Years ago a friend was the service manager at a Mercedes Benz dealership and I had my car in for service. While I was standing next to him and talking to the local factory rep, the technician came up to him and said that the part on the car he was working on was not in stock and it was back ordered according to the parts department. He instructed the technician to go up to the second floor where excess new cars were stored and take the part off the new car that was the same series as that car. The factory rep told him, "You can't do that to a new car". He quietly told the rep, that he could stay around to tell the customer that his car wasn't ready and there was no way to tell him how long it would take to get the part. The factory rep walked away got into his car and left.
This is how they dealt with back-ordered parts, and when the part came back in stock it was put on the new car. Customers were very happy that their cars were always serviced and done when they arrived to pick them up. He commented to me, that if you can't service what you sell, then you can't keep the buyers happy. Unhappy customers are not repeat customers. That is a lesson that a lot of dealers never learned.
This is how they dealt with back-ordered parts, and when the part came back in stock it was put on the new car. Customers were very happy that their cars were always serviced and done when they arrived to pick them up. He commented to me, that if you can't service what you sell, then you can't keep the buyers happy. Unhappy customers are not repeat customers. That is a lesson that a lot of dealers never learned.
