[sahibrain]

Very important thread that highlights the state of "servicing" being offered by the brand with the most market share. This has gained traction in our office with even moneycontrol having a report on this with a direct link to this thread.

http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/bus...y-2413539.html

[namanchaudhary]

Well, if a SA refuses to accept my car with DashCam attached to it, I can with guarantee confirm that my car isn't going to his service centre. What could be his possible reason for this? Company policy? It's my car which I have just given it to you for servicing it and I have the right to know what all was performed on my car behind my back. One just cannot believe the words of a SA and the invoice handed over by him. They just charge anything citing replacement of parts

[GrammarNazi]

Those having concerns about their hard-wired dash-cams, considering it'd make further news if Maruti service center's refuse to take cars with dash-cams, it's most likely possible that the SA would temporarily remove the DashCams' USB Power Plug / SD card while the car is in service.

Also, since the authorised service center's are private property, it would be legal for them to do so.

Nevertheless, since this news has reached top management, it'll quite likely lead to systemic changes in work processes.

Edit : Maruti will surely mend the way as it knows that competiton is catching up, which is why they've even ramped up production. Saying this coz I just returned after test driving the Nexon.

[abhishek46]

Originally Posted by namanchaudhary

Well, if a SA refuses to accept my car with DashCam attached to it, I can with guarantee confirm that my car isn't going to his service centre. What could be his possible reason for this? Company policy? It's my car which I have just given it to you for servicing it and I have the right to know what all was performed on my car behind my back. One just cannot believe the words of a SA and the invoice handed over by him. They just charge anything citing replacement of parts

A dash cam will record nothing, if the technician simply raises the bonnet, and keep it raised without actually doing anything.

Apart from being physically present, there is no solution to this menace.

[Desi Dybuk]

Originally Posted by WorkingGuru;4288064

These people see dozens of cars day in and day out, [U

being practical[/u], if people have a private word with them about how many customers of new cars imagine various smells (of new plastic, new seat fabric etc), it'll lend a fair idea of why they have a casual attitude towards the same. Another perspective we can also consider is that service advisors are confident about the cars. Still, the attitude is unforgivable.

I'm sorry, but that is a very lousy excuse. While it might be a 'free' service, the cost to perform that has already been incorporated into the cost of the vehicle. The dealership is also getting reimbursed for this 'service'. While the typical Indian work ethic is always to shirk responsibility & do only what's bare necessity, it is upto the Management & the Manufacturer to ensure that their customers aren't being taken advantage of.

The very fact that these guys were so brazen about their shenanigans is the proof that the management of this dealership knows what happens inside & they don't care. Now Mandovi has lost the reputation. Serves them right.

Since I don't have any proof, I wouldn't take names here. But suffice to say that I know about the parts being interchanged a relatively new car & an old car. The mechanics & SAs in many dealerships in Bangalore will 'adjust' if you pay them enough to replace the worn out part from one customer's car with an almost-new part from another customer's vehicle. I have seen this happen right in front of my eyes! As I said, this was at another brand & not at this one.

Management knows all this. But all they care about is the moolah.

[Col Mehta]

Oh my my! Though this is very unfortunate and equally pathetic, I'm not surprised to see this happening. Not even a single bit. I have had numerous incidents with Maruti ASS, Hyundai ASS and VW ASS when we caught them not doing their work honestly and ripping customers off at every possible opportunity. The latest incident happened during the 3rd service of our Grand i10 when the service folks didn't clean the throttle body even when it was one of the to-do's in the checklist. It was only because I was present there and kept my eye on the entire proceedings, I knew that they conveniently skipped it. On my complaint at the time of delivery (I intentionally waited till delivery), they cleaned it but dented my confidence in their service standards, yet again.

@ROG_AK Though this incident involves Maruti but let me assure you, basis my long years of experience with these so called Authorized Service Stations, these sorts of con-jobs happen in every manufacturers' workshops. Perhaps this is how most of the people in our great nation perceive things - casual - casual towards others' time, money, safety and life. No one cares and these ASS people are no different. Everyone is constantly looking to con somebody, just a matter of when and how. SIGH.

I'm glad you managed to get the recordings and posted it online. This might change things but may be I am expecting too much. And yes, I laugh my heart out every time when somebody tries to convince me that Maruti's ASS is the best in the market.

[Engine_Roars]

Maruti needs to own up the mistake and ensure that they take this as a learning lesson. If I were the head of Maruti and I genuinely wanted my customers to trust me after such a fiasco, the first thing I would have done is to make CCTVs compulsory in the service bay covering the entire floor. I would have also added it to the manual of car that video footage of services being performed will be made available on request and for any reason, if the video footage is not provided the next paid service will be on Maruti(Paid by the dealer).

I know, this is why I will never be the "HEAD".

[GTO]

Originally Posted by ROG_AK

Oh my lord! Wonder if there is a record for hearing the word 'sorry' a certain number of times in a span of 24 hours, pretty sure I would make it in the books . On a serious note, all their apologies seem to have a serious ulterior motive!

It's all pressure from Maruti - the headquarters can be relentless in disciplining dealers. They are ruthless.

Some other manufacturers haven't bothered when far more serious stuff has happened, but just look at the attention they're giving you / this case...and Monday isn't even over yet!

[silverado]

Maruti or rather all service centres should do something like some Baby Sitting Schools/Playgroups. Live feed should be made mandatory from their CCTV cameras for the time your car is in.

I left my car at 9am and got my car back at 2Pm with entire suspension set replaced. My ODO was 11kms more, on being questioned I was told "Sir 2-3 bar test drive marna pada"

I am sure they used it for their personal work even within this short span.

[greenhorn]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

While there are more incidents being reported, it still seems to be less in number and intensity than some of the other brands which are known for poor service.

Couple this with the sheer number of cars out on the roads and being sold every month - the percentage is still very less in comparison.

The number may be small relatively, yes, but there is definitely an upward trend. Perhaps issues in scaling up their service? Bear in mind that Maruti is not the only manufacturer facing rapid growth. Companies like Ford have done that and managed to bring the trend down rather than up (with the honorable exclusion of skoda )

[Lone Ranger]

One huge advantage of the digital age is that incidents like this can have far reaching implications because of the damage it causes the manufacturer/institution. Sure, the apologies from the centre are only coming because of a directive from the top, but we have to face the fact that most large organizations function only due to this type of 'escalation'. I used to work with a large well respected IT firm with a strong ethical value system, but even there a whole bunch of people worked only on escalation, or fear of escalation. The good thing about Maruti is that they have a fair bit of control of their dealers so they might be able to actually better their checks and balances system. For example, I found the use of the car as a dining room completely unacceptable. It's not like the employees don't have a cafeteria they can use, so casually using a customer's car just reeks of complete indifference to what is after all another person's property!

[SnS_12]

This dealership management can't surely call this as a one off incident. Even if the oil level and other checks were not done properly for this car, but, might have been done for other cars. But, how do you explain their service staff using the car as a dining area? I am sure this would be a regular routine every day at lunch, where the service staff sits down in a customers car to have there lunch and then maybe take a small nap while the cars air condition is on. No wonder our cars offer the worst mileage when it visits a service center (drop in fuel level)

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

The number may be small relatively, yes, but there is definitely an upward trend. Perhaps issues in scaling up their service? Bear in mind that Maruti is not the only manufacturer facing rapid growth. Companies like Ford have done that and managed to bring the trend down rather than up (with the honorable exclusion of skoda )

Not really.

~ 3250 service centers for Maruti, ~1300 for Hyundai, ~650 for TATA, ~250 for Ford. Maruti probably manages more service centers than all the others, combined.

And then there is the sheer monopoly that enables them to take strong actions against erring dealers. Others will need to think twice because setting up another dealership will take a lot of effort. Maruti can punish the dealer at will, and expect them to either change or pay the consequences.

[arjithin]

Originally Posted by ROG_AK

Maruti, let me make it CRYSTAL clear:

I will NOT remove the video and this thread cannot be deleted!

You can sweet talk all you want but it will not make ANY difference. I appreciate all your apologies but please focus on making things better instead of trying to do damage control!

Exactlty, the best way to damage control here is to accept mistake (which they already did) and detail out the steps being taken to prevent such occurrences ACROSS ALL dealerships.

Maruti is also to blame on this partly in my view. Does anyone know if Maruti audits an authorized service center for the quality of jobs done without informing service center in advance?? My understanding is that it does not.

While Maruti's response to customer complaints are leagues ahead of few other manufactures, their volume is also equally high. The service center I visit has a whiteboard displayed in customer lounge showing customer complaints against each SA. Most of the numbers I see there are 80-90% satisfied ( assume genuine numbers), but that 10-20% translates to a significant number since the intake volumes are higher.

Originally Posted by SnS_12

This dealership management can't surely call this as a one off incident. Even if the oil level and other checks were not done properly for this car, but, might have been done for other cars. But, how do you explain their service staff using the car as a dining area? I am sure this would be a regular routine every day at lunch, where the service staff sits down in a customers car to have there lunch and then maybe take a small nap while the cars air condition is on. No wonder our cars offer the worst mileage when it visits a service center (drop in fuel level)

There are major issues here in this thread, not servicing is just one of them. Direct to washing bay, waiting for customer to leave, SA not checking the status of work completed etc indicates its a regular practice. Items like what you mentioned above warrants equal attention. If Maruti/dealer solve the problem by removing a mechanic or a SA from job, thats the worst solution they show to the world.

[sleepyhead148]

@ROG_AK I don't know if you could hear whoever was driving the car towards the end was speaking. I don't know if he was SA or driver but (and this is translated from Kannada) I heard him say that "These people don't give a single penny".

So called ASS people who have a colossal lack of attitude.