Cars getting damaged during service and excellent customer service

nithin_86 · 27th May 2011, 15:38

Car damaged during service

I am guessing this is quite a common thing from all the dealership threads. This experience relates to Maruti Service Masters, Chennai. Apparently people claim this is the best Service Centre in Chennai. I have a 2006 Baleno Lxi that I bought from True Value about six months ago. I gave the car for service in the morning and when I came to pick it up in the evening I was asked to wait in the lobby and the Service Advisor was taking an unusually long time to deliver the car and that too after he called me saying the car is ready and I can pick it up. So i thought I would go out and wait near the exit. I saw my car was parked there and the SA came running to me telling me that it will take a few more minutes and that they have to just clean it. I said OK and went to see if they had properly cleaned the interiors (I had an issue with the cleaning last time) and I see that my front right fender and the right side of the front bumper is completely scratched. The fender is completely dented.

They actually thought I wouldn't notice it and that I would leave with the car so that they can claim that the damage was my doing. I called him up and SA didn't even try to act surprised. He owned up saying that it is their fault and that they will repair it. I said I wanted it in writing and they wrote the same on the Job Card. They mentioned that they damaged the bumper and fender during service and that they will repair it. I wanted them to add the following statement as well "In case not repaired to the satisfaction of the customer the parts will be repaired" which they didn't. That actually pissed me off. The guy said he will have to check with the manager. Then this guy comes in saying that he is the manager. I was telling him the same thing that I mentioned to the SA that I want the statement in writing.

His reply to that was "I know our work will be perfect that you wont even know that there was a dent over there."

Then I asked him if he was so sure then why cant he put that in writing. No answers. And after some time he says "You have to trust me sir. You can trust me. We will do the work perfectly. You are not talking to some cleaning boy or petty mechanic, you are talking to the manager of the organisation."

He is actually using the word trust. I leave the car there for a service and in six hours i have a car that is completely dented and scratched and he is talking about trust. And his statement about being the manager and not petty mechanics and cleaning boys actually pissed me off. The main thing that got me pissed off was them trying to get the car out of their hands by delivering it without mentioning it. The car is supposed to be delivered today night. I said I will pick it up in the morning. Don't want to pick up the car in the night and miss out on something else that they may have done. I am attaching some pics that I managed to take. Its on my phone so its not really clear and it was really late as well so no light. I am guessing quite a few of you here have had similar experiences. There is one more service incident that I faced with the Popular Automobiles in Saligramam which I will mention in another post.

Cars getting damaged during service and excellent customer service-image_282.jpg

Cars getting damaged during service and excellent customer service-image_283.jpg

benzinblut · 27th May 2011, 15:49

Sad to hear that.

I had a similar experience. When Sai Service, Lower Parel broke the tail light of our esteem. The SA actually called up and reported this. But he also said that the mechanic who was moving the car will have to pay for it and requested us to pay if we didn't pay. My dad, being who he is, happily took the tab.

fuel_addict · 27th May 2011, 15:56

Sad to hear this. Drives homes the point that no matter where you get your car serviced, always check for damage/scratches/missing items while taking delivery. More so, when the delivery is taken late in the evenings. Most service center guys will want to get the car off their premises before the customer finds a fault.

nithin_86 · 27th May 2011, 16:07

People test your patience like anything. I came across it just because I inspected it properly. If I was in a hurry or something I would have just taken the car and left without properly checking it. Though the damage in this case is very obvious, if it was late at night I may have most probably overlooked it. In case it was my dad, he would have just taken delivery of the car and left and wouldn't have bothered to inspect it as he would trust the service personals to take care of the car.

And the "If you don't pay it will go out of my pocket. Please Sir." actually works on older people who wouldn't mind shelling out a little extra because the poor guy made a mistake. Its actually very sad how they handle a vehicle that you give for service.

ghodlur · 27th May 2011, 16:07

I had found a couple of scratches on the boot lid area and on the doors after the vehicle was serviced. However in the absence of nay time tio check immediately after the service, I had checked it after I reached home, parked the car and took a round to see if everything was allright. I should have done this before leaving the workshop.

Also at a couple of places could see the grease marks which was promptly removed by the service team during the next visit.

callvvijay · 27th May 2011, 16:16

I faced a similar situation with Popular Motors, Kilkattalai, Chennai. I usually service my car at Khivraj Motors, Mount Road (where I had bought). But, since this one was closer to my residence and that I had a serious damage (an accident of a water tanker hitting the left rear door and damaging it heavily), I thought of servicing it in Popular.

The SA was very friendly and that is where, I think, I was fooled. Due to some reasons, I had to pick up my car after it was dark. Only later did I notice few brownish patches on the right side of my car (something like a oil-spil) and also few small scratches.

Latheesh · 27th May 2011, 16:22

It happened with my car too..

Gave car for 25K service to Kropex and they gifted me a small dent on the roof + One tweeter cover is missing. Service guy had promised to call if he gets the cover but he never did. I mentioned these points to their customer care rep when they called but no result!

xotiq · 27th May 2011, 16:27

Had a similar problem last year when i gave my car for service at Pratham motors, Blr. The panel above the left front side wheel was dented an inch. As usual, the folks at Pratham made no effort to apprise me of this damage when i went to pick up the car. Once i bought this to their attention, it was apologies all around.

Anyway, they had it tinkered and painted back to satisfaction within 2-3 hours the next day.

libranof1987 · 27th May 2011, 18:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by benzinblut

Sad to hear that.

I had a similar experience. When Sai Service, Lower Parel broke the tail light of our esteem. The SA actually called up and reported this. But he also said that the mechanic who was moving the car will have to pay for it and requested us to pay if we didn't pay. My dad, being who he is, happily took the tab.

This is one thread where Sai Service, be it Pune or else where belongs fittingly!

We had a major argument at Sai Service, Phugewadi, Pune over the manner in which cars were driven by the mechanics. The manager was involved and hearing our complaint, many others joined in too.

I even blasted a mechanic at the Deccan branch once. I guess they just love the sound of screeching tyres and scaring fellow mechanics by getting cars too close. Wonder if they'd do the same with their cars.

Thankfully, none of our cars have suffered any damage, yet!

benzinblut · 28th May 2011, 10:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by libranof1987

I guess they just love the sound of screeching tyres and scaring fellow mechanics by getting cars too close. Wonder if they'd do the same with their cars

I have observed this at many service centres. I sometimes also got a feeling that they also do this infront of the customers as if trying to impress them as in what good control they have of the vehicle.

Ive also brought this to the attention of the SA and they have an indifferent attitude I feel.

nithin_86 · 28th May 2011, 22:24

Like callvvijay mentioned, I think its the when the SA is very friendly that you have to be afraid. Once you see those dudes becoming really friendly you can almost be sure that there is something thats gonna go wrong. I picked up my car today and they have repainted the fender after removing the dents and also the bumper. But now the gap between the fender and bumper is a little more pronounced and they were like "That is the best Sir. We will show you another Baleno. All Balenos have a lot of gap and all that". Basically after damaging your car this is the best we can do, take it or leave it attitude. I argues for sometime and then left it. I will be sending a formal complaint to Maruti. Not that its going to do any good. Dont feel like leaving it like that.

I also noticed that they replaced the mirror of the left ORVM. Though the dent was formed on the right side. They said they haven't even touched it. But I am sure because my original one didnt have the "OBJECTS IN THE MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR" print. And the panel with the ACs heating control and the speed of the blower and everything printed has come off. I told them that and they were like we took it out for cleaning. And the panel that they have put in now is a scratched old one looking very dirty. They claim its the original panel. And I don't understand how someone takes off a panel that is stuck to the dash to clean it.

With all the stuff they have been doing I seriously doubt whether they dented the car on purpose so that I will make them repair it and they can have the car in the garage for a couple of more days so that they can take out more expensive parts and sell it or something. Exaggerating a little bit but I wouldn't completely rule out that guess.

ishlinea7260 · 28th May 2011, 22:52

The very same thing happened to me with the Linea.
I gave the car for the customary 60k service and found a scratch starting from the rear door ending up all the way to the taillight over the fuel cap.
All that was needed was to bring it to the notice of the SA and only thing he asked was when he could take the car to get those parts to get painted! Which he did promptly so I think these things happen , the only thing you can hope that it shouldn't happen to you.

These things are a fairly common occurence in those showrooms who sell cars a lot in my case since the Fiat is handled by Tata , their service bay is crowded with Indicas , Indigos even Safaris. All you can do is to take it in your stride and dont let it hamper your driving/ownership experience of such a nice car.
Such a long post

Latheesh · 26th August 2011, 17:32

Here is my 30K service experience at Kropex - Hosur Road

I do not consider it as an excellent service! i may try Sundaram/trident next time

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ml#post2482995

saion666 · 19th February 2020, 13:37

My A star went for service yesterday and it ended up with a cracked windshield. Nobody bothered to point that out to me and since it was evening and the delivery bay having less light i didnt notice either. I drove off and was happily smiling to find the car clean and well serviced and thunder struck me while turning left. There was a long crack on the left end of the windshield.

I drove back to the service center, they checked the morning pics and had some meeting and confirmed me that they will replace the glass after 3 days as the A star windshield is not readily available. I asked for a written confirmation and they wrote that on the bill with a stamp and a sign and asked me to come after 3days.

Now, i have to get the fasttag and my office parking stickers replaced. Also worried about the fit and finish of the replacement windshield since it would no longer be a factory fitted one.

Tom Sooraj · 17th August 2021, 22:29

We gave our Stingray for service last month. We asked them to align the headlights as it seemed to be out of alignment. I guess that was the reason they broke the RHS projector lens. Attaching images:

RHS

Cars getting damaged during service and excellent customer service-20210817_173100.jpg

LHS

Cars getting damaged during service and excellent customer service-20210817_173106.jpg

I didn't notice the broken projector lens for about a week. Took to FNG, but they told that it can't be fixed.

Only on January this year, the RHS headlamp assembly was replaced because of fogging effect (due to a crack).

27th May 2011, 15:38	#1
nithin_86 BHPian Join Date: May 2010 Location: KL-7/TN-22 Posts: 131 Thanked: 8 Times View My Garage	Cars getting damaged during service and excellent customer service Car damaged during service I am guessing this is quite a common thing from all the dealership threads. This experience relates to Maruti Service Masters, Chennai. Apparently people claim this is the best Service Centre in Chennai. I have a 2006 Baleno Lxi that I bought from True Value about six months ago. I gave the car for service in the morning and when I came to pick it up in the evening I was asked to wait in the lobby and the Service Advisor was taking an unusually long time to deliver the car and that too after he called me saying the car is ready and I can pick it up. So i thought I would go out and wait near the exit. I saw my car was parked there and the SA came running to me telling me that it will take a few more minutes and that they have to just clean it. I said OK and went to see if they had properly cleaned the interiors (I had an issue with the cleaning last time) and I see that my front right fender and the right side of the front bumper is completely scratched. The fender is completely dented. They actually thought I wouldn't notice it and that I would leave with the car so that they can claim that the damage was my doing. I called him up and SA didn't even try to act surprised. He owned up saying that it is their fault and that they will repair it. I said I wanted it in writing and they wrote the same on the Job Card. They mentioned that they damaged the bumper and fender during service and that they will repair it. I wanted them to add the following statement as well "In case not repaired to the satisfaction of the customer the parts will be repaired" which they didn't. That actually pissed me off. The guy said he will have to check with the manager. Then this guy comes in saying that he is the manager. I was telling him the same thing that I mentioned to the SA that I want the statement in writing. His reply to that was "I know our work will be perfect that you wont even know that there was a dent over there." Then I asked him if he was so sure then why cant he put that in writing. No answers. And after some time he says "You have to trust me sir. You can trust me. We will do the work perfectly. You are not talking to some cleaning boy or petty mechanic, you are talking to the manager of the organisation." He is actually using the word trust. I leave the car there for a service and in six hours i have a car that is completely dented and scratched and he is talking about trust. And his statement about being the manager and not petty mechanics and cleaning boys actually pissed me off. The main thing that got me pissed off was them trying to get the car out of their hands by delivering it without mentioning it. The car is supposed to be delivered today night. I said I will pick it up in the morning. Don't want to pick up the car in the night and miss out on something else that they may have done. I am attaching some pics that I managed to take. Its on my phone so its not really clear and it was really late as well so no light. I am guessing quite a few of you here have had similar experiences. There is one more service incident that I faced with the Popular Automobiles in Saligramam which I will mention in another post.
	() Thanks

27th May 2011, 15:49	#2
benzinblut BHPian Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: New Bombay Posts: 516 Thanked: 878 Times View My Garage	Re: Cars getting damaged during service and excellent customer service Sad to hear that. I had a similar experience. When Sai Service, Lower Parel broke the tail light of our esteem. The SA actually called up and reported this. But he also said that the mechanic who was moving the car will have to pay for it and requested us to pay if we didn't pay. My dad, being who he is, happily took the tab. Last edited by benzinblut : 27th May 2011 at 16:03.
	() Thanks

27th May 2011, 15:56	#3
fuel_addict BHPian Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Mumbai Posts: 692 Thanked: 121 Times	Re: Cars getting damaged during service and excellent customer service Sad to hear this. Drives homes the point that no matter where you get your car serviced, always check for damage/scratches/missing items while taking delivery. More so, when the delivery is taken late in the evenings. Most service center guys will want to get the car off their premises before the customer finds a fault.
	() Thanks

27th May 2011, 16:07	#4
nithin_86 BHPian Join Date: May 2010 Location: KL-7/TN-22 Posts: 131 Thanked: 8 Times View My Garage	Re: Cars getting damaged during service and excellent customer service People test your patience like anything. I came across it just because I inspected it properly. If I was in a hurry or something I would have just taken the car and left without properly checking it. Though the damage in this case is very obvious, if it was late at night I may have most probably overlooked it. In case it was my dad, he would have just taken delivery of the car and left and wouldn't have bothered to inspect it as he would trust the service personals to take care of the car. And the "If you don't pay it will go out of my pocket. Please Sir." actually works on older people who wouldn't mind shelling out a little extra because the poor guy made a mistake. Its actually very sad how they handle a vehicle that you give for service.
	() Thanks

27th May 2011, 16:07	#5
ghodlur Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Thane Posts: 6,009 Thanked: 4,198 Times View My Garage	Re: Cars getting damaged during service and excellent customer service I had found a couple of scratches on the boot lid area and on the doors after the vehicle was serviced. However in the absence of nay time tio check immediately after the service, I had checked it after I reached home, parked the car and took a round to see if everything was allright. I should have done this before leaving the workshop. Also at a couple of places could see the grease marks which was promptly removed by the service team during the next visit.
	() Thanks

27th May 2011, 16:16	#6
callvvijay BHPian Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Chennai Posts: 309 Thanked: 335 Times	Re: Cars getting damaged during service and excellent customer service I faced a similar situation with Popular Motors, Kilkattalai, Chennai. I usually service my car at Khivraj Motors, Mount Road (where I had bought). But, since this one was closer to my residence and that I had a serious damage (an accident of a water tanker hitting the left rear door and damaging it heavily), I thought of servicing it in Popular. The SA was very friendly and that is where, I think, I was fooled. Due to some reasons, I had to pick up my car after it was dark. Only later did I notice few brownish patches on the right side of my car (something like a oil-spil) and also few small scratches.
	() Thanks

27th May 2011, 16:22	#7
Latheesh Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: CNN/BLR Posts: 4,242 Thanked: 10,077 Times	Re: Cars getting damaged during service and excellent customer service It happened with my car too.. Gave car for 25K service to Kropex and they gifted me a small dent on the roof + One tweeter cover is missing. Service guy had promised to call if he gets the cover but he never did. I mentioned these points to their customer care rep when they called but no result!
	() Thanks

27th May 2011, 16:27	#8
xotiq BHPian Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: bangalore Posts: 285 Thanked: 266 Times	Re: Cars getting damaged during service and excellent customer service Had a similar problem last year when i gave my car for service at Pratham motors, Blr. The panel above the left front side wheel was dented an inch. As usual, the folks at Pratham made no effort to apprise me of this damage when i went to pick up the car. Once i bought this to their attention, it was apologies all around. Anyway, they had it tinkered and painted back to satisfaction within 2-3 hours the next day. Last edited by xotiq : 27th May 2011 at 16:30.
	() Thanks

28th May 2011, 22:24	#11
nithin_86 BHPian Join Date: May 2010 Location: KL-7/TN-22 Posts: 131 Thanked: 8 Times View My Garage	Re: Cars getting damaged during service and excellent customer service Like callvvijay mentioned, I think its the when the SA is very friendly that you have to be afraid. Once you see those dudes becoming really friendly you can almost be sure that there is something thats gonna go wrong. I picked up my car today and they have repainted the fender after removing the dents and also the bumper. But now the gap between the fender and bumper is a little more pronounced and they were like "That is the best Sir. We will show you another Baleno. All Balenos have a lot of gap and all that". Basically after damaging your car this is the best we can do, take it or leave it attitude. I argues for sometime and then left it. I will be sending a formal complaint to Maruti. Not that its going to do any good. Dont feel like leaving it like that. I also noticed that they replaced the mirror of the left ORVM. Though the dent was formed on the right side. They said they haven't even touched it. But I am sure because my original one didnt have the "OBJECTS IN THE MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR" print. And the panel with the ACs heating control and the speed of the blower and everything printed has come off. I told them that and they were like we took it out for cleaning. And the panel that they have put in now is a scratched old one looking very dirty. They claim its the original panel. And I don't understand how someone takes off a panel that is stuck to the dash to clean it. With all the stuff they have been doing I seriously doubt whether they dented the car on purpose so that I will make them repair it and they can have the car in the garage for a couple of more days so that they can take out more expensive parts and sell it or something. Exaggerating a little bit but I wouldn't completely rule out that guess.
	() Thanks

28th May 2011, 22:52	#12
ishlinea7260 BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: . Posts: 471 Thanked: 539 Times	Re: Cars getting damaged during service and excellent customer service The very same thing happened to me with the Linea. I gave the car for the customary 60k service and found a scratch starting from the rear door ending up all the way to the taillight over the fuel cap. All that was needed was to bring it to the notice of the SA and only thing he asked was when he could take the car to get those parts to get painted! Which he did promptly so I think these things happen , the only thing you can hope that it shouldn't happen to you. These things are a fairly common occurence in those showrooms who sell cars a lot in my case since the Fiat is handled by Tata , their service bay is crowded with Indicas , Indigos even Safaris. All you can do is to take it in your stride and dont let it hamper your driving/ownership experience of such a nice car. Such a long post
	() Thanks

26th August 2011, 17:32	#13
Latheesh Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: CNN/BLR Posts: 4,242 Thanked: 10,077 Times	Re: Cars getting damaged during service and excellent customer service Here is my 30K service experience at Kropex - Hosur Road I do not consider it as an excellent service! i may try Sundaram/trident next time http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ml#post2482995 Last edited by Latheesh : 26th August 2011 at 17:35.
	() Thanks

19th February 2020, 13:37	#14
saion666 BHPian Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: WB-06/TS-07 Posts: 381 Thanked: 438 Times	Re: Cars getting damaged during service and excellent customer service My A star went for service yesterday and it ended up with a cracked windshield. Nobody bothered to point that out to me and since it was evening and the delivery bay having less light i didnt notice either. I drove off and was happily smiling to find the car clean and well serviced and thunder struck me while turning left. There was a long crack on the left end of the windshield. I drove back to the service center, they checked the morning pics and had some meeting and confirmed me that they will replace the glass after 3 days as the A star windshield is not readily available. I asked for a written confirmation and they wrote that on the bill with a stamp and a sign and asked me to come after 3days. Now, i have to get the fasttag and my office parking stickers replaced. Also worried about the fit and finish of the replacement windshield since it would no longer be a factory fitted one. Attached Thumbnails Last edited by saion666 : 19th February 2020 at 13:39.
	(1) Thanks

17th August 2021, 22:29	#15
Tom Sooraj BHPian Join Date: Jul 2019 Location: Nagercoil TN74 Posts: 126 Thanked: 440 Times	Re: Cars getting damaged during service and excellent customer service We gave our Stingray for service last month. We asked them to align the headlights as it seemed to be out of alignment. I guess that was the reason they broke the RHS projector lens. Attaching images: RHS LHS I didn't notice the broken projector lens for about a week. Took to FNG, but they told that it can't be fixed. Only on January this year, the RHS headlamp assembly was replaced because of fogging effect (due to a crack).
	() Thanks