Seriously, how often do you ever give a car dealership a thumbs up?

With all due to respect to my buddy John Hyman,  who works at the dealership in question…no one who isn’t a car fanatic LIKES to take their car in for maintenance. That said I do really enjoy my Dodge Journey, but the dealership I bought it from is completely out of date in both its looks and its accessibility (showroom and service location). After one difficult time navigating it for the first maintenance on the vehicle…I knew I had to look elsewhere. So imagine my surprise and pleasure in finding a place that actually leads me to perhaps my first ever COMPLEMENT on access!

Eastway Chrysler Service…no stairs, staff that were able to remember me after just one visit and unload my chair before I had even opened my car door! Fully accessible facilities in the waiting area, free WIFI (hey if I’m going to have to wait, this is vital…even if I am just playing Jetpack Joyride on my Playbook). It has one of the easy access garages, just drive in, explain what you need to the service manager and either sit in their waiting area, or get a shuttle back to work. Everything is on one level and it’s easy to roll out from service right to the showroom floor. No stairs to navigate. The washroom is even wheelchair accessible for the stall! (seriously…I can’t keep harping on how important washroom’s are…can I businesses?)

What really impressed me though wasn’t just the layout and thought in the design of the place…it was the people. I had to make two visits within a two-week period…just due to my own scheduling. On the second visit, the moment I drove in, one of the guys was already at the back of the car unloading my chair for me and asking where best to put it. THAT makes one hell of an impression no matter how small a detail it may seem. They made sure to open the doors for me and kept me in the loop as I awaited the work to be done, even good for a few laughs.

If I had one criticism, it would be to suggest adding an auto open button on the bathroom, as the door opens in an odd way that interferes with the stall door if not careful…but really that is minor…even if it is the kind of thing I pay much more attention to these days….go figure. So it’s rare…but if I’m going to gives #AccessFails then I also need to give #AccessWins.

Good on Eastway Chrysler…and thanks to John for getting me there.