OPC customer service
OPC customer service
Author
Discussion

belfry

Original Poster:

1,050 posts

211 months

Thursday 13th March 2014
quotequote all
Hello. May I speak to the service department please?

OK I will put you through.

Hello, service department. How may I help you?

My 997 tiptronic has an intermittent starting issue. Sometimes it won't start and the "apply brake" warning comes up even though the foot brake is on. After a few attempts the "apply brake" warning goes off and I can start the car. I've also noticed that brake lights can also be intermittent. When the brake lights don't work the car won't start. I've looked on the Porsche Pistonheads forum and I wonder if it might be the brake switch playing up?

We will have to book it in.

If I drive it to you tomorrow morning at 9.00am could someone have a look, and maybe try changing the brake switch to see if that cures the problem.

We will have to book it in.

Look, how about if I pay for and hour of labour at 9.00 am tomorrow and also pay for a new brake switch? That way I can at least see if that is actually the problem. If it is not, then I can book the car in for further investigations.

You can bring the car in tomorrow at 9am but we cannot guarantee that you will be seen then.

So are you saying that I should bring my car in at 9am then wait for you to get round to looking at my car?

Yes.

How long will I have to wait?

We won't know until you have brought the car in to us.

How about a guess? 5 hours wait?

We won't know until you have brought the car in to us.

So you are telling me that I can take time off work to arrange to bring my car in at 9am tomorrow and possible wait 5 hours before anyone looks at my car?

Yes

Robbo66

3,930 posts

262 months

Thursday 13th March 2014
quotequote all
HRH: Hello, I'm more important than anyone else that has already a problem, and booked in, and want my car looked at immediately.

OPC:Sorry sir, you will need to book it in.

HRH: I don't want to, I need it looked at now and will pay....I have a right to jump the que and am more important. Mother tells me so.

OPC: You can bring it in and we will try to accommodate you, but can't guarantee when

HRH: so you want me to book it in, like all the other plebs, why can't you make them wait ?...this is all about me and I am going to get sarcastic in a minute...then watch out. How long do I need to wait !

OPC: Sir, we won't know until we assess the car.

HRH: sorry, I was sucking my thumb....what !!... So if i take time off work, I still can't jump the que...this country ....Mother.............my baths cold ?.









belfry

Original Poster:

1,050 posts

211 months

Thursday 13th March 2014
quotequote all
rofl

belfry

Original Poster:

1,050 posts

211 months

Thursday 13th March 2014
quotequote all
All that I want to do is get in, get out and enjoy the car.

I'd replace the switch myself if I didn't have a P warranty. I understand that it only costs about a tenner.

freddy the frog

119 posts

151 months

Thursday 13th March 2014
quotequote all
try the dealer on the south coast they can do everything in 10 minutes

guards red

689 posts

229 months

Thursday 13th March 2014
quotequote all
Robbo66 said:
HRH: Hello, I'm more important than anyone else that has already a problem, and booked in, and want my car looked at immediately.

OPC:Sorry sir, you will need to book it in.

HRH: I don't want to, I need it looked at now and will pay....I have a right to jump the que and am more important. Mother tells me so.

OPC: You can bring it in and we will try to accommodate you, but can't guarantee when

HRH: so you want me to book it in, like all the other plebs, why can't you make them wait ?...this is all about me and I am going to get sarcastic in a minute...then watch out. How long do I need to wait !

OPC: Sir, we won't know until we assess the car.

HRH: sorry, I was sucking my thumb....what !!... So if i take time off work, I still can't jump the que...this country ....Mother.............my baths cold ?.
Only thing that's made me laugh all day.....

mankey

654 posts

232 months

Thursday 13th March 2014
quotequote all
belfry said:
I'd replace the switch myself if I didn't have a P warranty ..........
How would they know? Just do it !

g7jhp

7,033 posts

267 months

Thursday 13th March 2014
quotequote all
mankey said:
belfry said:
I'd replace the switch myself if I didn't have a P warranty ..........
How would they know? Just do it !
Sure the OPC charge you anyway.

Why not just go to your local indie for simple jobs like this?

belfry

Original Poster:

1,050 posts

211 months

Thursday 13th March 2014
quotequote all
g7jhp said:
Why not just go to your local indie for simple jobs like this?
I know. Warranty is the only thing that makes me use OPCs. The "technicians" snapped off a bleed nipple on my brake caliper last time I used an OPC which was very expensive for ME to replace.

I'm just amazed by the way that they treat customers. Can you imagine a Porsche indy saying that you can come in at a certain time but that you might have to wait a few hours before their "technician" will even look at your car? Why not just say that they don't have availability? Greed and arrogance. I cannot imagine my customers in my business reacting well to that type of service.

billzeebub

3,911 posts

228 months

Thursday 13th March 2014
quotequote all
guards red said:
Robbo66 said:
HRH: Hello, I'm more important than anyone else that has already a problem, and booked in, and want my car looked at immediately.

OPC:Sorry sir, you will need to book it in.

HRH: I don't want to, I need it looked at now and will pay....I have a right to jump the que and am more important. Mother tells me so.

OPC: You can bring it in and we will try to accommodate you, but can't guarantee when

HRH: so you want me to book it in, like all the other plebs, why can't you make them wait ?...this is all about me and I am going to get sarcastic in a minute...then watch out. How long do I need to wait !

OPC: Sir, we won't know until we assess the car.

HRH: sorry, I was sucking my thumb....what !!... So if i take time off work, I still can't jump the que...this country ....Mother.............my baths cold ?.
Only thing that's made me laugh all day.....
And me

thegoose

8,077 posts

239 months

Thursday 13th March 2014
quotequote all
This typifies why I hate using main dealers of any make - it's very difficult to speak to anyone who knows anything about cars banghead A service receptionist should still be able to understand a customer's request and try to accommodate them though.

Also, given the broken bleed nipple raping you got last time I'm finding it hard to understand why you'd even consider taking your car back there anyway?

freddy the frog

119 posts

151 months

Thursday 13th March 2014
quotequote all
what happened to good old fashioned mechanics, hang on a minute guv i,ll just get this one off the ramp. tecknicians are what work in dental laboratories

g7jhp

7,033 posts

267 months

Thursday 13th March 2014
quotequote all
belfry said:
g7jhp said:
Why not just go to your local indie for simple jobs like this?
I know. Warranty is the only thing that makes me use OPCs. The "technicians" snapped off a bleed nipple on my brake caliper last time I used an OPC which was very expensive for ME to replace.

I'm just amazed by the way that they treat customers. Can you imagine a Porsche indy saying that you can come in at a certain time but that you might have to wait a few hours before their "technician" will even look at your car? Why not just say that they don't have availability? Greed and arrogance. I cannot imagine my customers in my business reacting well to that type of service.
But as long as you use original parts once a switch is mended nobody will ever know. You only need to do the main services to maintain your warranty.

robrobc

198 posts

221 months

Thursday 13th March 2014
quotequote all
billzeebub said:
guards red said:
Robbo66 said:
HRH: Hello, I'm more important than anyone else that has already a problem, and booked in, and want my car looked at immediately.

OPC:Sorry sir, you will need to book it in.

HRH: I don't want to, I need it looked at now and will pay....I have a right to jump the que and am more important. Mother tells me so.

OPC: You can bring it in and we will try to accommodate you, but can't guarantee when

HRH: so you want me to book it in, like all the other plebs, why can't you make them wait ?...this is all about me and I am going to get sarcastic in a minute...then watch out. How long do I need to wait !

OPC: Sir, we won't know until we assess the car.

HRH: sorry, I was sucking my thumb....what !!... So if i take time off work, I still can't jump the que...this country ....Mother.............my baths cold ?.
Only thing that's made me laugh all day.....
And me
Not me

Tosh in my opinion

A premium product should have a premium ownership experience and Porsche just has not. The end.

Rob

Jim1556

1,838 posts

185 months

Thursday 13th March 2014
quotequote all
robrobc said:
A premium product should have a premium ownership experience and Porsche just has not. The end.
Agreed, you only need to read the Prospective GT3 owners thread to see just how many people have had deposits returned/full refunds due to Porsche's ongoing complete lack of communication and below par customer service!

It's not necessarily Porsche's intention to piss people off, but the customer's perception of service (like the OP's) can mean the difference between handing over £60-150k for a car or not...

freddy the frog

119 posts

151 months

Thursday 13th March 2014
quotequote all
maybe if you had just gone in unannounced they may have got a mechanic oops sorry technician to pop out and have a quick look for you, face to face is not like hiding behind a telephone.

mad ferret

188 posts

229 months

Friday 14th March 2014
quotequote all
Porsche Solihull are excellent, been more than helpful when I have ever had an issue

ilduce

485 posts

156 months

Friday 14th March 2014
quotequote all
Me: hello? Il Duce here, is my car ready for collection?
OPC: no sorry.
Me: why the fvck not?
OPC: well we had a few other people who hadn't booked in their cars, phone up and begin shouting about how, they were more important, and expected a premium experience for their premium product and were generally acting like some kid full of orange sweets and Coca Cola so we dealt with them first. This meant that we didn't do anything to your car.
Me: FFS! I booked it in last week.
OPC: yes, I know. What you should have done is phone up and act like a cvn't.
Me: Fvck you, you son of a biatch!
OPC: Yes, that's the idea. How can I help you?

belfry

Original Poster:

1,050 posts

211 months

Friday 14th March 2014
quotequote all
All done! It was the brake switch as I suggested to them. But they needed their Porsche trained technician to confirm that.

I have been very polite throughout this whole process. No shouting or swearing. I could have phoned Porsche Assist and they would have recovered the car to the OPC (and provided me with a loan car). But all that I wanted was to have someone look at the problem for a couple of minutes.

I certainly didn't try to jump any queues as suggested by someone on here. If it needed a proper repair job lasting an hour or more then I would have booked it in for another time. But for something as simple as a switch replacement (30 seconds) or a bulb replacement I would have thought that the dealership could have made this a more pleasant experience.

This isn't communist USSR circa 1970. This is a major capital city in 2014. We are customers and we are due a decent level of customer service from Porsche. I get better treatment at Nissan and my local lawnmower centre.

Look at how some OPCs are treating their customers who have paid £100k for a GT3

Edited by belfry on Friday 14th March 12:20

ilduce

485 posts

156 months

Friday 14th March 2014
quotequote all
belfry said:
All done! It was the brake switch as I suggested to them. But they needed their Porsche trained technician to confirm that.



This isn't communist USSR circa 1970. This is a major capital city in 2014. We are customers and we are due a decent level of customer service from Porsche. I get better treatment at Nissan and my local lawnmower centre.
The trouble is, for every person who correctly diagnoses their car, there must be a few that confuse their cock and their ar'se.
They call then turn up, and the OPC is honour bound to try and sort out the problem which is much worse than the OPC first thought. The technician that was working on my car, is taken and starts trying to sort out their car.
Then I get the phone call at 4pm, telling me my car won't ready until the next day, because they ran into a "few problems".

Just the other side of the story.