Dealership service centers

[SpikeMike]

2019 RAM 1500 Lone Star V6 3.6L, 136k miles
I love this truck but I have a hard time getting service at the dealerships around Houston. I take it to the dealerships for repairs because I have the Maxcare Lifetime extended warranty. The practice around here is when you take the truck in to the dealership, even with an appointment, they tell you that the diagnosis will take 5 days, then work can proceed. So, the truck sits at the dealership for 5 days before anyone actually looks at it. In December, I took the truck in for some oil leaks (oil filter/oil cooler assembly). This took a month. Last Monday, I took the truck in because a coolant leak appeared. Looks like the water pump. Nobody has looked at the truck in a week's time. I'm not mentioning the dealership's name, because this seems to be happening at all of the dealerships around here.
I don't know what to do. I know that I'm looking at new trucks right now and I will not pay for an extended warranty. I want the freedom to take the truck to a local good shop. I could have had a new waterpump in a day or so. I probably would have done it myself actually.
Anyone have similar experiences? I know that there are not enough technicians. What do we do?

 

[Biga]

Yea some dealerships run their service centers like that. The dealer I used in Cincinnati started doing that where you would have to drop the truck only for it to sit there for several days before they can look at it, just to tell you they will have to order a part and it will be another 5 days. I stopped using them, even if they don't have enough techs and the truck is still drivable, they should be able to schedule you an appointment to where you can still drive it until the day they look at it.

 

[456MORam]

That seems pretty bad. Typically here in Mid-Missouri they look at it the day they schedule you to drop it off and give you some kind of feedback by the end of the day. If you schedule a specific service it is completed that day, or within a specific timeframe if it’s a bigger job.