Almost every Putnam Lexus employee to whom I've sp...

Almost every Putnam Lexus employee to whom I've spoken is grumpy or sarcastic. Here's a rundown of what one might expect in dealing with Putnam Lexus.

Getting to speak to an actual person regarding a service issue is difficult. When I called in to leave a message for my service rep, Richard (great guy, but he doesn't return voicemails), I can wait multiple days and never get a call back. In fact, I've left voicemails for three separate issues over the past two years and have gotten contacted back once for a partial resolution. Because it was so difficult to get a hold of Richard, I asked to speak to any service advisor, and instead got only the voicemail system four times on four separate days at varying times of day. Then, when I called back and insisted to speak with ANY service rep who's actually available, I'm instantly transferred to an available service rep (odd, considering that I had previously gotten voicemails four times) named Rex. When asked a simple technical question about what kind of tool his technicians use, Rex didn't know. That's fine. But what wasn't fine was his response. Rather than offer to follow up to find out the answer, Rex responded with a very sarcastic answer along the lines of, "I don't know the answer to that question, I'm a service advisor. We don't bring the technicians to the phones here." as if to suggest that have somebody with technical knowledge answer a phone is out of the question.

Their online system is a nightmare. I once scheduled an appointment online and received two emails from two different Putnam Lexus employees confirming different times, which pretty much forces me, as a good citizen, to follow up to try to tell them that one of the times was incorrect. No response to that email, of course, and good luck trying to get somebody on the phone.

They consistently have charged or quoted higher on parts and labor than every other shop from which I've received service quotes, including other Lexus service shops.

* 90,000-mile service? Cost from Putnam Lexus: about $600. Actual labor performed? oil change, oil filter, drain plug gasket, engine air filter replacement, A/C filter replacement, cabin air filter replacement, key battery replacement, engine wash (although the engine didn't need "washing"). For each of the parts, Putnam Lexus charged a 33% to 124% markup over getting the parts directly from Amazon. I get that they need to make a profit, but charging $90 for a less-than $40 cabin air filter? Nice margins, Putnam.
* Reprogramming an ECU after replacing TPMS sensors? Quote from Putnam Lexus: $195 and 2 hours of labor JUST to reprogram the ECU. Putnam's quote for parts and labor was over $800. Actual cost: parts and labor for $310 and ECU programming is free from some tire shops, involving less than five minutes of walking around the car with a handheld computer.

... and perhaps the most ridiculous ...

* Touchscreen not responding to touch inputs? Quote from Putnam Lexus: over $3,000. Actual cost: $15, a YouTube video, and a half-hour of simple labor. PM me if this is happening to you, and I'll send you relevant links to save yourself $3k.

Although they are the only Lexus dealer on the mid-Peninsula, I'd highly recommend going with any of the other Lexus shops in San Jose, Serramonte, Oakland, or Fremont. In general, their customer service is not customer-oriented and doesn't hesitate to make a caustic or defensive comment, rather than to try to understand the customer's issues.