| Disappointing service levels at HM service, Bangalore
I have the Cedia from Aug 2007 and although the car has never disappointed me ever with the functioning or performance, the service levels and the quality of the work done at the HM service center in Bangalore has recently gotten me on my nerves. I guess i am not the only lancer or Cedia owner who feels this way, so I am sharing my experience with you all.
I was a happy customer until Lathangi Automobiles shifted to Ford and all Lancer / Cedia owners were forced to depend on the only authorized service center in Bangalore for Mitsubishi i.e. India Garage. The difference was almost immediately visible; be it with the timely calls and reminders on the service due dates, or in the quality of work done on the vehicle. Initially I guessed it could be due to the heavy work load these people have since they are the sole service center in Bangalore and little slack in customer care was understandable. However, after having experienced their workmanship for over a year, I thought it is worth mentioning on the carelessness of these people and the lack of attention to detail and the quality of the work they do.
Here are a few incidents that are worth mentioning.
On my way to office one morning, I had a motorcyclist trying to squeeze b/w the road divider and my vehicle, and to my fear, brushed against the rear side of my car causing minor scratches above the rear fender and a series of very light but tennis ball sized dents on the rear door although with no scratches there. They were not immediately visible but upon closer look one could see the series of dents caused along the door. I took the car to India Garage for fixing this and claimed insurance that was approved after inspection of the areas affected. The insurance guy also got the scratched and dented areas marked with a marker and took customary photographs of the same. I was told to come after 2 days since it would take time to remove the dents on the rear door and they had to repaint the whole door. As scheduled, I got a call that my vehicle was ready for delivery. I reached the place to find the car washed and ready for delivery. I went and inspected the repairs and they had fixed the scratches on the rear fender and the paint job looked good. Then upon inspection of the rear door paint job, to my horror, i found that they had repainted and fixed the door back with the series of dents still in place. With utter disappointment, i pointed that out to the service technician, he realized this and asked me to come back again after a day. They had to do the dent removal and paint work all over and I was absolutely mad that they removed and repainted the whole door without actually fixing the reason for which the door needed a repaint in the first place! Then what did they fix on the door? Didn't they realize the need for repainting the door for no reason? I took the car out and later realized that they had not fixed the door beading properly and could hear some vibrations due to that. I went and got this fixed during my next service.
A few months after this incident, I realized that there are very small and a lot of white specks on the paint only on one side of the car starting from exactly one half of the roof. These were not visible under normal conditions but could be easily seen when the car was washed and polished. I could not understand why and how these came from. Later when I indicated this to the service personnel, they acknowledged that this was due to covering or masking only half of the roof during their paint job of the rear fender and the quarter panel. The unmasked part was exposed to paint sprays that was the cause of the specks on one side only. They were ready to fix the roof portion but advised me to go for surface treatment for the whole car since only one side would look more polished than the rest if they polished only the quarter panel and the rear fender. Why would I have to pay for something which is not my fault? This is utter unprofessionalism and shows lack of attention to detail and carelessness on their part. Why do we have to go to authorized service centers when their job can be as lousy as a roadside paint job? Now I am considering avoiding the service center for any body work or paint related jobs. Have to find a reputed independent garage that can do a decent job.
One more incident is when I scratched the front bumper and asked them to paint one side and fix it. I was charged a little over 1000 rupees for it and when I went to take delivery, I noticed that there were wet marks in some areas that were repainted. The service technician explained that this was due to the paint not being dry inside and he would get it polished anytime after a few days if I took the vehicle back. I took his word and got the car back only to realize later that they had sprayed red paint all over the fog light casing and some on the fog light glass too. How can they do such a irresponsible job? Don't these people check for irregularities or check the quality of work done on the car? How can they ignore such obvious things?
Lately, I believe something fell on the rear glass of my car and it developed a crack. I went to the service station after calling them to check the availability of parts and left the vehicle there. They replaced the rear glass and had washed and kept the vehicle ready. I went to take delivery of the car and as usual started inspecting the job done. They had fixed the glass ok but the beading below was all loose and i could clearly see gaps all over. I pointed this out and they say they don't have the beading in their stores and it will take a week or two to get it. They just chose to keep mum about the beading part. Now, my question is why is this not told to the customer beforehand? Why do a half hearted job and tell the customer everything is done? Why should the customer point out the flaws in their work? To add to that they have messed up with the rear MDF board housing the 6x9 ovals and it does not fit as snugly as before. Moreover, it is broken on one side and they say it was already like that! :-O How am i supposed to react to this? It looks like the boys at Anwar's audio shop do a better finishing job that these so called "Trained" service guys at HM.
I was so angry and disappointed that I went and spoke to the Service General Manager. The first thing he did was to give me a standard feedback form to fill. I expressed my displeasure at this and he, being a nice man offered to come and inspect my vehicle. I explained to him all the history of the work they had done and how dissatisfied i was with their service. They had already policed the roof to make it even but the side was left out. They still claim that they can do it for free but the newly policed part would look brighter that the rest. So i had to go for surface treatment for the whole car. On instructions of the service manager, I was given a customer Information slip that says i will be getting the rear glass beading in a weeks time.
All this has left me utterly disappointed with HM and their service. The customer has to point out the obvious and visible flaws in their work! The car is customarily washed outside but is all dirty inside with prints when those guys were servicing the car. It shows the utter carelessness and hopeless attitude to customer satisfaction.
I have never written such a long article on Team-BHP and I apologize for testing your patience folks! But i thought, I should highlight my experience with HM and I would want to know if I am only unlucky here or other too have faced this kind of shabby service from HM?
Your thoughts on this please. | 
6th December 2009, 17:13
The fit and finish is commendable.