I bought a backup key from my local Volvo dealer (Hughes in Santa Barbara). They called me to tell me it had arrived to to schedule a service appointment to have it programmed.

So I took time off of work and went to the dealer. They said it would take about an hour. 10 minutes later they come in and tell me that they can't help me today. It turns out the key the got was "keyed wrong" and won't fit. They have to order it again. Then they just expect me to take more time off and come in and wait for them to program this new one.

Here is the kicker. The service guy then tells me "Oh this happens all the time, about 1 in 4 keys is bad and we have to try again."

He said this to make me feel better. I was shocked. A 25% failure rate? I asked him why he wasn't outraged that 1 in 4 parts was the wrong part. He just shrugged his shoulders like he gave up years ago.

Is this the dealer, or Volvo, or Ford's influence? How can anyone run a business with a 25% failure rate?

Service advisors are just schedulers for people who want service. One of their jobs is to isolate the mechanic from the customer and tell the customer that s/he is in good hands and not worry.
The fact that the key didn't work is not his fault, the parts guys do the ordering of the new key. It would be interesting to see the actual order to see if they got the VIN right in the first place.
As for taking time off to go to the dealer, ask them if they have a free loaner because you can't afford to miss any more work. You could pick it up the night before, but you will have to put gasoline in the car. Either that or suggest to the dealership, not the service advisors, that they stay open part of Saturday or Thrusday night to accomodate people who work.

Klaus
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I still miss my 164 and my 854T. Just driving a V70R :)

Dealer repair shop stay open late or open up on Saturday to accommodate people who work? Where did you get this radical idea? How dare you suggest that car dealers are not customer-oriented.

(Note, it's better than it used to be. Remember when banks in USA closed 12:00 - 2:00 and then again at 3:00 or 3:30. That's where the term "bankers' hours" came from.)