[NISFAN]

Originally Posted by bytejunkie

are we past the days you could nick a bm if the door was opened and OBD port in usual place? genuine question.

Yes.

[Steces]

Originally Posted by pmgreenwood

You should be asked to be given the use of the dealer principles car until they get your key back. I would think this is the minimum you should expect!!

This

And I'd also expect my car swapped back at home at a time of my convenience rather than a return trip to the dealer

What did you get?

[zofinger]

Update: dealer rang. Key found as expected and is on its way back to dealership.

Another note: the insurance cover note for the courtesy car provided was issued against the wrong car! I noticed the reg on the insurance doc didn’t match the plate of the car sat in my garage! I told them when they rang to ensure I’d be appropriately insured when driving the back. Bemused he said he’d get back to me. When he did, and this is the clincher, he asked for the reg of the car I had??! They didn’t even know what car they’d given me!!

[thescouselander]

Originally Posted by zofinger

Update: dealer rang. Key found as expected and is on its way back to dealership.

Another note: the insurance cover note for the courtesy car provided was issued against the wrong car! I noticed the reg on the insurance doc didn't match the plate of the car sat in my garage! I told them when they rang to ensure I'd be appropriately insured when driving the back. Bemused he said he'd get back to me. When he did, and this is the clincher, he asked for the reg of the car I had??! They didn't even know what car they'd given me!!

Probably belongs to another customer.

[zofinger]

Key and now car back home. Not even an apology on pick-up. Instead “how was the Mini” (thinking id be impressed??)

I’m not planning on using the dealer again. Not only last year at the service did I specifically state not to clean the car they ignored my instructions and sloshed their dirty rag over it, but this year they lose the key, send me home without appropriate insurance cover and then admit to not knowing which car they gave me!

If their front office staff are so carefree, why would I assume the technicians are any good.

[DC78]

Couldn't you have went home for your spare key or had someone bring it to you?

I wouldn't have been happy and does sound like the place is a bit sloppy.

Don't think I'd be trusting them with my car.

[zofinger]

Originally Posted by DC78

Couldn't you have went home for your spare key or had someone bring it to you?

I wouldn't have been happy and does sound like the place is a bit sloppy.

Don't think I'd be trusting them with my car.

Two problems with the spare because (obviously) that was my first thought: the spare is so well hidden at home I dont know where it is. Second, Mrs Z dropped me off and we've two new borns. It was a military effort to get there in the first place! Neither I or her fancied doing the trip again.

[planemad]

What a pickle !

[Kal101]

Originally Posted by Goneinsixtyseconds

It all comes down to whether you believe it was a sincere mistake or deliberate?

If you think the young man took it on purpose, there may be a few risks to consider, as above.

If he didn’t do it deliberately, even if the key falls into the wrong hands, there’s absolutely no way of knowing which car the key belongs to, so I wouldn’t worry.

At my dealership -Sytner’s they attach a tag with the car’s reg on it, so staff know which key is required Would presume the key went Missing with a tag attached.

[john lummis]

Sounds like a very well organised service department.................not

[evdok]

Originally Posted by zofinger

Key and now car back home. Not even an apology on pick-up. Instead “how was the Mini” (thinking id be impressed??)

I’m not planning on using the dealer again. Not only last year at the service did I specifically state not to clean the car they ignored my instructions and sloshed their dirty rag over it, but this year they lose the key, send me home without appropriate insurance cover and then admit to not knowing which car they gave me!

If their front office staff are so carefree, why would I assume the technicians any good.

I always tell my dealer not to wash the car, they have ignored my instruction 3 times, if it happens again I shall bill them 2 days of my time to DA the car back to its former glory.

[SkyJawa]

I wouldn’t go near them again!

As for washing, telling them just isn’t good enough, service departments are useless. I always leave a big printed sheet of paper in the windscreen saying “DO NOT WASH” and one on the passenger seat saying “Do not code”

[Goneinsixtyseconds]

Originally Posted by pmgreenwood

You should be asked to be given the use of the dealer principles car until they get your key back. I would think this is the minimum you should expect!!

I think they should gift him a BMW M5 for life for this heinous crime.

Who here has never made a single mistake at work?

Get a grip, they mislaid it, remembered where, got it back, loaned a car until it arrived. All ok as far as I can see.

[xenon]

On principle, I wouldn't use the dealer principal's car. See what I did there?

Anyone else go to school?

[zofinger]

Originally Posted by Goneinsixtyseconds

I think they should gift him a BMW M5 life for this heinous crime.

Who here has never made a single mistake at work?

Get a grip, they mislaid it, remembered where, got it back, loaned a car until it arrived. All ok as far as I can see.

Yea - it was just a ball ache for me (newborns etc) and I’m a little miffed at their lack of an apology except from the poor apprentice who looked terrified when he realised what he’d done. I’m back in the same position as before (assuming there’s no security concerns with the key being out of my possession for a couple of days) - I’m not exactly time rich at the moment (WFH/caring for kids) but that’s just my circumstances beyond their influence.

[BBri89]

It's extremely annoying, and the dealership need to make good on it.

But human mistakes happen, and something like that could happen to anybody.
If the dealership notice a trend of mistakes by the same person, then it's probably the person that needs retraining or speaking to, but if the same mistakes keep being made by a lot of different people then it's more likely the processes not the people that is the problem.


Either way, the dealership need to satisfy you for the inconvenience, frustration, stress and lack of confidence in them.

[335dX]

Originally Posted by RENT-A-GOAT

I would be calling BMW customer services to complain & demand some sort of action/compensation.

If they don't get the key back I would be demanding a new pair of keys & full lock change/recoding so any previous keys were dead to the vehicle.

Would also push the dealership management for some sort of compensation for the inconvenience & complete lack of trust you now have.

I would also never go back to that dealership again, if they didn't offer any goodwill gesture.

I couldn’t even imagine what your like as a customer....working in the trade you are our worst nightmare.

Sometimes in life, just sometimes, shit happens and you have to deal with it.

Yes it was pants for the OP and my heart goes out to him, I’ve done exactly this. I’d been in the trade as a trainee service advisor years ago and took a customers key home after moving it in the yard, (in my pocket!) Duly got the phone call and travelled back to work with my tail between my legs. I looked the customer in the eye and apologised, I could do no more.

No compensation, no demanding new keys, just an apology.

[RENT-A-GOAT]

Originally Posted by 335dX

I couldn't even imagine what your like as a customer....working in the trade you are our worst nightmare.

Sometimes in life, just sometimes, shit happens and you have to deal with it.

Yes it was pants for the OP and my heart goes out to him, I've done exactly this. I'd been in the trade as a trainee service advisor years ago and took a customers key home after moving it in the yard, (in my pocket!) Duly got the phone call and travelled back to work with my tail between my legs. I looked the customer in the eye and apologised, I could do no more.

No compensation, no demanding new keys, just an apology.

Nothing wrong with me as a customer. Had shit happen and always highlighted it and sorted it no issues or hard feelings.

But in this instance it's a key & in this day and age you never know what is being done by organised crime. If a key goes missing it could have been "lost" to be cloned off site before it is "found" an address then could be given from the dealerships convenient database on that vehicle and a few days later that car could be stolen.

It is all based upon trust and if that is lost there is a hard turn to get that back. Dealerships/trade should have a process in place to ensure a customers keys are kept safe. Of course shit happens but if a customer has their trust tested/lost or they have distribution/inconvenience caused something should be offered as a matter of course. If they don't feel confident things are satisfactory they should take it further until they do.

[Armaan]

Originally Posted by 335dX

I couldn't even imagine what your like as a customer....working in the trade you are our worst nightmare.

Sometimes in life, just sometimes, shit happens and you have to deal with it.

Yes it was pants for the OP and my heart goes out to him, I've done exactly this. I'd been in the trade as a trainee service advisor years ago and took a customers key home after moving it in the yard, (in my pocket!) Duly got the phone call and travelled back to work with my tail between my legs. I looked the customer in the eye and apologised, I could do no more.

No compensation, no demanding new keys, just an apology.

Agree with this, but strange that the OP didn't get an apology from the dealership or even a gesture of goodwill.

Mistakes happen and as much as we slate stealers on here, they've got the key back and given him a car in the meantime. If they lost the key, another story altogether. But they knew where it was the whole time and I'd say probably kept fairly safe with the cars it travelled with.

Good result and might have got a service or something if he pushed, but sounds like they don't have the time to really try or chase.

Just my view.

Armaan

[xenon]

Originally Posted by RENT-A-GOAT

If a key goes missing it could have been "lost" to be cloned off site before it is "found" an address then could be given from the dealerships convenient database on that vehicle and a few days later that car could be stolen.

But that's nonsense - if the dealer was corrupt he could clone a key anyway without raising suspicion of going through the rigmarole of "losing" it first. Doing it that way would put the customer more on guard.

[GEP77]

I feel for the OP on this one. While mistakes do happen I feel that BMW seem to make them more consistently than most.

It's the lack of attention to detail that gets me, along with little desire to improve for next time.

I think one of the problems is that for many dealers now there is a real disconnect between the customer and the themselves. The customer facing staff now seem to be little more than admin clerks, they have little or no knowledge of cars and car servicing, certainly from my perspective.

See this thread for my extensive list of issues I've had in recent years.

Previous examples of utter incompetence

[Goneinsixtyseconds]

Originally Posted by RENT-A-GOAT

Nothing wrong with me as a customer. Had shit happen and always highlighted it and sorted it no issues or hard feelings.

But in this instance it's a key & in this day and age you never know what is being done by organised crime. If a key goes missing it could have been "lost" to be cloned off site before it is "found" an address then could be given from the dealerships convenient database on that vehicle and a few days later that car could be stolen.

It is all based upon trust and if that is lost there is a hard turn to get that back. Dealerships/trade should have a process in place to ensure a customers keys are kept safe. Of course shit happens but if a customer has their trust tested/lost or they have distribution/inconvenience caused something should be offered as a matter of course. If they don't feel confident things are satisfactory they should take it further until they do.

This forum and the press can skew views and make them disproportionate in my opinion. Knowing what could happen doesn’t mean there’s any real likelihood that it will.

Do you honestly think the OP has anything to worry about in this instance? I don’t.