Linkway Honda Malad - Dealership review. An unpleasant experience After a lot of research,I decided to buy my Honda Brio from Linkway Malad.The reason purely was some free accessories like mud flaps and parcel tray which Linkway was offering for the E-xMT model in comparison to competitors.
Our sales person (Samir Borhade) called me on a Friday afternoon to make booking payment stating that it was necessary to do so to ensure that I could get my Urban Titanium Brio in time.I went all the way traveling 11 kms only to find him telling that I cannot pay today as some approvals from his manager were pending and that his manager was in an important meeting.This was really strange and I thought that a phone call to the manager sitting inside the office would have solved the problem.Since I had decided to buy the vehicle from Linkway,I went back after being promised by Samir that he would collect the cheque next day.Finally,the payment was done and my ordeal started ..
We wanted the vehicle on 31st Dec’12 and the sales person (Samir Borhade) told us that vehicle could be made available only on 1st Jan’13 (Tuesday) though we wanted delivery on 31st Dec’12.Infact,he suggested that 1st Jan was an auspicious day and that we should get delivery of vehicle on 1st Jan.
31st Dec’12 : I was following up with Samir on the status of RTO vehicle passing (which they claim to be doing only on Fridays).Till 31st Dec (Monday) 4 pm,I was not given any status of vehicle.Infact,I was given a reason that RTO did not have enough vehicle numbers to allocate for the vehicles which had to be passed on Friday and hence it had caused a delay(what a reason!).After a lot of follow-ups,at around 4:30 pm on Monday (31st Dec),Samir called up to confirm that vehicle was ready.We naturally were not in a position to visit showroom at such short notice and we did not want the delivery in the evening as we wanted to do complete checks of the vehicle.So,I told him that we would come in the next morning (1st Jan) to get vehicle delivery.
I checked with him twice that evening (31st Dec) if parcel tray,mud flaps which were to be added to the vehicle were installed to which he causally replied that everything was ready.
To our biggest surprise,when my wife called him up for some details on 31st evening,he said that the showroom was closed on 1st Jan’13 and that he would get the gate-pass ready and that we can
collect it from the security.This was utter dissonance for us.We thought : Is this the way Honda delivers sentiments to its customers ? My wife clearly told him that this was not the way a vehicle
is delivered to the customer.It really felt bad and showed that Linkway did not care about the customer once the money is in their account.Infact,we had bought a Fiat Punto a year ago and had a pleasing buying experience.We really felt that we had made a wrong choice : both with Honda and the dealer selection. Finally,he agreed to come down to the showroom next day.
1st Jan’13: We inspected the vehicle and found that the mud flaps were not fitted. I asked Samir the reason for the same despite my reminders to him and he had no answer.He told us that someone
from the showroom would visit our house and get it done the next day.
The biggest surprise came in when I was checking car papers.Well..car insurance was missing.I asked him for the document and he replied that the docs have not yet come and he will deliver them later.We insisted that insurance was a must and I asked him to give in writing that the vehicle insurance would be available.He then made some calls and arranged a fax copy of the insurance.We then drove the vehicle back home.It was not an experience we wanted when buying the Brio.Clearly,Linkway which is the face of Honda showed that all that glitters is not gold.
Then,we started following up for mud flaps.We were told to get vehicle to the showroom after 2 days as the person to fit the flaps was not available.After a lot of avoidance (I am
skipping the long story short),we were told that we would need to go to their Saki Vihar service center to get the mud flaps fitted.I denied and asked him to provide the kit and that I would get it
fitted myself.After a series of follow-ups,he provided the mud-flaps and my wife collected them.
During this period,Linkway called us for providing a feedback.We were asked by the Linkway representative to give a rating above 8 as 8 or below is considered as complaint. We denied that we would not give this rating due to such horrible experience.This left us wondering as to what is this mess that we have got into ..
A month passed.I received a call from Linkway service center this time that my vehicle service was due.I replied the lady that I will not get the vehicle serviced from Linkway.
After reading Linkway Service center horror stories on the internet reviews and after my own Linkway Honda buying experience,I took my vehicle to Solitaire service center which was a good
experience.I asked the guys to fit the mud flaps.But I was told that special screws and locking clips required for rear mud flaps were missing in the kit.I called up Samir again to which he replied
that he had given everything to my wife.This time I came down on him and told him that I needed the complete kit for installation.
For a few days of follow-up,we had no success.Then,he finally agreed to get the same fitted.We would call him everyday and he would give some or other reason to avoid us.
Finally,he agreed to come down near my wife’s office in Malad and get the same fitted.He promised that he would be there during lunch time but came in late evening.My wife was in a meeting and he kept calling her to come down as they wanted to fit the flaps before it was dark.When my wife got the vehicle out of parking,they found that they had not brought enough locking clips to fit the flaps.
What a salesman ! He went back promising to come next day but then asked my wife to get the car to showroom as drilling was required.
I decided that I should try and speak to higher Linkway authorities to sort this out.I called up the landline number of Linkway twice which no one picked up.We finally decided to call up Honda
customer care to resolve the issue.Honda customer care registered my complaint and also provided me the mobile number of Linkway Sales CRM Miss Leena.As I had predicted,her number went ringing but no answer.I called up Honda customer care again to report them that no one is picking up the call.
The day went on and then my wife received a call from Mr Deepak late afternoon.He promised her that Linkway would get flap fitted next day but she would need to come to showroom as drilling was required.My wife went to the showroom at 2 pm with the car during lunch time.After waiting for 20 minutes,the person (Deepak) said that the person to fit the flaps was not available and that the vehicle would need to be taken to a nearby place.To her surprise,he stopped the car by a local auto accessories shop and got the same fitted.Of course,no drilling was required.
At a time when Honda has lost critical market share to competitors and when customers have variety of choices,Honda has, through its brand ambassadors (the so called sales team) brought complete dissonance to us.
I am a busy person myself but I have made it a point to invest my time in using the power of social media so that you all out there make a better decision when buying a car of your choice ! |