Being charged to wait whilst your car is serviced?

[bitchstewie]

Been meaning to mention this since hearing it on another thread and not quite believing it until I heard it again.

Apparently Mercedes charge £30 or so if you want to wait at the dealers whilst your car is serviced.

Any ideas why anyone would think that is an even vaguely good or acceptable thing in terms of keeping your customers happy?

Is it just Mercedes?

[anonymous-user]

I am sure it isn't a charge for waiting

I expect it is a premium charge to have your car serviced 'there and then' rather than them fitting it in around other stuff to have it ready for the end of the day

[Butter Face]

Lots of dealers do. The reasoning is that if you wait they have to do your job there and then, if you leave the car they can fit it in whenever they can through the day.

[750turbo]

Butter Face said:

Lots of dealers do. The reasoning is that if you wait they have to do your job there and then, if you leave the car they can fit it in whenever they can through the day.

Really? I have never came across it in my 30+ years being involved in the Motor Trade.

A decent booking/loading system system works wonders as a rule.

[HTP99]

What the first two replys have said.

A colleage has a Mercedes, a year or so ago he was showing me a price list of various service options that where avilable to customers; dropping it and leaving the car there for the day was the cheapest and then there were another two (I think) options available at varying price increases; each one had increased customer service options such as, waiting for it to be serviced, coffee, wifi, food, different waiting areas, courtesy cars, drop off and pick up to work or home etc.

The car itself had the same level of actual servicing.

Edited by HTP99 on Saturday 25th April 10:12

[blueST]

I got the impression my dealer prefers me to wait. I think they don't like customer cars cluttering the car park.

[Butter Face]

750turbo said:

Butter Face said:

Lots of dealers do. The reasoning is that if you wait they have to do your job there and then, if you leave the car they can fit it in whenever they can through the day.

Really? I have never came across it in my 30+ years being involved in the Motor Trade.

A decent booking/loading system system works wonders as a rule.

We don't do it, we use Kerridge and structure everything properly.

IMO the dealers who do it, do so to put people off waiting around in the showroom!

[Fas1975]

Depends on the Mercedes dealer I believe. There's a service portal where you type in the reg number / mileage, it tells you which dealerships are in your area and how much. Heathrow Merc have same price for drop off or while you wait, whereas the Slough branch have a £20 or £30 premium for the while you wait service.

[wildcat45]

HTP99 said:

What the first two replys have said.

A colleage has a Mercedes, a year or so ago he was showing me a price list of various service options that where avilable to customers; dropping it and leaving the car there for the day was the cheapest and then there were another two (I think) options available at varying price increases; each one had increased customer service options such as, waiting for it to be serviced, coffee, wifi, food, different waiting areas, courtesy cars, drop off and pick up to work or home etc.

The car itself had the same level of actual servicing.

Edited by HTP99 on Saturday 25th April 10:12

That would really annoy me. Are garages really like this?

My Land-Rover garage which just does JLR servicing, no sales, drops a car at my home, services the car and brings it back for no extra money..

My Mazda garage does it while you wait for no extra. As did Volvo.

[VWDaz86]

I can see why they do it, even the best booking system can't avoid the "we've decided to wait around" crowd.

As a workshop controller it does my head in when we plan the day and people change their mind and decide to wait, then have the cheek to moan they've been waiting ages and kill our customer satisfaction on the surveys.

[Mound Dawg]

VWDaz86 said:

I can see why they do it, even the best booking system can't avoid the "we've decided to wait around" crowd.

As a workshop controller it does my head in when we plan the day and people change their mind and decide to wait, then have the cheek to moan they've been waiting ages and kill our customer satisfaction on the surveys.

This.

Or on one occasion for a job I'd quoted two hours labour on, rocked up at 4pm...

[Fox-]

Butter Face said:

Lots of dealers do. The reasoning is that if you wait they have to do your job there and then, if you leave the car they can fit it in whenever they can through the day.

I thought dealers preferred it if you waited - no need to provide you with onward transport, or a loan car, or whatever. I assumed thats the reason behind improving facilities to encourage people to hang around - coffee shops etc?

[HTP99]

Ive just tapped the details of a Mercedes into a central service and repair booking website, it has come back with 4 options for the same service:

"Drop & Go": "rop off your Mercedes-Benz any time between 8-10am. Collect when it’s ready, from 4.30pm until we close.": £456.94

"Lounge": "Enjoy fixed appointment times, reserved parking and a dedicated service manager whilst experiencing our comfortable lounges.": £476.94

"Drive": "Drop off your Mercedes-Benz between 8-11am, and drive off in a loan car. Return to collect your car by 6pm.": £506.94

"Collect": "We will collect your Mercedes-Benz from your home or work between 8-11am, then deliver it back by 6pm." £506.94

We offer all of the above but for the same price, we aren't Mercedes.

[Fox-]

HTP99 said:

We offer all of the above but for the same price, we aren't Mercedes.

So does my local BMW dealer. No matter what my car is in for, they are happy to offer a free collection or a free loan car or a while you wait with free coffee if it's a short job.

As a result I spend a considerable amount of money maintaining BMW warranties and simply use them for everything. I doubt they are cheap per hour but they don't feel like they are taking the mick so I'm more than happy. If they were charging like that Mercedes dealer it'd irritate me enough to look into whether the way I do things is really the best option.

50 quid a day for a loan car in the above pricing is hilarious. 50 quid to hire a base model A class for the day whilst you are already paying for work to be done at a not exactly cheapest price in the area? I pay less than that per day when I rent better cars from car rental firms!

Edited by Fox- on Saturday 25th April 11:07

[Dodsy]

I was the one who mentioned the Mercedes charge in the other thread. It wasnt so bad at the dealer I used to frequent, Lovely totty serving coffee, pastries, fruit, Juice, biscuits and a very nice waiting area.

Unfortunately I now use a dealer closer to home. Car service is the same but their waiting area is a bit more kwik fit , no pastries, not very good coffee machine and thats it. They still charge the premium though !

[Motorrad]

HTP99 said:

Ive just tapped the details of a Mercedes into a central service and repair booking website, it has come back with 4 options for the same service:

"Drop & Go": "rop off your Mercedes-Benz any time between 8-10am. Collect when it’s ready, from 4.30pm until we close.": £456.94

"Lounge": "Enjoy fixed appointment times, reserved parking and a dedicated service manager whilst experiencing our comfortable lounges.": £476.94

"Drive": "Drop off your Mercedes-Benz between 8-11am, and drive off in a loan car. Return to collect your car by 6pm.": £506.94

"Collect": "We will collect your Mercedes-Benz from your home or work between 8-11am, then deliver it back by 6pm." £506.94

We offer all of the above but for the same price, we aren't Mercedes.

Well fk them then.

50 quid for a loan car? You could rent one for 24hrs for less than that. What happened to free loaners or a small charge to cover insurance?

The 'lounge' charge is laughable as well.

I guess though there must be some idiots out there happy to bend over for a reaming.

[budfox]

First rule of business. Always give an option to pay more because some people will want to.

[Krikkit]

Fox- said:

Butter Face said:

Lots of dealers do. The reasoning is that if you wait they have to do your job there and then, if you leave the car they can fit it in whenever they can through the day.

I thought dealers preferred it if you waited - no need to provide you with onward transport, or a loan car, or whatever. I assumed thats the reason behind improving facilities to encourage people to hang around - coffee shops etc?

They'll prefer it if you leave it for them to fit into a quieter section of the day, that way they can remain flexible if a job runs over slightly, someone has to go home sick etc.

[Butter Face]

Fox- said:

Butter Face said:

Lots of dealers do. The reasoning is that if you wait they have to do your job there and then, if you leave the car they can fit it in whenever they can through the day.

I thought dealers preferred it if you waited - no need to provide you with onward transport, or a loan car, or whatever. I assumed thats the reason behind improving facilities to encourage people to hang around - coffee shops etc?

People who wait expect the car to be fixed in 30 mins, lots of people don't realise it's it just unbolt a part and bolt It back on again. Diagnostics, software upgrades, recalls blah blah.

[Fox-]

Butter Face said:

People who wait expect the car to be fixed in 30 mins

These people are idiots. When I have a while you wait appointment at my dealer, they manage my expectations and tell me it will be 90 minutes to 2 hours. It's almost always less time. They only offer it for simple jobs like oil services, brake fluid changes etc.