Tata service improvements

[tsk1979]

Looks like finally tata motors is making some effort to consolidate service records.
At todays service the entire process was done by the dealer on Tata Website. The advisor told me that no matter which workshop you get your car serviced from, the records are now at a centralized location.
There are some hurdles though. the connection was over the internet, so the process took a lot of time. Ideally each dealer should have a localized database which is uploaded every night.
Another problem is that at 6:00pm tata website shuts down as they dont want anybody to work except from 9-6, so if too many job cards are there things go poof and you have angry customers with ready cars and unread job cards. Due to system slow speed(website problem?) job cad printing etc, takes time.

But this has an interesting side effect.
Buying a second hand car and dont know what all is wrong with it? Take the guy to his tata workshop, and voila, unless the jobs were done from unauthorized workshops(very few people get accident jobs from unauthorized workshops) you have the entire service history of the vehicle. The system was implemented about a year back.

Also if you feel a part was changed recently at another tata workshop, but you dont have "proof" all you need is to pull the service history.
The cars Alternator belt and AC belt were changed. I remebered some belt was changed a few months ago, but was not sure which one, this system told me it was the timing belt.

If all manufacturers have such systems in place, it will help second hand buyers a lot and in case of repeat jobs you can always choose not to pay.

[vincentt]

This is really a good system. It also adds to transperancy in the vehicle records and also for maintenance. Computerisation of their records is a good thing and this will help in a good way to all the consumers too.

The only problem being that many a time, people dont take vehicles to the service centres in times of accident too, because service centres tend to charge a premium higher and sometimes even do a bad job. This is not the case always, but many of my friends having other manufacturers vehicles even Maruti and Daewoo have told me about their woes.

This is a good thing to start with, lets see the results now.

[condor]

Finally a step forward by Tata Motors. But they do have a long way to go.

I hope Tata puts in place a centralised feedback system. Currently, it's the dealer who does it. That really doesnt amount to much if the feedback doesnt go back to Tata Motors.

[hmishra83]

Originally Posted by condor

Finally a step forward by Tata Motors. But they do have a long way to go.

I hope Tata puts in place a centralised feedback system. Currently, it's the dealer who does it. That really doesnt amount to much if the feedback doesnt go back to Tata Motors.

I agree...they do need a centralised feedback system. Tata Motors need to be aware if there are any misgivings at the dealer's end too as well as a genuine feedback system need to be in place for improving existing standards.

[directinjection]

Recently I had dealt with a number of Tata-Fiat dealers in Delhi in connection with test drives of FIAT Adventure. None of the test drive cars had Demo Vehicle written/displayed on the vehicle. Also, at all dealers except one, the speedo cable was disconnected. Apparently, the test drive cars are also sold as new to unsuspecting customers. On one particular visit to a Tata dealer that I had visited several times, I saw DEMO VEHICLE stickers even on Tata Indicas and Fiat cars. The sales guy cheekily told me that they had put the stickers on that particular day because it was an "audit day" involving visit by Tata officials. He also told me that the stickers would be removed the next day!

Compare this with the practice at Maruti dealers. Each test drive car has the words DEMO VEHICLE prominently displayed by way of standard Maruti-specification stickers. Moreover, the speedo always works and this helps in getting a better idea about the vehicle's performance. After about a year or so of test driving, they sell off the test drive cars as second-hand vehicles through Maruti True Value.

Just highlights the differences in approach and the quality of service.

Tata has a long way to go indeed!

[GTO]

Kudos to Tata for taking this initiative. As far as I know, it is the first Indian manufacturer to do so.......and in the age of information technology, this is the only way to go. I am sure it saves them a lot of $$$ too...not only in efficiency but also in eliminating false warranty claims.

[sandeepmdas]

As fellow TBHPians put here, this is only an initiative and there is a long way to go - but a step towards the right direction.
Regarding the 6pm system shutdown, I think this is the only way to force the dealers /TASCs to upgrade their internet connection to something decent. As pointed out by directinjection, these guys are so capable of identifying and exploiting loopholes, and stronger constraints and rules are highly recommeded..

[varunroy]

They have computerised the system of ordering spare parts online years back, yet it takes months for them to procure parts, especially if it is under warranty. They have a whole lot of systems but give a damn in following them. The dealers also know that Tatas would never check if they are adhering to these.

So long....