How a single email to TVS CEO turned my service nightmare around

I cannot imagine how other TVS Apache RTR 160 4V owners are on the road with about half oil in their front forks.

BHPian ManualMaestro recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Hello everyone,

Here is the link to my previous post on this topic.

I'm creating a new post to share the update with this community because I believe that it is really important for fellow owners of TVS vehicles to know the steps I went through and how they themselves can deal with bad ASCs.

So, as per the previous post, I started looking into how I can file a complaint in the Consumer Court. This whole ordeal of directly going to the Consumer Court came up in the first place only because I was not able to find the escalation matrix anywhere. Even their site simply mentioned the standard customer care email. However, when I started filling the form, I saw that you also need to have affidavits of some sort along with other legal documents and upload them.

Seeing that the process would mostly require a lawyer's intervention for proceeding smoothly, I decided to send one last mail listing all my previous complaints. This would also serve as proof of the multiple chances I gave them to resolve this issue. However, this time I was determined to loop someone higher up in the company to let my issue be heard. But, for the love of God, I could not find one single email of an executive in TVS.

Mail to the TVS CEO

As I was about to give up, as luck may have it, I found the CEO's email in a really interesting manner (a completely legal manner, mind you). And so, I sent my last "warning" to the customer care and CEO of TVS:

A simple and concise mail with all previous mail loops attached. I was really frustrated at this point and did not want to explain everything once again. To my surprise, the very next day, around 9:42 AM, mails started pouring in every 10 minutes from TVS. At first, I thought it was the regular "Your ticket has been created" mails, but then I saw the mail from the Mumbai/Pune circle:

I honestly expected my mail to go straight into the spam folder for the CEO, but the quick mails said otherwise.

Within 30 minutes, I got a call from the Mumbai circle. He was very apologetic and requested me to explain what happened, which I did, every single detail. He then requested 10 minutes and called back with the Circle head on conference. They both were very apologetic and ensured me that my issue will be resolved on the same day itself. I was offered pickup and repair service with same-day delivery, but I insisted on witnessing the repairs, to which they readily agreed. We agreed that I'll reach the ASC by 3 PM and TVS will arrange an OEM Technician who will oversee the entire process and ensure priority and professional work.

One thing they hesitantly asked me was how I got their CEO's email. I told them and also informed the reason for direct mail to the CEO, which was the absence of any sort of escalation matrix on their website, to which they assured me of updating.

Work on my TVS Apache begins

The time came, and I reached the ASC along with my friend, as a backup (if things went south, as they did in my last visit), but to my surprise, the OEM Tech had the entire ASC in under an audit of sorts. He was at the gate, waiting for my arrival. The Circle head ensured that I met him and handed over the rest to him. I feel weird saying this, but from then on, the very satisfying part started. We (Me and the OEM Tech) took a test ride and within a few meters, he recognised that the front end was extremely soft and had almost no rebound at all.

After confirming the issue, my bike was taken in withing minutes, the front end was disassembled to the last part (which the technicians had no idea how to, but the OEM Tech guided them and did most of it himself), religiously cleaned every part, replaced both fork seals free of cost, as I raised the suspicion of them failing because they had been opened multiple times by the ASC and that too with improper tools. Throughout the process, he taught the technicians the process for pumping oil, assembling, levelling the forks, and so on. He instructed the manager to change and get the old guide boards removed and replaced with new ones, along with ordering a set of proper tools for installing seals (the ASC did not have them, they previously used a screwdriver and hammer to install soft rubber seals). For my case, he brought the tools with him. He also warned the manager that he'll visit again in 2 days and check whether the changes have been done or not.

The oil was about 140 ml in both shocks. I can't imagine how many other 160 4V owners are on the road with about half as much oil in their front forks and experiencing instability at high speed.

He also adjusted the play in the gear lever, fixed one of the horns not firing occasionally, and most importantly, fixed a rattling noise from the front brake calliper region. Once I told him that such an issue existed, he took his time to first understand the issue and quickly diagnosed it while installing the wheel. It was apparently a slightly twisted mud guard bracket which was installed loosely so as to not disturb the front axle! This means all the times the front suspension was worked upon, the engineers noticed this and chose to ignore it!

Once he found out about that, he insisted on replacing it, at their own cost. Since the part was not available in the ASC, he lashed out at the manager, told her to place an order for it on the spot while he rode to the other ASC to get it for me. In 30 minutes or so, the new bracket was brought and installed. The rattling noise was also finally addressed (an old annoyance of mine, on which I had given up). We finally took a test ride again and the bike felt proper once again, solid suspension with rebound. The front handlebar height also came up, restoring the correct riding posture.

After a complimentary wash, the OEM Tech asked me to sign an acceptance of satisfactory repair form and urged me to contact him for any further issues. He told me that there is an escalation matrix in place, and it is on a board at every ASC. The same should have been communicated to me by the manager, which she didn't. Here are the details for the Mumbai/Pune area:

The L1 and L2 are usually the ASC managers themselves, so if they don't listen to you, just reach out to the L3 either via call or via mail, and according to OEM Tech, things get resolved at that stage only. He also told me that he is the person that the Head office sends to resolve issues that arise to L3 and up and that the company is trying hard to improve their service image.

While leaving the ASC, I overheard the OEM Tech advising the manager to get things in order, otherwise she might get in deep trouble. That was really satisfying to hear, especially after all the mental stress these guys put me through.

This is for all the TVS owners out there

If you are not satisfied with the service provided by the ASC / the repair work is not done properly / you feel performance degradation after service, reach out to the L3 manager (from L3 onwards, you directly contact the company and not the ASC) and your issue will be resolved properly by the company.

TVS is trying really hard to improve its service image and we as customers should know our rights. As for the CEO's email, if you want, you can find it, but I really won't suggest doing that, unless L3 and L4 executives cannot resolve your issue. Had I known that the escalation matrix existed, I would have followed it and got my issue resolved somewhat early.

I communicated the same to the OEM Tech that the website should have details of region-wise escalation matrix, to which he assured that he will pass on the message to the media team. Till then, I hope this post spreads awareness among fellow owners and empowers them against such bad ASCs.

Thank you for reading. If you have any follow-up questions, I'll try my best to answer them!

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