn't new to the process. I did know that I wanted to follow directions to the "T." I got a timer, washed my car thoroughly, and made sure the windshield was spotless, dried, and had set for about an hour just in case.
I applied the sticky part of the applicator. i remembered saying to myself, "D@%$, that is PERFECT placement! I then removed the sticky part on the other side, hooked up the crazy looking needle head, and poured about half of the gooey stuff inside. I followed the explicit instructions, including the amount of pressure to push the needle, the times to let things sit, when to release, and when to re-apply the goo, and when to put on the yellow paper. The chip was still visible, but looked a lot better. I remember the package said it might not fix it completely, so i wasn't too bothered.
The next day I come out to go to work. What did I see? A 8-10" rainbow shaped CRACK on the windshield, epicenter- The Chip! i was furious! How could this be? I drove to work and watched the crack grow, like a creepy YouTube video with time lapsed grass growing! After work, the crack was even larger! It had now decided to take a drive north on the windshield, taunting my vision, saying to the police "Come and get me, Cop-pers!"
I found the number for the company that made the product. I was mainly looking for an apology, and maybe reimbursement for the product. That was when i met Renee Patterson. This man told me about the chemical process of the product, and how it won't crack the windshield. I understood that, I said "I know you wouldn't make a product that did that, but I have a windshield with a crack in it, and it didn't have one until I applied the product." Renee the told me about the chemical process of the product, and how it won't crack the windshield.
He wasn't understanding. As I tried to explain that i wanted something done, he would not help me. I know he is probably an expert about the product, and I know that he is much more knowledgeable than I, but I wanted more than an explanation.
This is where it gets good.
I said to him, in a very polite voice, "I would like to speak to your supervisor."
He replied, "I would like to speak to YOUR supervisor."
"Excuse me?" I said.
He replied, "I said, I'd like to speak to YOUR supervisor." Then he promptly hung up the phone. HE HUNG UP THE PHONE!
As someone who has worked with customers in retail, restaurant, and teaching aspects, I understand that the customer is not always right, even though we are told that, "The customer is always right."
I was furious at the exchange between myself and Renee. I called back, followed the same steps to get to him, but said to the operator, " I was disconnected with the Tech. Support gentleman. I do not remember his name."
She replied, "There are only two. Was it Renee or Hank?" I said Hank (not remembering his name).
Hank was very understanding. I started the conversation the same way that i did with Renee, but Hank told me the process to file a complaint, the people to talk to, what to send, and asked if there was anything else he could do. Hank was very helpful.
But I wanted to talk to Renee. I called again, and this time I left a message with a supervisor.
I called yet another time. This time I got connected to Renee. I said, "hello, I believe we got disconnected."
Renee replied, "Uh, I haven't been disconnected with anyone today. Can you remind me what we were talking about?"
I said, "Yes, I called about a chipped window, that became cracked after using the windshield repair kit."
"Oh," replied Renee in one of those "Uh oh, I can't believe you called back" voices.
Renee and I talked about how I was being rude, and about how the product could not cause this kind of issue. I said "I don't care about that right now. I am concerned with how rude you were to me on the phone, then you hung up."
Through the constant interruptions, and attacks on my rudeness, I finally was able to say, "I want you to know that I have filed a complaint against you, and i will be following up on it until it is resolved. I hope you have a great day."
He replied, "You too," and hung up.
Needless to say, I wasn't thrilled about our interaction. I am STILL trying to get this resolved after a few days. I have yet to get a phone call back, like I was promised. I believe that next week, seeing as I do not have school, i will be calling on a daily basis until the issue is resolved.
My main goal for this phone call was an apology, and maybe a few bucks to pay for the product, but after meeting Renee, I am hoping for a windshield, which now has a 3 foot long crack in it.
Moral of the story: Don't talk to men named Renee!
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