[swiftnfurious]

I can't believe what I read. Its such a shame and I really hope this thread gets a lot of eye balls. Am sharing this within my groups for sure.

I had gone to this showroom to enquire about polishing for my CBR and the attitude of the manager left wanting big time. He was like "why do you waste my time" and just walked off. I have also noticed that the charges are unreasonable and will never go to 3M. There are good outlets (TopCoat in directory) who will do high quality work and we don't even have to wait in their place.

[somspaple]

Originally Posted by thirdmainroad

Update: No doubt left that I was cheated for a year and 3 months!!

They “reinstalled” the film yesterday on windows and rear.

At least this time around hope they peeled off the 'old' film that you had earlier on the windows [over which they fraudulently had installed 3M film] . Ridiculous to say the least.

[ash22]

That is unacceptable from the 3M store. I have personally been to the same shop twice for a wash and wax. But never expected this behaviour from them. Wish there was a Dashcam to record all those. I feel, It is better to keep a dashcam atleast when we leave our beloved car for service and other works in the workshops.

As GTO said, Social media shaming would be the best way to make them understand the seriousness. I have already shared this in my social media to make more impact.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by thirdmainroad

Indeed! And even I would have left a good rating!

No contact from 3M yet. I doubt they will reply to my email. Looks like they are in league with their franchises.

Thank you for sharing this here. The negative publicity would cripple the 3M franchise business.
At least they replaced the old film with the genuine 3M CR70 film now. It saved you the hassles of going to the court.
I don't think you will get a reply from 3 M - not even a canned reply. 3M is a multi billion dollar company with thousands of products portfolio and millions of customers worldwide. They can't answer to every shortcomings of their franchises. If the complaints mount against one particular franchise, his account might be terminated. They won't answer to individual customers for the fear of opening a Pandora's box.

[ACM]

But aren't Film's itself illegal? Has the law changed recently?

How is 3M legally providing this service?

Would any court entertain a case such as this of being cheated using an illegal product.

Isn't this like someone procuring say drugs and getting sugar or salt instead of the real stuff and then going to the courts about it?

What am I missing?

PS: I don't have too much faith in the 3M services, which I used to avail quite a bit earlier.

[silverado]

Originally Posted by blackwasp

I have stopped going to any 3M store e
2. Shop staff / owners trying to make a quick buck

My suggestion to all is to approach these chaps, and not the brand stores.

+1

For a brand which charges a hefty sum for its work, the work leaves things to be desired. I had this experience in Mumbai twice and since then i have decided to stay away from 3M.

Even the 3M shampoo that i ordered recently is not as thick as the one i had ordered year ago, have you guys experienced this with shampoo?

Its absolutely illegal to have films fitted, but i guess you can get away by fitting one on front windscreen where i feel its the most necessary especially in cars with big screens - eg Hexa/Zest.

Its time we as a community should try to find an alternative to 3M.

[Potenza]

Wait a minute. Aren't sun films of any kind illegal? Or am I missing out on something? Did they become legal again?

If they're still illegal, then I really wonder how anyone can legally continue to sell them and why are people installing them. And if they're legal now can someone please point me out to the correct source of information?

[arjab]

The quality of service of 3M Car Care Centre's in Chennai is not the same compared to what it was before.
Too many 3M franchises, cut-throat competition, stiff monthly sales targets, a callous & lackadaisical attitude and a willingness to make a fast buck drive all of these outlets to adopt ways and means which are not proper.

I had been visiting 3M ever since the time they opened their first outlet at Nungambakkam,(near Valluvarkottam crossing). At that time there was a certain Mr. Dushy in charge of the franchise and operations. Genuinely knowledgeable and with an eye for detail, he used to make sure each and every vehicle passed his scrutiny before being delivered to the customer. I had got my Swift and the wifey's Nano detailed, PPF'd, CR-70'd, somewhere around early 2015 and they still hold good to this day.

Later I came to know Mr Dushy had left Nungambakkam outlet and opened another outlet on Mount Road(near Nandanam signal) - which suffered tremendous damages in the Chennai floods of 2015 and later on closed , due to some rental disagreements.
Last i heard, and this is a 3 year old news, that somewhere near Kodambakkam, Dushy had made an outlet, but whether that still exists I am not aware.
In short, 3M has completely lost the goodwill that it had initially earned in Chennai, largely due to Dushy's good work.

Sorry to see such a reputed brand getting culled due to sheer callousness by an incompetent bunch of franchise owners.

[Stribog]

Originally Posted by thirdmainroad

indeed!

I can recommend Detailing Mafia Anna Nagar for ppf, cleaning, ceramic etc and Jeewajee Anna Nagar and Mount Road for all accessories including sun film and audio. They were honest to a fault, repeatedly even turn away business because it is not recommended.

Like I wanted to install a Touchscreen HU on my fluidic, in 2013 the cost was 30k, but Jeewajee flatly said no, that it was a waste of money and they will do it it I insisted but the look of the car be gone for incremental difference. They instead said go in for better quality speakers and I did. It cost me 10k, but Jeewajee saved me 20k at his cost.

I can blindly vouch for them, their work is professional to a core, and cheating does not exist in their dictionary.

Note I have no association with either brands, just a loyal and happy customer. I have recommended 3 more to Detailing Mafia (one was my BIL who ppf'd his 5 series and creta and did some interior waterproofing and my boss for his Velar and they are all happy). I have over the past 9 years recommended at least 15-20 people to Jeewajee and they all are repeat customers now.

Originally Posted by Potenza

Wait a minute. Aren't sun films of any kind illegal? Or am I missing out on something? Did they become legal again?

If they're still illegal, then I really wonder how anyone can legally continue to sell them and why are people installing them. And if they're legal now can someone please point me out to the correct source of information?

If am not mistaken, sun film is allowed upto 70% transparency and also allowed in the front windshield for sure.

Someone can correct me if I am wrong.

Also mods requesting you to please merge these two threads.

[Potenza]

Originally Posted by Stribog

If am not mistaken, sun film is allowed upto 70% transparency and also allowed in the front windshield for sure.

Someone can correct me if I am wrong.

Also mods requesting you to please merge these two threads.

Given below is the wording from the original Supreme Court Ruling from 2011 which clearly mentions that while tinted glasses are allowed, sun films of any kind and of any VLT% are not permitted:

Writ Petition (Civil ) No. 265 of 2011

“The manufacturer of the vehicle may manufacture the vehicles with tinted glasses which have Visual Light Transmission (VLT) of safety glasses windscreen (front and rear) as 70 per cent VLT and side glasses as 40 per cent VLT, respectively. No black film or any other material can be pasted on the windscreens and side glasses of a vehicle.

For the reasons afore-stated, we prohibit the use of black films of any VLT percentage or any other material upon the safety glasses, windscreens (front and rear) and side glasses of all vehicles throughout the country. The Home Secretary, Director General/Commissioner of Police of the respective States/Centre shall ensure compliance with this direction. The directions contained in this judgment shall become operative and enforceable with effect from 4th May, 2012.”

***RULING ENDS***


Now, is there a revised ruling on this topic? If yes, can someone please put it up for our benefit?

[GTO]

Originally Posted by ACM

But aren't Film's itself illegal? Has the law changed recently?

Originally Posted by Potenza

Wait a minute. Aren't sun films of any kind illegal?

Mod Note: Let's please not take the thread off-topic. We have other threads to discuss the legality of (or lack of) sunfilm. This thread should only focus on the 3M Fraud.

[Sebring]

3M installed CR 70 film (throughout) in my car, and I was present during installation even if it took all day. On the windscreen (only on that portion) I noticed bubbles, which they said would go away in 4 days. Post a week it did not go away so I wrote to 3M, requesting to meet the brand manager in charge of the product - stating my case. Within no time the owner of the outlet called me for an inspection, and after doing so pulled up his staff, and replaced the film costing almost 8 grand FOC. I was really taken aback with his humility and professional approach. He remains a good friend till date, and I call on him when I visit Bangalore. So 3M does have a strict policy to deal with such matters (as stated by the owner), and I have full confidence that this matter will be resolved. The film performs well even after two and a half years, and yes, the glare from incoming vehicle is reduced considerably with the original CR 70 (besides cabin heat).

[M^3]

I sincerely empathise with the OP as I have had some not so good experiences with 3M in Chennai. I was certain that the 3M shops would make headlines one day for their employees' attitude. But this is a whole other level of fraud and reason enough to penalize them as you see fit. I had visited the said shop and the one on OMR couple of years back.

The visit to the OMR one was for the underbody coating. Since they said it would take up to 3 hours, I decided to leave the facility and come back later. On my return, I could see that vehicle was parked outside, but with engine on, and an employee was enjoying the air-conditioning in full blast. Upon seeing me, he may have realised I could be the owner and soon switched off the car (engine, but not the AC) and left in a hurry. Even though I am very particular about how my vehicle is to be treated, I could understand a person's temptation to cool down in Chennai's hot weather and didn't make a fuss about it. But I made sure that I never visited that shop afterwards.

The visit to Thiruvanmiyur one was for a regular wash and wax and they did a satisfactory job. However, the vehicle was again mishandled by the floor manager who apparently forgot to press the clutch fully while slotting in the reverse gear. I was standing by, listening to that grinding noise and I couldn't believe the casual manner in which they were handling customer vehicles. Never went to the same place again even though it's hardly a KM from my house.

These may be silly incidents for many, but I am sure there are a few folks on this forum who love their cars to bits and will understand how such experiences would turn you away from places like these, no matter even if they hold the 'gold standard' in car care. I, for one, have never walked into a 3M shop after these episodes and never will, again.

[thirdmainroad]

Update: Have been contacted by the 3M regional Manager and the franchisee owner made a personal visit to my house to apologize.

I got a call today from the franchise owner, Mr Raghu and he asked me for the details, and expressed his shock and regret. He said he had come across this post and made inquiries and would come and meet me personally.

I soon got a call from the 3M regional manager, Mr Rastogi. He told me his friend had bought to his attention this post, and he was shocked and angry. He had an extensive dialogue with me. I explained the issue to him, and also pointed out that if 3M had measures like light meters or such at the outlets, it would prevent issues like this happening and will also raise customers satisfaction and confidence. He said they are working on precisely this. He offered to have my car checked at another outlet for all work carried out, and also offered a free UV coat for the car as token of apology. I was not after freebies and told him so, but he insisted. He said that strict measures would be taken against the outlet, and that they might even shut them down. I was against them shutting down the outlet, I think it is a bit too drastic and told him so. I am not here for revenge or such, but to get my matter solved and also to make sure this does not happen to anyone in the future.

Mr Raghu then personally paid a visit to my house and apologized. He seemed to be good chap, and I accepted his apology. He said that he always strives to be ethical and truthful and that as a business owner of multiple showrooms and other lines, he cannot be at the store all times, and perhaps his ex manager who was of doubtful character had swindled both him and me. He says he will go back and look at his records and contact anyone he feels might have been in the same situation of him.

Well, what can I say!? As a business owner myself in the manufacturing sector with a factory located in a different town, I can empathize with him about some employees who have been given responsibility and trust not living up to it. And as him, I cannot spend all my time at the factory. I have however, tried to mitigate this sort of thing by having constant quality checks and cross responsibilities of managers. But I too can never be 100% sure that some of our very expensive raw materials don't make their way out.

At the end of the day, they did replace the film without too much of a fuss - whether this was to cover up or not is a different matter but they could have made me run around which they did not to their credit.

Thanks to Team BHP, I got a call from the 3M management, and am due for further checks to put my mind to rest.

I suppose its best to hope that the franchisee has learnt a lesson - be it what it may be - that they have issues with staff or cheating will come to light eventually, and hopefully this is a wake up call to 3M as well to put stronger quality checks in place.

I am personally going to treat this matter as resolved as soon as I get everything else checked for my satisfaction and treat it as water under the bridge. Not here for revenge or compensation.

Thank you Team BHP, GTO for highlighting this. The power of a team and social media is truly awesome.

That said, I would like to personally make a request - If you guys think it fit, I would like to request that you remove this thread from the news, hot topics and on Facebook. I did ask for it, but have now been reached out by the people involved. And it is also a very difficult time for businesses - overhead costs are the same, business is at an all time low, and I do not want the 3M franchisee to pay too much of a price. I am sure they have learnt their lesson and will be careful in the future.

Thank you all for your time and comments and support! You guys ROCK!!

[Traveler]

That's the power of TBHP. We rock.