Sounds like Old Dude's been around the block before.
These surveys are very important to GM in determining the quality of service it's franchisees (Dealers) are providing. They are GM's primary mode of communication with its customers, and the manufacturer pays very close attention to the scoring.
Now for the bad part.
The way GM grades these surveys is completely different from the way they present them. As far as the dealer is concerned, a survey is Pass/Fail. Only "Completely Satisfied" passes, everything else fails.
You, as a customer, are led to believe that you can report you are "Satisfied" and that level of satisfaction will accurately report how the dealer attended to your needs. Unfortunately, that is not the case.
In this particular situation, the service manager responded as we all wish one would given the circumstances. Still, the vehicle wasn't clean when delivered, after some inconvenience to you. You would be justified in indicating only "Satisfied". Unfortunately, the survey would score little better than if you had marked "Unsatisfied". It's the nature of this particular beast.
Old Dude offered a very practical solution -
bring it to the attention of the decision maker.
At the dealership, we are always cognizant of the fact that how our customers and their vehicles are treated directly affects how our future relationship with them will go. If we deliver an HHR with coolant all over the front end, that customer is likely to go looking for another dealer who makes sure his car is clean - and when it comes time to buy another car (or replace the HHR) he will probably stay with the dealer who delivers clean vehicles out of the service department. Often, we only get one chance to cement the relationship, and often never know when or why we have failed.
So, Dude's solution solves both the customer's problem and the dealer's. It brings the issue in front of someone who can see it doesn't happen again (along with the opportunity to fix all the little institutional and infrastructure problems that created the problem). It rewards the dealer for bending over backward to make it right. And, it gives the customer the understanding he is being listened to and has a voice in how his service is being handled.
The important thing here is to give the dealer an understanding of the problem and the opportunity to do something about it. Sadly, the survey system only beats the dealer over the head, and can often poison a salvageable relationship.