[fine69]

Originally Posted by Epic

'Ford' set the record for the largest car parade in South Africa on 27th February 2010 with a parade of 586 Ford cars!!!

This was at one place and the swift event seems to be spread across 3 cities. Does this mean that the sum of these 3 would be taken in to account or the largest from either of these 3? I believe for the record it'd be the count of swifts in a city, whichever has the maximum.

What do you think guys?

[Epic]

Originally Posted by fine69

This was at one place and the swift event seems to be spread across 3 cities. Does this mean that the sum of these 3 would be taken in to account or the largest from either of these 3? I believe for the record it'd be the count of swifts in a city, whichever has the maximum.

What do you think guys?

Yes you are absolutely right. But who knows, either one of the three cities can have an attendance that can break that record. I feel that it would not be difficult to break the 586 cars mark as I am sure that a car like the Swift can easily break that hands down!!

[Epic]

CHANGE OF VENUE IN MUMBAI - Guys, received this message through SMS today from Maruti

"Thank you for your confirmation to attend the Parade. Kindly note that the VENUE has been shifted to another ground in BKC only. The venue will be now conducted in ground behind "BANK OFBARODA"- Please ensure that you are present for the event by 7:30 am on 30/05/2010."

[deepakchiniwal]

If only Bangalore was also part of the list....

[clint_dsouza]

I have received a participation confirmation from Vitesse, Mumbai. The timing at BKC is changed to 07.30 am and the venue is behind of 'Bank of Baroda' Office.

[2theMax]

Any bhp meet planned for tomorrow @ MMSC ?

[whizzkid_ram]

Got confirmation message on my mobile.

[ivor]

To celebrate 5 years of the Maruti Suzuki Swift, Maruti organised a car parade for creating a new Guinness record--the idea was to have 555 Swifts in a parade to beat a previous record by Renault, according to announcements made before the parade began. ([COLOR=#0000ff]http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/81907-maruti-swift-trying-set-guinness-record.html[/COLOR])

I attended the Mumbai edition (this event was also held in Delhi & Chennai) and it was complete CHAOS once the event began and I also suspect a scam (more on that later).

The event started well (I got there around 8) and it took us about 30 mins to get the car in. On the way, numbers were marked on the car and we were also handed a goodie bag with a tee/cap, etc. Once parked, all cars were checked briefly (brake lights, etc) and stickers were put on the cars with numbers. We also signed registration forms and were given CLEAR, WRITTEN instructions that this wasn't a race and that no overtaking was permitted.

Around 10 am, after waiting for a long time in the heat, me and another friend found the lot was almost full but the last car number was in the 390s...far short of the 550 mark, though the announcer was screaming from 8 am that there were more that 500 Swifts. We got back to our cars and in a few minutes the parade began....

Actually, that's where Maruti lost the plot--there must have been one pilot car at the start (though I didn't see any--I was number 147) and soon everyone was overtaking, racing--it was CRAZY! And absolutely no one to monitor anything. Soon, there were gridlocks all over and the few autorickhaws, other cars in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) at the time got stuck in the mess.

I found the lack of co-ordination and control and the resultant chaos surprising--when coming in I had seen quite a few demo cars (I assume they were to be used as pilot cars) and at least 10 new motorbikes (again, assumed they were to be used in managing the parade). But not ONE was to be seen anywhere during the parade.

We went around BKC (quite frankly, it seemed aimless because there was no pilot car anywhere, the route wasn't marked--except at the first two turns). So, folks went all over and soon there was chaos. There was a major gridlock near the ground and my friend who had gone ahead told me to simply park the car outside because no cars were being allowed back in. He said people were taking the certificate and leaving.

We had handed over one coupon when leaving the ground and had to hand over another at the end, with one more coupon for 10 litres of petrol that Maruti had promised to everyone who participated.

I parked outside and when I reached the gate, the order of the morning seemed light years away. At the main tent, things were close to fistfights as people were falling over each other to get the vouchers for petrol and some movie tickets. I saw some of the booths break under the weight of the crowd. Me and my friend stood there bewildered till some one said certificates were being distributed.

When I got to the table, it wasn't a distribution but a FREE FOR ALL. There were no organisers around and people were just all over--I tried finding my certificate, but soon realised it was wiser to withdraw than risk physical injury and loss of valuables in the melee, just for one certificate.

By then the chaos at the counters distributing the petrol vouchers had against the coupons turned worse and people were abusing the organisers, etc, etc. I saw some had literally stolen some of the equipment (or prizes) at the games. There was one guy with a mike from the event management firm, who said that we could give the free petrol voucher and that they would send it to us later, but people were abusing him, furious at the mess and the way they were treated and demanding that someone from Maruti come, but no one from Maruti was around.

Me and my friend decided it wasn't worth fighting and abusing over 10 litres of petrol and handed over our coupons. As we were walking out we saw a queue (and chaos) where a counter had been opened for distribution. On the way out I saw some cops and they were told about the mess inside and that fights were breaking out.

What really disappointed me is the way Maruti treated us. We had come on a Sunday morning to be part of a world record attempt. But Maruti only seemed interested in getting the event started; once it started (and I assume the record was ratified), Maruti just disappeared from the scene. I could see angry customers and participants asking for Maruti reps, but there was no one around the event management company simply packed up. Before the event, two senior Maruti executives spoke (one was the regional head in Mumbai), but they had ALL disappeared even before the event ended! Pathetic show and lousy leadership!!

Another disappointment was with fellow participants. Despite written instructions, everybody was overtaking, etc. Agreed, Maruti should have planned better and pilot cars and monitoring, but to break rules at the first opportunity--is there any hope for our nation if we can't even do a small thing like this without trying to get ahead and squeeze someone else out?

I don't know if I'll get the 10 litres petrol voucher (they handed over vouchers to some and to others like me they said they would send it later...how will they know the difference?) and feel like a fool for having spent money and wasted time in this effort.

Also, I wonder if the entire record thing was a scam, because as mentioned earlier when I checked a few minutes before the parade started there were only around 390 cars in the ground and many others were still outside. Also, with no directions and markers, who is to know how many cars actually were part of the parade/completed the route? Plus, no one was there to take the coupon supposed to be handed over at the end of the parade--I still have mine with me!!!! Is Guinness really checking this scam????

One record Maruti did set today--hundreds of Swift owners were very disappointed and angry and that is SURELY A RECORD FOR PISSING OFF CUSTOMERS in just one event!

I'm NEVER going for any Maruti event again! There's no point in being loyal and caring about a brand when the company doesn't care at all and just sees customers as people to be used and discarded.

-Ivor

[ivor]

This event was a complete MESS. Bangalore folks, you were LUCKY Maruti didn't hold it in your city! The company just took everyone for a ride and the record was a scam too in my opinion...

More here: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ml#post1912293

[sjcherian]

Nice - great to see the scene in Mumbai was no different from Chennai. I will be doing a detailed writeup later. there was some semblance of order in the beginning. But from when people were told they would get on track there was chaos. I enjoyed seeing the 600+ swifts that showed up (saw numbers of 600+ on sides of cars) but the enthusiasm died the moment the charade/parade got on the track and people ignored all guidelines given in printed form. Narrowly escaped getting hit by a "Racer" idiot in a Azure grey Swift (wish I had his registration number). Saw lots of cars run into each other. I was really worried my car would get hit the way the people were driving. Then the gridlock caused due to the incompetence of the organizers and having to sit in jams on the track for 2 rounds !
I finally got out of MMSC Chennai only by 12.45 PM and then had lunch on way and reached home only by 3 PM !!!!! Huge Traffic jam on the race track. People were racing on the track and there was no one to regulate flow.

I got the damn amusement park tickets and the fuel card on the way out through a side exit - but no certificate of record participation. The event management company needs a good thrashing for sure for spoiling what could have been a really good chance to have a great event !

Curious to see if Delhi was any different !

[shubhox]

Originally Posted by ivor

This event was a complete MESS. Bangalore folks, you were LUCKY Maruti didn't hold it in your city! The company just took everyone for a ride and the record was a scam too in my opinion...

More here: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ml#post1912293

I agree with Ivor...I was there at the Chennai location today - it started off fine, but was completely mismanaged in the end...I think the organizers did not anticipate over 600 Swifts turning up at Chennai.

I reached the venue dot at 8, and was given a kit (bag) and ticket no 294, along with a registration form, which was needed to be submitted at the end. All the cars were parked in an area adjacent to the racing track, and we were told that breakfast was provided for all the participants. Initially, it looked like the first 200 cars (with sticker numbers up to 200) will be paraded at the racing track first, and then the next 200, and so on. So far so good.

Then the torture started. After waiting for 3 hours at the parking area, all the attendees lost their patience. The numbered sequence for the parade was broken and everyone was racing each other. I saw participants with ticket nos in the six-hundreds, ahead of the people, who were in the tens.

The made us go round the racing track twice, and then there was the queue to receive the certificate - it was so badly managed that we had to wait in the queue for nearly 2 hours.

In the end, they did not take my form, and I did not get any certificate or other goodies - just a handwritten petrol voucher, which I doubt will work. According to the organizers, all the kits have been given out. I saw many other participants arguing heatedly with the organizers - they were clearly pissed at waiting for over 6 hours at the venue. Besides me, I saw the participant with ticket no 001. The organizers promised to call me later for the rest of the stuff, which I again doubt that they will.

As consolation, I asked an organizer if we created the record, at least. The Maruti guy came close to swearing and said 'some screw-up happened'!!!! If this is the situation with the Maruti people themselves, imagine how some of the participants were feeling...

It seems the same happened at Mumbai - how did it go at the Delhi location?

[samdarshi.pali]

I think to start a new thread to share my experience but found an existing thread for the similar experience.

I’ve just come back from the BKC – the venue of Maruti Suzuki’s ‘The Incredible Swift Record of Records’ event at Mumbai. I’m very sorry to report that extreme chaos marred the whole event.

Maruti Suzuki has well advertised the event & promoted it aggressively through their dealers. Dealers advised to came with family & friends. As a Swift owner, I received multiple calls from SK Wheels, Navi Mumbai to participate in the event. There were many enthusiastic Swift customers present at the venue. I reached there at 8:05 AM. Initial few minutes were fun when everyone was happy to be the part of a record making event.

Soon there were visible signs of mismanagement. There were no arrangements for proper movement and coordinating the traffic for large number of Swifts. There were no communication to the participating customers sitting in their car with their family & friends. Some customers were there with very young kids and senior citizens. There was absolutely no coordination among various peoples from the different Maruti Dealers.

There were very slow or no movement of participating Swifts. There was no one available to explain what is happening ahead. Around 9:30 AM people became impatient and some of the participants locked their car and went to find out what’s happening. This again hindered the flow of participating cars.

Some participants soon find out that there are more than estimated cars presents at the event. Soon a truth exposed to participants that available gift bags/snacks packs are not sufficient for all participants. (Who leaked it? May be some one from the dealers who try to handover gifts/snacks out of turn to their own customers). This started the most humiliating experience for the customers. There were scenes where people were fighting / snatching for gift bags. Customers were refused water bottles/drinks. Most sufferers were the civilized, decent participants who were patiently maintaining discipline and waiting for their turn. Finally when they reached to parade ground, there were nothing left – no one was there to record their presence, to acknowledge their participation.

Some of the participants confronted with organizers and they get a reply that their participation acknowledgement will be sent to their home address.

What Went Wrong?

1. Event was poorly organized. There were no estimates of participation.
2. No arrangement to manage flow of cars, guide participants
3. No public address system to communicate with the participants
4. No coordination between different Maruti dealers who looks like doing their own things independently
5. No arrangements for elders & kids who were suffering in this May heat

I have always heard good words about Maruti customer services but this experience is very poor. This was the most humiliating experience for hundreds of customers. I don’t know if there is an award for humiliating customers by a company on a single day/venue but today Maruti Suzuki have certainly set that record at BKC, Mumbai.

What is the status of Guinness Record? One of the organizers told me that Guinness officials will audit the parade participation and then declare the same. (One of the organizers - ? person in white t-shirt with swift logo. I try to find out some names of the officials responsible for the event but could not get a single name).

Hopefully Maruti Suzuki should get Guinness Record. There were toooo many Swifts at BKC today.

[clevermax]

What?!! Swift is too common on Indian roads, and still they sweated to organize 550 cars for a parade?

In fact, there is no need for a parade, just wait and count the number of Swifts for an hour and claim Guinness world record!

[gvvictor]

chennai is no different.Customers went overboard and messed up. Many got fuel vouchers,goodies many times but others were left empty. Owners shouted,fighted. See the apologies from Maruti people
MarutiSuzukiSwift | Facebook
marutisuzukitiswift (marutiswift) on Twitter

[khoj]

@ivor

Very sorry to hear about your sad experience, that is a weird turn of events.
I had registered too for the Bombay event and received a confirmation mail, however as I am stuck in Delhi I could not make it and now after reading the above I thank God for being stuck here.