Poor service

[Ian Podmore]

Not a happy bunny. Had to have the EGR cooler replaced on my company tin top this week, an Octavia TDi, as it was blocked and the ECU had gone into limp mode.

 

Picked up car with noise from suspension at front.... Couldn't turn straight back to dealer as collecting daughter from school.

 

Then got low coolant light on this morning, level was at bottom of reservoir.

 

Took a look at suspension tonight, to spray some WD40 onto bushes as they can go noisy on Octavias to find the front ARB has been left disconnected on both sides.

 

Not amused Autosales Burntwood !

 

Can't they get a job right? Wonder what else isn't connected.....  Would have reconnected the ARB myself but one the nuts left loose on the ball joints has fallen off now.

 

Me             

[User0083]

Burnt Autosales garage wood be going through my mind!

TAXI!

[SteveD]

Burnt Autosales garage wood be going through my mind!

TAXI!

 

[Norman Verona]

Ian, YHM

[Captain Colonial]

If that were me, I'd be driving in a different car straight to the dealers and roasting the service manager alive.  First, don't they take the car for a test drive to check for post-repair performance?  Second, that's a potentially life-threatening defect in some situations and you and your family have been put at risk.  I would demand a tow truck comes and collects the car from the house, the car is put right and cleaned, and that your next service was FOC or I'd be on the phone to Skoda UK and Trading Standards.  That really is unforgivable.

[iain m]

After 35 years of BMWs I took my new Mercedes to the supplying dealer for its annual service, when ringing to book appointment the mention of "service"  transfers to a call centre staffed by girls with absolutely no car knowledge. The first one found me on the system, would not quote me a price as she told me I had a service contract, news to me. Rang again, not found under name/reg number/post code, rang the dealer who reluctantly booked me in telling me I should really be doing this on line and if I also paid on line I would get a discount. Dealer call back during the day, two wheel badge centres with water ingress had been photographed for warranty consideration and a couple of other items I had mentioned it seemed they could not be bothered with, also there was a nail a rear tyre, they quoted £225 to replace, told then to hold on for an hour as this seemed a tad expensive, rang back saying £175 was a more sensible price and I would collect the car and replace else where. Up to now I was mildly annoyed, on collection, the service cost had suddenly increased, the service record has a full page tyre report but no mention of the nail, no verbal mention, or anything written on the invoice, I took a gauge with me and the car has a run flat indicator so carefully drove to have the tyre changed where they found the other rear tyre punctured with another nail. I ignored the MB satisfaction survey when it arrived and wrote to the Dealer Principle, after 14 days with no reply I contacted MB head office and received a letter from the dealers Service Manager who obviously considers he is providing tip top service to the extent that his main worry was quote " possibly having car with a flat tyre stuck in his workshop". He then rang me and agree to post me the wheel badges, this was followed by an email from MB pleased that I was now a satisfied customer and requesting I complete a satisfaction questionnaire for Customer Care Netherlands. Priceless.    

[Norman Verona]

We have just introduced service booking online for our customers.It's in pilot at the moment but early reports show the dealer and their customers think it's great. It's easy to process and if you're an existing customer will skip the name and address and vehicle data entry (you start by entering the reg number of the vehicle requiring work). 

 

The system will then generate the booking and jov card and order any parts required. It will pop up on various screens so that any parts that may be required are obtained for the service date.

 

I suppose that our staff, having 100's of years dealership experience dating back to the 60s helps get it right. I also notice that the staff in our customers tend to come round to our way of thinking after using the system for a few months.

[iain m]

I suppose it's the natural progression from ATMs and the DIY checkouts at supermarkets ( we call then buy one get one free terminals) if you are just a trolley pusher like me just watch the many ways folk openly steal items, and apparently if you are buying fruit or cakes they select the most expensive items and then select the cheapest item on the screen,simple. Its also reducing employment and knowledge and more importantly pay. My final letter to MB HO stated that I expected similar or better service than experienced with BMW and that my expectations were obviously too great, the wheel trims had been posted and the matter was now closed. Anyone with half a brain would have left it there but the words "matter now closed" suggests to them that I am now a happy bunny and they send me another questionnaire. Perhaps we will be better off  protected from these low paid inexperienced staff by driving up to a ATM type machine and dropping the keys into it and waiting for a text on completion but they will find it difficult to continue charging £100.00 an hour.

[Norman Verona]

When the motor industry introduced electronic parts catalogues a senior manufacturer executive told me that we no longer needed experienced parts people as we could take any idiot (his words) of the street and in 10 minutes they could be identifying part numbers. I explained why that wasn't true but he went to explain as far as they were concerned it was and they planned to reduce the margins on parts to pay for their investment.

[jeff oakley]

To be honest Norm that is what they have ended up with. I was on a committe, on behalf of the IMI, to work out a criteria for parts people to acheive a certain standard of skill that was measurable.

This had members from the dealer networks and the aftermarket. The differance was astounding, the dealer network was just driven by the VRM and VIN numbers, so if the computer said no. that was as far as it went.

When I explained we still expected our staff to use a micrometer, and casting numbers on items to find them even idf they were obscure, they really had a problem to agree a standard that would dictae a skilled parts person. Any that reached accreditation, we would not consider as a qualified parts person.

As for the service departments, again they are run by computers and committes, so if the requirement is to have a Freindly receptionist, read femail, then that is what they get. The link between fitter and front desk is very poor so when trying to explain problems it becomes chinese wispers. And due to cost cutting the quality of "technicians" is now very low. Again if the fault code reader does not throw anything up, there is no fault regardless of how it drives.

I had a mazda six that was pulling to the left, the garage said they had checked it out and it was fine. Drove it out still pulling, the answer was the alignment machine found no fault, I asked if they had driven it? I was told the job spec does not include that!!!

 

In the OP's case, I would be making a proper fuss of this, it was not a minor fault that was missed.

[Norman Verona]

Jeff agree with all that. The reason labour rates are so high is that, in my day we ran workshops with 1 admin (that includes the manager) to 4 mechanics. Now, due to the contractual requirements of the manufacturer most dealer workshops have more admin than mechanics, er, sorry technicians. Some of the technicians are highly skilled and highly paid but only on how to use the diagnostic systems. 

 

I showed a master technician something on a car in his workshop and he was amazed that I could tell what the fault was by listening. (it was a noisy crb)

 

I'm glad I'm out of it all, some would say the dinosaur has been put out to pasture, but it's very frustrating knowing there's a far better way. 

[iain m]

Very few  experienced admin staff were required when most business were run by trained professionals, now there is a disproportunate ratio of quote "idiots off the street" we are forced to deal with, which is why the words Customer Service has become an oxymoron. Back to the motor industry frightened of missing out on the supermarket/airline/diy store/Mc Donalds success of making customers do tasks they no longer have to pay staff low wages for, perhaps they should look back to a car manufacturer called Daewoo.  :A***:   

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

Jeff agree with all that. The reason labour rates are so high is that, in my day we ran workshops with 1 admin (that includes the manager) to 4 mechanics. Now, due to the contractual requirements of the manufacturer most dealer workshops have more admin than mechanics, er, sorry technicians. Some of the technicians are highly skilled and highly paid but only on how to use the diagnostic systems. 

 

I showed a master technician something on a car in his workshop and he was amazed that I could tell what the fault was by listening. (it was a noisy crb)

 

I'm glad I'm out of it all, some would say the dinosaur has been put out to pasture, but it's very frustrating knowing there's a far better way. 

 

Sadly all to true in so many places these days. DIagnostic systems are an excellent tool, but only that, just another tool. And far too often trusted and relied upon despite all the evidence to the contrary.

[Paul Edden]

Try this then - made my blood boil.

Marks & Spencer - a fine high street establishment with a reputation for quality.

We were trying to buy 110 vouchers of £10.00 each as presents for our care staff. Small angry one goes on-line armed with company credit card. Completes all the necessary forms and it says - "don't make any payment now, we will contact you to sort this out" or something like that.

2 days pass - no phone call.

We call them - they say - we need to present the order on a letter headed paper with our bank details attached.

"where does it state that on-line"? asks the SAW.... lots of pauses and "just pop you on hold" follow.

After 35 minutes, SAW gives up and says - "we will go to our local store and buy them over the counter".

Off we go to M&S in Stoke on Trent - lovely.

Woman behind the counter say - "you will have to prowl around the store and pick up 110 vouchers and bring them back to me". We are about the spend £1100.00 and you want us to wander around picking up vouchers? We find the manager - who arranges it all to go smoothly for us if we come back tomorrow.

Back we go - at the allotted time - and the vouchers were sitting in a box behind the counter - we are greeted by a woman saying "oh hell - I was just about to go on my lunch break - suppose I will have to do this now".

It then took two of them nearly one hour to put them through the tills.

The finest customer experience ever IMHO - NOT!!

[Norman Verona]

That's why John Lewis are such a good store to deal with. All the staff are shareholders and nothing is too much trouble (in my experience)

 

However, we demand the lowest price and we get the lowest service.