Why are so many services at ASC's two visit affairs?

[greenhorn]

I'd been complaining about my experiences with tata here
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ml#post1325693 (OEM Support processes - what makes Hyundai/Honda tec Tick and make TATA horrible !)

reposted below

at my tata workshop, the staff and the receptionists, right upto the Customer Relations Manager is very courteous. Unfortunately, they seem to be playing a game of good cop - bad cop with the mechanics. They put on a happy face, act courteous, but when the time comes to pick up the car after service, then you find so many things missing, and they'll start running after the mechs , and the mechs generally ignore them, and then they plead helplessness, and seek your pity.

You take delivery of your car, because its 7 in the evening , and they're closing up, you've come all the way to get the car, and you dont want to go back empty handed.

And then the next day my dealer's customer care folks call up, and when I'm say that The last service was crap, they start grovelling. Its pathetic , really. " Sir if you had a problem why didnt you say so then????"
Yeah right.

Well, they whine so much , asking you to give them a good rating when the call for feedback from pune comes, and ask you to take back the car to fix the issues, and the whole cycle repeats.

While its good that clearly, somebody , somewhere gives a damn, It's still extremely frustrating.

I've over the time I've been a member here, I've noticed that this is not limited to tata alone. Several services done at Authorized service centers tend to be like this. The actual service, followed by the follow up service , where you actually get the stuff fixed/ and fix things that had been working until the service, but get damaged/lost during the service.

This is slowly becoming an established trend, almost the norm. One of the frequent reasons given is , due to the sheer volumes handled by the ASC's , they may not be able to do things within the stipulated timelines.

In that case, why not set proper timelines in the first place. I'd rather my car spends 2 days at the ASC than I have to go pick it up at the end of day one, make a list of new complaints, and then get it done all over again ( and even then, everything might not get fixed).

Local workshops and mechanics tend to be able to get this right the first time. Why is it to hard for a big ASC, given the fact that they are taking more time , money, effort, and the manufacturer's blessings and support , to do things right the first time ?

My other suspicions -
lack of trained staff
lack of ownership of the issues/responsiblity

[bottle]

Day 1 ? this happens to me at the end of day 7 and i still need to go back again coz something or the other is buggered

[ImmortalZ]

The local Honda dealership has been good about this except for paintjobs (which were outsourced). When I went to give the car for my latest visit, I saw dozens upon dozens of cars lying at the sides of the road, for a long way both sides. Immediately my heart sank. And it showed when I got my car back. Many firsts - dirty seats, they forgot to reconnect my reverse sensor and a decidedly average paintjob for the equipment they have.

I think it is a combination of "We don't give a damn about the consumer" attitude of the parent company, lack of responsibility (TATA A.S.S is used to servicing indifferent taxi cabs), overloading and sometimes, monopoly in the market (Honda).

[Nikhilb2008]

For this, I squarely blame the manufacturers. It is their responsibility to train people to work properly in authorised service centres. They have to take the trouble of ensuring that a certain quality of service is maintained.

I feel that we Indians have a chalta hai attitude and this is the reason these manufacturers get away with it. For decades, Indians have never cared about quality(I'm not going into reasons. I'm sure there are very valid ones). We always cared about one thing: PRICE. So, even though the market is changing now and people are demanding quality, it is still a minority in the market. Until the nation as a whole stands up and demands to be heard, this is not going to change. What makes the situation worse is the fact that we have alternatives.

Also, Indians generally do not think long term. For example, if today Honda is selling 100 cars, they appoint a dealer/ASC with a capacity of 100 or max 110. They do not think of the day when they will be selling 200 or 300 cars. So, when they do start selling more than 110 cars, problems like these start cropping up. This is reflected in everything. Infrastructure, planning, economic policies, etc....

[jkdas]

Most dealership/A.S.S people cant match the customer / service guy ratio. You will be suprised at how much cars each chotta a.s.s. guys ' service' on a day.

And in some cases; competition. They just want to make money. And some have the confidence that modern cars are bullet proof and hence need little attention.

For me, a verbal threat is enough to see that they service my tough guy right. And I see that the same service advisor sees my car.

[hollywoodhogan]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

For this, I squarely blame the manufacturers.

We always cared about one thing: PRICE.

since the indian customer is the most price sensitive and always cared most about price, the manufacturer is forced to operate under very thin margins and hence economical economics trickles all the way down to customer service.

like it has been been said several scores of times in this forum, most of us on team-bhp form just a minuscule minority who expect best services and we are ready to pay a little more for that but generally thats not the case. our numbers do not matter. its not only the dealers who run the business to make money for their investors, its the manufacturers too.

i only ask us to understand one thing, with the price sensitive indian customer in mind, we sometimes cannot expect more from manufacturers and dealers. after all they are individuals like us who have put in money to make money. and for those of us who are employees, we put in our time and effort to get a good salary. but when we feel that we are being underpaid, we either look for an alternate job or put in less effort at the work place. so, its the same with businesses. They put in money where the returns are more. simple.

[hollywoodhogan]

Originally Posted by jkdas

They just want to make money.

sorry for editing down your post but its just that line that i wanted to focus on. pardon me. also i do not mean to sound rude, but dont we all want to make money? of course you could argue that morals and values come first and one does not make money at any cost etc. but, today money is survival. survival of self and family. and survival is a basic instinct of any living being.

besides i do not think that anyone can do any charity without first making the money to donate to charity.

[IQBAL VEERJI]

Originally Posted by jkdas

Most dealership/A.S.S people cant match the customer / service guy ratio. You will be suprised at how much cars each chotta a.s.s. guys ' service' on a day.

And in some cases; competition. They just want to make money. And some have the confidence that modern cars are bullet proof and hence need little attention.

For me, a verbal threat is enough to see that they service my tough guy right. And I see that the same service advisor sees my car.

Dear Das, I had a very very bad experience with Vittesse work shop at Andheri. It is about a year back when my Omini was still under extended warranty, I had a problem with whine in the differential which was shown to all of their so called service advisers but according to me they are just bunch of jokers. Every time I went to them with complaint of differntial noise they used to tell me that it is normal and nothing to worry about.
I inssisted to get it checked by mauti engineer on his monthly visit, I waited for this for almost one month and one day I got a call to bring the van immediately or the engineer vill leave they did not give me prior intimation about this so called ENGINEER OF MARUTI visit and gave me only half an hr to reach the work shop , incidently my office is very closeby I could reach in time to workshop. There was this Engineer taking trials of numourous vehicles as if he is eating chapatties,in less then half hour he took trials of around 12 cars. When he took my van trial he said to me ITNA AWAJ TOH AYEGA HI and VAN IS PERFECT KUCH KARNE KI ZARROORAT NAHIN HAI I told him I am using vans from the day he was a third standard school going child and this is my fifth van all from 1986. He did not answer me and just walked away to another car for its trial I told him to give me a written report there was no answer. I just walked away thinking that he is also another joker who knows nothing about customer care and listening to their sad stories.
six month later same diff noise had increased so much that I had to get my diff opened up and saw that bearing had worn out. and the mechanic who opened up he said SAAB YEH BEARING FAILURE TO EKDUM SE NAHIN HOTA HAI .I got the work done from local mechanic and that too in front of my eyes,now the van is perfect, had vitteesse attended it in warranty or even in extended warranty this situation would not have come.

[humyum]

Iqbal, at these times the best thing to do is contact maruti at their toll free number.Dealers are super scared of maruti's toll free number. They will do anything to rectify this. I MEAN ANYTHING! Never let such a situation pass!