Richards Honda

I scheduled an appointment to have the oil changed in our Odyssey. Spoke to a sales associate (Gerald, who sold us our van), and the service department called back very quickly to set up a time with me. Got to Richards and didn’t know where to go; luckily the nice receptionist informed me on what to do.
Drove down the service corridor and waited in my van, and waited and waited for about twenty minutes before someone came to get my information. Once they took my van to the shop it was really only about thirty minutes for an oil change and tire rotation. Overall, I was pleased with the experience.
I thought $ 45 was a little pricey for an oil change, but maybe that is just me.

Jonathan G. Was awesome I told him what I needed and what I didn’t want from the very first moment we met, he made sure to take note of everything and didn’t try to «salesman» me. You know how they try to convince you on almost everything you don’t want or need. I’m so happy he was first to greet me I would refer him to anyone else looking for a car. I don’t know if Honda found him or he found honda but he’s damn good.

Not a complaint to be had for Richards Honda. We knew we wanted the Honda Odyssey, so we started at Team Honda then Richards a few days later. To start, we showed up without appointments to both. Richards was faster for someone to come out to greet us, even though both were equally busy. Gerald was our salesperson with over 15 years experience, and compared to any car buying experience I’ve ever had, he was the most patient and thorough I’ve even seen. We went back to Team Honda and really was shown just how unusual Gerald was because Team proved to be pushy & made rude remarks (that were completely false) about Richards. Even though Team had the exact model I wanted, I chose Richards Honda.
Richards’ price was only 1k less, but more than anything, I knew I could trust Gerald. I had told him about the bad review on Unilocal,and his response was very professional. He didn’t try to deny that someone may have had a bad experience with their service department. He instead was very real about it and was honest enough to say that we can get our car serviced at any Honda dealership, which I certainly didn’t know till he said that.
Every process of the car buying experience with Richards was stress-​free. We went to Richards a total of three three times, and each time we were greeted with a smile and bottles of cold water from Gerald, even 4 bottles on the two times we brought our little girls. Everyone we came across was very pleasant and smiling. I was especially impressed with how laid back the manager, Curtis, was compared to the manager at Team. He even had us laughing when he nonchalantly asked if it mattered whose name was first on the van — he and my husband were in hysterics when they saw the look on my face because Gerald had let him know how important that was to me to be first on the paperwork ;-)
Also, Gerald let us know that Richards has been family-​owned & operated for years. Their prices are much lower than Team’s prices, and they certainly work hard to get the customer what is wanted. Almost forgot, I am still flabber gasted with how thorough, calm, and patient Gerald was with showing us all the features of the van the day we picked it up; he walked us through every detail in the Owner’s Manual & showed us all the little things most people need right away in the car. I recommend Richards Honda to anyone looking to buy a great quality vehicle, just make sure to ask for Gerald!

I had one of the worst experiences ever here. They charge you around 100 dollars for simply looking at your car. It can be taken off if the repair is done there, however. The service experience was horrible! I left my car there on a Saturday. When I had not heard anything by Tuesday I called them. They said they could not find my car and would call me back. After 30 minutes they called and asked what service technician I had left it with. They said he didn’t work there anymore. They again said they’d call back. After about one hour they called with the good news that they had found my car.
They said my problem was that my thermostat and temperature sensor were broken. I said I had just had both fixed within the last six months. They said that’s strange but they need to be replaced. So I consented and the repair lasted about 200 miles when the same issue resurfaced. So I called my mechanic friend who asked if they checked for a blown head gasket. I tried to call them about my repair but they would not call me back. I went to another mechanic who found I had a blown head gasket and now my problem is solved. I wasted 350 dollars at Richards!
To top off the insult was the lack of common greetings when I picked my car up. After paying, only one person is obviously authorized to go get the car. So I waited 10 minutes for that guy to show up, despite the four people sitting in the service area who were doing nothing. One guy was eating lunch in the room I was in and the cashier started talking on her cell phone about shopping plans. When the guy finally showed, he walked out to the lot and couldn’t find my car. He said he’d have to get someone else. So I walked out to the lot and found it and stopped someone else who gave me my keys so I could leave. The pick-​up process took 30 minutes total. And no one cared!
If after reading this, you still feel inclined to go there, I would recommend one thing. Don’t pull into the service drop off bay. Pull into the front of the store and walk back to the service area. Sit there or talk to another customer for five minutes and I’ll bet 90% of you will not leave your car there. I wish I’d never left mine!!!

Thankfully I haven’t encountered something as bad as this place in awhile. What I’m used to, and what should be the norm is, when you’re getting service, you drive up and someone comes to welcome you promptly or at least recognizes that you’re there and say that they’ll be right with you shortly.
I drove in for an oil change and the sign in the bay said to please wait in your car. I also heard the bell ring that announces a car coming in. So I waited. and waited. probably close to two minutes. No one was coming out. Inside I could see technicians chatting. someone was changing a lightbulb. another car pulled in behind me and after another 30 seconds there was no change. That was enough for me.
I went in and even for waiting in front of some of the technicians who were chatting I had to announce myself with an «excuse me» before I was recognized. I asked where there might be another Honda dealership nearby. A technician asked why, and I lied through my teeth to say that I was meeting someone there, but knew it wasn’t the one I was at. I had no intention of explaining what they had done and then had to listen to an apology. I had had enough and there really wasn’t any excuse for this lack of service.
I was given directions and even for going back to my car, as there was another car sitting ahead of me that was waiting to be attended to, I had to wait yet another two minutes for someone just to move that car so I could pull out. I drove for close to 15 min to get to Team Honda, yet even for Richard’s Honda being practically right next door to where I was staying in Baton Rouge for a few days, the drive to Team Honda was worth it since its where I received PROPER SERVICE.
The technicians at Steven Honda were not rude in their words when I talked to them, only seemingly in their attitude in being so completely oblivious to the presence of customers.