[Amartya]

Originally Posted by NYMEX

a. I have faced many situations here where an arm around the shoulder has worked wonders.
b. Remember we too are dealing with humans and everyone seeks a few kind words of understanding.

I took the liberty of extracting parts from your post which I thought were priceless. I wish that other members can read this and give it a chance, just for once, maybe.

For those saying that this doesn't work, or that I or any other member is 'preaching' and being self-righteous is simply not true. I have personally had bad experiences - to keep it in the automotive context - once with a paintjob that resulted in one side of my red SS80DX being orange purely due to the callousness of the dealership. This was a 1985 SS80DX lovingly maintained by my father and I (we worked on it ourselves). As it turned out, the painter made a glaring error in matching the paint shade, when we confronted the dealership, the manager went berserk. He summoned the painter and threatened to fire him. The painter, who was by no means well off (financially), started apologizing profusely. My father then told the manager "koi baat nahi, galti hui hai par hum isko solve kar lenge. Aap inko maaf kare" (translated: It's alright, there has been a mistake, but kindly let the man be, we can solve this issue). My father taught me a valuable lesson in the way on conduct. My initial euphoria that was made of feelings akin to "mess with me, take that!" had turned to remorse. We also made a friend that day.

In our country, I know that force works, things like 'connections' matter, but there is always the alternative where one comes out just 'feeling' better.

OT: A colleague of mine (quite a few years senior though), was very actively involved with charities. I asked him, why he did what he did. He said, "It's purely selfish, I do that because it feels good". I don't know why I thought of sharing this, perhaps because I think there is a selfish angle to being nice, because it makes one feel better about oneself.

[Joy]

@Nymex, Amartya: I understand your points but tell me what can one do when faced with a situation where the other party is arrogant and tells you that "you can do anything you feel like".

I fully understand that nobody wants to be abused. But at the same time, they should also be considerate enough to see that the other party is not taken for a ride. Since, I am into business and don't like to hear harsh words from my clients, I personally try to make sure that my clients are not taken for a ride. But sometimes things do go wrong and they shouts like hell, does that mean I will shout back? Come ‘on friends, they are my clients and there is a term called customer relationship. Don’t you think that by giving a faulty product in the first place you are inviting troubles?

I am not glorifying violence, I am just against these supreme power type arrogance like “do whatever you feel like”.

I am extremely sorry, if I have hurt anybody. Also, I would like to mention here that I always first try to solve these kind of problems as amicably as possible. So, no hurt feeling .

[amitk26]

Guys I think this is time to close the thread but as I said before even if someone thinks that using strong arms tactic is required then also the right person is the one who can take decision to revert the sale that is someone who is in higher managerial position.

Sales level people and people in workshop simply can not revert any sale once invoice is made so you will be simply wasting energy , Instead in such a situation you should save all your energy to use at right time .

BTW bumper of my out of primary warrenty vehicle was damaged some last month at workshop. I got absolutely new bumper with paintwork ( total cost more then 8.5 K) from T.A.S.S without raising my voice.

[srishiva]

Being nice is nice. But it should not encourage incompetence and lead to defending it as a way of life.

[rudrah]

Manikjeet, so whats the latest update on your issue with TATA-FIAT?

Please update here if that matter is resolved.

[(Alok)]

Originally Posted by manikjeet

update
They handed me a cheque which included the amount i paid to get door handles and srvm painted. They also gave me a hand written apology letter.

Has they also returned the amount of VAT, RTO, insurance etc.?

[PaddleShifter]

Insurance, 4years roadside assistance and 4years warranty was free from Fiat.
Over here in Chandigarh, a car is registered with the RTO not by the dealership before delivery, but by the owner himself within 1 month of sale.
Over here, a dealership allots a temporary registration number valid for 1 month at the time of sale.
He must have paid for temporary registration(close to Rs500) which must have been refunded as well.

[manikjeet]

Thanks everyone for their support and advice.

If it hadn't been for you guys and Team-bhp,I think i would have waited for a long time to get justice.

Thanks everybody for guiding me through this rough time. I am sorry for not updating but I following your advise to take it slow till i get the money in my account.

About 10 mins ago i checked my account and money is their.


And i am very happy with FIAT India's response but will like to say that this was my last Fiat car for a very long time. Thanks team-bhp

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

@amartya - that was a nice post.

Read somewhere that our maharashis were most selfish of all - because they did all those good things for attaining "moksha" - the most self-centered goal of all possible human desires.

@manikjeet - I respect your views on FIAT and their cars.

One thing is for sure. Tata / FIAT was fearful of cracking the whip against errant dealers. In a way, that was justified, because most dealerships got their business, not on their merits, but by grase of their political patrons. THis was possible in the license-permit raj days.

Now the times have changed. Dealerships need to recognise that they need to perform and be ethical in their dealings with consumers.

Should this thread be closed?

[Amartya]

Since there's been a closure reported by the thread starter, this thread = closed.