Monday 6th February 2006

Fiat dealers get a rocket

Customer service must improve, say bosses

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Fiat Grande Punto

Fiat dealers have been given a rocket after years of accumulating a reputation for poor customer service. According to one story, the Italian company's UK dealers have been warned that they need to pull their socks up with respect to customer service or risk being disenfranchised.

The shot across the bows came from Fiat UK's new aftersales director Rob Calver, at the launch of the new Grande Punto. He was drafted in to shake up the UK franchisees following complaints from customers about poor service and lack of responsiveness, and to help clear up a backlog of over 1,000 customer complaints. According to a story on ITV Motoring, the backlog has been "significantly reduced", and it now takes some five days for a complaint to be to processed, half the time the industry recommends.

Calver also said that training would be provided for dealerships but said that maybe Fiat hadn't managed dealers very well. The catalyst was the launch of the new Grande Punto which, said Calver, needs to bring about a change un perception of the Fiat brand.

He said: "We've got a hell of a lot to do." No kidding...

• ITV Motoring story

[ideo]

About time! My wife had a Fiat Stilo for a year that had to go back to the dealer over 10 times for various things, usually electrical. Got so fed up with the lack of help that we sold the car in the end (losing quite a lot of money in depreciation but that's another story!)

[bizniss]

Poor customer service is only half the story. FIAT really need to work on the quality and finish of their vehicles too. My wife's Punto was constantly in and out of the dealers having electrical problem after electrical problem sorted. If FIAT can sort this out, then the dealers won't be so overworked and will have more time to spend on each customer. Granted though, the dealers have never helped themselves with sky high prices for parts and labour and shoddy service.

[slapmatt]

Bizniss - you speak the truth. My girlfriend's Punto had so many things fixed in it's first three years (under warranty) that it would make you dizzy. You'd like to think that buying a new car offers you a relatively high level of reliability, but that doesn't seem to be the case when it comes to Fiats.

As for the dealers - I suggest you find a reliable parts supplier (of which there are plenty) and a good independent. The dealer network is shockingly poor, unhelpful and ferociously expensive.

[wowbagger t.i.p]

I have two Fiats, a Multipla and a barchetta and I have had few problems with either of them but they are looked after by a specialist and I'm sure that helps.
I hope they do sort out the dealers, both the ones near me are hopeless.

[pwig]

bizniss said:

Poor customer service is only half the story. FIAT really need to work on the quality and finish of their vehicles too. My wife's Punto was constantly in and out of the dealers having electrical problem after electrical problem sorted. If FIAT can sort this out, then the dealers won't be so overworked and will have more time to spend on each customer. Granted though, the dealers have never helped themselves with sky high prices for parts and labour and shoddy service.

Agree with the top half.

Isn't it strange how _Every_ Fiat dealer gets slated? Perhaps it's not the dealers fault, and maybe..... Fiats?

[jamieboy]

pwig said:

Perhaps it's not the dealers fault, and maybe..... Fiats?

Hmm...I'd say that although Fiat (and indeed Alfa, as they are often the same dealer) should take the blame for build problems, they can't be blamed for the shoddy customer service.

If the service from the dealers was better, people would maybe be more forgiving of any faults with the car. If you have a problem with the car, you're probably unhappy. If the dealer is unhelpful or incompetent, then it makes a bad situation worse.

[Strider]

This is rather like the car that will save Alfa Romeo: was that the Alfasud? no, the 155, no, 164, ah, the 156..... I owned a series of Fiat group cars from 1990 until recently and endured constant incompetance from the dealers. At Alfa Romeo, UK management always said they new it was a problem and were fixing it. They didnt fix it, but at least they new it existed. At Fiat, a director (RG) told me 'The dealers are all independent businesses. There is nothing we can do to control them'. Unfortunately this person is now very senior in FIAT's European operations. I wonder if Audi UK or BMW GB would agree with him.

As for the cars, there will be issues. Although I have found their reliability to be no worse than French vehicles (my last two Alfas were actually exceptionally reliable and only needed repairs after they'd visitted dealers and had faults / damage introduced)their engineering purchasing aplies such rigorous price pressure on component suppliers that durability issues have become designed-in.

[pwig]

jamieboy said:

pwig said: Perhaps it's not the dealers fault, and maybe..... Fiats? Hmm...I'd say that although Fiat (and indeed Alfa, as they are often the same dealer) should take the blame for build problems, they can't be blamed for the shoddy customer service. If the service from the dealers was better, people would maybe be more forgiving of any faults with the car. If you have a problem with the car, you're probably unhappy. If the dealer is unhelpful or incompetent, then it makes a bad situation worse.

Erm, how about the fact Fiat provide very little backup to the dealers?

And the reason why Customer services has so many complaints logged, is because the dealers tell the customers to get onto customer service because they have done all they can to help the customer.

[pdV6]

I'm sure your place is a paragon of vitue and customer service Pwig, but the fact remains that most Fiat/Alfa franchises in the UK have a reputation for downright shoddy service. Sure, poor factory backup isn't going to help matters, but there's a lot that could be done up front to make the ownership experience less of a chore.

I'm sure you're bored of hearing how my car virtually never goes wrong, but the one time I did have a niggly fault (that appeared to be caused by the dealer in question) it was like pulling teeth getting it rectified. Several times I was called to say the car was ready for collection, so I'd go through the hassle of leaving work and trecking across the city to pick it up, only to find that the fault was still there before even putting the key in the ignition. "We could have sworn it was working earlier"

[jamieboy]

pwig said:

Erm, how about the fact Fiat provide very little backup to the dealers?

Yes, but...
I had my car in for a service and asked the garage to replace a brake bulb. The owner's handbook (which tells you how to remove the hidden bolts to pop off the lens cover and replace the bulb) was on the passenger seat along with the service book. When I got the car back, the lens cover was cracked around the bolt-holes, and there were a load of screwdriver-sized scrapes all around one end of it - as if someone who didn't know where the screws were had been trying to pop it off. Eventually the dealer gave me the new lens cover at cost price (55 quid), denying they'd forced it, and saying that "plastic is like that, sometimes it just breaks". Alfa's fault, or the dealers?
Another dealer, I booked my car in two weeks in advance to get the tracking checked, stayed overnight in the town where the dealership was to get there early and give them a decent shot at it, but "there's only one technician who knows what the settings for your car should be, and he's on holiday". Alfa's fault, or the dealers?
Another dealer, got my car serviced, got home and popped the bonnet and found a screwdriver lying down the side of the airbox. Alfa's fault, or the dealers?
Another dealer, booked in (again two weeks in advance) for a service. Got the car back at the end of the day, but they'd not been able to complete the service, as they'd need to order spark plugs and an oil filter. Alfa's fault, or the dealers?
My wife was looking at a diesel Stilo, the dealer had one in the showroom. Could she have a test drive in it? No, it was showroom stock, not a demonstrator. She bought a Megane. Fiat's fault, or the dealers?

pwig - I know you're in a difficult position here because of your job, but you're really trying to defend the indefensible.

[pdV6]

jamieboy said:

Another dealer, booked in (again two weeks in advance) for a service. Got the car back at the end of the day, but they'd not been able to complete the service, as they'd need to order spark plugs and an oil filter. Alfa's fault, or the dealers?

Ooh - that reminds me! Had a similar experience one time: Dropped the car off for service and a few bits 'n' bobs. Had a courtesy car booked. Spoke to the service manager and asked when the car was likely to be ready for collection but (importantly) said not to rush to finish it as I could easily pop back the next day instead.

So, the call comes in "your car's nearly ready - you may as well come in in 1/2 hour or so to collect". So off I trot, only to find that in fact they hadn't done 1/2 the stuff it was booked in for "through lack of time".



Er, so why drag me in? "Oh, we thought you needed it back ASAP".

Not when I've stated the opposite and now I'll have to come back in yet again!

In the words of Jamieboy: Alfa's fault, or the dealer's?

[dxg999]

A lorry smashed the wing mirror off my mk1 Punto a good few years back.

Went to my local "in the sticks" but offical dealer to buy the replacement and they offered to fit it there and then for free! They didn't even complain when the now-distorted door frame made the job somewhat difficult.

I was impressed.

[dc33]

Almost as bad as Citroen....
But not quite!
Worst service support EVER, I sold my C4 at a huge loss just to be rid of them. Spoke to the regional customer relations 'manager'. Couldn't care less !

[xxplod]

FIAT - Fix It Again Tommorow.

Old, but sadly still true. My wife's Barchetta could have been a great car if it wasn't for the piss poor interior trim and the utter rip off dealers.

[jimbro1000]

My old local dealership (Amersham Motors) used to bend over backwards to help me - helped a little by the fact I indirectly knew the head mechanic at my branch. Never had reason to fault them on anything. They were taken over by another dealer not so long ago (after said dealer lost its Ford franchise through repeated incompetence) and things really went downhill. Basically they just couldn't care less. I know a large chunk of this attitude was Fiat UK (who still need to sort themselves out on a lot of matters) but basically I was bashing my head against a wall whenever anything needed doing. It took them 5 months to sort out an insurance repair job because they kept losing the paperwork - my insurer was (figuratively) ready to murder someone after 3 months, all credit to them for restraint and diplomacy beyond the call of duty.

None of this though compares to the grief I had to go through on warranty repairs though.

How many people (on a pre-delivery check) would pass a car that had paint missing on the outside of the door?
Once pointed out would you advice the customer (myself) that fixing the fault by respraying the door would devalue the car?
And finally after getting your head bitten over repeatedly for screwing up would you let the car go out again (after repair) with the same fault again (because an incompetent mechanic had chipped the new paint off)?

None of the above can be blamed on Fiat UK - that is purely down to the dealer. Plenty more stories along the same lines followed. Loved the car - hated the dealer. I tried two other dealers before giving up and giving (yes "giving"!) the car away.

I just hope and pray (I do like Fiats for some bizarre reason) that Fiat UK are honestly serious about sorting the situation out. This reputation for bad dealers and subsequently bad cars exists pretty much only in the UK. Everywhere else on the continent they fare quite well despite being a budget car manufacturer (cheap italian cars built for italians - if anyone else likes them all the better).

PWIG - we know you have a personal axe to grind on the matter, just keep shouting and eventually someone might notice

[pwig]

Well tbh, we must be good then

[pwig]

Btw the new Grande Punto rocks, and it seems really, really well screwed together

[jimbro1000]

pwig said:

Well tbh, we must be good then

Not so sure about that - some idiot dealer mechanic fitted a new clutch cable on my seicento before i bought it (got the bill somewhere) and failed to put a retaining pin in place at the pedal end. The result was a loud bang and a clutch pedal stuck to the floor. Still managed to drive the car another 20 miles to get it fixed. When it was properly fitted we found a couple of other faults as well where the cable was incorrectly routed. Feels weird to drive now as the clutch pedal is so light.

The good news though is that I should get my new 1242 engine and 6 speed gearbox for it this weekend.

[wowbagger t.i.p]

xxplod said:

FIAT - Fix It Again Tommorow. Old, but sadly still true. My wife's Barchetta could have been a great car if it wasn't for the piss poor interior trim and the utter rip off dealers.

My barchetta is a great car, no problems with the interior trim ,what was wrong with yours?

[timr69]

I haven't found that my Fiats have been any less reliable then other makes run by friends but the dealers CAN be a problem. I noticed a marked difference between 2 dealers in neighbouring towns a few years ago despite them being from the same group (a well known Scottish one), the 2nd one was capable of sorting any problem first time around.

Mind you the one I use now has shown an improvement over the last 3 years.
Not sure if that's because my wife had a proper go at them a while back though!