[jeepster_chd]

Mods!! This is my first thread, not sure if I messed up something or posted it in the wrong place. Please move it in the right directions, if necessary.

Not some but most of you may find the title of the post to be not correct or may be that I have been paid to praise Mahindra on the India's most prestigious automobile forum but it isn't so.

There is not doubt that Mahindra vehicles resonate niggling problems throughout their lives. And we as Mahindra vehicle owners have learnt to live with these “cough and cold” type of problems. Someone rightly said in a thread that the vehicles from Indian manufacturers, Mahindra & Tata, also come with self healing ability. Some problems do vanish on their own without external input.

Coming back to the topic is the one fact about Mahindra that I really appreciate is that whenever I have touched base with them (the company) they have promptly addressed my issue and made it a point to address it as soon as possible for some cost or no cost. Their dealers might not be so good in dealing may be because they mostly cater to commercial vehicle owners but I would like to share some experiences that make me proud of owning a Mahindra.

The first instance. I booked my Bolero m2DicR (SLX) in December 2011 and the dealer (Goel Motors, Mohali) assured me that my jeep will be delivered in 15 days as the Black color that I ordered wasn't available and had to be ordered specially. I said OK to it. However, one month passed and their was no sign of getting the delivery. The Mahindras have a tracking system in place and upon booking your vehicle you can track its status like, booked, in transit, the location, etc. However, in mine case it showed “booked” for over month. I contacted Mahindra customer care after one month through email and told them that what the dealer had promised and what actually has happened. The very next day I got a call from Mahindra from Mumbai and they apologized for the inconvenience and assured me that you will get a call from Mahindra GM of the region within next 5 minutes, and I did got the call from Parminder Singh Sokhi within next 5 minutes. He told me that he is trying to get in touch with the dealer and will have a resolution by today itself. Then the owner of Goel Automobiles (Mohali) called me up and apologized and said I will personally look into it and make sure that we get your vehicle delivered as early as possible.

Couple of more days passed and I was loosing my patience by now, it was then I got the call form the local Mahindra management and the dealer as well that black Bolero is available at their Nasik facility and they have ordered it for me. Please note that in Punjab we normally get vehicles manufactured at their Hardiwar facility. That said, the status on their customer portal changed to “in transit” that very evening. I got my Bolero delivered in 15 to 18 days time after that. Though the delivery wasn't timely but the company took responsibility and pulled the dealer for negligence. As a customer you don't ask for more.

Such experiences build confidence in the company as the management interacts with you directly and takes the responsibility of your concern.

The second incidence occurred couple of months back. By now my vehicle was already about 1 and a half years and 26K Kms old. On our way back from a local mall, my wife was not able to pull her seat belt, it got struck (Mahindra when would you learn that seats belts are not supposed to fail or malfunction in just a year or so of use and that too when the vehicle is driven most of the times with single occupant). It was really very frustrating, both of us trying to pull the belt at different angles as if we were experts and knew very well that what we were doing. After embarrassing 10 mins, I asked her to sit in the middle row as all of our techniques had failed by now. The Mahindra dealer in Chandigarh, Swami Automobiles was in the vicinity so I drove Bolero to them. They were courteous and were confident enough to tell me that this isn't a big issue and should not take long to rectify. However, after unscrewing the seat belt mechanism and trying to free the seat belt off the mechanism, which took them over half an hour they realized that the seat belt needs to be changed. I didn't liked this suggestion of theirs. Still I agreed to get it changed if the cost isn't out of my budget. After about 20 minutes their service engineer informed me that they don't sell single seat belt and I will have to buy a complete set constituting driver and co-passenger seat belts. The cost of which was given as 3700. Rs 3700 other than service on a relatively new Bolero, have you gone nuts?? I bought it because it is VFM, I told them. I refused to buy.

Following which I emailed the entire story to the Mahindra customer care and once again, they were prompt to help me out. After getting couple of calls from local management, I got the call from the Swami Automobiles service head, B.K. Sharma. He was very courteous and asked me when can I visit their service center to get the seat belt issue resolved. After couple of days, I went to Swami Automobiles and B.K. Sharma himself received me and apologized for the inconvenience, certainly Mahindra would have asked them to take the customer seriously. After this, they replaced the co-passenger seat belt and B.K Sharma asked me to contact him directly in case of any problem with the vehicle. The total cost of repair plus the VIP treatment, ZERO rupees.

This time again, Mahindra proved that they value their customer.

I would like to add something here that Swami Automobiles Chandigarh isn't a bad dealer but sometimes service engineers are a let down.

Within a month of this incidence I got a call from Swami Automobiles, they told me that I am Mahindra's valued customer and they would like to meet me in person at my place, to which I obliged. Some people came to my house, junior and senior marketing people from the dealership and Mahindra and gifted me a TREO casserole. This was followed by a call from Goyal Motors from whom I had purchased my Bolero, their service was never up to the mark so after couple of free services with them I discouraged them, they also wanted to meet me. May be because they remembered me for the mess up according to them which I created to get the timely delivery of the vehicle. I refused to meet them but they still visited my place when I was out of house. My dad and mom received them and they gifted another TREO casserole on behalf of Mahindra along with a personalized greeting card.

My wife was very happy on getting two beautiful hot cases. What made me happy was not the gifts but the gesture of the company. Mahindra made me feel so valued, living with niggling problems with the jeep now does not matters much. It is so may be because as a customer, you want yourself to be listened to and taken care of. And Mahindra is really good at doing it.

The third instance. Couple of weeks back I posted something in the comments on Mahindra Bolero's wall and wrote about a problem I have been facing for sometime know. In the first gear, whenever you take the foot off without accelerating, the jeep vibrates violently. Here, I am not saying that I take the foot completely off the pedal but just slightly ease it off to get the jeep moving. This never had happened in the past. Anyone any idea? So, yesterday I got another call from Mahindra asking me to explain the problem so that we can get it checked. This time it was Inderpreet Singh, AGM from Mahindra calling. It was a pleasant surprise, I didn't wrote to customer care, neither I complained or asked them to call me but they took responsibility. Inderpreet promised to get back to me soon. I hope they do so this time as well.

The vehicle that I own is a Mahindra Bolero and it isn't an XUV, costs peanuts, is India's largest selling SUV with over 9k sales each month, and still the company has made it a point to be “With You Hamesha”.

I am proud to own a Mahindra.

[model-t]

jeepster_chd ,

Congratulations on having a great experience with Mahindra. For people like me on the lookout for their first Mahindra , this was really a confidence inspiring thread .

I have just booked a XUV 500 and it is really a relief to see a high level of customer centric approach from a desi auto company.

[Zappo]

You know what. Things like casserole and all as gfts may not really be very kosher. However I look at something else. In today's world where the customer service is one thing that many companies seem to take for granted here is one automotive manufacturer that seems to realize the worth of getting it right. And that is most important. They respond in quick time, figure out issues and in general the urge to resolve an issue, however big or small it may be, that seems to generate that confidence in you as a customer. They may not be the best in terms of their quality control or designs yet. However they seem to try their best to ensure that you do not feel the pinch of it or minimize it to the extent possible. And thats commendable in my opinion!

[benbsb29]

I have had good experiences when dealing with Mahindra as well, when i was lookign at getting delivery of my Scorpio LX. As can be imagined, owing to lower demand, the LX variant is produced in lower numbers. On booking i was told a waiting time of 2 months for the vehicle. I waited around a bit, and then shot an email to Mahindra customer care and got a call from the South Regional head, who promised me an early delivery.

Needless to say in a few days time, the status on the SAP system Mahindra uses showed my vehicle in transit, and a week later, i was informed i could take delivery of my vehicle. I had a really pleasant experience with my dealer representative as well. All in all, i had no issues with my vehicle till i had to sell it off owing to relocation.

[predatorwheelz]

Would I be wrong in assuming that in summary, all you want to say is - What Mahindra lacks in depth of product engineering and logistics support, it makes up through customer service?

My boss took delivery of a brand new Scorpio VLX in end-May 2013. On 10th July the vehicle showed conspicuous loss of power. A visit to the service centre revealed the clutch plate had failed! On a 1.5 month old, 1.5K run vehicle! Initially the service centre told him the entire clutch assembly would have to be changed and he'd have to pay (27K damage to the wallet). They said his driver were bad drivers who rode the clutch! (poor guy has been driving for my boss for 10 years and has driven his Figo, a Honda City, Civic and i20 in the past). A few emails and calls to Mahindra senior people later, they came down to just charging for the plate (costing 3K) saying it doesn't come under warranty. Like you, my boss too was elated that they had offered so many apologies and some GM had personally visited him saying he could directly call him whenever he had an issue.

Interesting thread though. Depends on what the customer is really looking for. As a counterpoint, I'd prefer things not to go wrong at all, rather than top management people calling on me and giving me expensive gifts. I've paid for the car, not the company. I'd rather have the car provide customer delight (through years and miles of hassle free ownership) than the car company.

[Bomi]

I think someone in the company has realized that the only real and long-term differentiator in todays highly competitive world, is customer service. You may have a very successful product but it won't be long before competition catches up. Not many companies get this right. If this is Mahindra's philosophy the company will surely prosper.

Mahindra - launch an automatic XUV. 6-speed please. Have money, will buy.

[vikrantj]

As I see it from all the posts above :

1. Delivary of the vehicles is subject to you writing to Mahindra's top management. If I do not intimate the M&M management that it is past their committed date they will do nothing but take me for granted.
2. It is possible that parts will fail on the vehicle. At this point of time you have to invest your time and money to get the things rectified even if it is a new vehicle. M&M will gift you some pots and pans for your effort. Of course louder you raise your voice or higher up you mail to better will be the gift or response.

I do not call this pro-active customer but rather a re-active customer care. So "Joy in owning a Mahindra" I would take it with a pinch of salt ...

[chittybang]

Originally Posted by vikrantj

"Joy in owning a Mahindra" I would take it with a pinch of salt ...

I hope you meant a bucket load of salt.
Although I started my XUV experience with absolutely no niggle for the first 10 K and felt very smart on my purchase since the last few months all my weekends are spent watching television on the large 42 inch LED sets installed in the well designed waiting halls of my service provider. I like watching TV but I prefer to do so in the comfortable confines of my home with my family not with a set of equally frustrated strangers watching something that is not even of my choice.
I still believe my car has no major issues. Whatever has cropped up are so minor and so easy to have been avoided that the wait seems even more frustrating.
Simple things like them forgetting to reset my service due indicator, not checking if doors open or close properly before returning the car etc. I dread giving my car because it always returns with a new problem for which I need to go back and wait my turn to explain.
Feeling like a lot of time was being wasted I had once opted for the pick up and drop. I explained in detail what my concerns were to the RM but the car came back with the issues not even been looked at.
I haven't experienced the brake noises from the earlier batches etc. but these small problems ends up taking as much time. Sure they call me up so often I can call them my phone buddies. Sure they always take my car to fix things up usually without any charges but hey do they even realize I am loosing out on so much quality time just dealing with these issues that simply could be avoided if they had better work practices.
I own a Punto that's been a reliable and tension free ride. May be its because I haven't ever had to visit FIAT service except for the stipulated times.
Yes I love my XUV and its a joy to drive but i am beginning to feel like a school boy whose vacation is about to end every time i see a niggle. I didn't sign up for this when i paid hard earned money and a decent amount at that. It has been a memorable experience but surely something I wouldn't want to recollect.

[jeepster_chd]

Originally Posted by Zappo

They may not be the best in terms of their quality control or designs yet.

The quality of Mahindra vehicles has been discussed in length on various threads here. There is no doubt that they let their customers do quality check job for them from PDI to figuring out niggling issues However, the good thing is that Mahindra as company realizes the importance of the task assigned to us and responds to our feedback promptly. Thanks to Team-Bhpians who told me that "every Bolero is different (read as every Bolero has different set of issues)" and prepared me mentally for the purchase.

On a serious note, I feel that Mahindra realizes that neither their vehicles nor the dealers are up to the mark and to remain in the competition they must make up the shortcomings with good/prompt customer service

Originally Posted by predatorwheelz

What Mahindra lacks in depth of product engineering and logistics support, it makes up through customer service?

The problem that you referred with the Scorpio is really sad and there is not doubt that such problems are common with Mahindra. Every vehicle that they deliver comes with its own unique set of problems. But this indeed was major.

In my case, as a future owner of a Mahindra vehicle, I was aware of the possible consequences of my purchase and I was prepared for it as Bolero is something that I always wanted to buy and had researched in-depth about it. What I mean is that all the niggling problems that I face with Bolero in between service intervals, I was aware of them and the Mahindra pampering me has come as an freebie

Originally Posted by chittybang

Yes I love my XUV and its a joy to drive but i am beginning to feel like a school boy whose vacation is about to end every time i see a niggle. I didn't sign up for this when i paid hard earned money and a decent amount at that. It has been a memorable experience but surely something I wouldn't want to recollect.

I understand your concern and the associated frustration is legitimate. No one expects their million rupee SUV to behave like a one created in a garage, always up with a problem. Once a very senior mechanic at the dealership where I get my Bolero serviced told me during a chit chat, he said, whatever Mahindra may create Scorpios, XUVs but in the end they would end up as jeep manufactures only. I think he meant that quality is always going to remain a concern to which like in my case they try to compensate it with prompt customer service.

The resolution:

I feel it is the high time when Mahindra should realize that they can't have their commercial and personal vehicles built side by side. Neither they should sell and service commercial and personal vehicles side by side. Personal vehicle owners like us suffer at the hands of mechanics for whom a cargo carrier, Bolero Maxitruck and personal Bolero are just the same. This results in some screw coming off with in a day after service or a strange noise creeping in from underneath the bonnet.

If Mahindra is able to separate commercial and personal vehicles sales and service, not only will this lower the work pressure on their man force at service stations but will also help them serve their customers better. Simple management.