[kiku007]

@blackwasp - If we apply the downtime, capacity utilisation logic then most services we use can be made 24/7 but they aren't.

Example: A good number of IT companies have seat constraints. It'll be a revolt of sorts if they ask half their employees to work at night time to have 100% utilisation of their desks.

[blackwasp]

Originally Posted by kiku007

@blackwasp - If we apply the downtime, capacity utilisation logic then most services we use can be made 24/7 but they aren't.

I agree, hence mentioned downtime only as the last point. It may not be much, but there will be some capacity utilisation savings. Not sure about other services, but having a service centre open at the night is also reassuring for the traveller on a road trip - say going to the mountains and has some break down on his/her car. No idea on trucks, but do they have a night service? Asking coz they primarily move in the night.

Example: A good number of IT companies have seat constraints. It'll be a revolt of sorts if they ask half their employees to work at night time to have 100% utilisation of their desks.

That would be a sight to see! Ofcourse not all aspects can be applied to the night service in our context, but per service bay cost will definitely go down.

[FURY_44]

Originally Posted by blackwasp

No idea on trucks, but do they have a night service? Asking coz they primarily move in the night.

Since you mentioned late night trucks, I will share my incident on a late night sleeper bus while travelling from Bangalore.

It was 11:30PM and the bus was stopped at an isolated place close to Dabbaspet towards Tumkur. At first I thought it might be a loo break a passenger would have requested for, but the bus did not move an inch even after more than 30 mins. I woke up and checked with driver about the issue and he says there is heavy oil leakage from the oil filter and he cannot reach the destination which is still more than 500kms away with leaking oil.

So we were stranded on the highway with no possibility of a spare bus being arranged by the operator since it was a weekend. At that time, the company I was working for was a supplier of parts to Ashok Leyland service center in Tumkur. I called up the manager and reported the incident, in a couple of hours a mechanic reached our spot on a Bolero with all the necessary parts and he fixed the leak in a giffy. We then left the spot by around 1:30 AM, I must say we were lucky to get the support from SVC since we were just 30-40kms away from Tumkur city limits.

This incident from then onwards was always on my mind. What could have happened if the same bus would have stranded in the middle of nowhere with females/childrens on board??

[am1m]

Originally Posted by FURY_44

So we were stranded on the highway with no possibility of a spare bus being arranged by the operator since it was a weekend.

It should be the bus operator's responsibility to ensure that the bus is repaired or a spare is sent.

Originally Posted by FURY_44

At that time, the company I was working for was a supplier of parts to Ashok Leyland service center in Tumkur. I called up the manager and reported the incident, in a couple of hours a mechanic reached our spot on a Bolero with all the necessary parts and he fixed the leak in a jiffy.

I guess knowing the right people to talk to helped. Again, I think this should have been the bus operator's responsibility.

Originally Posted by FURY_44

What could have happened if the same bus would have stranded in the middle of nowhere with females/childrens on board??

It has happened to me twice. Once I was travelling by a private operator, SRS Travels and the idiot driving the bus managed to run it into a ditch. He then walked off to the side of the road and kept on his phone, refusing to speak to any of the passengers. A few of us tried calling different numbers for the bus operator's offices, but either no response, or they said they would talk to the driver. Finally, we started flagging down passing buses and groups of passengers boarded different buses to reach the next town.

The other time, I was travelling by KSRTC, the government operated bus and it broke down. In a couple of hours, they sent a spare bus to pick up all the passengers.

A lot of talk about govt, vs. private run services happened that night!

Getting back to the topic, night services sound great. I'm guessing our labour laws mandate overtime or extra pay for those employees who work night shifts, so maybe there will be several employees willing to take this up. I would be happy for my car to be serviced at night.

[FURY_44]

Originally Posted by am1m

It has happened to me twice. Once I was travelling by a private operator, SRS Travels and the idiot driving the bus managed to run it into a ditch. He then walked off to the side of the road and kept on his phone, refusing to speak to any of the passengers.

This was the same attitude by my driver too, but he was just enquiring with his team lead about the next steps to be taken. So I stepped in and offered some help.

The other time, I was travelling by KSRTC, the government operated bus and it broke down. In a couple of hours, they sent a spare bus to pick up all the passengers.

I always prefer govt operated buses, since they never let down their passengers no matter what the situation is. Since the destination I had to travel was long and KSRTC had no sleeper bus operating, I opted for a pvt player, it turned out to be an unforgetful night.

At the risk of going OT, let's stop the fun here. haha

[GTO]

I think it's a win-win for all parties.

- Dealers will be happier due to higher utilisation & revenues.

- Will create more jobs (the daytime technicians aren't going to work at night. It will be new staff).

- Owners will be pleased. Not just commercial operators, but even individual owners with high running.

- Daytime service advisors & technicians due to slightly lesser work loads .

- Maruti because of the positive press generated & higher satisfaction among its customers.

[Mohitkumaar]

Ruddy brilliant idea. This is one of those things which seems most obvious only after someone actually thinks of them.

[rakesh_r]

Originally Posted by kiku007

I hope that the people who work the graveyard shift get compensated monetarily.
And those who want night service should pay a premium that makes it possible for the employers to pay the night shift wages.

For graveyard shifts, I believe the Indian Labor law warrants an allowance to be paid.
Though this is a good move, I hope the staff doesn't get "overstretched" which is a sure shot recipe for an HSE mishap to occur. However I do a have a habit of staying back during the service, since I get to see and hang out with the mechanics and understand the work, mite as well carry my sleeping bag If I avail the night service.

[arunramaswamy]

As much as I hate the fact that Suzuki has been taking Indians for granted and have been giving compromised products, got to give it to Suzuki for bringing in such disruptions to the market. Nexa, Arena, true value and now this. No wonder people have trust in them and Suzuki has vice like grip on the market. Kudos where it is due.

[pavi]

Originally Posted by rakesh_r

However I do a have a habit of staying back during the service, since I get to see and hang out with the mechanics and understand the work, mite as well carry my sleeping bag If I avail the night service.

Who knows a MGA sleeping bag might also be there in the package. The one with a Nexa sticker would be more premium as you would get a suit also which you can wear when you sleep, ‘sleep premium buddy’. I would like to edit the emoji content by adding the word ‘extremely’ before stupid.

Jokes aside, I think it is a clever initiative by Maruti as they could some how manage the customers in a better way as this would reduce the number of customers for service per hour. I have seen car wash centres working till 1 am and a lot of people are coming there at the late hours.

[Altocumulus]

I think it's a great initiative and works very well for me. I anyways go to sleep at 2-3 AM and generally wake up post 10 AM. However there are so many times I have postponed appointments at service centers because I did not feel like waking up at 730 so that I can reach by 830-9 AM. So instead of sitting at home watching television till late night, I might as well go to the service station get the car serviced and come back.

[sinharishi]

This is a great initiative. I always reach my SC at 8:30am to beat the rush hour traffic and have to wait for the Service Advisor, Mechanics, Managers to step in. The SC opens at 9am but the car is taken in only at 9:20-9:30am.

I always stay with the car during service. My SC is in Noida, if this is an option at my SC, I don't mind getting the car serviced at 5am.

[PearlJam]

Good initiative, but I'm not sure whether quality would suffer. I would assume that the night shift is less "glamorous", so it might end up being run by the less experienced staff. This can be particularly critical when problems need to be correctly diagnosed, and the experienced staff are off duty at that time.

Personally, I would avoid the night shift servicing as far as possible, but that may be just me.