International consumers react against poor customer service & bad cars

[gshanky]

Car driving is one of the pleasurable acts in our daily lives. Though one has to deal with irritants like traffic, fines, pollution, increasing fuel prices, etc. most of us are still able to tolerate all of these minor irritants with the hope of having a great drive in the evening or over the weekend or the upcoming vacation that puts a smile on one's face.

One thing that hurts any car owner the most is a defective car and that too if the car is defective from the source. i.e. cars with manufacturing defect. This should be one of the most (if not the most) frustrating moments a person could have. Increase the frustration levels exponentially if the car is new.

We have our own fellow tbhpian VarunRoy who has been (or still is) fighting a long battle against TATA MOTORS LTD in the various courts of our judicial system. He has tried the dealer network, the courts, and also tried to be dramatic by writing the faults of the car in the car's body and glass.

I came across an article where a man hires a few men, organises an event and publicly demolishes his Lamborgini Gallordo to teach the Lamborgini Family a lesson in Customer satisfaction and PR. Could you be more dramatic than this?

Here is the source - PhotoBlog - One unsatisfied owner: poor service leads Lamborghini driver on destructive path

How have you dealt with such instances?

[Slick]

A man who can afford a Lambo can easily afford to demolish one.

I am shocked to know that even these companies who charge such a brand premium do not entertain troubled customers. Very shocking indeed.
My heart pains to see that beauty being demolished.

[ghodlur]

I fail to understand why vent anger on the car when the car manufacturer is the one who needs to be bashed up. The frustration needs to be vented on the service people.

How would this stop people from buying cars?

[KarthikK]

Slightly off-topic but these pictures bring to my mind the story of an Indian King who vented his frustration at Rolls Royce for refusing to sell him a new model. The King ordered his existing fleet of Rolls Royce cars to haul garbage and filth in Patiala city! On hearing this, Rolls Royce immediately rushed to put out the fire and gave in to his request.

[karty_83]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

I fail to understand why vent anger on the car when the car manufacturer is the one who needs to be bashed up. The frustration needs to be vented on the service people.

How would this stop people from buying cars?

Very true. It would have been better off had he taken action against the manufacturer instead. It is heartbreaking to see this beauty being demolished.

I am just not able to fathom the fact that he chose this route to teach a lesson. Wonder if it would make any difference.

[DicKy]

China seems to have so much excess money.
Wonder what happened to commie mindset
Not long ago, a BMW 7-er(or is it Merc E class?) owner smashed smashed his car in a similar event in Beijing and also another one who had his BMW 7-er pulled by donkeys through the city.

[mdsaab]

My gosh! that's some horrible treatment there. poor lambo.
hope the manufacturer learnt their lesson, albeit and expensive one.
any news on the response of the manufacturer?

[amitk26]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

Slightly off-topic but these pictures bring to my mind the story of an Indian King who vented his frustration at Rolls Royce for refusing to sell him a new model. The King ordered his existing fleet of Rolls Royce cars to haul garbage and filth in Patiala city! On hearing this, Rolls Royce immediately rushed to put out the fire and gave in to his request.

Err it was notj Patiala but Maharaja of Bharatpur ( Rajasthan)
The story goes like this Raja went to London and enquired in RR showroom and salesman showed disdain towards him , He simply asked how many are there in stock and they had 3.
He ordered all 3 and once they were shipped to bharatput he ordered to attach trailers for hauling filth. As the RR was official vehicle of queen then Viceroy of India rushed to Bharatpur and requested to withdraw this but since the RR were used to haul the filth Maharaja with much disdain agreed to sell them off at throwaway price.

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by amitk26

Err it was notj Patiala but Maharaja of Bharatpur ( Rajasthan)
The story goes like this Raja went to London and enquired in RR showroom and salesman showed disdain towards him , He simply asked how many are there in stock and they had 3.
He ordered all 3 and once they were shipped to bharatput he ordered to attach trailers for hauling filth. As the RR was official vehicle of queen then Viceroy of India rushed to Bharatpur and requested to withdraw this but since the RR were used to haul the filth Maharaja with much disdain agreed to sell them off at throwaway price.

Then what about this?
1913 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost Images, Information and History (40/50HP, 40-50) | Conceptcarz.com

[amitk26]

Originally Posted by DicKy

Then what about this?
1913 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost Images, Information and History (40/50HP, 40-50) | Conceptcarz.com

May be Bhupinder Singh Ji also did the same

There are several web sources but I read it first time in print many years ago. And here is one google book on Raja Deen Dayal which mentions the same.

Raja Deen Dayal: prince of photographers - Google Books

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by DicKy

China seems to have so much excess money.
Wonder what happened to commie mindset
Not long ago, a BMW 7-er(or is it Merc E class?) owner smashed smashed his car in a similar event in Beijing and also another one who had his BMW 7-er pulled by donkeys through the city.

Is that in China or Japan ? Could someone confirm that ?

This is surely an act of a madman.

[neil.jericho]

Did a bit of research and found this
- The Chinese owner decided to destroy the car on the World Consumer Rights Day
- His (then) new car failed to start on Nov 29, 2010
- The engine problem wasnt fixed and the bumper & chassis were found to be damaged after the car was towed to the official maintenance shop
- The owner contacted contacted Lamborghini's CEO Mr. Stephan Winkelmann, the brand's China headquarters, its after-sales service manager for Asia-Pacific region, and the brand's owner Volkswagen Group
- Frustrated, he finally hired a team to destroy it in public.

Well done I say

[noopster]

This is an act of vandalism and deserves to be condemned roundly by all right-thinking people.

How can you smash up your own car? This is like publicly euthanising your own pet because you are unhappy with the treatment your vet provided . Sorry for the bad analogy but it seems quite obvious the guy never had any love for the machine. He's just hurt that his money and influence can't get him some attention he thinks he deserves.

Shame on him, and all those hailing him.

[prateekm]

Somebody seems to be very inspired by Jeremy Clarkson Anyways, this method, though costly must have surely hurt Lamborghini at the right spot. Now the irony is that Lamborghini was started due to his dissatisfaction from Ferrari !

[a_myth]

I wish i could do this to my Fiat Punto, to highlight the issues faced by owners of Fiat in Goa, India. IMO,a mechanic in my neighborhood repairing old bikes has better understanding about Customer Relations and Customer Satisfaction then people at TATA FIAT dealership (AUTO Industries, Goa)