[hrman]

Thats a harrowing experience Ajay. Two months for a simple job is totally unacceptable. I am worried that VW's image is being tarnished by the unscrupulous dealers. Im sure that all those who read this thread will surely dissuade others from buying any VW products, myself included.

At this rate, the day is not far when we see them closing shop and moving out, unless something drastic is done to ensure and communicate about impeccable levels of service to the end customer. Is VW listening??

[Boomerang]

I heard nasty service reports of Dowtown VW. They should shut shop I tell you.

I have never serviced my Polo there and will never. Palace cross has got very good engineers and they do an amazing job. However, it pains to see many customers there spill over their Downtown anger at them.

I have seen....

1. some customers who need the vehicle to be attended immediately even though they do not have an appointment

2. some turn up late

I HAVE had a tough time with palace cross too. Only once; had a faulty turbo hose which was detected by the mechanic at my house.However, on arrival at palace cross service center, the new mechanic wasnt able to identify though I told him.

A 45 minute work took 8hrs.

I reckon, we too, need to be polite. The word patience is overused and has lost its meaning. If we scream for everything, we become noise and not a concern to them.

This has nothing to do with the troubles some of you have faced nor am I advising. Simply the way I look at it.

[ambivalent_98]

Well it seems for a very large city like Bangalore there is only Palace Cross which is left to take care of VW cars and their servicing needs. VW Whitefield might open its service Centre on Monday and I am kinda keeping my fingers crossed that their service is better. I did call Magrath Road VW for enquiring about servicing only to be told that workshop is closed for renovation. I am hearing this for a month now. Well hope the VW Whitefield do a better job.
I had my car serviced in Vidyut Motors a.k.a VW Pune and they were quite OK with all the service parameters except for the fact that they did not know upto the point that inspite of swiping my credit card for the 10th time that their card machine was not working and I had to pay by cash. Otherwise things were just fine.

One more interesting thing is that VW website is not updated with dealer numbers. When I complained on their toll free number they cooly asked me against whom my complaint was and what info I was looking for. When I explained the lady said well its on VW Bangalore and she put down the phone. Well all I had asked for were accurate contact numbers.

Is there some mechanism that VW can come to know that their name is being messed up by the dealers. The call centre did not seem to help much. VW ARE YOU LISTENING / READING /SEEING ?

[nitinbose]

Originally Posted by ajmat

2: How is it that Elite motors can run a Honda dealership reasonably well but have failed with VW?

No answer

Hi Ajmat, Elite motors were and are still pathetic with their Honda dealership. The staff changes every three months leaving cars improperly attended, repaired and a whole bunch of irated customers...

One reason why I stayed away from VW, the dealer!

Old habits die hard!

[DieselFan]

The problem of service is chronic with all european car manufacturers. I normally do not make generic statements but data shows that the statement is true. Take the case of - Skoda, Fiat, now VW and later you will see Renault also facing the same issue. Hence I stay away from european car manufacturers and recommend the same to all my relatives and friends.

[poloman]

Originally Posted by Boomerang

I have never serviced my Polo there and will never. Palace cross has got very good engineers and they do an amazing job. However, it pains to see many customers there spill over their Downtown anger at them.

I have seen....

1. some customers who need the vehicle to be attended immediately even though they do not have an appointment

2. some turn up late

And you think these are grave errors commited by the customer. You have an emergency problem to attend, but can be resolved in a short span of time say one hour, and you need to take an appoinment for that? Why can't they listen to the customer and attend to the car if the case is genuine rather than turning them away citing some technicality. Why can't they have something like quick service bay to cater to walkin customers.
If you open a service center 35Km from city center, you can't expect everyone to turn up on time. After all this is not a job interview or doctor's appointment. Even if you turn up on time do they value your time?
One of my alloys had developed some issues. So I called up Palace cross for the availability and can you believe the price they quoted.. 20K for a single piece. This after 3 years of the car launch and all big talk about localization..How can you manage a car with such ridiculously expensive parts?

[srishiva]

How come most of the things work at Maruti? They employ Indians too

People have spoken about companies like Fiat. I hope others keep this fact on their mind. They wont be forgiven but will be forgotten.

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by ambivalent_98

Is there some mechanism that VW can come to know that their name is being messed up by the dealers. The call centre did not seem to help much. VW ARE YOU LISTENING / READING /SEEING ?

I did not let it end there. I wrote to a very senior person in VW expressing my feedback. I got a call from the national head of VW Service Mr Ravi Chandran. He apologised (this is the first apology I actually got!) and agreed that the time taken was absurd. He had read the thread. Summarising

1: He asked what was my current issue - I told him about the chipped reflectors and that they need to be replaced. He has commited to completing this soon after Diwali. He did check whether I had submitted all my paperwork on time.

2: They have had plenty of complaints about VW Downtown - the parking, the absurd service time, customer satisfaction - the whole caboodle. Apparently, neighbours also complained about the parking.

3: VW feel their problems centre around infrastructure and dealer ability to scale up which is being addressed. I mentioned that how is it Honda and Toyota had capacity sorted from day 1 whereas VW dealers did not scale up at all. Ravi Chandran admitted this is a major strategic gap. He is ex-Honda so brings relevant expertise to the table. I did stress the need for customer orientation which is sadly lacking

4: Bangalore VW folks - do not despair - Apple Auto service is up and running on ORR Whitefield but the big launch will be after Diwali once the pilot processes have stabilisied.. VW Palace Cross are opening a new facility in Rajajinagar. VW Downtown will open their Hosur Road facility soon.

5: I got the impression is that VW are going to take action on errant dealers. I was told the situation should change by the new year.

I'll remain neutral until I experience a positive change next time around but I am glad that I am getting some answers.

[black12rr]

Not every can to write to CEO or COO to get things done or get a apology ! .What if someone is not computer savvy or does not know any one except the dealer . So after 2 months of pushing , pulling and bheja fry , all you get is single apology ? .What about downtime and mental trauma ? .

[hrman]

Originally Posted by ajmat

I did not let it end there. I wrote to a very senior person in VW expressing my feedback. I got a call from the national head of VW Service Mr Ravi Chandran.
5: I got the impression is that VW are going to take action on errant dealers. I was told the situation should change by the new year.

I'll remain neutral until I experience a positive change next time around but I am glad that I am getting some answers.

There you go!! I was worried about VW's reputation being tarnished by the dealers, since I own a Skoda myself. Its a bit of a relief to hear that they are listening and planning to take action. Its a step in the right direction, although, all these years of bad publicity because of the errant dealers will take a bit of time to subside.

The next step is to make spares and service reasonably priced at par with the other manufacturers.

They do make wonderful cars without a doubt, but more positive action from the customer service end will do them a world of good!!

[noopster]

Originally Posted by Sunilrj

this is how it works:
Scenario 1: car goes in for repair on the 24th - : A.S.C: Sir, parts are not in stock; we will order them and you can walk in on the 5th and get your repairs done - Here a job card is either prepared and closed with the remark ' customer in a hurry, will drop in Next Month' or a Job card is not opened at all, so that it appears as a fresh job for the following month. (here the monthly turnover target is already met)

scenario 2: another car goes in for the same kind of repar job on the 5th of the following month: ASC: sir, Parts are readily available. you can have your car in 4 working days. (this trend continues till the month's turnover target is met)

That would certainly explain this.

Car serviced on: 28th September (presumably quota for month met). AC needs replacement under warranty, "Parts missing, saaar!"

No word for half of October. I call and demand to know when my parts are arriving. SA promises to check and get back soon. (checking if month's quota likely to be met)

SA calls and says, parts are likely to arrive third week of October, asks car to be dropped off on 26th (to make up for quota shortfall if unmet).

AC technician mysteriously missing so work on car can only start on the 31st and billed on 1st Nov (Oct quota met without my help, does nicely to kick off November).

I didn't realise it earlier but maybe that whole "billing mistake" was also some sort of gimmick to project higher revenue to the company? Or maybe I am just being paranoid. In any case, glad my baby is back home where she belongs!

[shazikon]

Ajmat, Least I can say.. that was a horrid experience you had with VW. I appreciate your patience in documenting every visit in such detail and following up with those slimy service advisors etc at Downtown VW. Reading the tread, gave me the jitters and shocked with the apathy towards a premium customer (lets say a premium car) and VWs callous attitude towards scaling their service network and controlling their dealers. leads me to think:
1. Why do we see these horror stories with only VW/Skoda dealerships ? Rarely do we see these with Hondas,Fords,Hyundais,Marutis ?
2. Why does it take so long to ship an alloy wheel ? Why cant dealerships stock important spares like alloys etc ?
3. If the car is driveable, Why is a customer not allowed to bring in the car only when all parts are available and ready for service?
4. A mere sorry from top executives will not be enough for such delays and dealer inefficiencies . Dealer should be made to face the heat from VW.
5. Damaging the car during service is the heights.. dealer has to pay from his pocket not the insurance.
6. If this can happen to a team-bhp mod, what would be the plight of a common man?
7. Would it have helped if the car is taken out of Downtown midway to another service station?
Some of the above may have already been discussed. Excuse me if that is so.

[Chethan B G]

Originally Posted by ajmat

I'll remain neutral until I experience a positive change next time around but I am glad that I am getting some answers.

You are such a Gentleman! Hats off!

I am literally shocked! I have known Ram doss for some time. I thought he is decent...

I bought Polo thinking that it will easily last a decade. Now I am worried that I have to put up with this service for a decade!

[Stribog]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

However I have a very basic query - something I intended to ask other bhpians posting about their long ordeals across different (auto) organizations.

When one goes to the workshop based on certain past commitments given, and comes to know that the work hasn't been started/completed or the person is evading you, how does he/she leave the workshop without getting something done atleast?

Hey Ninja - Noobie BHP'ian here, so a shout out for my first post

I own a Santro and a Logan, and have had bad service experiences with both, and this includes waiting in the workshop for hours literally (happened in the case of my Logan once), and had some steering related problems, that despite my taking the car to the workshop multiple times was not resolved.

In such instances (and indeed in case of any service failure), I spend a little time on Google, and more often than not, I manage to locate some senior honcho's email id / telephone number. This is not at the dealer, but at the manufacturers end, and I then write a strongly worded email (with the dealer in cc) expressing my disgust at their service or lack of it thereof, I then state my demands, and also warn them that I will go live on my blog, fb page, and shoot mails to every single newspaper in Chennai.

90% of the time, I have had my issues addressed quite at an urgent pace, and done to my satisfaction. In the case of the steering related noise in my Mahindra Logan, the senior VP for customer service immediately acknowledged my mail, instructed the dealer to refund the charges that had been levied, and fix the issue free of cost. They also fuelled up my car to the tune of some 10 odd litres of Petrol (I had made some 4 trips, and burnt a fair bit of fuel), and to my pleasant surprise, the GM and Manager of the dealership personally delivered the car to me in my office with a sorry note as well.

tl;dr version- Working with dealers, or even managers does not really work, if the situation warrants it, escalating it to the highest levels normally ensures impeccable service.

[Sunilrj]

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

Dear Sunilrj - you have mentioned the reality completely, I was being diplomatic. That's how the ASCs work to give the bean counters the figures that they like to see and that's exactly what the bean counters show the top bosses who nod and say "hmm hmm" because neither of them "want to see" the reality on the ground. If one of them even attempts to make this mistake, the others immediately usher him back in. If he still wants to commit harakiri (suicide), they drop him like a hot potato into the soup. Who can afford to take such risks!

And "customer"? Who is he? .

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

Behram Sir,

I'm not as experience as you in life, but in three decades of my life, in one decade i have changed about 10 cars, and experienced all A.S.C's. Maruti does not indulge in this practice of No stock of Parts drama as the Vehicles are priced low and also their workshops are overflowing with the number of Maruti's on road. the other defects like filth in workshops, Outsourced techncians are now becoming common - Probably because of the shortage of people who want to dirty their hands!

Originally Posted by noopster

That would certainly explain this.

Car serviced on: 28th September (presumably quota for month met). AC needs replacement under warranty, "Parts missing, saaar!"

No word for half of October. I call and demand to know when my parts are arriving. SA promises to check and get back soon. (checking if month's quota likely to be met)

SA calls and says, parts are likely to arrive third week of October, asks car to be dropped off on 26th (to make up for quota shortfall if unmet).

AC technician mysteriously missing so work on car can only start on the 31st and billed on 1st Nov (Oct quota met without my help, does nicely to kick off November).

I didn't realise it earlier but maybe that whole "billing mistake" was also some sort of gimmick to project higher revenue to the company? Or maybe I am just being paranoid. In any case, glad my baby is back home where she belongs!

Noop! i did this experiment by sending 4 different cars of unrelated customers to the Dealership. say some kind of a jasoosi job to check what exactly was going on and then shot off a mail to Pune and Shendra with my observations

Originally Posted by shazikon

:
1. Why do we see these horror stories with only VW/Skoda dealerships ? Rarely do we see these with Hondas,Fords,Hyundais,Marutis ? -
2. Why does it take so long to ship an alloy wheel ? Why cant dealerships stock important spares like alloys etc ?
3. If the car is driveable, Why is a customer not allowed to bring in the car only when all parts are available and ready for service?
4. A mere sorry from top executives will not be enough for such delays and dealer inefficiencies . Dealer should be made to face the heat from VW.
5. Damaging the car during service is the heights.. dealer has to pay from his pocket not the insurance.
6. If this can happen to a team-bhp mod, what would be the plight of a common man?
7. Would it have helped if the car is taken out of Downtown midway to another service station?
Some of the above may have already been discussed. Excuse me if that is so.

Let me quickly answer your points.
1. its with all dealerships, not just VW/Skoda. Skoda/VW gets highlighted because they are always on the recieving end because of their earlier sins. basically do you think new technicians join the A.S.C everytime a new brand opens a A.S.C ? its the same faces - from maruti they left for better prospects to tata and then to Hyundai and then moved to Ford and from Ford they have gone into VW/Skoda/BMW/AUDI/Mercedes. the service Manager at Mangalore Skoda A.S.C carries behind him such a legacy that customers who do not have an issue with their cars, remember him from their ford days and create an issue infact Navneet BMW has an ex-employee of Skoda Mangalore, who had done a lot of Herapheri when he was here.
2. Alloy wheels dont take long to ship. the parts arent ordered by making full payment as none of the manufacturers work on a credit basis, except in those cases where spares distribution is given to master spare distributors like in the case of Maruti.
3. please read my case scenario's in an earlier post
4. Right, but how do you contact the top executives of the manufacturer ? customer care sometimes seems robotised. our own T-bhpian friends arent willing to share contact details, even though they have mail id's
5. Right, Dealer should pay from his pocket. this is the reason i always make the dealer write 'no dents, scratches, damages on the inside or outside of the car' on the job card. and in case i find a damage and they say that they will do the repair through insurance, i escalate it to the top management of the dealership as well as the manufacturer as well as send a bill to the dealership for the reimbursement of the NCB which is at 35% right now on one car and 65% on the other!
6. am a common man, but we always need to know our laws. being an active consumer rights activist (am not a lawyer) i have solved almost all my issues. we are ignorant of our laws and our rights. this is soemthing about me that appeared in a national level Magazine



7.Not in a position to comment on that.

Originally Posted by Chethan B G

You are such a Gentleman! Hats off!

I am literally shocked! I have known Ram doss for some time. I thought he is decent...

I bought Polo thinking that it will easily last a decade. Now I am worried that I have to put up with this service for a decade!

Dont worry. will the storm that ajmat has created, you may have the car, but not the particular service centre anymore!