[The Rationalist]

Having lived with a Zen for 14 years and being with a Ford Aspire for 2 years, let me tell my side.

It all boils down to how you deal with others. I had a great relationship with Maruti ASS and FNG all these 14 years and they never made any qualms about it being a small or cheaper car. I was very friendly with all the service guys that I ended up becoming friends with quite a few and some even remember me from 2004-05 when I last had their service! I attended the marriages of some and they were so happy!

With Ford, I have gone a segment higher and I'm feeling upset with the treatment being doled out as I have been busy with stuff and haven't got time to be friendly. With getting older, I hardly have time for rapport building. But I guess, I have no way out. I know becoming friendly is not easy, but it does work wonders with people. After all most human beings are of good nature, its the work stress that gets us all. Today I have to deal with Ford ASS after they made a mess out of last service. Will post my experience later.

[gkveda]

In my view, this is a business decision rather than big/small/luxury/non luxurious cars.

It depends upon the perception of the dealer/mechanic on how much money he/she can get if he attends the issue. If he perceives that he gets more money or business(Short term/long term etc), then, his attention increases to resolve and vice versa

Second thing he considers is, how bullish/friendly the owner is and how hard/soft he is? probably, the below flow chart gives better understanding:

Case 1: OWNER is NOT friend and Not known:
If he perceives , owner is soft, tolerant, his attention will be reduced to that extent
If he perceives the owner is bullish, goes to any extent to get the problem solved, his attention will increase

Case 2: OWNER is friend and known :
If he perceives , owner is soft, tolerant, his attention will increase but try to convince the owner the problem is solved using his friendly behavior to that extent
If he perceives the owner is bullish, goes to any extent to get the problem solved, his attention will increase and will not try to convince by partially resolving the issue

but, in my view, business benefit is the top priority above all

[invidious]

I believe it is all about looks. For most Indians the car is still a very aspirational product. The more premium a product looks, the more likely you are to get better service or believe to reside in a certain economic strata. I am not referring to mechanics but to the general population. If you own a Vento and a Fiat 500 or SMART - chances are, to the average man the Vento looks more expensive. People who work with cars - i.e. valets, parking attendants and mechanics know the differences in brands and models but that doesn't hold true for your average citizen.

[locusjag]

Originally Posted by crdi

I have many times experienced the other extreme of this scenario, i.e. being obviously discriminated against when you are in a bigger/expensive car.

...

Maybe they feel the grudge of some other occasion wherein they were offended by some stupid elitist. Discriminations of all sorts will happen as long as the extreme social disparity exists in the nation.

Allow me to add +1 to your post - God forbid a person owning a costlier car hits a cow or gets into some other kind of accident, versus a guy who owns a plain jane Maruti Omni. The public's ire goes up by several sanctimonious and self-righteous notches. All money is bad money in the public's eyes. The rich have no virtues while the poor are virtuous, when you get into an accident. With this stick, they get to beat the "rich" car owners into shelling out money to a lot of people who surround them at the accident scene.

Sometimes, owning a beat-up car is a smart thing.

I have seen a Skoda Octavia owner getting his skull carved out with a stone on the IT highway in Chennai in 2008 when he hit a cow, versus other accidents involving cheaper cars...

[silverado]

I own a Nano, and at times people expect me to stop at intersections even if I am early in it. The thing which irks some drivers is a Nano overtaking them.Its funny to see people who are cruising, hell bent on overtaking you.

Apart from this I have not faced much discrimination surprisingly , given that Nano is looked down upon, even in comparison to a Alto.

I have got the best treatment and service at TATA Motors, and I am glad to say they do not discriminate.
My Nano has been fitted with Skoda type horn and that makes a difference when I need to honk

[tsk1979]

Hmm, I see a lot of fine discussion here, so I guess its time to pitch in my two cents. Indian public interactions with service providers (govt or private) usually depends on two criteria.

How much benefit you can provide to the guy interacting with you
How much harm you can do to the guy interacting with you.

So if the local strongman goes for a driving test, he will get better service than a bribe giver, because the harm potential is more.
Similarly when a Tata Aria goes to the TASS, the benefit potential is far more due to more expensive parts, than a humble Indica. Plus, there is a slight harm potential, as an Aria owner raising hue and cry will make the higher ups sit and take notice.

So in this case, when you have an Indica, an Alto, and old vehicle with not so expensive parts, you cannot transform that into a BMW with expensive parts(though, some magical service centers which specialize in this do exist, where your indica repair can cost as much as a BMW from a used market, but I digress.. pardon me).

So in the absence of the Alto/Indica transformation technology, you have to transform something else, and use the "Fear/Harm" quotient to get better service

So, instead of looking like this


You should look like this


If you are in a rural setting, this is even better

[nikhilarni]

Originally Posted by centaur

Valet's tend to take the bigger/more expensive cars for parking first and only when they don't have any other in line, do they consider the cheaper/smaller ones.

If you go to a mall/multiplex and have a smaller/cheaper car, you get the most remote, dingy and dirtiest parking space the parking guy can find you while the bigger/swanky cars get the best parking lots.

I totally agree. I used to drive an i20 and would find that the parking spots that I would be directed to were the corner ones in the end of the mall. I stopped giving my car to the valet attendants simply because they would either bang the doors or drive in a rash manner.

I had also faced the same issue when I had gone to a Mahindra First Choice in Pune. However, its a little lesser if you go to a ASS.

[Sawyer]

Never faced any but a positive kind for/with my cheap Gypsy!

[naveen.raju]

I hotels, yes. I have faced this numerous times. Had gone for the Lambo preview here in Cochin and the guard wasnt keen in letting my Ecosport park next to R8's, AMG's etc. But somehow, I did manage to sneak in. Even in other hotels, the valet do take time or shows no interest in parking your car, whereas you bring a luxury car and they run towards your car. You definitely feel you have arrived from a different planet.

Mall parking is quite different here. Of course, luxury cars do get priority parking at times. But in one popular mall here where it's very crowded, I tend to use 1 or 2 tricks.
Staff - Sir, no parking. Please use the second level basement.
Me - I bought a TV and have come to pick it up. So need one near the entrance.
Staff - Oh, please go ahead sir.

It might be difficult to find a spot even if they let you in, but I do find myself lucky in most occasions. Few of my friends have already started using this trick and they like it.

[knaveen]

Originally Posted by silverado

I own a Nano, and at times people expect me to stop at intersections even if I am early in it. The thing which irks some drivers is a Nano overtaking them.Its funny to see people who are cruising, hell bent on overtaking you.

Apart from this I have not faced much discrimination surprisingly , given that Nano is looked down upon, even in comparison to a Alto.

I have got the best treatment and service at TATA Motors, and I am glad to say they do not discriminate.
My Nano has been fitted with Skoda type horn and that makes a difference when I need to honk

I own a Nano as well. These are somethings that i can relate . Everybody expects you to give way. One of the first things that i installed is a Hella RedGrill horn. This makes wonders when i want a truck/bus make way. They usually expect a bigger car when the hear the horn and when they see me pass by in the Nano .

[psn]

I definitely would not use the term discrimination however I will try and post my views on the basis of my observation, my own behavior and experience of a owning big and a small car.

About being treated disrespectfully if I am driving an Alto or equal car: Yes, I believe that people do tend to come closer, push you around more, as they would to a much more expensive car. I think, this is a more social thing, wherein we are unfortunately giving more respect to people with money than we do to people with lesser money. Its sad and wrong and not justified.

About being treated differently in Service centers: I have personally not experienced any difference while dealing with service center people, even if i have a smaller car. When we had an Alto, I still remember Maruti service center people, taking out the time to understand each and every niggle and providing a workable yet economical solutions.
Today when I take a Skoda Fabia, a small car in skoda stable, I still get the SE taking out time and also complimenting me for having maintained the car the way it is. Infact, Mahaveer Skoda has just arranged for carpeted Coaster for the front cup holder. This was after i had just written one mail to Skoda customer service mail id. They, in fact were willing to come all the way to take photograph of the cup holder, as they couldn't understand me clearly.

Chevrolet Cruze: Though it is a big car, my SE tells me that a lot of people send big cars with drivers, and there are few enthusiasts like me who are so involved in the process. With time, I am now, even allowed to go into the inspection bay and inspect with the SE.

In conclusion, people in small cars being bullied, is more a social problem than anything else. Being not treated well at the SC is more about the rapport that one is able to make with the SE or the management of the SC, irrespective of the vehicle size,class.

[howler]

This is not discrimination but the way of life . Equality is an unnatural phenomenon in a natural world and is absolutely acceptable if you choose to look at it philosophically. That is what makes us strive to be better ( good or bad) than the next person. Otherwise why would someone buy a Mercedes, BMW etc over an similarly specced Skoda or other? Let's not say driving pleasure since that argument will go in an entirely different direction. Money commands power and respect in the human world like size and brute strength does in the animal world.

[giri1.8]

I do feel discrimination comes down to what they feel as an instinct, yes better cars get better treatment, but cars like Bolero and Scorpio too get respect thanks to the kind of owner they get associated with.

Had a Sumo with myself for few days and was amazed at how everyone gave way! car could hardly touch 70 and people were so intimidated by its huge size and wide tyres as someone said it felt like being in a different planet.

On the contrary, I am almost invisible on my scooter which I use for daily commute. Cops once pulled me over and never even bothered to ask any questions, just checked the paper and waved me to move on.

[d_himan]

At a service centre I don't think there's much discrimination across types of cars. For those SAs/Mechanics, a car is just another item on their to-do tasks for the day, the type be damned. They anyway don't get rewarded separately by the customer in most cases.

On the road, I guess Altos/Nanos etc. get bullied as if they don't exist. Sedans try bullying hatbacks. SUVs try bullying everyone. Everyone's scared of rashly driven white taxis or cargo carrying vans. I've also seen luxury car bullying - "I know your rear view mirror costs a lac, let's see how scared you get"!

At Hotels etc., it's black and white. When I got out of a black GL350 CDI (a client's car and I was the lone passenger in the rear) at a 5*, I have NEVER even seen any Doorman/Valet RUN that fast ever towards a car to open the door! My laptop bag security check also did not happen. More money = better treatment.

[elishae]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

folks saying more money from a big car - Just wanted to know if the labour rates for workshop bills are calculated differently based on the car segment.
At least I did not benefit from any such financial reverse discrimination, because i used to be charged labour charges which were at par with TASC rates in the earlier shop.

I own a nano. While I agree on the discrimination front from technicians / valets / who ever, I do "appreciate" the reverse discrimination in terms of service charges, repair costs of owning a small vehicle. For e.g. under body protective coating costed me 800 rs, while other hatch owners are fleeced between 2k - 3k approx.

In my experience, I learned this reverse discrimination is "only" applicable for a Nano and not other small cars.