[para_7k]

I just completed the 3rd free service of my Hyundai i10 kappa from HMP chennai on Sunday. After two days of driving, there was only one thing that came into my mind. Did these guys actually do something ?

My First service was total BS as they just washed the car and gave it back. The second service was better and there is nothing really to comment about the third

This is what happened. I was allotted a booking number according to the usual process. I was allotted a Service advisor who seemed like a robot to me. He started shouting every point that was mentioned in the user manual one by one.

I declined wheel rotation as I had just changed the tyres.

I just nodded for each and we approached my car. As usual, I had a list of problems and this time the list was a little long.

My first problem was the Clutch grabbing and he wanted to call it Clutch juddering. Before even I could explain fully, he went into clutch riding. He said, "Sir, everyone does Clutch riding and it will easily cause premature wear. I will have it checked". I replied "I know what clutch riding is and what it will cause". He had no mood to listen. He said "Sir, every vehicle is different and the clutch in i10 blah blah".

My next thing was the brake pedal hard even with the engine on. He said "Sir, this pedal will be set according to your booster. Any change will cause the shoes to slip. I will anyway check the tension of the belts".

Ok live with it. Next was some minor rattles here and there and one particularly occuring when revved hard. When revved beyond 2.5K RPM in 3rd or 4th gear, the AC controls fascia give a krrrrr sound. Next was somewhere near the rear door and the driver seat belt cavity. He immediatlely said "Sir, belts give noise when they are let loose". I replied "The rattle is clearly when I'm buckled up and not when let loose and I don't drive unless I'm bucked up".

He promised to update on the delivery time by 4PM on the same day. It was 5 PM and he made a call "Sir, it looks like the drive shaft oil seal has broken and the transmission oil is leaking. We will fix it under warranty but we need a day for observation. I will update you on the progress tomorrow". I replied "That's ok, take your time, but get it fixed".

Next morning. I call back asking the progress. He replies "Sir, that oil seal is actually not a problem and no we are looking at your clutch and other issues". The next moment it occured to me that the oil seal was a goof up to extend the delivery. It was 5:30 PM already and there was no call. I called him 4 or 5 times and there was no answer.

I called up the service center and told them about this. They replied back "Sir, he is in a delivery process with a customer and we'll ask him to call you back".

He calls after 30 mins and tells, "Sir, I was caught by the cops for talking on the phone when test driving your car and I paid Rs 500".

FIRST LIE. The service center told me something else. OK, I don't care. I ask him about the car and he says "Everything is perfect and you can take the car tomorrow".

Next morning, I go, do a test drive and everything seems fine. The brake pedal was hard as earlier and he had some big time excuses for it. The total bill amount was only for the engine oil.

The clutch cover assembly was replaced and he told me about it. He said "Sir, it has happened only because of clutch riding. This will not be covered under warranty and as a good will gesture and wanting you to come to us again, we waive you off the cost." Saying that, he wrote a big note "GOODWILL GESTURE, WAIVED OFF Rs 1825" on my Receipt.


1. This morning, I was driving to work and the clutch started grabbing again.

2. I went to top up Nitrogen only to discover that wheels have been rotated in spite of me declining them.

3. The spooky rattles are back and none of them are fixed.

This is the clear strategy of these people.

1. Never listen to the customer. The customer is a fool who has put his money in a car. People at service centers are GODs who know the in and outs of the machines.

2. This is India and people "adjust" with a lot of things. So, when a customer reports a problem, try, try and keep trying to convince the customer that there really isn't a problem and make him live with it.

3. Try to blame the customer as much as possible for whatever happens. If the clutch slips or grabs, tell him that he is clutch riding. If the brakes fail, tell him that he is brake pedal riding.

4. As long as the car is under warranty, try their best to avoid replacing parts. Once the warranty is over, give a list of parts-to-be-replaced and warn him that his car will break into pieces if he does not adhere.


Today, I got a feedback call and I told them whatever I had to. They had only one answer "Sir, please bring the car".

My questions:

1. Why not let a customer talk and listen to his problems ? When you can listen so much during feedback, why not listen when you really have to ?
You see a 1000 cars but this is my only car.

2. When I give a bad feedback, you say "Bring it". I ask "When things cannot be attended in 2 full days and for god's sake that was a regular service, how do you expect things to get right when I bring it back ?"


All I could do to myself was

Professional service ? Only in terms of speech but nothing in acts.

Can someone please advise me what to do next. I'm tired of giving feedback and listening to "Sir, Please bring the car" monologues. PLEASE

[wildon]

The best way is to try another service advisor and try a different service center. You can see donkeys in all service centers, the best is move on and find a person who is fit for you.

[aaggoswami]

Originally Posted by para_7k

1. Never listen to the customer. The customer is a fool who has put his money in a car. People at service centers are GODs who know the in and outs of the machines.

2. This is India and people "adjust" with a lot of things. So, when a customer reports a problem, try, try and keep trying to convince the customer that there really isn't a problem and make him live with it.

3. Try to blame the customer as much as possible for whatever happens. If the clutch slips or grabs, tell him that he is clutch riding. If the brakes fail, tell him that he is brake pedal riding.

4. As long as the car is under warranty, try their best to avoid replacing parts. Once the warranty is over, give a list of parts-to-be-replaced and warn him that his car will break into pieces if he does not adhere.


Today, I got a feedback call and I told them whatever I had to. They had only one answer "Sir, please bring the car".

My questions:

1. Why not let a customer talk and listen to his problems ? When you can listen so much during feedback, why not listen when you really have to ?
You see a 1000 cars but this is my only car.

2. When I give a bad feedback, you say "Bring it". I ask "When things cannot be attended in 2 full days and for god's sake that was a regular service, how do you expect things to get right when I bring it back ?"


All I could do to myself was

Professional service ? Only in terms of speech but nothing in acts.

Can someone please advise me what to do next. I'm tired of giving feedback and listening to "Sir, Please bring the car" monologues. PLEASE

1) This is getting more and more rampant. They try to make a fool out of customer. And if you try to show them knowledge, they will come up with words you are yet to be updated with as you have less knowledge about those parts.
And then show seriousness of situation. Sir, replace this part, or this will happen leading to bigger and expensive maintenance, etc...
Most of the people are ripped off like this.

2) They will try to cover up a lot of things and blame on customers. This is so common. You dont know how to drive, you dont know how to do cold start, you accidentally did this, did that...
And one statement " Normal wear and tear ". They try to put most of the things under this damn parameter.
Hence blaming the customer.

3) Try some other S.C. Hyundai has many I think. That said, I recently did 40K service on Baleno. I wanted them to check my suspension, but after a trail, the service adviser said, its OK. But he also marked that the tyres need replacement which is correct. They tyres are not grippy enough since 35K kms.

I wonder why he told me like that. He said decarbon, but I replied it was done at 30K, so he promptly said OK.

I think Hyundai will respond to email also if you shoot one. They are quite customer friendly.

[ph03n!x]

para_7k - which part of Chennai do you live in? I take my car to KUN Thiruvanmiyur for Service, and am pretty ok with the job. I have also referred fellow BHPian (who used to go to HMP) to this place and he is fine too. My service advisor is Nirmal, you can refer me (Jayanth, Black Getz CRDi) - hope you have a better experience.

[para_7k]

Originally Posted by wildon

The best way is to try another service advisor and try a different service center. You can see donkeys in all service centers, the best is move on and find a person who is fit for you.

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

1)
I think Hyundai will respond to email also if you shoot one. They are quite customer friendly.

Originally Posted by ph03n!x

para_7k - which part of Chennai do you live in? I take my car to KUN Thiruvanmiyur for Service, and am pretty ok with the job. I have also referred fellow BHPian (who used to go to HMP) to this place and he is fine too. My service advisor is Nirmal, you can refer me (Jayanth, Black Getz CRDi) - hope you have a better experience.

Thanks for the pointers. I will try out KUN hyundai for my next service.

I have talked to the Customer relations manager at HMP about these and he's yet to get back to me.

I have to take the car back, there is no choice. Hope I don't get the same SA again and listen to all his BS

[ElantraGT]

Guys I was planning to take my enaltra to HMP next week for 50000Kms service. After reading Paramesh account of his service in HMP i am kind of skeptical to take it to them. I need a competent mechanic who can analyse my ECU for errors. Recently on a long drive i noticed that the TCS OFF light was coming on intermittently. After reaching chennai I havent seen that light coming on for the past 2 weeks. Gusy help me can i take it to Kun hyundai as mentiond by phoenix or do we have any independant garages that can check for these ECU errors (please dont suggest me Elactra, I have heard enough horror stories)

[para_7k]

Update:

The Service Manager has asked me to bring the car tomorrow morning. He said it would take 2 days if they have to review everything that I have said.

I'm a bit wary about few things:

1. Is it really worth the effort ?
2. When they checked nothing during servicing, what will they check now ?

3. The SA is bound to blame me again. But even If I'm clutch riding (which actually I'm not) how can the cover assembly fail in 2 days ?

4. A stupid question: Will the guys do something that I cannot find with a vendetta in their minds?

Please advise

[Mi10]

Originally Posted by ph03n!x

para_7k - which part of Chennai do you live in? I take my car to KUN Thiruvanmiyur for Service, and am pretty ok with the job. I have also referred fellow BHPian (who used to go to HMP) to this place and he is fine too. My service advisor is Nirmal, you can refer me (Jayanth, Black Getz CRDi) - hope you have a better experience.

Hey Jayanth, can i also refer your name ? Also, where exactly is this located in Thiruvanmyur?

My car is due for second service and already i could feel the tension build up reading Para_7K's post.

i had an ultimate expirence in 1st Service - They were supposed to only wash car and they goofed up big time in that. I spent the next day morning washing the car full 3 hours. They over sprayed some oil sort of thing and it was slippery slip whereever you touch - Geat knob, Steering, pedals, Door latches - every where

[ph03n!x]

Originally Posted by Mi10

Hey Jayanth, can i also refer your name ? Also, where exactly is this located in Thiruvanmyur?

Sure you can! This is actually in Kottivakkam, it comes in the right when you come from Thiruvanmiyur.

[ElantraGT]

Guys this a pretty lengthy post so pelase bear with me.

The Free Check up camp:

The day started with a thread in TBHP which mentioned that there is a free check up camp going on in Hyundai. I told my wifey why cant we do a check up of Elantra in this camp and understand whats wrong with him (he is definetely male guys). She said dont waste your time and asked me why dont I give the car to service directly. I told her that I want to ensure that nothing major is wrong with him and so I would like to uderstand by seeing teh error codes in the ECU. My wifey gave a reaction which seemed like "You and your car".

Like I mentioned earlier, I had issues with the TCS on my recent trip to kanyakumari. What scared me is that when i was doing 120+ the TCS lights suddenly came on and it staryed on till I reached chennai.

I am a guy who wants to experiment things but after reading bad reviwes about HMP I was skeptical, but the mechnical engineer in me and the advise of TBHP gave me the confidence that the SA cannott take me for a ride. I took my car to the free check up camp organised by Hyundai on 22nd (the first day of the camp). I called up HMP, got the appointment (No:13 - oh boy what a way to start a relationship with HMP) and was there at their premises at 10 AM sharp.

Now the nightmare starts, First the security did not allow my car in to the campus because my name was not in the list. even after repeatedly arguing with him with my car standing in the middle of the road for close to 5 min I was asked to take it to the service bay.

I went to the reception and told the lady that I came for the check up camp and she politely asked me to wait and I was hoping that some one would attend me. They called all other customers except me and I was really getting furious and the time was close to 10:50 AM. In this mean time I can see that the SA and the mechanics were getting ready and the CS guys were waiting near the red carpet area with a brand new Santro (may be I10). These guys were waiting for some big shot from Hyundai to open the camp. The car didnot even have the car seats polythin covers removed and I was thinking what the heck are they checking this brand new car for. I later assumed that its a kind of gimmic to impress the bigshots.

I thought okay my car will be taken up next. Now real fun begins, the guy from Hyundai comes and cuts the ribbon, he enters the customer lounge and he looked at us waiting and he neatly walks in to a cabin followed by the mgmt team of HMP. Now another SA comes in to the lounge and I was hoping that this guy waill help me out now. Boy I was wrong completely, he took a camera and took photos of the customer waiting in the Lounge. The time was 11:00 AM and I lost my cool and went to the recption and asked the lady about the status, she assured some one will come and discuss. At 11:10 AM a SA told me that he cannot take my car for service as I need to get an prior appointment to get car serviced. My blood was literally boiling, but I kept my cool and told him that I dont want a service and I came for the check up camp. The guy told "Oh" and he went and spoke to some one and came back after a few minutes and told me that he is taking care of servicing Sonata and Elantra. He offered his appologies and asked me the problem in my car. I mentioned that all I want to know is whats wrong with my car.

He asked me to accompany him to the test drive and he pushed my car to the limits and mentioned about some of the issues I told him and never fond the issues that I intentionally didnt tell him. I have a "Tack Tack" sound coming from the steering column and he didnt even observe that. He failed in my test of judging his capabilities. He mentioned that my clutch is kind of weak. He told at 3rd gear and certain RPM the vehicle has to readh 90 KM and it was doing 85KM only. The good thing is that he advised that I dont have to change it if I am doing a sedate driving. If he had asked me to change iot, I would have given him the link to clutch problem thread in TBHP. When we were testing, he mentioend that the check up camp is just testing and nothing actually is done ont the car and I told him that its a no brainer and I know what a check up camp is. When we returned to HMP he was courteous enough to ask me if I would like to book a slot for the service and he menitoned that it will take atleast 1 - 1.5 weeks before my vehicle could be serviced and I was like What??. I was thinking on what will happen if my car really need a emergency service. Do I have to wait for 2 weeks to give a car to service? Do I really deserve this for buying a Hyundai?

He did try to book me a better date and got me a slot that was cancelled on 25 March 2010.


Waiting for Service at HMP:

On the day of service (Today) I started from home at 8:30 AM and reached HMP service at 9 AM sharp and as usual the same secutrity guy was getting on my nerves but this time even though he had my number in the service list, he was trying to make me park my car outside. I just started at him (I was really trying to be polite guys) and he asked me to park the car in a corner which is the entry to the workshop. I was like what the heck? and I didnt have much option. I got the token and went in to the customer loungue. I was waiting for close to 45 Min again before Mr.Ram Mohan (SA) called my name. When we went to test drive, I was not able to find the car at the place where I parked and on further search revelaed that the security guy has parked my car outisde the gate. I was really really irritated but I just smiled at the security guy and he didnt dare to look in to my eyes.

Now the SA Ram Mohan wanted to take the car for a drive and the first thing he mentioned is that the steering column is havinga nice and I was really amazed with his observation. Unless you give attention to detail you really cant distinguish this sound. The the usual test drive happened and he mentioned that the clutch is good and so is the suspension. He mentioned that if the steering column is not repairable then the whole column has to be replaced and it would cost close to 7500 + tax and labour. I told him to try to service if not change it.

He observed that the coolant was leaking which I didnt mention and again I was impressed, because this leake has occured int he past and the residue is really tought o see from the normal standing position. He told me he will clean the sulphuring on the hose connector end (manifond if I am not wrong). I asked him to check the brakes and the rotor for any grooves in it. I asked if the Hyundai and GT sticketrs were available. These were vandalised from my car and I want to have a proper labling done on my car.

Some of the complaints that I raised :

* Engine oil, gear box oil and Coolant to be repalced
* Check the spark plugs and change it if necessary. I dont think these were replaced till now and my car has done 51000 Kms. He told there might not be a need as he will inspect and clean. In worst case scenario he will replace the sparkplugs.
* Smoke coming from the exhaust during cold start. He told this will be fixed when teh service is completed
* Engine oil and Fuel filter to check and repalce
* General servicing


My overall impression of HMP as of now is 8/10.

for customer satisfaction I would give 7/10 and its just because they make you wait even after booking your service.

For the knowledge of the SA I would give a 9/10.


Now the wait game begins. I am hoping and keeping my fingures crossed that my car will be serviced to my fullest extent. I will hopefully give the same rating or a better rating for HMP tomorrow. Thats when I get my car back from service.

Thanks a ton for your patience.

[aargee]

@para7k - I'm adding nothing new; IMO, if someone does not listen to what youv'e to say, then probably he does not understand what needs to be done too; he'll do a mechanical work & not go on car to car, problem to problem basis. If I were you, I would simply smile, say Thank you & have a nice day & walk off & never ever step there.

Hari - You've more patience than anyone I've ever seen; I wouldn't waste my time simply sitting for more than an hour doing nothing; if someone doesn't value my time, I wouldn't care for them either. Sorry to say, if I were you, I wouldn't even think of going to HMP even if they offer a complete labour free service. Hats off to your patience.

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Dear ElantraGT - ref your post no 10, please read my comments on page no 4 of the thread of what a service advisor goes through at a car dealership. The thread is started by Muneemm. I don't know how to post the link here, hence this request. Everything is given there "threadbare".

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[rameshnanda]

Originally Posted by para_7k

Update:

The Service Manager has asked me to bring the car tomorrow morning. He said it would take 2 days if they have to review everything that I have said.

I'm a bit wary about few things:

1. Is it really worth the effort ?
2. When they checked nothing during servicing, what will they check now ?

3. The SA is bound to blame me again. But even If I'm clutch riding (which actually I'm not) how can the cover assembly fail in 2 days ?

4. A stupid question: Will the guys do something that I cannot find with a vendetta in their minds?

Please advise

I don't think you will get a solution if you go there again.

I too had a similar kind of service experience with HMP, Chennai. My Getz 1.3 met with a minor accident and I went in for the body work with them. I also wanted to have a thorough checkup done on my car. For this reason, I requested them to do the regular service too. The guy attending me denied it saying that he is in-charge of only body work and I need to make a booking for the regular service. I went to the service reception and requested the same. They told me that I can get my car serviced only after one month since all other dates are full for them . This is the kind of service extended by Hyundai to its customers. Even if a car met with an accident, they don't do any kind of service except for the damaged part work. I immediately went to the general manager of the service dept. and told him the situation and he promised me that they will do complete service and checkup.

The story doesn't end here. When I took the delivery of the car, few problems reported by me were not worked at all. To add further frustration, the car was not clean at all. Interiors were very bad. When I complained on this, the attending person tried to convince me with his own style. Since, I had a emergency meeting at my office, I left there and decided to take this on later. The same day, I mailed a detailed complaint to the Hyundai Customer care at cr@hmil.net. The very next morning, I got a call from the HMP and they said they will do a rework on my car and asked me to bring my car there. I immediately denied it and said my car needs to be picked up by them at their own fuel cost and needs to be delivered at my door step. After some convincing talks they agreed. They picked my car from my office and delivered at my office itself. The car was clean this time. Still, I am not fully satisfied with their work. Some problems like rattling noise at the door still persists. From that day, I decided not to go to HMP, Chennai again.

Hyundai is always believed to provide better A.S.S. than other brands like FIAT , Ford and GM. But, I think this is all illusion that we have in our mind. The kind of customer service extended by Hyundai is pathetic at least at the HMP, Chennai. They absolutely don't have any quality policy nor worried about the customer service.

PS:- This is my personal experience with them and I do not intend to offend any of the team BHPians.

[ph03n!x]

This reiterates something to me - HMP Service folks are over-worked folks, who just do not have the bandwidth to give case by case personal attention. I am lucky enough to have found KUN Hyundai's Kottivakkam, and a good SA there.

But after my free services are over and warranty runs out, my car is not going to be touched by A.S.S all that much!

[ElantraGT]

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

Dear ElantraGT - ref your post no 10, please read my comments on page no 4 of the thread of what a service advisor goes through at a car dealership. The thread is started by Muneemm. I don't know how to post the link here, hence this request. Everything is given there "threadbare".

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

Sir, Its a great honour for me that you replied to my thread. I will look in to the other thread that you have mentioned.

Originally Posted by aargee

Hari - You've more patience than anyone I've ever seen; Hats off to your patience.

I used to be a short tempered person aargee. My previous project helped me to understand life and help me cool down my temper.

Originally Posted by rameshnanda

I too had a similar kind of service experience with HMP, Chennai.

Ramesh, Its very unfortunate that you and paramesh had a bad experience with HMP.

Originally Posted by ph03n!x

This reiterates something to me - HMP Service folks are over-worked folks

Jayanth, you are absolutely bang on buddy. My observation is that the guys are really stressed out to the core.


Coming back to my post ......

I received a SMS alert that the car job order was opened with the job order number. I received a call the next day stating that my vehicle service is completed and it is waiting for the weater wash and will be ready by 12:30 PM.

I was there at HMP premise at 1:15PM and the vehicle was handed wover to me promptly by the SA. My buddy (elantra obviously) was gleaming under the sun. Then I remembered a couple of issues that I forgot to mention to the SA

* The Fuel lid door hinge went kaput at the lower half. My mechanic told me he will weld it, but it was skeptical to bring fire near the petrol lid
* The AC filter was missing, which i foud out when I bought the car.

The SA advised me to change the Fuel lid and fortunately he did have a un painted lid in stock. So he promised he will get it painted to match my cars color.

The AC filter was available at stock and he promised to get it fixed along with the Fuel lid.

The SA explained all that was changed or serviced. He gave me the bill and explained everything in detail. He also mentioned that the streeing column was not replaced but he mentioned that he tightened it a bit and I was like . Its because I had a discolation on my left shoulder and I get pain after a long drive in my zen with manual steering. I was skeptical that driving Elantra will bring back the pain and it will worry my family. He assured me that try this for another 500 Kms and if you are not satisfied we can get it fixed sir. I was okay with the idea as I dont have any other option other than to take my vehicle out of HMP for the drive thatw as planned next day.

The next day I took the vehicle as mentioned and got both of the issues fixed in a single go.

Here is my experiece post delivery of my car:

From the time I took the delivery of the vehicle I found a marginal increase in the way the vehicle performed. I can feel the engine reving a bit freely and I was able to see the pull of the vehicle increased. I thought it might be an illusion but my car proved me wrong on the highway.

I had to drive to nellore with my family to attend a friends engagement party. I filled the tank to the full ( my tank capacity is 55 litres) My vehicle was loaded to the brim in the boot and we were 4 adults and 2 kids. I was astonished to see that the speed limit is 100Km in that stretch. The drive was smooth and I was cruising at 110. I was able to reach 100 Kms within 2500 RPM on 5th gear. Initially my car would be doing 100 Kms within 3000 RPM only.

It was literally light traffic all the way to nellore. I felt that the cabin noise has come down well compared to before. From nellore we need to go another 40 Km in to the rural areas and my vehicle was working its suspesions to the core. Then from that place we went to a place called Kavili which is another 60 Kms + from my friends place. When i reacvhed Kavili my fuel gauge was showing half way mark. I decided not to fill in petrol and will try my luck in reaching chennai.

So once the function was over I decided not to stay over at nellore but rather push all the way back to chennai. We had heavy lorry traffic all the way back to chennai. With some spirited runs of going at 30 KM behind two lorries which were trying to overtake each other with full load and waiting near the integrated check post for 25 minutes for the lorry traffic who are tryng to park their vehicle near teh check post. I reached chennai at 2:00. Overall I did 530 KMS that day.


The next day I filled petrol to the brim and my buddy drank 48 litres overall. Fortunately my left arm was not paning. The overall mileage was close to 11 Kms/L. I was upset because lst moth on my trip to kanya kumari my vehicle was returning 15 Kms/L on the highways. The steering column is abit tight compared to the freeness before service, but surely it is not that bad either.

My over all experiece from HMP is good so far. I am sure they are over worked. I will surely go back to them for any major work on my car. For other issues and general service I will stick with the garages that I am comfortable with. I surely cant wait 2 weeks to get my car in to HMP for service. I am sure that the SA needs a Kudos for the work he has done.

A comparison with that of ABT is the way the SA took care of my issue left a lot to be desired from ABT SA. In ABT maruthi neither the SA nor any one will explain to you whats done ont he vehicle. You pay the bill take the car out, drive and test if for yourself. If you have issue slater come back and argue with the SA. The SA are shy to give away their mobile numbers where as the first thing you get in HMp is the mobile number of teh SA attending your car. I am impressed and as the saying goes the SA will determine the experience of the customer with the A.S.S is absolutely true. I am officially Impressed by the SA Raj Mohan.

My final rating fo HMP for Customer satisfaction is 8/10

For the SA I would give a rating of 10/10

Thants a ton for reading.


Edit: Guys I need a help in locating a gear knob for my car. the original is quoted at Rs.1800 and its just a black thingy. I want a leather one not the flashy ones with Diamond studs. I did a search in GP road, but couldnt find anything to my linking. Do any of you suggest any online site or a store in chenani where I can have a variety of gear knobs to choose from.