re: Crusoe Chronicles: Eleven years with a Fiat Linea TJet+ Another update:
Completed 13K today (8 months and 4 days). The past 1K took more time than usual as the Oceanic Blue Punto has taken the role of weekend car. So, trying to save money for another long trip on Crusoe.
Airbag failure issue is still present and hopefully will get rectified tomorrow. The reason has been identified (faulty battery) but the service guys want to conduct as many tests as possible before getting it replaced under warranty. I have made 3 trips to Oberoi for it and had an heated exchange during the last visit with their GM service. Finally, received a call from them today confirming that a spare battery is available and I can get it replaced tomorrow.
Here is the email communication between Mr. Gopalan and me.
Email from Mr. Gopalan after I left their showroom dejected with the level of service Quote:
Dear Mr. Ganguly,
On set we regret for the delay in attending your car for the Battery issue.
The battery voltage has to be as per the rating and less then this will
lead to the indication of Air Bag failure light. For this we may have to charge the battery for min 36 Hrs, ,for this the battery has to taken out of the car.
We did our best to see that a standby battery can be arranged for your car so that you will be not standard with out a car. However we regret we
could not make arrangement for a stand by battery suitable for linea T Jet as of now.
We will be able to arrange the battery by Monday , so that your car battery can be sent to Excide for checking , With this we will be able resolve the issue.
Kindly confirm your visit on Monday, so that the service battery can be made available . Kindly co operate with us , so that the issue in your car is resolved completely.
Thanks and Regards,
Rajagopalan,
Oberoi Cars,
Noida. |
Here's my response Quote:
Hello Mr. Gopalan,
I appreciate your reaching out to me on this issue. I can understand that your team is extremely busy and you don’t keep spare batteries available however, I booked the service appointment on Wednesday (October 24) and informed your team about the AirBag failure alarm. I also informed them that the car was checked at Him Motors and they topped up the battery fluids. Had your team been pro-active, they could have arranged a spare battery between Wednesday and Saturday.
The difference between customer satisfaction and delight is responsiveness of the customer service team. I certainly don’t see that level of responsiveness from your team. I am usually very busy on weekdays and it’s difficult for me to take time out. My office is in Sector 62, Noida. Is it possible for you to arrange the spare battery in your Sector 63 workshop on Wednesday (October 31)? I can reach there to get the battery replaced.
You are much older than me and I respect your experience and knowledge thus, I regret losing my temper that day. However, I am sure you will understand the frustration of an owner that waited at your service centre from 11 AM in the morning till 4 PM in anticipation of the Airbag failure alarm issue being sorted, and had to return without getting it sorted because a spare battery could not be arranged. Moreover, this was my third visit to the service centre for the same issue, on both the previous occasions the service associate was too busy to even listen to the issues. As a customer of Linea T-jet+ (your marquee product from Fiat stable) I do expect better responsiveness and customer orientation. I hope my expectations are not too high.
Please let me know, if a spare battery can be arranged at your sector 63 workshop and I will be glad to bring the car there on Wednesday.
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In all fairness, Mr Gopalan did try to help me but his team seemed too reluctant to work or find solutions. If there is an intent to serve but tools aren't present, I can understand but when I see a lack in intent to serve, the Taurus inside me comes to the fore.
Apart from this minor irritant, everything else is working fine and I love Crusoe. I gave it a good wash couple of weeks ago and then applied a coat of Eagle gel wax. Crusoe seems happy after the bath.
Fuel efficiency is around 10.5 with 100% city drive and AC. Last week while returning from Durga Puja around mid-night, drove it at a constant speed of 70 on empty roads of Delhi. Fuel efficiency for a stretch of ~25 KMs was 16.8 KMPL If only I could control the urge of driving this car the way it's meant to be, it would have proven to be an extremely fuel efficient car. Then on second thoughts, I never purchased it for fuel efficiency.
Since I keep switching between Crusoe and Neil (2012 Punto MJD), I find the ride on the 2012 Punto a bit bumpier (this is relative to the drive on T-jet) and the clutch on Punto seems extremely light compared to T-jet. Both the cars are extremely competent but the wow factor on Crusoe is difficult to match for most cars within 5-7 lacs of its price.
Will keep you guys posted on both Crusoe and Neil. Time to prepare an initial ownership review of Neil but it's yet to do the miles before I can share something substantive.
Cheers,
Biraj |