Comedy of Errors at Indian Dealerships

[anujmishra]

Originally Posted by GTO

- "Saar, ABS is not suited for India. It is good only for foreign countries. That is why we don't offer it"

LoL, Even I got this explanation when I just went to check Swift at Sagar Automobiles, Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore . There are two option in Swift Vxi (normal and with ABS). I asked about ABS and I got similar reply and addition to that

Saar, nobody knows these ABS (Webeus ) work or not. It is just faltu thing not useful. Go for simple car like Swift Vxi Normal it will not give headache. I was like .

Originally Posted by johnjacob

Maybe a bit tangential, MODS please delete if inappropriate.
Me: What do you do at Bosch?
Candidate: I write software for engine control units, blah blah blah.
Me: Ok, what is the difference between power and torque?
Candidate: Uh, Ah, Hem, Haw, I don't know!

I do not find any problem in his reply. Does it mean that he should learn mechanical details of car if he works for BOSCH? He works for IT and embedded domain and your question was very much irrelevant (Automobile Engineering) to his present job.

If this would be the case then all of us should be master of all domain.

[srh]

Originally Posted by anujmishra

I do not find any problem in his reply. Does it mean that he should learn mechanical details of car if he works for BOSCH? He works for IT and embedded domain and your question was very much irrelevant (Automobile Engineering) to his present job.

If this would be the case then all of us should be master of all domain.

The difference is that even if he works for IT and embedded domain, he still claims experience in working in ECUs. Does that not warrant for some information on what exactly does the ECU do i.e gets feedback on engine parameters (which includes load - power/ torque requirement) and adjusts fuel/ air intake, ignition and other such parameters.

[achinthg]

I was taking a TD of Verna at Advaith Hyundai. I asked the SA why Verna has no airbags. He said "Sir, In India you don't need airbags for the speed we go". I said "Why so you then have airbags in i10 and i20?". He said "Sir, They are small cars, risk is more".

[ronin]

Most of these are hilarious stuff. But I almost proposed to the cute Punjabi girl who introduced the OHC to me from Whitefield Honda, Blr. She knew every single detail incl the power-weight ratio of the car. She really loved that car. Pity she was already taken..

[wildon]

Location Advaith Hyundai- Bangalore

Q: Where is the rear a/c vent located?
A: Sir i20 having single a/c fitted @ front

Few days after called the Toll free no of Hyundai, asked only about where the rear a/c vents are located, she started giving me specification expect the details which i asked.

Shot a mail to cr@hyundai after one week i got this reply



Finally got the right answer from a sales guy from Trident ;

[vikrantj]

Sorry to play a spoil-sport here but I think it is unfair to the sales persons in the showroom. Agreed to the fact that they may not have enough info on the car they are selling and that is totally unforgivable but making a joke out of them in a public forum is a bit of a dampner for me.

-- Vikrant

[johnjacob]

Originally Posted by anujmishra

I do not find any problem in his reply. Does it mean that he should learn mechanical details of car if he works for BOSCH? He works for IT and embedded domain and your question was very much irrelevant (Automobile Engineering) to his present job.

If this would be the case then all of us should be master of all domain.

Two words: domain knowledge. If he is working in the automotive domain, he ought to know the basics of that domain. Otherwise, he would not be a very good developer of automotive embedded software.

Originally Posted by ronin

Most of these are hilarious stuff. But I almost proposed to the cute Punjabi girl who introduced the OHC to me from Whitefield Honda, Blr. She knew every single detail incl the power-weight ratio of the car. She really loved that car. Pity she was already taken..

How did you find out that she was taken?

[sidindica]

Originally Posted by vikrantj

Sorry to play a spoil-sport here but I think it is unfair to the sales persons in the showroom. Agreed to the fact that they may not have enough info on the car they are selling and that is totally unforgivable but making a joke out of them in a public forum is a bit of a dampner for me.

-- Vikrant

This thread is not meant to create a mockery of salesperson, rather to highlight that how and why and on what basis many persons are recruited at dealerships. And not all persons are bad. But at least you must have decent knowledge of the product that they are selling to us.

They are paid for it, its a profession and when people make a mockery of their profession, openly, why not will we feel bad? After all, we are spending hard earned money in purchasing the car. Whatever replies I got was simply bizarre. Look at the first post and you will know what I will mean.

[anujmishra]

Originally Posted by johnjacob

Two words: domain knowledge. If he is working in the automotive domain, he ought to know the basics of that domain. Otherwise, he would not be a very good developer of automotive embedded software.

Well still this is irrelevant questioning about power and torque. Automotive IT domain does not mean he should have interest in Automobiles. ECU programming can be done with embedded knowledge and without knowing power, torque, diffrential, ergonomics etc.

[CoolFire]

And there was this sales guy to whom I asked a doubt about Maruti's toll free facility. He was like "Ha, Maruti got a toll free facility? That's great!! Sar, please give me that number"

Unfortunately in our country auto dealerships are among the worst places to work in. No wonder they are not getting the right kind of talent. Even those who are there hardly sticks for a reasonable time to gather training and experience.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by vikrantj

Sorry to play a spoil-sport here but I think it is unfair to the sales persons in the showroom. Agreed to the fact that they may not have enough info on the car they are selling and that is totally unforgivable but making a joke out of them in a public forum is a bit of a dampner for me.

-- Vikrant

Absolutely disagree. These are professionals, or supposed to be. Lets show them up, and laugh.

Only thing is... whilst dealers may be named, nobody has named a salesperson. If they are not management, then let sensitivity be satisfied by allowing them to remain anonymous, although clearly, their lack of training is equaled by their lack of homework.

<a few minutes later>

Sidindica said it already...

[jigbarai]

^^
True.
Pretty sure they have computers in their offices with net connections.
What does it take them to get onto such sites like ours and READ (if only about their brand and only for a few minutes).

[sunishsamuel]

Originally Posted by amit_arya

Aah that makes me remember my visit to Sanya just opposite to samhara in def col, it was year 2000 or so and for matiz(now they sell tata)

I was behind the wheels (test ride) and this lady (sales agent) was talking too much good about acceleration and handling. Just to keep her mouth shut i asked "Maam, is car ki 0-100 timing kya hai", for a while she was quite, then i explained her from rest if i accelerate in what time will it reach speed of 100KMPH, and the answer i got was :
"Instant, the moment you press accelerator it will"

That is the best one i have heard. Instant acceleration, wow. I have a cousin of mine who owns a matiz and he claims he did 170 on the mumbai-pune expressway. So i think the sales people would have seen some ignorant customers and assume all are ignorant.

[jigbarai]

Originally Posted by sunishsamuel

That is the best one i have heard. Instant acceleration, wow. I have a cousin of mine who owns a matiz and he claims he did 170 on the mumbai-pune expressway. So i think the sales people would have seen some ignorant customers and assume all are ignorant.

OT -
Ok, read it twice. 170 on a Matiz. Did it like fly or something ?

[sunishsamuel]

Originally Posted by jigbarai

OT -
Ok, read it twice. 170 on a Matiz. Did it like fly or something ?

Yes, I think so. He he.

Few from Tata sales:

Me - What's the max speed Safari 2.2 can do ?
SG - Sir, 180kmph i have done that many times. (OMG)
Me - Can i fit a central roof ac in the LX model ?
SG - Sure, its an easy task and we can do that for you, don't do it from outside sir, as that voids warranty. (Great !)
Me - What's the difference between EX and LX ?
SG - Nothing sir, i will get the bumpers painted for the LX and it will be EX.
Me - What's the mileage ?
SG - Very good sir, very good, like a sedan. We got customers telling they get 16-18kmpl in the city.

Since i knew i wanted a Safari, i just bought it.


Few experiences from the Tata service:

- Safari 2.2 goes for servicing as there is a humming/rubbing noise while car runs. Service engineer calls me and tells, sir there is slight noise but that's normal in all safaris. I can prove that to you. I threatened to escalate, two days later car comes back with brand new wheel bearings replaced under warranty.

I had many similar experiences with the service guys as well. Most of it exposes the need of proper training to the sales and service folks. They pay meagerly and give them fancy cars to repair and sell. And you can imagine the end result.