| Hyundai salesman dodging from showing me a pre-owned Santro
Hi,
I have been a inactive BHPian for about 6 months, after participating in the “Blind Man’s Car Rally” and becoming a member, but my recent experience at Modi Hyundai (Thane Dealership) has been such that I wish to share it with fellow BHPians and prospective 2nd hand car buyers
The story goes thus:
I planned to buy a 2nd hand Santro on Dusehra, 28.09.09, my budget being around 2 lacs.
I visited Modi Hyundai on 20th and met Mr Ashish Dongre, a sales executive who shared with me the current 2nd hand car inventory, for “Hyundai Advantage” (Company certified 2nd hand car business).
I selected a July 03 Santro XS, MH-04 BQ 6828, for which the quotation was 1.85 lacs. I was informed the car is with the Hyundai workshop for refurbishment and I can check it as soon as it comes to the showroom.
For the next 3/4 days my repeated calls to Mr Ashish got just one response, that the car has not reached the showroom. He did not bother to call me and update (unlike other 2nd hand car dealers who take the follow up very seriously ), rather I had to chase him. On getting my call his response was the general, “I am with a customer, will check and call back”; which never happened.
On 25.09.09 I visited the showroom again and was informed the car is still in the workshop. On 27th I called Ashish again at 4 pm, as Dushera was just 2 days away, and got the same standard response that he will get back in 15 minutes, which never happened.
I called him back after 2 hours at 6 pm, and to my surprise he told me that the car was being sold to some relative of their Manager (1St version), and he was not supposed to commit to any customer. On asking how the person checked the car as it was still in the workshop, he said they visited the workshop and checked it. I asked why I was not given this option since I had approached him earlier than this new found customer. He just said he will give me other options and avoided my questions.
I felt really cheated as I had wasted a whole week and rejected other cars with regular 2nd hand car dealers; for the Hyundai warranty that comes along with “Hyundai Advantage”
I suspected that the sales person was trying to fix a deal for someone he knows.
I decided to meet the Manager, to find the facts. On 29.09.09 I visited the showroom, and waited for 45 minutes but could not meet the manager as he was in a meeting. (That’s what I was told)
On 30.09.09 I visited the showroom again, and this time I met a Customer care Executive Ms. Sawant who listened to my issue. This was after I was told the Manager was in a meeting with the Director, and could not meet me. Mr Ashish joined us and said the car was still in the workshop, where as I had already seen it parked outside the showroom.
Ms Sawant then asked me who informed me that the car was to be sold to some relative of the manager, as the car was actually not yet booked nor any token had been paid, but it was to be sold to some relative of the proprietor of the dealership (2nd version). I said this this didn’t match with Mr Ashish’s version. Also if this was the case I should not have been put on hold for 7 days, or atleast should have been told the facts clearly.
After this Mr Ashish had a discussion with the General Manager Mr Rajesh Singh in his cabin for 10 minutes, following which I was called to meet Mr Rajesh
I requested him to share the truth with me as I felt cheated a customer.
To my utmost surprise, Mr Rajesh said he was not obligated to share with me any information about the car inventory they maintained. He said it was a company policy decision, and they had decided on 29.09.09 to retain the car to be sold to some company employee (3rd version). On pointing out that I was informed on 27.09.09 that was the car was booked for some relative of his he said that was not right, and that some refurbishment was still to be completed.
To top everything, he even said they had not pleaded with me to visit the dealership for booking the said car and so they had no responsibility or obligation to inform me about its sale to any person they chose. Since I had not booked the said car I was not a customer according to Mr Rajesh. I tried to reason saying I had not got the opportunity to check the car, after which I would have definitely booked it.
I asked if he atleast felt that there was a miscommunication or that facts were hidden from me, and he flatly refused to even accept this.
I asked him a final question “Does this mean that you do not respect or value any future customer like me, and it is ok to keep him on hold for a week and the sell the said car internally? Will you pick customers as per your personal choice?”
Now his tone suddenly changed and he offered to sell me the car on the spot, if I pay a booking amount; to show that he respects his customers. I asked how come his opinion changed so drastically, when he earlier was not even ready to acknowledge even a lack of communication from his dealership?
I refused his offer and left his office, but am shocked by the various contradictory versions given and the complete lack of sensibility in dealing with customers.
I have dropped in a mail to Hyundai regarding the same and hope that some positive action is taken.
Regards
Mandar (Transporter) | 
30th September 2009, 21:51
