Vauxhall & Greens

[featherfoot]

A thought for the day...........
Are Dealers like Greens / Picadors -'independents' or part of a large group like Pendragon?
I have used neither dealer but most people on this board seem to have, and if they are independents-does this prove to Vauxhall the wayout of the GM myre is too start backing independent dealers rather than then the large group mentallity that is dominating retail in the UK (and rest of the world).
People talk about poor service in this country, but quite alot of complaints really come because of faceless PLCs' not giving a toss about their customers!
I for one would swap the expensive showroom for a dealer who knew about the product and was in the situation where each customer directly mattered, didn't have to put up with the idiot in the dodgy poly suit pretending to speak 'with thier manager' whilst having a coffee in the back.
If Stu Harris/anyone from Vauxhall reads this........... look how many people on this forum are pissed off with their 'local' dealer....Scots, those the the north, midlands etc etc.
Poorservice in this country isn't a granted - we must all have favorite dealersand shops who we know give good service - and I bet the majority are independents!
Rant Over
Iain

[V8 EOL]

There is a local group near me who has about 4 dealerships... they also fit in to your description above... people local to Cambridge, St Ives, Royston will know who I mean .

Being an ‘independent dealer’ doesn’t always mean great service.

I believe truly independent organisations (like Monkfish) are more likely to offer the levels of service you are expecting. They don’t have imposed quotas to meet, made up targets to achieve and a constant pressure on extracting the most cash for the least effort.

Organisations affiliated with large corporations often have their hands tied or they lose the dealership from the manufacturer. There are exceptions to this rule (probably Greens) but if any dealership doesn’t perform, the consequences are severe.

[featherfoot]

V8 EOL said:

Being an ‘independent dealer’ doesn’t always mean great service.

There are exceptions to this rule (probably Greens) but if any dealership doesn’t perform, the consequences are severe.

True, I am not saying that all Independents give good service, just that their is a higher chance, as each customer is essential to keep head above water - I would imagine Roger @ Monkfish would agree - I have used them and can conform everything is 1st class from them (except suspect music choice).
And they and Greens probably agree that if they don't achieve their targets that the concequences will be severe - not just looking for another job,but possibly looseing everything - like anyone who is self employed - keeping customers happy is paramount

[Paul.H.]

Mmmm...an interesting one that! I don't think you'd get a reliable answer from any dealer simply because they'd never admit to it.

A dealership near me (N Wales) has 6 makes of car - Vauxhall, BMW, Citroen, Skoda, Volvo & Saab...I'd like to see his customer feedback forms!!! However, I haven't come up against anything that couldn't be sorted out - yet! The warranty issue I had with door seals in an earlier thread has been/will be fully sorted under warranty...as soon as I have a problem with the dealer that can't be sorted, I'll always come to this forum first & get 'feedback' before making my 'attack response'!

Edited by Paul.H. on Sunday 3rd December 14:36

[sjc]

I don't think it's marque specific or group/indi specific. I think generally it's down to the individual you're dealing with.Without doubt the most impressive dealerships I've dealt with recently are Fiat ( 2 different ones for a van) and Jaguar and yet you couldn't get further apart in their set up or target market. In neither instance did we end up buying (got the new Astravan and a Merc CLS) but I made a point of ringing/mailing them to make sure the dealer principle knew how impressed I/we were.By far the worst has been Mercedes of all types.Kerridges for my TVRs were top notch (bought 6 cars from them), as were Noble-London who I'll be buying again from soon.
I'm still waiting for an RS6 drive from 3years ago from my Audi dealer, a phone call from the UKs only Zonda dealer ( 6 months ago) regarding the CLS they had and getting badgered every week now from the Maser dealer who forgot my original enquiry from 6 months ago as well.Still waiting for 2 phone calls from Vauxhall dealerships regarding new Monaro prices and the promised e-mail pix of a Noble for sale ( at a small indi) that were promised yesterday.None of them will be getting my money. My own company has won several awards for customer service and its really not that difficult.

[Dan_S V8]

Paul.H. said:

Mmmm...an interesting one that! I don't think you'd get a reliable answer from any dealer simply because they'd never admit to it.

A dealership near me (N Wales) has 6 makes of car - Vauxhall, BMW, Citroen, Skoda, Volvo & Saab...I'd like to see his customer feedback forms!!! However, I haven't come up against anything that couldn't be sorted out - yet! The warranty issue I had with door seals in an earlier thread has been/will be fully sorted under warranty...as soon as I have a problem with the dealer that can't be sorted, I'll always come to this forum first & get 'feedback' before making my 'attack response'!

Edited by Paul.H. on Sunday 3rd December 14:36

Cool! Well done Paul - so they decided to back down then?

[Paul.H.]

Dan_S V8 said:

Paul.H. said:

Mmmm...an interesting one that! I don't think you'd get a reliable answer from any dealer simply because they'd never admit to it.

A dealership near me (N Wales) has 6 makes of car - Vauxhall, BMW, Citroen, Skoda, Volvo & Saab...I'd like to see his customer feedback forms!!! However, I haven't come up against anything that couldn't be sorted out - yet! The warranty issue I had with door seals in an earlier thread has been/will be fully sorted under warranty...as soon as I have a problem with the dealer that can't be sorted, I'll always come to this forum first & get 'feedback' before making my 'attack response'!

Edited by Paul.H. on Sunday 3rd December 14:36

Cool! Well done Paul - so they decided to back down then?

Hi Dan - long time no hear!! Yep all done & dusted...for now! We'll see what they replace & if that stops water ingress...it MAY just be the door hanging or a combination of both??

How's the karting going?

[stu harris]

Its really as Andy says , the individual is so important and if you get a true enthusiast they'll do as much as they can to help.
I can only say that there are good people out there and when you find them hang on to them as they're worth their weight in gold. Why aren't all people like that , answers on a postcard please .
Stu

[featherfoot]

stu harris said:

Its really as Andy says , the individual is so important and if you get a true enthusiast they'll do as much as they can to help.
I can only say that there are good people out there and when you find them hang on to them as they're worth their weight in gold. Why aren't all people like that , answers on a postcard please .
Stu

Thankyou for taking the time to post
We are not alone
regards
Iain

[silentmonkey]

Paul.H. said:

Mmmm...an interesting one that! I don't think you'd get a reliable answer from any dealer simply because they'd never admit to it.

A dealership near me (N Wales) has 6 makes of car - Vauxhall, BMW, Citroen, Skoda, Volvo & Saab...I'd like to see his customer feedback forms!!! However, I haven't come up against anything that couldn't be sorted out - yet! The warranty issue I had with door seals in an earlier thread has been/will be fully sorted under warranty...as soon as I have a problem with the dealer that can't be sorted, I'll always come to this forum first & get 'feedback' before making my 'attack response'!

Edited by Paul.H. on Sunday 3rd December 14:36

I too had the Jacuzzi in the back syndrome and after an initial ineffectual repair they nailed it a second time. Not without taking 25 days, two sets of carpets and breaking other parts though. But we now understand each other and are on first name terms. I call him Michael and he calls me Mr Cresswell.

[demolition man]

silentmonkey said:

.......But we now understand each other and are on first name terms. I call him Michael and he calls me Mr Cresswell.

LMAO Made my day!

[Paul.H.]

silentmonkey said:

Paul.H. said:

Mmmm...an interesting one that! I don't think you'd get a reliable answer from any dealer simply because they'd never admit to it.

A dealership near me (N Wales) has 6 makes of car - Vauxhall, BMW, Citroen, Skoda, Volvo & Saab...I'd like to see his customer feedback forms!!! However, I haven't come up against anything that couldn't be sorted out - yet! The warranty issue I had with door seals in an earlier thread has been/will be fully sorted under warranty...as soon as I have a problem with the dealer that can't be sorted, I'll always come to this forum first & get 'feedback' before making my 'attack response'!

Edited by Paul.H. on Sunday 3rd December 14:36

I too had the Jacuzzi in the back syndrome and after an initial ineffectual repair they nailed it a second time. Not without taking 25 days, two sets of carpets and breaking other parts though. But we now understand each other and are on first name terms. I call him Michael and he calls me Mr Cresswell.

Excellent.........!!!

[Dan_S V8]

Hi Paul, my dad posted that as me haha but I'm good. Karting is going well, didn't have a very successful race weekend last time (about 2 weeks ago), first race my spark plug packed up so didn't make it around the first corner, second race the track was very very greasy so put some pretty beaten up wets on as I had forgotten mine, the kart was still set up for the dry so it was like driving on ice, I had understeer and nearly crashed on the warm-up lap going about 5mph!!! So came second last out of the finishers in that one. Third race I was starting from the middle of the pack with my slicks back on but some twerp span me on the first corner so had karts going circa. 50mph going straight for me (very scary!!!). Managed to recover and come through to 6th out of 21. I started second last for the final but this time the track really came to me and I came through to 5th, overtaking a bloke who races in the national championships on the way . It was great fun despite the upsets though and can't wait for next time.

[Le Sarthe]

Been working out Dan? How are those arms holding up?

Sounds liek you ar egoing to do quite well to me....has dad got you a sponsor yet?????

[Dan_S V8]

Certainly have Sean! Can pretty much last the whole day now at 100%, you feel it the next day though I can tell you! No sponsor yet unfortuantely But if I can get to the nationals the season after next you never know , a lot of practice is going in at Clay Pigeon over winter so I'll keep you posted.

You decided what to do with your monster yet? Go on, you know you want a 408