"I don't know what happened," Niven Williams said. "The check got lost in the mail."
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Williams said he got an earful of excuses while trying to track down the $5,500 he was promised by a local luxury car dealer who bought his used 2013 Scion in May.
"It was a constant, 'We'll look into this, I'll call you," Williams said.
The deal he made more than a month ago was to get paid for the car in 10 days.
"Signed title, gave the keys, and waited for my check," he said.
Unfortunately, Williams made a mistake -- not leaving the dealership with a signed agreement outlining payment terms, specifically when he'd be paid.
"Fourteen days elapsed, I didn't receive any payment," Williams said. "I said, 'What's going on?' They kept saying the check was in the mail."
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Williams, who works full time with veterans and is a part-time woodworker, put his grad school plans on hold, worried he'd never get paid. He turned to the dealership website, under the " About Us" tab. That brought him to the staff, along with their email addresses.
"I tried the GM, customer service, I tried to call the dealer principal, but nothing," he said.
Next, he found the dealer's Facebook page and left a comment. He posted a factual, unemotional and concise account of what occurred.
Posting on social media may have helped Williams vent, but it didn't shake loose any money from the dealership -- until he flagged us. Within hours, the check for his trade-in wasn't in the mail -- it was in his hand, driven to him by his salesman.
While no one from the dealer responded on Facebook, another customer replied to Nevin's comment and also received his $20,000 check after he threatened he was contacting us.
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The big takeaway is that before you vent on social media, take a breath. Maybe even sleep on it. Letting your emotions take over is usually the recipe for an ineffective post.
Twitter is the fastest way to get results -- companies care about their digital footprint, and they don't want negative comments hanging around everywhere for others to see.
When posting on Facebook, leave both a comment and a review. Facebook doesn't allow reviews to be removed by company staff.
Also, avoid overly emotional and/or rude posts. Rather, just stick to the facts -- you don't want someone to turn around and sue you for libel.
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