[sajanpt]

Originally Posted by thebagchi

Now this is a great news.
Hopefully they work towards restoring the lost faith.

Oh yeah ! They would have to work their butts off to regain the faith which is a mammoth task! What I don't understand still is their claim that the "Senior Management" was not aware of a whole nation's (Skoda users) plight for almost 9 yrs !!. Just check the date the thread started and the time period it took for them to at least show some courtesy rather than threatening customers all the time.

Anyway really appreciate all the people who worked on this especially the gurus in the team. Eager to know more on what is happening with Harish's case and if possible the Minutes of the Meeting.

Just thinking about it now; After launching a product in the market, taking so much time to get the right feedback and to realize the effect of damage done (beyond repair), to an international company, especially one that does not even have a strong presence in other continents ! I am asking myself ?

Is Skoda paying peanuts to the Senior Managers?
Probably yes, that's why they got monkeys !!

[phamilyman]

Time for a change of title?

[YC.BALENO.CHD]

Originally Posted by sajanpt

Is Skoda paying peanuts to the Senior Managers?
Probably yes, that's why they got monkeys !!

Very well said.

[HappyWheels]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

...We all already know what the walk is -- better after sales service and long-term customer satisfaction...

I do sincerely pray that they get their acts together! A beautiful car as this deserves better support from its own people!

[GTO]

Originally Posted by narayan

after all - who would want to go down as one of those manufacturers who made great cars but was totally let down by awefull after sales service ?

Fiat anyone? In my opinion, Fiat's aftersales is outstanding in comparison to Skoda. Atleast Fiat customers are not wary of forged signatures, parts being replaced with counterfeit etc. etc. The only thing that Fiat owners have to cope up with is a delay in parts (also present with Skoda) and an indifferent attitude from some service advisors. But it is nowhere as serious as what Skoda owners go through. Still, look where it got Fiat!

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

I believe the complaints are not about service costing Rupees X or Clutch plate replacement costing rupees Y or headlamp assembly coming only in pairs and costing rupees Z.

It is about being treated honestly. And competently. And consistently. And transparently.

Let's think about this for a second. What does a car owner realistically expect from an authorised service center?

- Honest & ethical approach
- Correct diagnosis + apt solution of problems
- Reasonable charges
- Reasonable turnaround time
- Open & clear communication channel with the service advisor

How difficult is that? Maruti, with over a whopping 50% control of the market, seems to accomplish this just fine. Hell, it is the MOST BASIC expectation of a car owner, and one that he has a RIGHT to.

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

So they are not going to sue you now? Did you happen to mention that sacking their PR department might be good for them

Seriously... This is great news, and a monument to what you guys and this forum do for Indian motorists.

Let's just say we got across all of our points to their notice. They really couldn't get better feedback than from a community of 40,000 actual + unbiased car owners!

Originally Posted by RakishRam

So you guys went well prepared, with a presentation slide deck?
Great job form all, hope our spineless AutoMags get some energy from T-BHP.

Well-prepared the three of us were. IIRC, we had like 4 pages of bulleted points between us.

Originally Posted by cvvikram

Bottom line we need to see how the Skoda management is going bring in the changes in their after sales service in the near future.

In my personal opinion, here is what needs to be done:

1. Harish's case needs to be solved to his satisfaction ASAP. This dude is paying EMI's on a car that is not even in his possession for over a year! If Skoda wants to show that they stand up for their customers, I can't think of a better example to start with.

2. Management requires to be more hands-on when it comes to customer service. Periodic meetings, reports & surprise checks are mandatory. Auditing by an expert third-party would be a good idea as well.

3. Their customer care department needs a massive overhaul. Clearly, some existing personalities know crap about serving the customer. Heads need to roll and competent (experienced) managers need to be brought in.

4. Errant dealerships need to be dealt with an iron fist. More than a certain % of complaints per 100 customers, and the dealership stands to be cancelled. However, a fraud of serious nature committed by any dealership - even a single one - must have the dealer licence revoked with immediate effect.

5. Bonuses + future growth linked to customer satisfaction.

There really is no other way to it, if you ask me.

[navin]

Originally Posted by GTO

As things stand today, I cannot recommend a Skoda to anyone.
Rehaan put it this way : Actions speak louder than words. It is important to walk the talk.

Originally Posted by HappyWheels

Unless we know what they 'talked', how will we know if they have 'walked' it?

We will all know. For example: even as I type this I am still in contact with Skoda-Autobahn (one dealer) for the service on my vRS. There is a seperate thread in "Indian Car Dealershps" on this. Like me there are many other Skoda customers on TBHP who will continue to report their experiences.

When Toyota for example provides good service dont we all "feel" it? The same will happen when Skoda does too. Some of the systems they need to implement can be done pretty fast other processes take time but as soon as they start making positive changes rest assured that every Skoda customer will "feel" it.

Originally Posted by mmmjgm

How did they come around to meeting you guys ?

Originally Posted by Rehaan

A representative contacted us on behalf of Skoda early last week, requesting a meeting. After they put forth their agenda and the people who would be present - we agreed to meet.

mmmjgm, ofcourse the meeting was pre-meditated. As Rehaan explained we even had an agenda and list of people expected to be present in order before agreeing to the meeting.

Otherwise there would be chaos.

Originally Posted by sajanpt

Oh yeah ! They would have to work their butts off to regain the faith which is a mammoth task!

Yes It is going to a huge task. I only hope Skoda India realise the enormity of this and the effort required to fix it. Once they do I am sure they have the resoruces to execute a change.

Originally Posted by sajanpt

Is Skoda paying peanuts to the Senior Managers?
Probably yes, that's why they got monkeys !![/b]

Originally Posted by pranavt

Amazing to see a company the size of Skoda being bent and brought down to face the music.

It is not right to speculate what Skoda Managers are paid. It is however right for us to expect them to do their job well (with integrity and competence).

TBHP does not intend to brow-beat any manufacturer. Our primary focus is to ensure that the Indian customer is not treated un-fairly.

[navin]

Originally Posted by GTO

Let's just say we got across all of our points to their notice. They really couldn't get better feedback than from a community of 40,000 actual + unbiased car owners!

and reach out to about 650,000 unique visitors (every month).

[danc]

A Great job done by all concerned specially GTO and other mods for being steadfast in not accepting the situation as is.

Originally Posted by GTO

*UPDATE*

What became apparent was how a lot of the major issues were clearly not escalated to Senior Management. Mr. Kuehl listened to all the concerns and was receptive to what we had to say. We guess he has a lot of thinking to do and a lot of questions to raise internally.

This could absolutely be the case. Working in a European MNC myself, I can relate to the same. The top management invariably is shielded (or decides to be shielded, afterall it is only a 2-3 years stint for them in India!) from the tough and "difficult" information. It remsains to be seen though, what they can and will do now that they are aware of the ground realities.

Kudos again for this breakthrough.

[kb100]

GTO -

What about the 'INSTIGATION' bit - did that come up at all - and to what avail?

[ashthedivx]

It's indeed a great news !!

Though it will take time but still will be happy to see a smile back on skoda customers, sooner or later.

[nikunj_cal]

Whooaaaa , what a news !!!! Great Going Mods !!

[lancer_rit]

In addition to GTO's apt prescription for how to go about the turnaround, they really need to also take up
* Define clear conflict of interest rules and enforce it
How can we expect a lot of change, if some of the officials have/had other vested interests ?

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Time for a change of title?

+1 to that. if we are to appear unbiased, the thread title should reflect it.
They are atleast talking decently now, we should give them some credit for that.

[rkavthekar]

The fact that Skoda initiated this dialogue to understand why we have such a huge rant against Skoda on this forum, to me, indicates that, there is a "Will" to understand and change. It's a welcome first step and as many of you have said, they need to take tough decisions in these tough times, to cover up the lost ground and hence the image.

Once they have taken steps ( baby or large) to correct the situation, they will further need to then wipe out the perceptions about their after sales services and I am sure, the way Team BHP stood by the "current" facts, it will stand by the "then" facts as a true unbaised forum.

I am happy and I am proud to be a member of this forum that has its impact on the Automotive society in India.

Having said above, I am really looking forward to the resolution of Harish's case at the earliest.

takecare and drive safely

[tanwaramit]

Its really great to be associated with a forum whose voices are heard by manufacturers themselves.
An unbiased customer oriented forum , true it indeed is.

Glad to hear, they came , they talked, now is the time to walk.

Is there anyway Skoda Corporate is going to update users on what steps are they taking to instill the confidence of owners of Skoda cars (current + prospective)