Let me start this off by saying I am grateful for Granger offering such amazing deals, and I truly believe their intentions are to deliver the best service possible. With the volume of sales that they complete on a daily basis, it's impossible to prevent all issues that could arise.
I feel like this story could shed some light on why others may be waiting so long in KZT status....
My order went into KZT status in February. My ETA started as 2/23/22 - 3/9/22. I patiently waited and tried not to bother Granger, as I'm sure they are inundated with more pressing issues. I mainly used Ram Chat to get updated ETA's until the tracking system went down. Starting mid April, I started to become concerned that something was wrong and expressed that concern to Granger (via email) and Ram Customer Care. Everyone's response was the same, "Your vehicle is currently in shipping status. We appreciate your patience."
On 4-26-22 I asked Ram Customer Care to escalate the issue, stating that I am concerned the truck's battery has died while it sat in the rail yard and the transporter does not want to mess with a vehicle that won't start. The experience with Ram Customer Care was atrocious, as they were extremely rude and disrespectful. This has no reflection upon Granger, so I cannot fault the dealership for that experience.
On 5-2-22 I emailed Granger asking them to please look into this issue further, as it has been almost 3 months in KZT and Ram Customer Care was of no help. I also explained my concern of a dead battery causing the extensive delay. That theory was quickly dismissed by them, and they attributed the delay to a shortage of truck drivers and high fuel cost (reasonable assumption if had only been 1 month). Granger did offer to email the Ram Area Manager; however, I never received any response.
On 5-10-22 I decided to reach out to Granger for updates from the Area Manager. They apologized and stated there were no updates and that it's just a waiting game. I asked them if it was possible to reach out to the transporter or rail yard to verify if there is an issue with the truck inhibiting it from being transported. They said it was next to impossible for that to be done. So I decided to take measures into my own hands.....
I figured out which rail yard the truck was residing at and was able to contact them. They stated the truck was going to be loaded on a semi on 3-24-22, but the driver couldn't get it started due to a dead battery. So the truck was left in the lot. On 5-5-22, the truck was towed to a nearby CDJR dealership to be "repaired." I contacted that dealership, and they confirmed the truck was still there awaiting a new battery. The next steps (per Stellantis protocol) are to tow the truck back to the rail yard, have it sit there for X amount of time, then have it transported to Granger (provided the battery doesn't die again).
I called Granger to inform them that I found the truck, and it was in fact the battery that was causing the delay. I politely asked them if we could skip the step of taking it back to the rail yard, because I fear this is going to be a repetitive, never-ending cycle. I mentioned numerous options that I thought were feasible and more efficient (cost and time). The person at Granger was very polite and stated they would ask their Area Manager. The Area Manager's response was, "The vehicle was picked up from the rail yard on 5-2-22 and is on its way to Granger now, so there is no need to do anything." The only thing that I could respond with was, "That is a completely inaccurate statement. The truck is sitting at X dealership right now. It is absolutely not on its way to Granger. You are welcome to call the service department at that dealership to verify this information." That was the last contact I had with Granger (earlier today), and they stated they would call X dealership to confirm the truck's location and contact me back. I did not receive a call back.
Although my issue has still not been resolved, I feel like this information could be useful for others. The inefficiencies throughout this entire process are astonishing. I understand that the way the world operates has changed drastically over the last 2 years, but the fact that I was quickly dismissed every time and had to figure this out on my own is quite disappointing. I ask Granger to just please listen a little closer to their customers' concerns and take action. If there is nothing more that can be done at a dealership level, then the next division up needs to take action. So much time and money could be saved by simply implementing an alert system for vehicles that get stuck in a specific status for an extended amount of time.
