I've been going to Chaplin's for years for service on my Subaru. They've always been really friendly, professional, and helpful, but what really knocked my socks off was a couple of instances of them being proactive about communicating with me via text and email. I'm hard of hearing and mostly can use the phone OK, but don't like getting voicemails. They will ALWAYS text or email me to let me know when my car is ready or what the estimate is. They put a note on my customer profile, so the last few times I went in they already knew I wanted texts and just confirmed the number. They also speak really loudly and clearly and face me.
Last year I got a chip in my windshield, so they offered to fix it for free - a service offered thru the car insurance companies (cheaper to fix when small than if the customer lets the crack grow). This required a 3-way conference call between Chaplin's, me, and GEICO. I explained that I needed the relay service for a conference call so I set up an HCO/VCO 2-line relay call (which is what I normally use) - it turned out to be very frustrating as it kept getting disconnected, but the Chaplin's guy was really patient and professional and worked with me over multiple calls/reconnections. I ended up speaking one-on-one with GEICO via relay and then they forwarded the info to Chaplin's - a change to their usual policy. So it was a pain and took forever (as relay calls often do) but with a great end result - got the approval and got the chip repaired free.
Sure, a dealership might not be the cheapest place for repairs, but the service & communication at Chaplin's is awesome. And the smaller independent shop that a friend referred me to (don't even remember name) was impossible to hear on the phone and only quoted me a little cheaper on a major repair.
