My experience with Dakshin Honda

[surfatwork]

I had a truly rubbish experience with Dakshin Honda (DH) - Bangalore.

1. Of the three items I had asked them to look at, one was done. This was because that was the only item where they stood to make a good sum of money (changing discs and brake pads). They also tried to sell me the standard interior cleaning etc. which I declined.
2. I had asked for the mileage to be tested. Was never done. Got conflicting stories that they dont check mileage (which is nonsense), to 'it has been done' (it wasnt), to 'it hasnt been done'. All in all, a mix of lies and confusion.
3. They promised to return the car the same day. at 6:30PM, they asked if they could return the car the next day at 11:30. I insisted that they return the car the same day. At 7PM, got a text message that the car would be returned at 7AM the next day.
4. predictably, the car didnt turn up at 7AM. The service 'advisor', Mr.Sathish, didnt pick up his phone. Finally got through to him at 8:30AM, when he told me that the gate pass had not been signed. In other words, he knew fully well the previous night that the car wouldnt be returned at 7AM, and did even bother to let me know. says a lot about their concern for customers.
5. With no update on the car, spoke to the Service Manager, Mr.Rakesh, at 12:45PM. told him the entire story, he listened to everything, and the only point of concern for him was how I would pay - cash or cheque. They dont accept cheque. I am not sure whether all their customers are expected to keep large amounts of cash on their person or at home, just in case DH decides to return the car. Return of the car appears to be an unpredictable event.
6. Spoke to their Customer Service Manager, Mr.Muneer, several times. he spoke very nicely, but nothing much happened.
7. Finally got through to Mr.Singh, who is the Director at DH. He listened to me, called back after some time and said the car would be returned to my address. I had to pay by DD or company cheque. apologized for the trouble - i guess words are cheap.

all in, an experience to ensure that I never give my car to DH for any work again. interestingly, even the DH guys agreed that they would not give their car to a dealer after this kind of experience. Wanted to post this here so you guys can be careful too.

[GTO]

Hi Surfatwork, I dont see anything majorly wrong in your experience.

Originally Posted by surfatwork

1. Of the three items I had asked them to look at, one was done. This was because that was the only item where they stood to make a good sum of money (changing discs and brake pads).

What other two things did they not attend to?

They also tried to sell me the standard interior cleaning etc. which I declined.

Everyone does that, with some product or the other. As long as you aren't forced to buy it, shouldn't matter.

2. I had asked for the mileage to be tested. Was never done. Got conflicting stories that they dont check mileage (which is nonsense),

Actually, very few service stations run mileage tests. They will check the tune of th engine and, typically, this is enough for them to tell whether the car is performing optimally or not. The best person to check mileage - I insist - is the owner. And on a full tank to full tank basis.

3. They promised to return the car the same day. at 6:30PM, they asked if they could return the car the next day at 11:30.

Well, they goofed up here. I must tell you that I seldom put time pressure on the service guys, lest they do the job in a hurry. I'd rather they take a day more but give the car back in perfect shape.

They dont accept cheque. I am not sure whether all their customers are expected to keep large amounts of cash

Again, most service stations do not accept cheque. Think of it from their point of view : If they deliver the car and a cheque bounces, it is going to be a long time before they get their money back. Not to mention the time wasted.

[bblost]

Agree with GTO.

and about your point:
>I am not sure whether all their customers are expected to keep large amounts of cash on their person.

If they accept Credit/ Debit Cards there should be no issues. IMHO.

[hemanthisgreat]

What I am noticing recently is that a lot of newbies are posting regarding bad service by Honda.

[clevermax]

@surfatwork: Why would you want the service guys to to check your car's mileage? The owner can do it easily - tankfull to tankfull!

If youask the service guys to check the mileage, they will just give you an OK FE figure without actually doing it - waste of money IMO.

And if you know that something's gonna take time, do not force them to deliver the car too soon. I guess the problem starts when one customer forcefully makes a services engineer commit on an impossible delivery date/time.

[lin-jo]

Originally Posted by GTO

I'd rather they take a day more but give the car back in perfect shape.

I would like to differ here: it is not a safe option at all, to leave your car with the service fellows for even one day, away from your own watchful eyes.
I guess we all saw the experience of one of our fellow BHPians whose OHC was rammed badly and they gave a lame/false reason that the service guy mistakenly rammed into a stationary Accord!!

You might get the car back in perfect shape- on the outside though.But what all these mechanics screw up on the inside, you will not have a clue.

I have had many instances where I saw the mechanic break/damage something he should not have touched, and try cover it up with either an old part or with some jugaad. Since I was there, was able to catch them red handed. Unless you are there in the garage, you will never come to know till the whole jugaad leads to some other major failure. I know many garages would not allow you inside, but you still can manage to make inspections while you wait. However, this kind of an approach will mean the car service day turns out to be a whole day off from work. Well thats how it is for me!

[harry10]

Originally Posted by hemanthisgreat

What I am noticing recently is that a lot of newbies are posting regarding bad service by Honda.

No harm in that. It doesnt means if the person has recently joined he cant have a bad experience with any dealer be it Honda or Hyundai or whatever.

As for cheques dealers wont accept that however most do take Credit/debit cards. Did you tried that?

@ GTO - i agree partially its better not to pressurise service people with time limit but keeping the car with them for a lot of time makes me uneasy as we never know when they take one new part out of our car and fit in others car!

[Path_Finder]

Originally Posted by GTO

Hi Surfatwork, I dont see anything majorly wrong in your experience.
.....

While your points are noted, I do not agree with this conclusion… The fundamental concept of whole service industry which applies to these transactions also is that – The whole thing is about 90% managing the expectations and 10% actual delivering of services. If one does not manage the expectation well, no amount of good service will actually satisfy the customer. Expectations with Honda is high and I see them repeatedly failing.

We also see reports of Ford service being bad. But in all instances I have got them to deliver the vehicle at the promised time (not the time I wanted, but what they say it will be ready)
I also used to pay them by cheque regularly – which is something that I set the expectation with them by telling in advance that I will give cheque only. So it works both ways.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by lin-jo

I would like to differ here: it is not a safe option at all, to leave your car with the service fellows for even one day,

An accident can take place the minute you give them the car. It isn't really time dependent, is it? Yes, I agree that it's not a good idea to leave the car for long. But a day more for a major service should not be a cause for worry.

Originally Posted by Path_Finder

While your points are noted, I do not agree with this conclusion… The fundamental concept of whole service industry which applies to these transactions also is that – The whole thing is about 90% managing the expectations and 10% actual delivering of services.

Path_Finder : Thank you for the lesson in service standards . However, expectations have to be reasonable so that they are realistically met, isn't it? What exactly is wrong in this gentlemans service experience? A days delay, yup I have already replied that they goofed up there (not big time though). But is that really enough to warrant a new thread? Or to recommend people to stay away from the service center altogether?

[Path_Finder]

GTO, no disagreements there
The feeling I got on reading the post was that the dealer did not fail much in delivering service, but goofed up entirely in managing the expectation. Just wanted to make that point.

[ajmat]

Whitefield used to accept cheque on delivery. Later on I used to take delivery and order a dd direct to them later

[ankit.jhamb]

the main point made over here is with respect to the time commitment given by the dealer.Had they earlier mentioned that the car would have been deliver the next day i dont think it would have been a problem.also is 7AM a delivery time?in delhi workshops generally dont keep the vehicles overnight,and opens at around 8-8.30 am.

[surfatwork]

thank you all for your valuable comments. It was "my" experience, and I wasnt happy with it. Just wanted to let you guys know. We all have different expectations of service levels and DH didnt meet mine. YMMV.

[srinivas9446]

well, many dealers do accept cheques from regular customers..this happens only with the relation one builds with the service center over a period of time & this calls for lot of efforts..I agree with surfatwork that the serice experience is quite bad at Dakshin Honda.I have had a bad expeince too here.

My other car which is a MARUTI is being serviced at Mandovi regularly & on many occasions my spouse has taken delivery of car without paying the bill . I have infact gone back after a week and done the payment. This is as good as giving a cheque as payment.

Good relation with the service center is the key.

bye

[jack7]

Well, I had a bad experience with DH Bangalore too and never bothered to go there again. It was when the told me that they would do some engine bay clean up and when I got the car back the engine bay was shining but my O2 sensor pretty much failed . I think it’s just a relatively small percent of customers who are dissatisfied with the quality of service from either DH or Whitefield Honda Bangalore. Now I’m sure this is the same if you consider any brand, whether it’s a Honda, Hyundai, Maruthi or even a Merc.

What settles everything down for the other brands is the choice available for them. If not one franchise they have quite a reasonable number of other dealerships to choose from. (Merc could be an exception)

DH service capacity is about 20 cars and it’s very unlikely that they can deliver it the same day unless there is pretty much nothing to do on the car itself. The question is why wouldn’t they be straight enough to except the fact and mention it to the customer before hand itself?