[GTO]

We'd taken 2 cars to Pawna last weekend. It was a beautiful drive on an expressway that was surprisingly empty. Reached the house at sunset.

At about 9 p.m., the chauffeur took my brother-in-law's Freelander to the Pawna market area for some work. It's barely a 15 minute drive. On the way back, the chauffeur lost control on the narrow terrain. Net result: The left side of the SUV was thrown off the road. Luckily, no one was injured. We rushed to the vehicle immediately and it was obvious that there was severe mechanical damage. The front left wheel was pushed back & touching the fender, while the suspension components had taken a severe hit. Equally, we didn't want to leave the vehicle there and block the road for trucks / risk further damage. With the help of a tractor, the Freelander was moved onto a grassland right across. The area is totally isolated, hence parking the Freelander in the middle of nowhere wasn't an option. We had to get it out and fast.

I called a cell number I had of the Land Rover showroom. Immediately, the courteous gentleman forwarded me the contact for the 24x7 roadside assistance.

At 10 p.m., I dialed the helpline which was answered by an equally courteous fellow. Upon hearing about the accident, his first question was "Sir, I hope no one is injured?". He sounded relieved when I replied in the negative.

At 11 p.m., they called me back informing that a flatbed truck had been dispatched from Pune.

Even the two technicians who manned the truck were thoroughly professional. For one, they didn't keep calling & asking for directions (even though we were in what is a remote location). Once explained, properly understood.

At 1 a.m., they reached the village. The truck was in good shape; couldn't tell whether it was new or just well-maintained. The technicians first examined the vehicle, made reasonably accurate guesstimates of the damage and got the Freelander onboard safely. They carried out the necessary steps to secure it nice & tight on the flatbed.

At 2 a.m., the flatbed was on its way to Mumbai. A handful of hours later, we were informed that the vehicle has reached Land Rover's Worli workshop.

24x7 Roadside assistance is a service one doesn't use often. Honestly, I haven't in the last 10 years. Still, nice to know that Tata / Land Rover's network runs like a well-oiled machine in times of need . Lets not forget that I called them from the middle of nowhere & rather late at night.

to the flawless support experience.

Apologies for the poor pics. Zero street lighting, a light drizzle & cellphone cameras!

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to Street Experiences.

[Chetan_Rao]

Good job by the Roadside Assistance guys

In a market crowded with competent cars, good service makes the difference, as amply demonstrated by the Indian car market.

Gives a customer enormous confidence in the brand, if he can rely on help from the people who sold him the car irrespective of location or time of day.

[LP640]

What a relief to hear that such service (although normally expected for a premium vehicle) is still practically offered by some manufacturers.

Hearing all horror stories of bad service at workshop (eg. VW group) and below average road side assistance, I had just lost hopes on nearly all manufacturer's 24x7 helplines!

The faith is back though!
Way to go Land Rover!

[dass]

This is a much better experience than the Maruti RSA that I had to use recently. Not only were the people manning the desk unprofessional, they cared a dime towards the plight or time of the customer.

Thankfully no one was hurt. a big thumbs up to the LR RSA. Premium service for premuim products.

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by dass

This is a much better experience than the Maruti RSA that I had to use recently. Not only were the people manning the desk unprofessional, they cared a dime towards the plight or time of the customer.

Thankfully no one was hurt. a big thumbs up to the LR RSA. Premium service for premuim products.

While I appreciate Land Rover's prompt service, I don't believe it should be restricted to 'Premium service for premium products'.

A 5-lakh rupee customer deserves help as much as a 50-lakh rupee one. I hope the good service is not restricted to Tata's premium brand(s) alone.

[dass]

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

A 5-lakh rupee customer deserves help as much as a 50-lakh rupee one. I hope the good service is not restricted to Tata's premium brand(s) alone.

Well, what we deserve is a question that can mean different things to different people. Do you realistically think Tata would have provided the same kind of service to a Indica Vista, or rather to an Indicab if it were to have been in the same situation? I have owned a tata for over 7 years and have experienced their service and hence the quote.

OT - For me personally, the Maruti RSA was a disappointment. They do not even have the basic facility to transfer the call to the nearest service centre, they asked me to note down the number and call them myself. . They did not even offer to have the service centre personell call me, as I believe they already knew that the personnel may be sleeping and difficult to catch hold of them and I have a 8L product so as to speak.

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by dass

Well, what we deserve is a question that can mean different things to different people. Do you realistically think Tata would have provided the same kind of service to a Indica Vista, or rather to an Indicab if it were to have been in the same situation? I have owned a tata for over 7 years and have experienced their service and hence the quote.

OT - For me personally, the Maruti RSA was a disappointment. They do not even have the basic facility to transfer the call to the nearest service centre, they asked me to note down the number and call them myself. . They did not even offer to have the service centre personell call me, as I believe they already knew that the personnel may be sleeping and difficult to catch hold of them and I have a 8L product so as to speak.

The 'deserving' aspect is as much a problem with us as with the manufacturers.
We tend to assume that owning a relatively 'cheap' car doesn't entitle us to prompt assistance during emergencies.

As for what counts as 'deserving', most people are just looking for reassurance when they call a distress helpline, that there's someone available and willing to supply assistance. Most people I know (myself included) are more than willing to pay (reasonably) for such services, but what everyone dreads is an unanswered distress call.

We need to start expecting more (and of course be willing to pay reasonably) in the services arena. Our manufacturers are getting away with lousy products and incompetent service because we're letting them.

[MaxTorque]

Now this what a benchmark for other Road Side Assistance program. Any specific reason for taking the vehicle to Worli and not to Pune?

I just remembered the Renault India's road side assistance experience narrated by our fellow Team-BHPian.

[abishek2222]

Nice to know Road side assistance works.Damage appears quite severe, Will you claim insurance on the damages or how does it work.

[ghodlur]

Thats appreciable from the OEM. Infact the car companies are soon realising that one of the ways of winning customer confidence and satisfaction is to improve the availability in times when most required. Also the RSA does need an exhaustive infrastructure - a dedicated line to answer all queries and soothe some nerves, a good logistics team and a will to help the customers. Hope all car manufacturers take a cue from Landrover and build upon the same.

Thanks GTO for the information.

[rahulsharma2008]

On second thoughts, was the prompt action and flawless support being given to you because you are GTO from Team-BHP? I am sure they must have taken note of the same when you had called them and given your identity (i.e. Name, Car Number etc.)

Nonetheless, a thumbs up to the guys at Land Rover. The location indeed seems to be middle of nowhere.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by rahulsharma2008

On second thoughts, was the prompt action and flawless support being given to you because you are GTO from Team-BHP? I am sure they must have taken note of the same when you had called them and given your identity (i.e. Name, Car Number etc.)

Nonetheless, a thumbs up to the guys at Land Rover. The location indeed seems to be middle of nowhere.

It's not his car so there's no way they will know that.

[wanderernomad]

Recently when the right axle of my baleno broke near Kummarhati at around 7 PM the nearest MASS also responded most favorably to tow the vehicle back to the garage. The Goodyear road side assistance wanted 2500 inr for the job and also that it would take them about 3 hours to reach the spot. The MASS guys reached within 30 minutes and the beauty is that they did not even charge for the Tow as the vehicle is serviced by them only. They were also very polite and made a good and correct assessment of the problem by the roadside itself. So I think that the attitude depends upon the individuals manning such services and also on the manufacturers training and control over their customer centric services.

[Jaggu]

Ouch! But this is a nice experience for a change and that too from a premium brand. Hope the damage is minimal and vehicle back in shape soon