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View Poll Results: Should Team-BHP stand up for its right to the freedom of speech? For the TRUTH?
YES 3192 99.35%
NO 21 0.65%
Voters: 3213. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 31st March 2009, 17:08   #616
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haha, the taxindiaonline article is hilarious. Apparently this is not the first time someone could not give a specific reply
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Old 31st March 2009, 17:16   #617
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Check this link
Skoda plans new small car
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Old 31st March 2009, 17:23   #618
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Just when I thought I hadnt been 'instigated' enough today...

Quote:
Originally Posted by wanderernomad View Post
Holy ****. When i was thinking *** of FORD and TATAS is bad this is an eyeopener.
Wanderer, Ford may be expensive but they eventually do get around to fixing things.

Tata may have QC issues, but their warranty is rock solid and they dont skimp on replacing parts even where they may be reasons for them to have voided the warranty.

The horror stories we have been hearing about Skoda on this thread (i.e., not just harish's case but several others that have been brought up here) are quite an eye-opener. This confirms my theory that the more expensive cars do indeed have issues - its just that the owners in most cases cant be bothered to bring it up publicly or dont even know what is wrong with their vehicle and what is being replaced at whose cost.

Dr Pull's cousin the liquor baron went ahead and bought a Skoda despite the good doc's advice. People like that will probably never ever see the service station or speak with a service advisor or even see the bills from the dealer/service centre. They will simply get attached to a voucher for 'miscellaneous expenses' or 'vehicle maintenance' in some entity's books of account.

A poor soul who has waited long for an 'upgrade' and knows Mr Liquor Baron will probably ask him for his opinion on the car and of course Mr. Liquor Baron will recommend it 'highly'. Now that poor sucker is probably going to rue the decision for the rest of his life because he pays out of his own pocket and will feel for every penny spent on the car, every minute it spends in the service station.

The ones reading this thread will also be similar souls that pay for and maintain their cars themselves and therefore have first hand experience of the sort of service levels we are discussing here. Mr. Liquor Baron will never read this thread.
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Old 31st March 2009, 17:32   #619
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To SKODA with Love

I am no marketing expert. However this is what I know from experience. The biggest and most effective brand ambassadors for any product, be it an automobile, a mobile phone, a hotel, a restaurant, a school, a travel agency etc. are their satisfied customers. Of course it goes without saying that any product’s dissatisfied customers are their most effective negative brand ambassadors.

It is a simple and logical expectation that anyone selling a product will stand by their product, be it the manufacturer of the product, or the dealer, as long as they are serious about their business. If I were a dealer, I would not like to sell products that cannot live up to their promised expectations. Similarly if I were a manufacturer, I would not like to manufacture products that cannot live up to their expectations. There is no compromise on this. Of course I can manufacture and sell an inferior product and then set the expectations accordingly. A customer’s satisfaction has nothing much to do with how much one pays for a product – it has got a whole lot to do with how much one values what one pays for a product. This means a person buying a “1 lakh rupee car” would expect the same level of customer service as a person buying an “80 lakh rupee car” would expect. The only difference might be that the lounge at the 1 lakh rupee car customer care center may not be centrally air conditioned; it may not have plush leather couches; it may not offer you free tea and biscuits etc. unlike the “80 lakh rupee car” customer care center which may offer you a whole lot more. A 300 rupee cotton shirt can be as clean as a 5000 rupee designer shirt. I hope you get the drift.

But then like Steeroid said there will always be people who may not value their lakhs much. And then there will be people who will never understand much of what the service guys will tell them.

Let us look at some examples.

It is summer and the season of watermelons. When a typical house-wife buys a watermelon (costing between Rs. 30 – 90 in Pune) she insists that the vendor cut open the watermelon and if it is really red, juicy and sweet, she would buy. If it is not, the vendor has to take it back. If a vendor is not willing to cut open the watermelon, she will not buy it from that vendor. Now in this case does the vendor have any idea about how good or bad the watermelon is going to be. Not really. But most of them oblige, agree to her terms and cut open the watermelons. That is customer satisfaction.

For nearly 5 years I worked for an automobile LCV/HCV manufacturer in India. I know of several cases where an out of warranty truck broke down due to engine problems and other issues and the company replaced the components free of cost in spite of knowing that most of the vehicle owners/drivers abused their vehicles. They mostly did that when the dealers recommended such an action. Were they obliged to do that? No. But they did it all the same. That is customer satisfaction.

My brother owns a Mahindra LCV. During the warranty period some component in the vehicle was reinforced by the dealer through another workshop because that part was prone to frequent failures. This was often because of the rough terrain they had to run through, like quarries etc. under heavy loads. After the warranty period when that component failed, the dealer refused to repair it and asked my brother to take it to the workshop that had originally reinforced the part through the dealer. I wrote to Mahindra and within 2 hours I had a couple of email responses and their Regional Manager from Kochi was on the phone talking to me. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and he got everything done to his satisfaction. The manager again called me to make sure that we were satisfied. That is customer satisfaction.

I own a Maruti Swift. I wanted the service manuals for the vehicle. I wrote to Maruti. They arranged for the manuals to be delivered to one of their Pune dealers. Did they have to do that? No. But they did it. That is customer satisfaction.

After my first service of the Swift, I told the lady who called me up to check if I were satisfied with their service that there was a dirty mark on the rear seat. They sent people home to clean the interiors of the car and I was offered a free wash and service whenever I chose to. That is customer satisfaction.

I wanted to go on a long trip. I simply drove the car to my Maruti dealer. They checked the whole car and returned it after an hour. They charged me nothing for that. That is customer satisfaction.

I had some door rattling noise and someone on team-bhp had mentioned about Maruti replacing the power windows regulator assembly in some cars which solved the issue. I wrote to Maruti and within two days I got a call from my dealer. They took the car and the workshop manager personally attended to the vehicle and did everything they could to get rid of the rattles. It did not require the regulator assemblies to be changed but they did everything they could to fix the issue. That is customer satisfaction.

May be my dealer (M/S Wonder Cars) is extremely good and cares for their customers. But in my mind it is a reflection of how much Maruti cares for its customers.

In Hinjwadi, Pune, there is a restaurant called Mezza9. The food is quite good but the service is poor. Once we had a group lunch and we found a fly in the dal. The hotel staff neither apologized for it nor offered a replacement. And they billed for the dal as well. Will we ever again go to that place? You bet! We won’t.

You cannot put a price to the goodwill of a customer. It has to be earned. When you sell a car it is YOUR car. The dealer is only a middleman. Everything that the dealer does is a reflection on the company. It is for you to take measures to ensure that what is reflected through the dealer is a true picture of the principles your company stands for. If you have neither the willpower nor the means of ensuring this, then you should not be in business. And if you decide to continue to be in business, it will not be that long lived. There will be good dealers and bad dealers. It is YOUR responsibility to track down the bad ones and shut them down. Similarly every dealer will have good and bad people. It is the responsibility of the dealer to flush out the bad ones.

Go through the various threads on team-bhp. People have heaped praises on NIKE for their products and for the way they have cared for their customers. You will find both bouquets and brickbats wherever they are due.

Take the case of the Indian Consumer. Taking the legal route is not everyone’s cup of tea unlike in some of the western countries because of the rampant corruption and the archaic legal system. Taking advantage of this state of affairs, manufacturers leave their customers high and dry when product/service issues crop up. It has become easy for the manufacturers and the dealers to pass the buck, knowing fully well that the customers cannot do anything much. It is only people like Harish who make a difference and his effort should be applauded. Unlike the olden days, communities like team-bhp are there to support people like Harish and that makes a huge difference. So in the end even if Skoda India wins this case against Harish, they would have only won the battle and lost the war.

-Biju

Last edited by pjbiju : 31st March 2009 at 17:49.
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Old 31st March 2009, 17:57   #620
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Just came across this thread. Really sad to hear about this. In NE (North East) India too Skoda has a bad reputation. I thought it was a one of case. I was tempted towards the Fabia, my pop-in-law warned me against it. Good I listened to him
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Old 31st March 2009, 18:00   #621
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Quickdraw has said NO to the poll??

The poll was for "Should Team-BHP stand up for its right to the freedom of speech? For the TRUTH?" .. and he answered "NO" . Wonder if he meant to say he is Pro-Skoda , or that he is actually against the TRUTH!
While the former is perfectly okay, the latter clearly is not!

Hope he read the POLL question before he picked his option!
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Old 31st March 2009, 18:12   #622
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kb100 View Post

Quickdraw has said NO to the poll??

The poll was for "Should Team-BHP stand up for its right to the freedom of speech? For the TRUTH?" .. and he answered "NO" . Wonder if he meant to say he is Pro-Skoda , or that he is actually against the TRUTH!
While the former is perfectly okay, the latter clearly is not!

Hope he read the POLL question before he picked his option!
Hey whadya know ? feedspeed with his 'korollo' also has voted NO.
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Old 31st March 2009, 18:26   #623
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wanderernomad View Post
Holy ****. When i was thinking *** of FORD and TATAS is bad this is an eyeopener. I am not buying a SKODA ever and will ask all my friends not to. Who wants to fight over trivialities and such a patheitic attitude from SKODA. Plus please remove the red skoda from the banner ASAP. Also if you guys who have already fought with skoda on avrious issues can you post thier email addresses, maybe we can all write in what we think of this episode to SKODA.
My opinion on Ford and Tata A.S.S as i know -
Got 2 fords in the family. Both fiesta's, base and higher end. Both owners very happy with service overall.

We got an Indigo. Had some problem with it an year back due to which my Dad had to waste a weeks time on it and still wasnt resolved. I send an email to few officials in Tata mentioning all the details and the problem we were facing.
Within 3-4 hours my father recieved a call from Pune or chennai office(sorry cant rem exactly which one). They apologized for the delay and asked us to bring it tomo. An engineer was send specially to diagnose the fault and rectify it. Fault was corrected though it took 2 more days but i wouldnt have minded 4-5 days also as they responded in an efficent manner when i thought noone will bother about my mail. Quality issues aside Tata do listen if you want them to listen

P.S- 5 Tata cars in the family including mine so am quiet aware how the service is and honestly its 100 times better than Skoda atleast.

@KB- everyone is free to vote and if someone has voted No we should not try to embarrass that person by highlighting it Imo.
If they give the reason for it we are all ears and if not then also its fine.
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Old 31st March 2009, 18:29   #624
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Come on guys, everyone has a right to an opinion. We shouldn't attack people for their opinions. Q_D believes the purchase price VFM of the Skoda is enough to offset their shoddy A.S.S. ( http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ml#post1236401 )
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Old 31st March 2009, 18:41   #625
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In India, skoda is perceived to be a premium brand. In reeality, it is just a low grade rebadged Volkswagen model basd on previous generations' donor platforms.
Skoda treats its Indian customers like:
Attached Thumbnails
Team-BHP stands for the TRUTH. But Skoda wants to “instigate” Team-BHP and its users!-img-335.jpg  

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Old 31st March 2009, 18:46   #626
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Quote:
pjbiju : May be my dealer (M/S Wonder Cars) is extremely good and cares for their customers. But in my mind it is a reflection of how much Maruti cares for its customers.
Similarly, Nummer Eins' handling of Harish's car is a reflection of Skoda's A.S.S & attitude towards it's customers. Esp with the way the problem is being pulled / handled. Esp with the treatment of this case by Skoda.

And by the many other complaints against Skoda. All the other complaints do not involve only Nummer Eins, do they ?

Last edited by condor : 31st March 2009 at 18:49.
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Old 31st March 2009, 18:52   #627
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Is it safe to assume that Skoda has no plans to do anything about any of this?
Monday and Tuesday have gone by with nary a word from them!
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Old 31st March 2009, 18:54   #628
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frankly people whats the poll about!!!
asking if we as a team has the right to freedom of speech and expression or is it a question asking do you hate skoda!!
yes or no !!

actually whats the problem..'the car' or 'the car servicing dealers and outlets'!!
seems the talk has turned from some pathetic servicing to the very fact that skoda isn't a good car!!!

Last edited by ariendj : 31st March 2009 at 18:59.
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Old 31st March 2009, 18:54   #629
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Quote:
Originally Posted by scooby05 View Post
The last reason being, The central locking/immobiliser system is malfunctioning. Autobahn has kept the car for 2 weeks and no solution. They even swapped some components from another Fabia as per advice from Skoda, but still could not solve the problem. I guess I will also have to follow up on this thread.
No one in the family wants to use her, since every now and then the alarm goes on!! and the ignition does not operate!!

Ah! Here is core of the problem. Skoda trains its service centers/dealers to replace parts from other cars. Two weeks for central locking ? I think they used the Fabia for their own personal interests. Also check out if you were handed a TD vehicle.
I seriously hope this remains a joke on internet. I am speechless and numbness had set in after reading your post for a minute or two.
How can Skoda ask to replace a faulty car's parts with parts for a good vehicle just for checking purpose ?
Is this how HarishV's car was used for testing other car's performance ?
May be they took out the parts, put in another vehicle, if that vehicle performed well, they put in useless parts of paltry quality in Harishv's vehicle.
Skoda is indeed obsessed with lack of quality. Somewhere I read in this thread that Laura's AC wont work! Fabia power windows wont work!

This is shocking beyond limit.
If we start listing down from this thread how many bad experiences people are having/have had from Skoda, I think the list will be very very long, and I just talking about this thread.

I think I saw a ray of hope from Skoda, in reality its all but dark.
The list of problematic Skoda cars is increasing at a rapid pace, and Skoda is not listening. But what can we expect ?

Last edited by aaggoswami : 31st March 2009 at 19:05.
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Old 31st March 2009, 19:27   #630
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sidindica View Post
In India, skoda is perceived to be a premium brand. In reeality, it is just a low grade rebadged Volkswagen model basd on previous generations' donor platforms.
Why suddenly such a statement?Why has everyone started to criticize Skoda now?I agree the after sales aren't really good.And that Skoda hasn't done justice to Mr.Harish.But Skodas are brilliant cars!Fun to drive and are very upmarket as compared to others.Have you guys forgotten the V-RS?
It's not a "low-grade" brand as you said.

Last edited by theragingbull : 31st March 2009 at 19:28.
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