Dealer negligence with brand new car
Discussion
johnpeat said:
markswebpages said:
It's that people like you think it's OK to treat others like dirt because they think that being customer facing and having to deal with customer service issues means it's OK to talk to them in whatever manner you see fit! It is not and I have personally found recently that the level of unreasonableness and rudeness shown by an ever increasing number of people is not acceptable, you should treat people you are dealing with in the same way you would expect others to treat you, your job shouldn't make any difference!
I'm sorry but you're talking balls...When you take a role in Customer Services/AfterSales, you are representing a company and you have to take the brunt of what that company has done/failed to do.
If a company has f
ked someone around, done a crap job, overcharged or whatever - a customer has every right to be angry or upset. Asking customers to calm down and be polite before you'll help them is insulting, it's rubbing salt into the wounds - they're upset for a reason and that's upto you to deal with that.Sometimes you'll need to take both barrels and you don't get to complain about it - in the same way that mechanics fix broken cars and plumbers work knee-deep in water and s
t, you have to deal with sarky and rude customers - live with it.Note: I'm not suggesting you should have to take personal attacks, insults or threats of violence, but this idea that everyone should be polite and nice-as-pie before they'll get what they've likely already paid-for, is really just another way of screwing them - the entire mentality is wrong, you should WANT to solve the problem - hell you shouldn't have caused it in the first place!
Asking people to always be polite and calm is the same as asking companies to be competent and professional - in the ideal world this would always happen but we don't live in that world...
Treat people in the right, it may surpise you how well they respond to the situation.
johnpeat said:
I'm sorry but you're talking balls...
When you take a role in Customer Services/AfterSales, you are representing a company and you have to take the brunt of what that company has done/failed to do.
Nope. Most humans can spot a jumped-up little clown and will react accordingly. Employers know which are their good staff and will be entirely supportive of them when some idiot walks in off the street and starts dishing out abuse.When you take a role in Customer Services/AfterSales, you are representing a company and you have to take the brunt of what that company has done/failed to do.
It's presumably because of ill-mannered idiots that hospitals and banks now have signs on the wall saying "We will not tolerate abuse of our staff".
Edited by Ozzie Osmond on Saturday 17th September 23:31
Alfahorn said:
I believe in the first instance you should give the company/individual the opportunity to resolve the issue by treating them with respect.
I wouldn't generally argue with that...Almost no-one ever resolves a polite first complaint tho - most companies first response is to fob people off or assume they'll just go away quietly...
When I comes to CallCentres - their entire ethos is calls answered/hour, there's zero 'quality of service' involved - so they will do ANYTHING to terminate a call because that - to their retarded worldview - is a result.
Alfahorn said:
However, if the matter is not addressed in within an acceptable timescale and to your satisfaction then I can under customers being angry. I do not understand this 'it's your job deal, I'll speak to you how I like' attitude, it's totally unnecessary.
You've never had to really chase a company down then - you've never been robbed, defrauded, lied to, hung up on and generally treat like you don't matter - this is great for you, sadly it's not worked for me 
Alfahorn said:
Treat people in the right, it may surpise you how well they respond to the situation.
It would be nice if they just responded to the problem and that I didn't have to kiss their ass to get them to do their fking job, to be honest - you aren't doing me a FAVOUR, you're making a st job of fixing the st job your company already did...Ozzie Osmond said:
Nope. Most humans can spot a jumped-up little clown and will react accordingly. Employers know which are their good staff and will be entirely supportive of them when some idiot walks in off the street and starts dishing out abuse.
I don't get the connection - are you saying that a company can fk it's customers and not have to do anything unless they ask really, really nicely?There are a million mental customers in the world - you're happy to take their money, you have to deal with their crazyness - that's just how it is.
I have a favourite saying - "I'll try to be nicer when you try to be smarter" - it fits this really, really well.
Ozzie Osmond said:
It's presumably because of ill-mannered idiots that hospitals and banks now have signs on the wall saying "We will not tolerate abuse of our staff".
I've always assumed they put those signs these as yet another excuse for not actually helping their customers."Be polite to us whilst we f
k you six ways to Sunday"...I once stood in my partner's Doctor Surgery waiting to collect a prescription - after about 5 mins during which 4 staff studiously ignored me and continued talking about Big Brother I tapped on the glass and asked if anyone was being paid to work. In return they tapped on the "We will not deal with rude or aggressive customers" notice and so I tapped on the "If you have a complain about our service please contact" notice and they remembered they had a job to do...
Ultimately, the OP has a point and if he wishes it to be resolved he should go in, approach the aftersales manager and explain the issue and how he would like it resolved. Don't wait for the dealer to offer a solution because it probably won't be the one you want. Be reasonable, don't get personal and remember that nobody wants to help an idiot, even if it's their job or they're representing a company who got it wrong.
Edited by Davie on Sunday 18th September 04:03
Edited by Davie on Sunday 18th September 04:04
Not a brand new car but nearly new from a well known retailer in Derby. I didn't want the "Euro" plates so didn't pay for them. I also Drove the car that day and left with it. I specifically told the salesman NOT to change the plates. After waiting an hour for the car to be "prepped" It came out with the Dealers "Euro" plates. When I asked why they had fitted them the Principal came out with the DVLA sheet about number plates. He was a bit put out when I pointed out that "Supplying Dealer" meant for the Plates NOT the car so it was perfectly legal on it's original plates. I retrieved the "old" plates and replaced the crappy "Euro" ones ASAP. They had however drilled another set of holes to mount the "new" plates. Another case of reading the rules but not understanding them.
Deerfoot said:
TBH, I`d still take the car round there and physically show them the issue, even if you have no intention of letting them near it again.
I don`t think the DP will give a fig about a copy of an internet forum thread landing on his desk to be honest.
Possibly not - but given how fircely competetive the industry is, I suspect he may give a fig about losing the custom of someone but changes their car every 2-3 years and the servicing revenue associated with 25k p/a....I don`t think the DP will give a fig about a copy of an internet forum thread landing on his desk to be honest.
I'm not going to waste any more time on the issue. The damage is done now - may as well move on.
Deerfoot said:
I don`t think the DP will give a fig about a copy of an internet forum thread landing on his desk to be honest.
Seriously they ain't going to take a blind bit of notice of people posting on the internet, pop round ask them to have a look and they'll probably pop a couple of rubber grommets in the holes, job done.I agree about the loss of servicing revenue etc, but as his dealership isn`t actually named in this thread I don`t think it makes much of an impact at all.
Unless someone at the dealership has seen the job that they have done on your car then nothing will change.
Anyway, good luck with your car.
Unless someone at the dealership has seen the job that they have done on your car then nothing will change.
Anyway, good luck with your car.
38911 said:
Wow. Some passionate responses! Thanks for all the replies.
I've considered my options and here's what I'm going to do. I'm not going to bother asking the dealer to put it right - simply because the only way they could do that properly would be to replace the bootlid and even if they agreed, I've no confidence they would be able to match the colour and fit it properly.
Besides, they would most likely want to repair the bootlid (fill and paint the holes) rather than replace it and given my lack of faith in their ability to do a job properly I'm not going to allow them to do that.
I'm not going to ask them for a free service as I don't want them going anywhere near the car with a spanner. Frankly I'd have more confidence in Bob the Builder.
I am going to send a copy of this thread to the dealer group director, with a covering letter along the lines of "You might want to read this.... it's about your company". I will point out that this has lost his business all future custom from me. I will suggest that any goodwill gesture they feel appropriate should be in the form of a donation to a local charity of their choosing. They probably won't - but thats down to their conscience.
I am also writing to the vehicle manufacturer to make them aware that one of their dealers is potentially causing damage to their reputation and increasing the risk of future corrosion warranty claims.
I shall make my strength of feeling clear if/when JDPower call to do their post-purchase survey.
Having read the above and later "I'm not going to waste any more time on the issue. The damage is done now - may as well move on.", it's clear to me that (unlike some of the nutters on here) you are a deep-thinking, highly articulate and totally calm person who is more than capable of adroitly telling the Dealer Principal (one to one and behind closed doors) exactly what you think. I recommend you do exactly that; that way, they get the message and they have an opportunity to try to square things up; even if he looks at you like you're a recent arrival from another planet (I'll wager he doesn't), at least you've got it off your chest 'man to man' and can rest easy in the knowledge that your decision to never again to go anywhere near them not even with a long barge pole (nor anyone else you happen to know) is exactly the right one and entirely fair and reasonable.I've considered my options and here's what I'm going to do. I'm not going to bother asking the dealer to put it right - simply because the only way they could do that properly would be to replace the bootlid and even if they agreed, I've no confidence they would be able to match the colour and fit it properly.
Besides, they would most likely want to repair the bootlid (fill and paint the holes) rather than replace it and given my lack of faith in their ability to do a job properly I'm not going to allow them to do that.
I'm not going to ask them for a free service as I don't want them going anywhere near the car with a spanner. Frankly I'd have more confidence in Bob the Builder.
I am going to send a copy of this thread to the dealer group director, with a covering letter along the lines of "You might want to read this.... it's about your company". I will point out that this has lost his business all future custom from me. I will suggest that any goodwill gesture they feel appropriate should be in the form of a donation to a local charity of their choosing. They probably won't - but thats down to their conscience.
I am also writing to the vehicle manufacturer to make them aware that one of their dealers is potentially causing damage to their reputation and increasing the risk of future corrosion warranty claims.
I shall make my strength of feeling clear if/when JDPower call to do their post-purchase survey.
And with the next new car you order, write on the order form exactly what you want/expect eg how you want the number plates fixed; on the last new Porsche I ordered, as they were being variously delivered at the time with Michelins, Pirellis and Continentals (and it was clear from interviews with Porsche's test drivers that only the Michelins were spot on), I hand wrote on the Order Form 'To be supplied with Michelin Tyres'; the Supplying Dealer said 'I don't think Porsche will take any notice of that', so I said "I think they will, but frankly, if they don't, I don't really care, because my contract is with you and please be clear, if you offer it to me with anything other than Michelins on, I will reject the car. Clear? Want to give me the order form back?" He just smiled, put the order form in his file, shook my hand and the car was delivered with Michelins. Maybe a happy co-incidence, maybe not, either way, I got the tyres I wanted.
'The Customer Is King' - if anyone gives the impression they think otherwise, one should take one's custom elsewhere.
johnpeat said:
nickythesaint said:
NiceCupOfTea said:
E36 boot spoilers were fitted by the dealers.which is why most bootlids are rusty around there: self tappers and no paint protection.
That's your car in a few years, that is.
Ha. I just bought an old e36 coupe. The spoiler was loose and when I removed it so i could fit some new bolts / washers I found this underneath. That's your car in a few years, that is.
OP: sensible approach. I think I'd still rather have a face to face or at least phone conversation, not to have a pop but to ask the feedback in a rational way. But appreciate it could end up heated and you clearly don't want the confrontation or hassle. So best of luck to you.
Edited by nickythesaint on Monday 19th September 22:42
mercfunder said:
Deerfoot said:
I don`t think the DP will give a fig about a copy of an internet forum thread landing on his desk to be honest.
Seriously they ain't going to take a blind bit of notice of people posting on the internet, pop round ask them to have a look and they'll probably pop a couple of rubber grommets in the holes, job done.Life's too short to let things like this wind you up.
I hope you enjoy your car....
HellDiver said:
Seems the standard way of doing it? Stickky pads to fall off in a week, or self tappers boshed in.
I got a company vehicle Kangoo van a number of years ago, from brand new the van had serious electrical issues - crazy central locking, rear door electrics not working, eventually total electrical failure. Turned out a self tapper holding the rear plate on went through the loom in the back door. They'd ignored the threaded holes in the door and put self tappers in.
I've had that before too not on a kangoo mind - central locking that played up costantly - worse in damp weather - turned out the number plate screw had pierced the loom in the boot lid - took some finding - they were original supplying dealer plates so unlikely to have been replacements fitted by a ham fisted previous ownerI got a company vehicle Kangoo van a number of years ago, from brand new the van had serious electrical issues - crazy central locking, rear door electrics not working, eventually total electrical failure. Turned out a self tapper holding the rear plate on went through the loom in the back door. They'd ignored the threaded holes in the door and put self tappers in.
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