[danc]

Originally Posted by vid6639

I can't believe that people here are trying to justify skoda's act. What we are asking for is some basic level of after sales which every single manufacturer is expected to provide.

Let me give an example. One of the members on a Skoda forum from UK took delivery of a Superb with the DSG box and hill hold control. The dealer assured him that all DSG box's came with Hill Hold Control. He used the car for a week till he realised that the car did not have HHC and almost rolled back into another car at a traffic light.

He took it up with a dealer who apologised and first said it was his mistake but the owner should have checked at time of delivery, not after a week and he will refund the money for the HHC option. The owner threatened the dealer with legal action and wrote a letter to SKoda as well as the dealer. The dealer put up a bit of resistance but finally had no choice but to replace the car FREE OF COST.

The dealer took back the old car and replaced it with the exact same car only this time with HHC.

Mind you there was no problem whatsoever in the car just that it did not have one feature he wanted.

Compare that to the situation in Harish's case and all the rest of the members.

Is it due to the strong and honest implementation of the consumer laws which dissuaded the dealer and Skoda to bite the bullet in the above case in UK or was it good management action supported by the right legal and marketing (protecting the brand) advise.
My guess is that it was a combination of both.
In Harish's case it is obvious that both the triggers have been missing and in the end causing an almost irreversible damage to Skoda's image in the country.

[ram.west]

If Skoda really values and respects its customers, I think it should read all threads in our Forum pertaining to their cars and see whats to be done. Guess they've not done that & Its been 5 days since this thread has begun and a year since Harish wanted justice for the hard earned money he spent on his car and I'm sure he has not got a call from Skoda. So they wanna ignore us. So be it. He is yet to realize what **** he has got into. We are not defaming Skoda, they are doing it themselves by not acting upon Customer queries!!!!

[Rahulkool]

Originally Posted by xPK

How about naming it Skoda "Fobia"!

that will be fear for authorized service stations , but jokes apart its very strange that a company like skoda has not acted till now, even tho they know about this thread and most probably reading it

[ac 427]

was that a guest appearance by skoda_corporate on this thread. Maybe that person really did not know how deep waters they were in. And the unprecedented support Harish has in this thread.

Trust us, we love the cars, but we just can't stand the nefarious activities carried out. We are a bunch of people who call a spade a spade.

Just by making good cars your job is not done.

I personally am dissuading my friend from buying the new superb and the fabia, unless i told him, he has a lot of free time to spend in court cases and fighting with dealers.

Cheers,
AC

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Perakath

IMHO, I think ignoring them would have been the reaction they deserved.

IGNORE? Let me get this right : A BHPian has had parts equivalent to 40% of his cars value replaced by counterfeit ones via Skoda dealers / representatives, Skoda appeals against the court releasing his car (nearly 1 year up) and then threatens one of the largest mediums that covers this story. What is the poor guys fault out here? Spend a moment searching through our forums to see the many nightmares that Skoda owners have been through (and some on this thread itself). And you want us to ignore the matter? I'm sorry pal, you obvious know little about Team-BHP, what we stand for and our spirit. Team-BHP is one of the FEW resources on the Indian car scene that actually stand up for the rights of Indian car owners. Team-BHP is the ONLY resource that maintains its unbiased nature in reporting on cars / service and spreads the word in an open medium. And DESPITE of several lucrative sponsorship offers, Team-BHP has always resisted to advertising / branding initiatives by car manufacturers. Believe you me, each car manufacturer in India screens this forum for feedback. How they use it is entirely their domain, but several BHPians have received a resolution after posting their problems here. Heck, top research firms have emailed in stating that Team-BHP gives them more valuable data than their own research methods!

No one DARE come into this community and threaten our freedom of expression, without which, Team-BHP's role is pretty pointless, isnt it? We are NOT going to take this lying down. You’ve only seen this thread today and the overwhelming support that Team-BHP has from its members. If Skoda attempts to threaten any of us via any means, be assured of stronger reactions, not limited to threads / replies on Team-BHP. We intend to do whatever it takes to retain our right to speak honestly. Team-BHP carries a huge responsibility on its shoulders; that of serving the interest of the Indian car community.

but I can see I'm in the minority here!

Very obviously, yes. But we respect every persons right to their own opinion and do welcome yours as well. I only request you to spend a little more time with us, look through our archive and then make further comments.

Originally Posted by Harbir

If we as citizens are ok with all of this, then let us be honorably aloof. But if we are not OK with it and want to make a difference, then make a noise, raise a stink, gather people to react together. And we must highlight those who do things right, reward them the broad recognition. And the internet will be our tool.

This is not just about Skoda. This is about the citizens saying "we're going to change the world. get out of our way".

Said it right, you sure did.

Originally Posted by Perakath

I have arrived at my opinion (quoted by you above) after having read every post on this thread.

If you've read every post on this thread, then you would have also seen the replies with solid suggestions to Skoda and asking them to work with us, rather than against us. Who is "us"? Us is the Indian car owner. And if Skoda doesn't want to work with its customers, then it really is a lost cause. Admittedly. At the end of the day, we want the same thing that Skoda does i.e. satisfied car owners & enthusiasts. Unfortunately, Skoda's track record indicates that they are pretty comfortable in their customers' sufferings.

How can you then expect a corporate executive, most likely unused to internet forums and without the time or inclination to read this thread through, to arrive at conclusions anywhere near the well-reasoned, helpful ones you have stated?

This particular corporate executive has displayed their obvious incompetence in handling the situation or even drafting a note accurately. Skoda has the means to hire someone competent to address this issue. The question is : Do they have the motivation to? This pathetic attitude of the company and its dealers requires a full-scale movement of corporate change. Does it have the leadership it takes?

If it does, you can be assured that yes, they will go through this entire thread and arrive at improving their customer service through the solid suggestions on this thread. What we have stated is common-sense and what Skoda really needs to do.

Is he not far more likely to:

(a) Not read through all 661 posts so far?
(b) Read from an antagonistic viewpoint?
(c) Ignore the contents of this thread as irrelevant third-party mumblings?
(d) Arrive at my painful conclusions above?

If they actually do choose to ignore this thread or its comments, I have yet to see a more ignorant management at the helm of affairs at a large automotive group. THIS IS THEIR CUSTOMERS TALKING! Heck, manufacturers with 20 times higher sales consider the comments of BHPians very seriously. Who is Skoda to ignore its customers?

While I do not agree with the posts telling "Skoda to go home", it will be inevitable unless they mend their ways. Lets not forget that Fiat built some pretty competent cars for the price. Yet, word of mouth on their pathetic after-sales has pretty much sealed their fate. And restricted their sales figures to embarassingly low numbers for the last 5 years. Fiat has spent a lot of $$$, time and effort trying to improvise on this aspect, will it see success or not is anybodys guess. Too early to tell at the moment.

It is the man on the street who makes or breaks a brand. Unless Skoda improves its service and attitude toward its customers, I am afraid they will see the same fate.

Team-BHP has no interests in, or against, any particular car manufacturer. We love some of Skoda's cars but HATE the company / dealers attitude. I’ll be the first to say that I love driving the Skoda vRS, think that the new Superb is fantastically positioned, and that the Laura makes you feel good (though unreliability concerns loom over the head). In the same breath, I'll add that (IMHO) the Fabia is an overpriced DUD of a car. Though some of their cars are good, I am unable to recommend a Skoda to anyone because of the companys terribly way of treating its customers. PERIOD. After-sales is a VERY important contributor to the ownership experience, especially when you own a Euro that may have reliability concerns. If Maruti can treat a 2.5 lakh Alto customer with respect and to his satisfaction, why can't Skoda take care of its customers who spend 15 - 20 lakhs? I mean, it really isn't rocket science.

Originally Posted by blacmagic

cries like "Skoda get out" and "Red vRS down down" dont achieve anything.

I have to agree.

Originally Posted by 53BHP

Just got to know from a friend of another instance of cheating by Skoda. Luckily for the customer (his friend) this time he had some strong allies. He purchased an Octavia 3 years ago from Nummer Eins. He is a 1st cousin of a prominent politician who inaugurated the Nummer Eins showroom (unknown to Nummer Eins when he sent his car in for repairs). The repairs were minor. The bill was 84000. This guy gets bugged. The dealer tells him to sod off. He calls up his cousin's secretary. The secretary calls up the dealer. The dealer says "Oh no problem, I didnt know he was cousin, no charge, tell him to pick up the car". Friend says "I dont want anything fookat. Charge me the actual amount" Final bill: 18500
Moral of the story? How about some suggestions for moral of the story

Allow me to suggest : The moral of this story is, buy a Skoda only if you have the means to arm-twist dealers into offering you an acceptable level of service.

[Joe-Ker]

I was just wondering how many of these fake part fitments have gone un detected.I for one have never checked the replaced parts of my esteem(I trust my mechanic) nor do i think most customers have the time,inclination or expertise to detect a fake part.

Point is : This may just be the tip of an iceberg.
Skoda may be worried about opening a can of worms by admitting its (or its dealers') mistake.
This is purely based on conjecture.I have no facts to back my words.

[blacmagic]

Originally Posted by Rudra Sen

Disagree totally. The question is 'Should Team-BHP stand up for its right to the freedom of speech? For the TRUTH?' Team-BHP stands for that question and that is one of the main reasons for our existence.

thats the point. one does not take votes on the reason for one'e existence. it makes the question pretty rhetorical. should one speak the truth without being coerced by a stronger entity? the answer is always a resounding YES.

[wheeler]

How about this?

Tbhpians should drive down to a SKODA dealership in their city as potential customers and have a look at their cars. Somehow manage to get the manager or some top guy from the dealership involved in the discussion. Then talk about how you have heard of instances where SKODA mistreats their customers and refer to Harish's / Kapil's case. Walk out of the place telling them that you do not want to have any dealings with such companies.

Yes, this could take a bit of time and effort to actually implement. But once the dealerships actually realize the effect on their sales, they will learn their lesson.

[DDGuy]

While I agree with the basic point this, now huge, thread makes but the irony is that the bigger and more noisy this thread gets, the less chance is there that Skoda will do anything. As the old adage goes - if you want a lion to eat grass, make him do it in private :-)

[aka_iitd]

You can gauge the company by quality of after sale service they provide rather than services they provide at the time of sale.
It is true for every thing in this universe which needs after sales service

[burnt.]

Aren't we going overboard a bit here?

I mean, I completely empathize with Harish's postition. But 'Skoda Corporate' had a point that we have only heard one side of the story in an ongoing court case. Unless and until we hear the opposing side's story we wont have the complete picture.

But regarding their threat to 'instigate' us, they have totally crossed the line there. Skoda should know by now that we are a totally unbiased community and stands for the truth. Heck, how many threads do we have praising skoda cars like the VRS to death.

[SAMUDRA]

There is a saying in Kannada
"Adikay ge hoda maana aaney kotru sigolla" means "The dignity that is lost when caught while trying to steal a small beetle nut cannot be got back even if you try to repay it with an elephant"
This is what SKODA has to understand now. they have lost their respect in front of Team-BHP team.

[HappyWheels]

These are times when one has to thank (yes, THANK) those 'snob' sales guys for their attitude and poor approach!

If not for them, how many more would have their cars stuck in the showroom and themselves in a courts.

EDIT:

Originally Posted by burnt.

Aren't we going overboard a bit here?

I mean, I completely empathize with Harish's postition. But 'Skoda Corporate' had a point that we have only heard one side of the story in an ongoing court case. Unless and until we hear the opposing side's story we wont have the complete picture...

We have asked 'Skoda Corporate' to tell her side of the story. And I do not think anyone over here has stopped her from doing that. If they chose not to, no one can help! We have even offered her our support to work with them to sort out the issues, but na! They are too high for us!!!

[sgiitk]

Agreed. The silence of Skoda Corporate tells its own story. I am sure they have had enough time to collect information, and should have put up their version on the thread. If they have been unable to get the 'fact's till now, then that itself tells a lot about them.

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by DDGuy

As the old adage goes - if you want a lion to eat grass, make him do it in private :-)

If the lion wanted to eat grass that way, it would have got in touch with Harish and made some offer. Harish would have posted that here. Unless they have sworn him to secrecy, as a pre-condition!
That would be laughably poor administration, LOL! The truth will out one way or the other, now or later.