[GTO]

If you are a Skoda owner from Delhi and want to have a free-wheeling discussion with the company, here's your chance.

Zac Hollis, Director - Sales, Service and Marketing @ Skoda - will be travelling to Delhi this weekend. He wants to meet with Skoda customers, hear about their experience with the brand, its dealerships, cars and answer their queries.

This will be an informal open forum discussion. Interested?

Date: 20th October 2019
Time: 19:00 onwards
Location: Connaught Place [exact restaurant will be communicated]
Head Count: Max 15 participants

RSVP on ashish.kaushik@skoda-vw.co.in if you're a Skoda owner & would like to go. Be sure to come back on this thread post-meeting and let us know how it went!

Note: Only for existing Skoda owners.

[dailydriver]

Not a Skoda owner.

And with service issues plaguing the company, never likely to be. Although there have been recent instances of excellence, like that of Nikhilb2008 in Bengaluru, the general perception is that one doesn't simply buy a Skoda, he buys a lifetime of experiences - good and bad.

Mr. Zac Hollis is the person who was involved in resolving the epic case involving Bhpian SuhasManjunath.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...ml#post4551639 (Vinayak Skoda sells fake Rapid Black edition. EDIT: Replaced with a new car)

Its time other manufacturers too try to keep their ears to the ground.

Good job Mr. Hollis!

[octane_100]

I have not owned a Skoda but have read enough to form a significant negative opinion about the brand. Having said that, Mr.Hollis at least has been making the right noises till now. This too is a good initiative, hope it results in to positive experiences by the customers.

[SS-Traveller]

Meeting Skoda owners and listening to their grievances is fine, especially by a very senior official of the company. But acting upon those inputs in very short time, is something the aggrieved owners can only wait and hope for. I remember our discussion with the then MD at Skoda, Mr. Sudhir Rao in 2013 (The 2013 Skoda Octavia | Views of an Unofficial Expert), and we loved the hospitality, but then nothing changed. Hoping this will be different.

[vb-saan]

I think this is a good move; hope the guy gets an extended run to make a difference.

Originally Posted by dailydriver

And with service issues plaguing the company, never likely to be.

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Meeting Skoda owners and listening to their grievances is fine, especially by a very senior official of the company. But acting upon those inputs in very short time, is something the aggrieved owners can only wait and hope for. I remember our discussion with the then MD at Skoda, Mr. Sudhir Rao in 2013 (The 2013 Skoda Octavia | Views of an Unofficial Expert), and we loved the hospitality, but then nothing changed. Hoping this will be different.

I believe the scene is a bit different now; the infamous Skoda horror stories are not rampant, and outside the mass market Japanese and Koreans, they have a very stable portfolio, doing well in its respective segments. And effort to get better is always good.

[jalajprakash]

Originally Posted by GTO

RSVP on ashish.kaushik@skoda-vw.co.in if you're a Skoda owner & would like to go. Be sure to come back on this thread post-meeting and let us know how it went!

This is the response I received when I emailed at the email mentioned in the post. Is there someone else I can contact?

Hi,

Thank you for your email.

I am out of the office with limited access to email from Monday, 14th October 2019 to Friday, 18th October 2019, owing to a business trip.

Please expect a delayed response. I will get back to you at the earliest.

Warm Regards,

Ashish Kaushik

[Pancham]

Originally Posted by dailydriver

Not a Skoda owner.

And with service issues plaguing the company, never likely to be. Although there have been recent instances of excellence, like that of Nikhilb2008 in Bengaluru, the general perception is that one doesn't simply buy a Skoda, he buys a lifetime of experiences - good and bad.

Mr. Zac Hollis is the person who was involved in resolving the epic case involving Bhpian SuhasManjunath.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...ml#post4551639 (Vinayak Skoda sells fake Rapid Black edition. EDIT: Replaced with a new car)

Its time other manufacturers too try to keep their ears to the ground.

Good job Mr. Hollis!

Originally Posted by octane_100

I have not owned a Skoda but have read enough to form a significant negative opinion about the brand. Having said that, Mr.Hollis at least has been making the right noises till now. This too is a good initiative, hope it results in to positive experiences by the customers.

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Meeting Skoda owners and listening to their grievances is fine, especially by a very senior official of the company. But acting upon those inputs in very short time, is something the aggrieved owners can only wait and hope for. I remember our discussion with the then MD at Skoda, Mr. Sudhir Rao in 2013 (The 2013 Skoda Octavia | Views of an Unofficial Expert), and we loved the hospitality, but then nothing changed. Hoping this will be different.

Originally Posted by vb-san

I think this is a good move; hope the guy gets an extended run to make a difference.



I believe the scene is a bit different now; the infamous Skoda horror stories are not rampant, and outside the mass market Japanese and Koreans, they have a very stable portfolio, doing well in its respective segments. And effort to get better is always good.

Things are actually looking up at the dealership level as well. Considering the level of bad publicity the brand has received from Team-bhp, let me share a couple of positive experiences with the Kolkata dealership. My Octavia story can be read here. https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offic...ml#post4530435

Service center

The Octavia had met with an accident few months back and it required repair and replacement of multiple parts. I was quite skeptical knowing the service horror stories. However, my girl friend's daddy (lets call him SG for easy reference) had a seamless experience. The parts were readily available (except one) and the car was delivered within a month. There were no issues with insurance and the owner was not kept in dark about any timelines, parts availability, insurance eligibility, etc. The car was repaired and returned in as good as new condition.

The only issue I observed with the service center was that the SD card had gone missing during one of the routine checks. However, it was promptly returned/replaced the next time.

Sales experience

This came up recently when I was sharing my Santro buying ordeal with SG. On hearing my story (which can be read here https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...ml#post4675197 (Horrid sales experience with Saini Hyundai, Kolkata)) he said, "Pancham, all dealers are like this, hence I was pleasantly surprised with Skoda. The buying experience was SO GOOD and seamless". I was with him through the buying experience and it was indeed good. And to mention, his previous cars included 3 Honda City's.

However, we cannot make blanket statements but I think "good days" are coming for Skoda. If they keep up they might just come out of this alive and kicking.

[Sheel]

He is responsive, I had tagged him on Twitter about the dismal percentage of sales and service outlets in NE India and he did acknowledge.

But that was it, I hope some acrtion is taken. Yeti was one brilliant SUV which I had the pleasure of driving to tons of places. Hope, this episode and its learnings make him see Indian customers in new light.

[torque18]

To the people who get to attend this meet, please raise a voice in support of manual transmissions which, it appears, Skoda is doing away with gradually in their premium cars.

Manual Karoq with all the bells and whistles at a slightly lesser price compared to DSG versions could be a delight to many motorists!

[vvb8530]

Zac Hollis seems to be a great guy to head Skoda India. I recently wrote to him about not being able to purchase 4th and 5th year extended warranty as my car was bought in 2015 and they have a kept a cap on extending warranty only on cars bought after September 2016 even though my car is still under 2+2 year warranty. The man replied back almost immediately marking a colleague of his on the same mail and mentioned that this is something they are considering.

I had to also write back to him again within the next one week as the O2 sensor on my Octavia needed replacement and was denied under both extended warranty and goodwill warranty. One email to him and all approvals were received at the dealership, I received at least 15 calls from Skoda customer care over two days, multiple emails apologizing for the inconvenience and my car which was otherwise stuck at the dealerships service centre for the past 10days was handed back to me within 2days after replacing the sensors under warranty.

I definitely dont mind hanging on to the car for a few more years even without warranty if the top guy at the company is as responsive and is so active and concerned about customers feedback. Really helps in building up the trust in the brand and this is probably exactly what Skoda needs because its their reputation that has taken such a beating over the years that it might take only the top bosses continuous involvement with customers to improve the brands perception in the minds of car buyers because otherwise as a product their cars are fantastic and I personally have had a great ownership experience in the past 4 years with my Octavia.

[su1978]

A team is as good as the weakest player in it. Strong captain at the top can only lead the way. The lethargy and the wrong intent that has crept into the blood and souls of the dealers will be pretty hard to do away with. Thank God that at-least they have started in the correct direction.

Somewhere i feel that Honda is loosing this handsomely. No matter what you do or request, the customer care people will never let you go above them and a lame excuse will always be given to you. Ultimately, a customer becomes a tennis ball between the dealer and the customer care.

[Sunil2307]

The guy seems to have the right intent and making the right noises. Lets see how it goes.
Any BHPians attending please post your experience here.

[lapis_lazuli]

Thanks GTO, for this information! I am going for sure.....

So far, been only too happy with my Superb. But I would like to make a point or two!



Having said this, Skoda is now the big brother including VW. I would like to make a suggestion to accept Skoda cars in VW workshops in towns where there are NO Skoda workshops. Essentially identical cars and the MQB is intended to be that : UNIFORM.