St Cloud Toyota never ceased to amaze me. I broke down near Little Falls on the Friday afternoon of Labor Day. I had an error message "check hybrid system" and I slowly lost power on my 2011 Prius. I tried calling Duluth Toyota (MY local service center) and after several non-responses and voice mails, I decided to call the St cloud dealer. WOW!!! I was treated with such professional courtesy. They understood the urgency of my being stranded on a rural road 200 miles from home and my concern with the "hybrid" light coming up. It was 1:30, my service manager explained I needed to be towed in by 3:30 and he would have someone available to look at it; however, before I hung up he comforted me with the possibility that it could be as simple as a 12v battery and not something life altering.
The tow truck got me there at 3:35. Fernando Garcia-Ramirez was waiting for me and the tow truck unloaded my vehicle. He got a tech right on it and after testing my vehicle, they identified that it seemed more complicated then just a battery. But without missing a beat, he said, "let's find her a courtesy vehicle so she's not stranded". By 5pm, my car was moved to device, I was in a rental car with a one week agreement as Fernando explained that with the holiday they wouldn't be able to work on it til Wednesday, order parts and if all went as planned, I would be able to pick my fixed vehicle up on Friday.
On Wednesday, I received a call with a price and completion time. I was told my repairs were fairly inexpensive and parts could be on by Thursday and ready Friday. On Thursday it was ready to go. I explained I had just started back at school and could I pick up on Saturday, he said that was fine. I paid my invoice via telephone and he said I could pick up from the sales dept on Saturday by 5pm (fill gas tank). It runs great, there are some new features it never had before and my had mileage improved!!! But I can't emphasize enough the professionalism and courtesy that this dealership showed me. I'm not a regular, I've never bought a car from this dealer, and yet they still treated me like I was a family member and as much a priority as if I was "their" mother. I have dealt with dealerships all over the country from Denver to Wisconsin and back again, but NO WHERE had a dealership (or repair shop for that matter) ever treated me with such attentive, compassionate service. A one to five star rating does not come close to giving the number of stars this dealership should receive for the outstanding and honest coordination that I received. From now on, I will ONLY break down in the St. Cloud area because I don't believe service on this level exists anywhere else. Thank you St. Cloud Toyota.