Barnett Kia

Barnett Kia responded

Scott Anderson: What a world we live in where someone can post a one-star review for a business just because they don’t like the business’ policy! As was explained to you on two separate phone calls, by two separate staff members, the dealership does not “hold” vehicles. A vehicle is for sale until a customer puts a non-refundable deposit down on it, or comes into the dealership to sign paperwork on it. This has always been our dealership’s policy, and it serves the purpose of protecting customers. If we were to “hold” a vehicle, and then another interested customer came into the dealership to buy it, we would be obligated to not sell the car to the customer who was here, ready to purchase. Instead, we would have to “hold” the car until you came to see it. And, if you looked at it and didn’t like it, the previous people likely would have already left and potentially bought something else. That is not fair to the second customer, and certainly not fair to the dealership who would have lost a sale. When you called the second time and were again told we would not hold a used car for you, you proceeded to hang up on our customer service agent, without allowing him the opportunity to explain why this is our policy. We would have invited you to stop by after you were done with work, and told you to call ahead to make sure the vehicle you were interested in was still available, but by hanging up, you did not give us the opportunity.

Barnett Kia responded

Dear “Disappointed”, It is hard to respond to a review like this when we have no idea who you are or why you feel so negatively. We have been in business here in White Bear Lake for over 60 years and have generations of happy customers. It sounds, based on your review, that you have visited our show floor, our service department, and our parts department, at different times in the past. Please update your review with your name or call Mr. Barnett at 612-564-4199 so we may discuss your experiences with our dealership.

Dissapointed responded

the owner has taken care of the issues everybodies happy the owner is my sister i was just looking out for her thx

MAR responded

The work order and appointment was for my daughter, Jamie Sukow. The service writer, Mark will remember this as he was totally unprofessional.

Barnett Kia responded

Hello MAR, Mark is a long-time employee and consistently gets excellent reviews from his customers. We are very pleased that he remained calm and controlled when you began shouting and finger-pointing because you believed an air conditioning diagnosis and repair should take only as long as an oil change. If we did not clearly explain how long this repair was likely to take, we apologize. At the same time, we do not believe that further back-and-forth online is beneficial for us, you or our other customers. If you would like to discuss this further, please feel free to give us a call at 651.762.2272 and ask to speak with our Service Manager, Dennis Albright. Sincerely, Barnett Management.

Barnett Kia responded

Todd, There is never a good time for a mechanical breakdown but having one on a long road trip is especially difficult and we understand your unhappiness. However, with respect to your complaint, our technician confirmed that the front wheel bearing was defective and absolutely needed to be replaced. You explained that a rear seal blew, which caused your problem on the road. When your truck was running on our hoist we saw no leaking or seepage from that seal to indicate that there was a problem and therefore there was no way to predict that the seal would fail at some future point. - Barnett Management Team

Barnett Kia responded

Mr. Brooks, While you do not appear as a customer in our database, we believe you are the son of one of our customers. Your mother purchased a new Kia Seltos and as part of her purchase, we agreed to install a factory branded remote start. Our accessories manager spoke to your mother when we set the installation appointment, offered her a loaner car, and explained the expected installation time. During that phone conversation, your mother asked if the remote start activation button would be integrated into the keyfob, and our manager explained that it would not, but instead would be on a separate fob. Your mother then came in later in the week and dropped off the car. When she picked up the car, you were along and were upset that the remote start was on a separate fob. You began by berating our receptionist at the pick-up counter. You then were directed to the management desk, where you expressed your anger again. When the accessories manager explained that this was the way the factory remote start came, and that this had already been discussed with your mother, you became more enraged and began shouting as you left that you had been “ripped off”. We aim to provide 5 star service for every customer and that service begins with setting customer expectations and proper communication. We explained upfront to your mother the installation process and when she asked about whether the remote start was integrated into the key, we explained that is was not. All customer phone calls to our dealership are recorded, and we did in fact go back and listen to the call again to confirm that this was discussed prior to installation. Your mother understood this fact and was fine with it, therefore she brought the car in for the installation. We do not know what else you could have expected the dealership to do, and we respectfully ask that you remove this review. Sincerely, Barnett Management

Robertbrooks43 responded

That is a complete lie on what we were told in the office when we signed the papers on the car You can make up all the stories you want I know what was said! Do you wanna make things right reimburse for the remote or take it out and will go elsewhere because you totally miss lead us on the whole remote start!! I will not remove what I wrote you can make the customer out to be the bad guy when you people are the ones with your tall tales once you make the sale then everybody gets cast aside!!!!! I have sent a handful of people there to buy a car and I can guarantee you they will not be coming back and we were about to buy one ourselves when our lease was up in two months that will not be happening either!!!

Barnett Kia responded

During these times of uncertainty we are doing our very best to make all of our customers feel comfortable coming to the dealership, that includes keeping a safe distance. Additionally, our dealerships have been around for nearly 60 years - and though they may look less shiny and new, they operate as well as they did when we opened! All of this said, we are sorry to hear that your lackluster experience left you less than impressed, though if you were to give us a chance I'm sure you'd find that our customer service is top notch. Sincerely, Barnett Management Team

Barnett Kia responded

Thank you for your kind words. We’ve spent three generations building our business, and we’re proud you are part of it!

Barnett Kia responded

Hi there, thank you for taking the time to leave this review. Although our facility was built in 1968 we do make every effort to make sure that it is neat and clean. Coincidentally, Kia has just created a charging station for customer waiting areas, and ours is set to be installed very soon. Though our space is somewhat limited, our waiting room is professionally cleaned nightly and does have a children's play area. We apologize for not making you feel more comfortable during our discussion about finances. We never want customers to feel interrogated as we gather information necessary to complete the transaction. We believe we can provide the same excellent service that Aaron provided during the sale and look forward to seeing you back for your oil changes!