Response - Dumb Response Team

[Don Muirhead <dmr@kwic.com>]

And the saga is over....

I got a call at 7:30 AM EDT from Bernhart Schmidt, Audi Export Customer 
Services in Germany.  It seems my request wasn't in accordance with Audi 
protocol so it was turned over to him.

Of course I had to go through the whole Plastic Trunk Lid on a CGT story 
and provide the car's VIN, E-mail address and FAX number, mother's maiden 
name and swear an oath giving Audi the rights to my first born male child.

Bernhart apologized but informed me they have strict procedures that must 
be followed when things out of the ordinary like this happen.  He asked me 
if the vehicle information label was still on the inside of the trunk lid 
and would I mind taking the information off the label.  He would call back 
in about 15 minutes.

So in about 15 minutes he calls back.  I give him the information and I 
start to work on him about the problems Audi NA gave me and all the other 
headaches the dealer and I have been going through.... I'm setting him up 
for a new shift boot in lieu of key chain, coffee mug, cup-holder, etc..., 
and what are they going to do to compensate me for my time and trouble.

There is dead silence on the other end of the phone then I notice I'm 
receiving a FAX so I peek over and damn it, it's from Audi while Bernhart 
again apologizes.

Then out of the blue he informs me that my dealer must have another 
customer with the same problem because he was checking NA inventory and 
noticed that someone had ordered and received the parts I was looking for 
last week.  He pulled the order and it was for the same dealer.  Bernhart 
wished me well and hung up.

I guess I caught before I could even get my hand near the cookie jar.  I'm 
sitting here a little bruised and beaten, I pull the 8 page FAX he sent me 
and the damn thing is in German - a double whammy.

Don

Btw - Bernhart speaks excellent English so for those in NA that need to 
import or follow-up on parts ordered from Germany you might wish to keep 
this name and number as a contact.  Fax: 011-49-841-893-6471, Tel: 
011-49-841-893-6600.