Shiva Mahindra Service, Sahibabad damages my XUV500

live2drive · 27th June 2015, 17:30

I wish to share the experience that I had with Shiva Auto Cars, Sahibabad, Ghaziabad (NCR). They are authorized service centre for M&M passenger vehicles.

1. I take my XUV (Reg. DL1XX 1101) for 40K service on 24th Jun. It was a routine service and I was told the car will be ready by 5.30pm.

2. Around 2pm, I receive a call from the SA - Vikram Mohan, that the car will be only ready by tommorrow since they have to do some AC refresh as per instructions from M&M. I am an active reader of the XUV ownership & niggles threads so I knew what he was saying did not make sense. Then he added the coolant hose is leaking and will have to be changed. Part not in stock.

I tell him not to touch the AC and give my go ahead that I will collect the car tomorrow.

3. I call him next day, 25th jun, he says car will be ready by 12.30pm. I could not make it by 12.30 and call him at 2pm to ask if the car is washed and ready. He does not answer.
4.30pm I call him again to ask if the car is ready. Shocker- He says car still not ready. I ask him why - He says car not ready. I disconnect the call and start towards the service center in an Uber.

4. I reach around 5pm and see my car is parked outside. On close inspection I see the driver side door (FR Right) badly damaged! Boiling in anger I went inside to the reception area and some other SA tells me that Vikram is on leave. I ask him to make a phone call to my SA.
Another shocker- When I tell him they smashed my car, unapologetically and very casually he says - Jaa ke GM se mil lo (Go and meet the General Manager)

5. I ask the whereabouts of the GM who is not in office. I am asked to wait. I wait for ten minutes, nobody turns up. I then call M&M customer care in anger and frustration and narrate the incident. They take down my request and tell me somebody will call me within thirty minutes.

6. Meanwhile I reach upstairs in teh VP office and meet Mr Rajkumar, and alongwith him Mr Gupta (GM Service). I narrate my story to them and how the SA Vikram was fooling me all the while. I ask them if they were aware of my car being damaged at their service center - they were not!

7. They were apologetic and offered repair at their own cost. I was worried about the paint quality, matching and door alignment issues to which they asked me not to worry and they will ensure my satisfaction. I was promised I will get my car after repairs on 27th Jun.

8. I reach the service center at 4pm (time promised for delivery). The car reached 10 minutes later since it was being repaired at their bodyshop at Meerut rd, Gzbd.

9. The door was repainted, I am satisfied but not 100%. I take a walk around the car and find the left doors, both FR Left and Rear Left have been repainted - could make it out due to the excess clearcoat that was clearly visible! I was told there was a small damage and they repaired it as well!!
The finish on LH side was not proper since the ribbing was yet to be done. I was told I will only get the car now on 28th.

So, to summarize, I hand over my XUV - never painted, factory paint, for routine service to Shiva Mahindra, and in return I will get it back with 3 doors repainted! The car was smashed not once, but twice! And not to forget, the agony and pain which I had to face.

The GM service, did receive a call from Mahindra but Mahindra haven't bothered to call me as yet! I was told I will be called within 30minutes but that never happened.

I have previously serviced my car at Koncept Mahindra and never faced any problems whatsoever. This has dented my faith in Shiva Mahindra and also my faith in M&M who have been silent all this while.

Attached are some pictures of the damaged driver side door.

SDP · 28th June 2015, 08:33

What a nasty experience!

The carelessness from the staff at the service center is not new to me. One of the reasons why I choose to spend the entire day at the service center whenever I visit. Somehow with the owner around, they are a bit more careful. Otherwise its a whole bunch of accidents just waiting to happen.

The way they manoeuvre those huge beasts (XUVs) in the narrow aisles needs to be seen to be believed. Requires high skill and the margin for error is very small. With way more vehicles stuffed inside the service area than what it was originally designed for, knocking out tool-treys or bumping into lift-pillars is easily possible. I have personally seen an incident: a XUV was being taken out from a service bay. Although I saw it, the mechanic did not notice the high-pressure air hose (used for filling air in the tyres and also to blow-dry things) getting stuck on the driver side. The mechanic took the car out, the coiled pipe got stretched, got untangled and hit the XUV with a loud clang. Pretty sure it left a sizable ding on the panel. One of the supervisors just gave a angry look at the mechanic and things went on as if nothing has happened. Nobody even bothered to check for damage to the customer's car.

They do repair it free of cost when a customer points it out. But its sad to see that the factory finish of the paint is gone. I wish besides the repair, they could compensate you in some other way to ease the pain.

live2drive · 28th June 2015, 16:08

Update:

I got the car back today. Satisfied with the work done and was impressed with the way the new SA - Vicky Soni handled things.

To compensate, Shiva Mahindra waived off the labor charges for the service (INR3511) and have promised to reimburse the taxi bills for three days after I produce the bills. The next service (50K) will be carried out FOC (consumables, parts will be payable).

In a nutshell while the whole saga has left a sour taste, but I am somewhat satisfied with the dealer, while I am yet to receive a single call from M&M.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SDP

What a nasty experience!

Indeed!

Quote:

The carelessness from the staff at the service center is not new to me. One of the reasons why I choose to spend the entire day at the service center whenever I visit. Somehow with the owner around, they are a bit more careful. Otherwise its a whole bunch of accidents just waiting to happen.

Agree with you. Before this service I have always ensured my presence around the car while the car is being serviced. This time I was short on time due to other appointments and had to leave the car with them.

Rahul Bhalgat · 28th June 2015, 17:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by live2drive

I wish to share the experience that I had with Shiva Auto Cars, Sahibabad, Ghaziabad (NCR). They are authorized service centre for M&M passenger vehicles.

On close inspection I see the driver side door (FR Right) badly damaged!

Sorry to hear about the damage to your XUV.

When we hand over a vehicle for service, the ASS checks if car already has dents, scratches and damages. This is to protect themselves from a potential false claim from a customer after the service.

Similarly, we shall take a video of the car from all sides while handing over to ASS. The video shall be shot in the ASS and it shall include a glimpse of the SA. If ASS causes big dents, it is noticed obviously, but many times they cause smaller or medium scratches / dents. They tend to disown these, especially if these are existing dents on the same side. Video taken while handing over the car will be useful in such cases.

DHABHAR.BEHRAM · 29th June 2015, 12:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by live2drive

I got the car back today. Shiva Mahindra waived off the labor charges for the service (INR3511) and have promised to reimburse the taxi bills for three days after I produce the bills. The next service (50K) will be carried out FOC (consumables, parts will be payable). I am yet to receive a single call from M&M.

Dear live2drive - I am not surprised. Your vehicle got ruined and they threw peanuts at you! You are the customer, you paid for your vehicle, take the whole bunch head-on. I know that you won't have time to do it, that's how they get away!

The root cause of this and many such sordid issues is all too well-known. It will be a waste of time for me to mention all the details. The crux is that dealer workshops continue operate as satellite units, left to fend for themselves, because they are supposed to "follow the process", while the guys in the Citadel Towers pat each other on their backs for doing wonderful jobs of "defining the process"! They also try their level best to replace human intellect and common sense with laptops and tablets, big big words like "customer-centricity" and "JD Power" etc. are used liberally, as it is "convenient" to do so. There are many "Vicky Sonis" as fronts, then there is the poor service engineer at the bottom of the pyramid and so on and so forth. The Citadel Tower is secure! In reality, customers be damned! My comments will be thrown in the dust bin, I know!

/

.

Real work will be done when the "Process" is followed with "Content and Relevancy"! This needs a complete change of mind-set, and it is not easy to implement!

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

MunnabhaiMBBS · 29th June 2015, 19:17

Hi Live2drive,

Happy to know that you are satisfied with the final outcome. As Behram sir rightly pointed out, compensation and incentives are peanuts if seen from the helicopter.

But, How did it happen in the first place?

In 2013, A MASS damaged my vehicle at their service center in Pune. Later, they rectified the damaged portion FOC plus offered discount on total bill. I escalated the matter to the MSIL territory manager in parallel and thereafter could literally sense the pressure on the service center personnel from their verbal and non-verbal communication.

To conclude, Prima facie, it seems that MSIL has better control over it's dealerships than M&M.

27th June 2015, 17:30	#1
live2drive BHPian Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: New Delhi Posts: 525 Thanked: 27 Times View My Garage	Shiva Mahindra Service, Sahibabad damages my XUV500 I wish to share the experience that I had with Shiva Auto Cars, Sahibabad, Ghaziabad (NCR). They are authorized service centre for M&M passenger vehicles. 1. I take my XUV (Reg. DL1XX 1101) for 40K service on 24th Jun. It was a routine service and I was told the car will be ready by 5.30pm. 2. Around 2pm, I receive a call from the SA - Vikram Mohan, that the car will be only ready by tommorrow since they have to do some AC refresh as per instructions from M&M. I am an active reader of the XUV ownership & niggles threads so I knew what he was saying did not make sense. Then he added the coolant hose is leaking and will have to be changed. Part not in stock. I tell him not to touch the AC and give my go ahead that I will collect the car tomorrow. 3. I call him next day, 25th jun, he says car will be ready by 12.30pm. I could not make it by 12.30 and call him at 2pm to ask if the car is washed and ready. He does not answer. 4.30pm I call him again to ask if the car is ready. Shocker- He says car still not ready. I ask him why - He says car not ready. I disconnect the call and start towards the service center in an Uber. 4. I reach around 5pm and see my car is parked outside. On close inspection I see the driver side door (FR Right) badly damaged! Boiling in anger I went inside to the reception area and some other SA tells me that Vikram is on leave. I ask him to make a phone call to my SA. Another shocker- When I tell him they smashed my car, unapologetically and very casually he says - Jaa ke GM se mil lo (Go and meet the General Manager) 5. I ask the whereabouts of the GM who is not in office. I am asked to wait. I wait for ten minutes, nobody turns up. I then call M&M customer care in anger and frustration and narrate the incident. They take down my request and tell me somebody will call me within thirty minutes. 6. Meanwhile I reach upstairs in teh VP office and meet Mr Rajkumar, and alongwith him Mr Gupta (GM Service). I narrate my story to them and how the SA Vikram was fooling me all the while. I ask them if they were aware of my car being damaged at their service center - they were not! 7. They were apologetic and offered repair at their own cost. I was worried about the paint quality, matching and door alignment issues to which they asked me not to worry and they will ensure my satisfaction. I was promised I will get my car after repairs on 27th Jun. 8. I reach the service center at 4pm (time promised for delivery). The car reached 10 minutes later since it was being repaired at their bodyshop at Meerut rd, Gzbd. 9. The door was repainted, I am satisfied but not 100%. I take a walk around the car and find the left doors, both FR Left and Rear Left have been repainted - could make it out due to the excess clearcoat that was clearly visible! I was told there was a small damage and they repaired it as well!! The finish on LH side was not proper since the ribbing was yet to be done. I was told I will only get the car now on 28th. So, to summarize, I hand over my XUV - never painted, factory paint, for routine service to Shiva Mahindra, and in return I will get it back with 3 doors repainted! The car was smashed not once, but twice! And not to forget, the agony and pain which I had to face. The GM service, did receive a call from Mahindra but Mahindra haven't bothered to call me as yet! I was told I will be called within 30minutes but that never happened. I have previously serviced my car at Koncept Mahindra and never faced any problems whatsoever. This has dented my faith in Shiva Mahindra and also my faith in M&M who have been silent all this while. Attached are some pictures of the damaged driver side door. Attached Thumbnails
	(9) Thanks

28th June 2015, 08:33	#2
SDP Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Mumbai Posts: 4,737 Thanked: 11,279 Times	re: Shiva Mahindra Service, Sahibabad damages my XUV500 What a nasty experience! The carelessness from the staff at the service center is not new to me. One of the reasons why I choose to spend the entire day at the service center whenever I visit. Somehow with the owner around, they are a bit more careful. Otherwise its a whole bunch of accidents just waiting to happen. The way they manoeuvre those huge beasts (XUVs) in the narrow aisles needs to be seen to be believed. Requires high skill and the margin for error is very small. With way more vehicles stuffed inside the service area than what it was originally designed for, knocking out tool-treys or bumping into lift-pillars is easily possible. I have personally seen an incident: a XUV was being taken out from a service bay. Although I saw it, the mechanic did not notice the high-pressure air hose (used for filling air in the tyres and also to blow-dry things) getting stuck on the driver side. The mechanic took the car out, the coiled pipe got stretched, got untangled and hit the XUV with a loud clang. Pretty sure it left a sizable ding on the panel. One of the supervisors just gave a angry look at the mechanic and things went on as if nothing has happened. Nobody even bothered to check for damage to the customer's car. They do repair it free of cost when a customer points it out. But its sad to see that the factory finish of the paint is gone. I wish besides the repair, they could compensate you in some other way to ease the pain. Last edited by SDP : 28th June 2015 at 08:35.
	(1) Thanks

29th June 2015, 19:17	#6
MunnabhaiMBBS BHPian Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: - Posts: 340 Thanked: 803 Times	re: Shiva Mahindra Service, Sahibabad damages my XUV500 Hi Live2drive, Happy to know that you are satisfied with the final outcome. As Behram sir rightly pointed out, compensation and incentives are peanuts if seen from the helicopter. But, How did it happen in the first place? In 2013, A MASS damaged my vehicle at their service center in Pune. Later, they rectified the damaged portion FOC plus offered discount on total bill. I escalated the matter to the MSIL territory manager in parallel and thereafter could literally sense the pressure on the service center personnel from their verbal and non-verbal communication. To conclude, Prima facie, it seems that MSIL has better control over it's dealerships than M&M.
	() Thanks