[m_upreti]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

I was surprised to see the reply from Renault in my inbox today (given that I had requested for the Duster TD just yesterday). However after opening the e-mail it turned out to be a "Faux pas". Reproducing their reply to me below:

Dear Sir,

Thanks for writing to Renault India Customer Care, as of now we have three products available that is Fluence, Koleos and Renault Pulse. Kindly request you let us know which product test drive you are looking out for so that the same details will be sent to the nearest dealer they will get in touch with you at the earliest.

Warm Regards,

Renault Contact Center
Contact: 1800-300-44444(Toll free – 09:00am to 08:00pm
7 Days a week)

It is beyond my imagination, how can they goof up this big. When I book the TD of Duster they flash a message "Thank you for booking a test drive of the Renault Duster. We will get back to you soon." And now they offer me the TDs of all their vehicles except Duster. This goes to show that, till such time the Duster hits the Indian roads it is going to be a big jamboree at Renault India.

This is a standard mail which is coming if u ask for a Duster Brochure

[zulfi hansi]

Originally Posted by m_upreti

This is a standard mail which is coming if u ask for a Duster Brochure

Same thing happened to me as well, their customer service is a dud robot no personal attention there. Sad story for future customers like us, that is if we are.

[m_upreti]

Originally Posted by zulfi hansi

Same thing happened to me as well, their customer service is a dud robot no personal attention there. Sad story for future customers like us, that is if we are.

You are right, customer service is pathetic or they genuinely are not aware.
I am in touch with the Andheri Dealership, initially they asked me to pre-book which I decided against as I want to see the vehicle physically first and then decide.

[Vid6639]

Wow the car is not launched in the market and there's no information on launch but you guys are already saying customer service is pathetic.

From the 2 times I've visited the Renault Showroom one in Bangalore and other in Kolkata for the Fluence I have been treated very nicely. The sales guys have been very professional and knowledgable in the details of the cars they sell.

Why would Renault tell anyone over e-mail the launch date of the Duster as well as price details when the car is months away from launch.

Just because the website has the Duster TD link and you got an auto response e-mail it makes their customer service very poor?

[zulfi hansi]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Wow the car is not launched in the market and there's no information on launch but you guys are already saying customer service is pathetic.

From the 2 times I've visited the Renault Showroom one in Bangalore and other in Kolkata for the Fluence I have been treated very nicely. The sales guys have been very professional and knowledgable in the details of the cars they sell.

Why would Renault tell anyone over e-mail the launch date of the Duster as well as price details when the car is months away from launch.

Just because the website has the Duster TD link and you got an auto response e-mail it makes their customer service very poor?

Let me be more specific here, I am sure you have not seen the auto reply, when you opt for TD on their website, in there it is for that specific car and not just in - 'I want a TD of Renault' sense, when I request for TD I do that for a specific car on their website, and then when they ask me which car do I want a TD of, - how insignificant is this detail for them? What we mean is the company as such has no proper customer centric orientation when it comes to their policies. As you rightly mentioned the sales staff has been more than better compared to many other car company dealers, also they are put to extra embarrassment by Renault by not being clear as to how to deal with the prospective Duster customer, they are trying to handle the situation without any support from the company, many times when I have visited their dealership at Bangalore I was treated in an excellent manner, was also told I need not come all the way and they will inform when the car is available for TD. I just asked one question to the sales manager there if Renault has any system where they are taking details of customers who have come for Duster, the answer was - NO, he said we are doing this from our side, and then I saw him searching for a pad to take my details, not even a register is maintained. And when I pointed this out to him he got a brand new register right there, very responsive I would say. And since I have been there many times some of the sales staff has become familiar with me, one of them even answered my question honestly that since most 'popular' diesel hatches have a long waiting period 90% of Pulse sales are converted from customers who wanted 'a diesel hatch' urgently and not because they wanted to buy a 'Renault Pulse'. One important point here is if Renault was serious enough about customers why is that 2 of their cars have made little sense to the market? and the one which is selling was already established by Nissan [Micra]. Both Fluence and Koleos are perceived as detached from the basic requirement of the Indian customer. in terms of relevance they have little to offer, there are many cars which offer what these 2 cars do, but none of their cars offer anything unique what any other car in the market can offer. The products badly suffer from Identity crises, and the company has done little so far, I do not know if they work on a 5 or 10 year plan like our Government does. All this only goes to show how detached and indifferent they are from the customer, and that is why the customer is also indifferent towards them.

This is the customer service of Renault I was talking about.
Its like - 'my family has made enough money and I am doing this just as a hobby to keep myself occupied. I am not competing with anybody out there, and I am not bothered how many cars I sell.' - Renault?

[Vid6639]

I have seen the TD option on the website but how do you know that they are not just in the process of updating the website. The website could be a universal option for TD. There are far worse websites than Renault.

And as far as the argument goes that Renault are not keeping a record of buyers interested in the Duster. Why should they?

If I walk upto a Ford showroom and ask them about the EcoSport, will the guy tell me to fill a form from Ford for record? I didn't see that when I went 2 weeks ago and asked them about the EcoSport. Their reply was no idea when it will be launched, maybe end of the year. We don't have any details from Ford.

The bottom line is dealers are kept in dark about the launch of a new car and are only told a few weeks before.

Atleast Renault replied to the e-mail when you filled the form for test drive. I've seen Hyundai, Toyota, Maruti not even bother calling or acknowledging when you fill the form for test drive.

Let the car be launched and then see. No point in going to the website filling a TD form for a car nowhere in sight to be launched.

[mxx]

Originally Posted by zulfi hansi

Let me be more specific here, I am sure you have not seen the auto reply, when you opt for TD on their website, in there it is for that specific car and not just in - 'I want a TD of Renault' sense, when I request for TD I do that for a specific car on their website, and then when they ask me which car do I want a TD of, - how insignificant is this detail for them? What we mean is the company as such has no proper customer centric orientation when it comes to their policies. As you rightly mentioned the sales staff has been more than better compared to many other car company dealers, also they are put to extra embarrassment by Renault by not being clear as to how to deal with the prospective Duster customer, they are trying to handle the situation without any support from the company, many times when I have visited their dealership at Bangalore I was treated in an excellent manner, was also told I need not come all the way and they will inform when the car is available for TD. I just asked one question to the sales manager there if Renault has any system where they are taking details of customers who have come for Duster, the answer was - NO, he said we are doing this from our side, and then I saw him searching for a pad to take my details, not even a register is maintained. And when I pointed this out to him he got a brand new register right there, very responsive I would say. And since I have been there many times some of the sales staff has become familiar with me, one of them even answered my question honestly that since most 'popular' diesel hatches have a long waiting period 90% of Pulse sales are converted from customers who wanted 'a diesel hatch' urgently and not because they wanted to buy a 'Renault Pulse'. One important point here is if Renault was serious enough about customers why is that 2 of their cars have made little sense to the market? and the one which is selling was already established by Nissan [Micra]. Both Fluence and Koleos are perceived as detached from the basic requirement of the Indian customer. in terms of relevance they have little to offer, there are many cars which offer what these 2 cars do, but none of their cars offer anything unique what any other car in the market can offer. The products badly suffer from Identity crises, and the company has done little so far, I do not know if they work on a 5 or 10 year plan like our Government does. All this only goes to show how detached and indifferent they are from the customer, and that is why the customer is also indifferent towards them.

This is the customer service of Renault I was talking about.
Its like - 'my family has made enough money and I am doing this just as a hobby to keep myself occupied. I am not competing with anybody out there, and I am not bothered how many cars I sell.' - Renault?

I visited the Renault showroom to inquire about Duster. They said Duster will be launched in June, and the details will be available closer to launch. They also said that they will inform me when the car is available for TD. If I am not mistaken, the june launch date was also mentioned elsewhere in this thread.
So, I think you should just wait. I mean that is the way with any dealerships, you get the correct details only near to launch. The car was just unveiled as auto expo. Just like ertiga was unveiled but actual details/specs were only available around launch.

[sathyaprakash]

In Chennai i inquired with two showrooms of Renault and both said the launch is 100% in the month of June and delivery will be in August further they confirmed there will be a 4x4. I hope its true so lets wait for one more month to get test ride.

[dot]

It is just one more month guys.
I have been a mute audience of this thread. The tension around the launch has been almost unparalleled. Shows that the how much the market is ready for a good SUV in the 7-10L bracket.

The pictures seems to suggest a Outlander sized vehicle. Which is perfect. A good product will sell like hot cakes.

[StarrySky]

Originally Posted by dot

The pictures seems to suggest a Outlander sized vehicle. Which is perfect. A good product will sell like hot cakes.

I have seen the Duster and I don't think it's Outlander size. I haven't checked the specs, but based on what I saw, it's maybe just a bit bigger than the Yeti.

[Sathya_sc]

Originally Posted by sathyaprakash

In Chennai i inquired with two showrooms of Renault and both said the launch is 100% in the month of June and delivery will be in August further they confirmed there will be a 4x4. I hope its true so lets wait for one more month to get test ride.

Thats some awesome news. Too good if they launch the 4 x 4 version here. Truly believe this has the right mix of qualities to become a good companion to my T-Jet.

If Renault is able to launch the 4 x 4 at 13 to 14L OTR it will be simply sweet. In high hopes!

[sumeshmani]

Will a 4 x 4 prove to be useful for a consumer with following pattern?
- 50% city driving
- 50% highway driving
Here the only off-roading might be bad stretches of highway roads

Does a 4 x 4 configuration improve handling around high speed bends?

I know for sure that 4 x 4 configuration will prove great when climbing hill sections that have horrible roads after the Indian monsoons.

[Harshavarthan]

Originally Posted by sumeshmani

I know for sure that 4 x 4 configuration will prove great when climbing hill sections that have horrible roads after the Indian monsoons.

Bad roads or hill roads with tarmac doesn't require a 4x4. It is meant for places where there are no roads. Also it doesn't improve handling in any way as 4x4 works only in lower speeds and also consumes more fuel. I think you are confusing it with all wheel drive.

[m_upreti]

Originally Posted by sumeshmani

Will a 4 x 4 prove to be useful for a consumer with following pattern?
- 50% city driving
- 50% highway driving
Here the only off-roading might be bad stretches of highway roads

Does a 4 x 4 configuration improve handling around high speed bends?

I know for sure that 4 x 4 configuration will prove great when climbing hill sections that have horrible roads after the Indian monsoons.

4x4 is not required in normal driving conditions, unless you are a die hard off road enthusiast you will never feel the need of a 4x4. M800 & Nano's have gone to extremeties of Ladakh and back. My RWD Scorpio can go through small rivers and non existant roads.

[Animesh]

Originally Posted by sumeshmani

Will a 4 x 4 prove to be useful for a consumer with following pattern?
- 50% city driving
- 50% highway driving
Here the only off-roading might be bad stretches of highway roads

Does a 4 x 4 configuration improve handling around high speed bends?

I know for sure that 4 x 4 configuration will prove great when climbing hill sections that have horrible roads after the Indian monsoons.

As has already been pointed out, a 4X4 configuration for the aforementioned usages would have no better performance. If at all it would just increase the fixed cost of buying the vehicle and variable cost related to fuel and maintenance of the car.

Do check the thread where such aspects have been discussed in great detail: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/suvs-m...ainst-4x2.html