What happened to Customer Service?

T

The Thug

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I bought a new car in September and collected the vehicle on the 20th.

The car salesman wasn't there that day as he was on leave which he'd previously told me, so another salesman took me through the basics of the vehicle, the warranty booklet etc, etc.

Close to 7 weeks later, I have yet to receive a single phone call, sms, or even email from the salesman or dealership to ask how I'm enjoying the car, are there any problems etc, etc.

Am I expecting too much?

If you want to retain brand loyalty and a customer, you treat him as such and not as a commission cheque!
 
you dont see pnp calling you back after you bought stuff from them ...but you still go back

if you had to buy a ferrari then they would call back ...
 
I agree with the Thug.

But unfortunately the turn around of most sales people at a company are a year or two, no need for them to worry about customer retention. They will just be working for another dealer in a few months anyway.
 
I.am.Sam said:
you dont see pnp calling you back after you bought stuff from them ...but you still go back

if you had to buy a ferrari then they would call back ...
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So by your logic I'd get call if I drop a couple of bar on a Ferrari but I mustn't expect one if I only drop 1 bar?

It shouldn't make a difference how much I spend on a vehicle.
 
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What dealership was this?

I recently experiences service worth mentioning, I suspected that yet again my Corsa's coil pack was dodgy since flat out acceleration was a bit rough. We don't have GM in Stellenbosch so I called Thorp in Paarl. Not only did they come and collect the car from my driveway in the estate I live in, they returned it before I got home from work. Turns out it was only needing new spark plugs. Despite no longer being under service plan they did not charge me labour, only a hundred or so for the parts.

So good service does still happen, even though GM service is not rated they highly.
 
Rouxenator said:
What dealership was this?

I recently experiences service worth mentioning, I suspected that yet again my Corsa's coil pack was dodgy since flat out acceleration was a bit rough. We don't have GM in Stellenbosch so I called Thorp in Paarl. Not only did they come and collect the car from my driveway in the estate I live in, they returned it before I got home from work. Turns out it was only needing new spark plugs. Despite no longer being under service plan they did not charge me labour, only a hundred or so for the parts.

So good service does still happen, even though GM service is not rated they highly.
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Thats good to hear, my father has a chev and has had complete incompetence from Reeds on numerous occasions, so its good to hear the whole group isn't a write off.
 
Did you buy a budget car like a Figo or Vivo?
Sorry mate, those cars fly off the floor, don't expect a call.
Anything R350 000 and up should warrant a service call.
 
Don't blame the staff, blame the management. It all trickles down from the top. That's why they say that you can judge a business by its employees. If you get that kind of bad service from the salesman it means that the sales manager and the dealer principle is allowing it to happen.

On my last purchase the salesman, sales manager and the dealer principle made contact with me within the first month after purchase. I also had a followup call around a month after the sale from the workshop manager who told me that I must bring the vehicle in for a quick check should I go past their place. Dropped in and they immediately took the vehicle in to the workshop, gave it a quick once over to make sure nothing was amiss and I was on my way within 20 minutes. All they did was check all the liquids i.e. oil, water etc... checked all the water pipes, checked for any oil leaks, checked wheel nuts and tyres incl. spare, made sure I had jack etc...

All in all about 30 minutes of time they dedicated to me through the calls and the quick checkup and they made a customer for life. That is why some dealerships shine while others fail. It starts at the top.
 
The Thug said:
I bought a new car in September and collected the vehicle on the 20th.

The car salesman wasn't there that day as he was on leave which he'd previously told me, so another salesman took me through the basics of the vehicle, the warranty booklet etc, etc.

Close to 7 weeks later, I have yet to receive a single phone call, sms, or even email from the salesman or dealership to ask how I'm enjoying the car, are there any problems etc, etc.

Am I expecting too much?

If you want to retain brand loyalty and a customer, you treat him as such and not as a commission cheque!
Click to expand...

I think you are expecting too much, this is after all RSA.Did you atleast get called by the marketing company to rate the car dealership?
 
Tech786 said:
Did you buy a budget car like a Figo or Vivo?
Sorry mate, those cars fly off the floor, don't expect a call.
Anything R350 000 and up should warrant a service call.
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Nah, i bought a Vivo at VW Hatfield recently and trust me they do the call (or email in my case), they do the survey thing and all that. Also VW SA phoned me about the service i got from the dealership, they use this info to pick the dealership of the year kinda thing. So i suppose if the dealership isn't interested in that kind of award, then they do nothing, but the VW i was at was pretty serious about these ratings.

Now granted, the moment i wasn't working with the car sales person anymore (i.e. parts sales) then things weren't as satisfying, but the car sales person definitely went through the whole customer service thing.
 
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Tech786 said:
Did you buy a budget car like a Figo or Vivo?
Sorry mate, those cars fly off the floor, don't expect a call.
Anything R350 000 and up should warrant a service call.
Click to expand...

No, it wan't a budget car but from a range where the cheapest model is >R300k.
 
MKFrost said:
Don't blame the staff, blame the management. It all trickles down from the top. That's why they say that you can judge a business by its employees. If you get that kind of bad service from the salesman it means that the sales manager and the dealer principle is allowing it to happen.
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Have to agree on that score.

Management should set the example.
 
Hmmm, i sometimes don't want the guys to call me up. If i have an issue i will call them.

I actually get tired of the dealer calling me after my service as well. But thats just me.

But i take you point, its the courtesy that counts, and means you are a valued customer.
 
Batista said:
I think you are expecting too much, this is after all RSA.
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Nope, it can be done.

Years ago I was on my way to the berg, traffic jam just before pinetown and saw my car starting to overhead, luckily I was close to the next offramp which I took and pulled over, radiator had sprung a leak, top up with some water and drive to Honda Pinetown. Now it's friday afternoon and very close to closing time. I told them I was on my way to the berg and asked if they could quickly look at the car, no problem they pulled it into the workshop and pulled the rad out which you could see was failing. Small problem, no spare in stock, they phone another branch or silverton radiator distributor or someone and tell them a driver is on his way and to stay open until he gets there. Driver gets back with new part and by now most staff are going home and locking up, new part gets installed and ws manager takes it around the block for a test drive, declares it all good and I can be on my way, not once did anybody look remotely irritated/inconvenienced by me keeping them late, it was all smiles and making sure I can get on my way again. Most places would have told me to get stuffed and they could only do the job on monday.

I've never purchased a car from Honda Pinetown and I've never made use of their services after that incident but every year I get a courtesy call from them. I also get the odd email & sms from them when they have big promos or launches (not spammy at all).

If I had to buy another honda guess who I would be phoning?!
 
Excellent service does exist, I experience it regularly at my dealership of choice. Just be sure to kick up the same fuss when you get good service as when you get bad service. Email the branch manager, let them know a good job was done, that person xyz was friendly or whatever. People are constantly being punished for doings things wrong, but rarely rewarded for doing things right.
 
Customer service, in South Africa? Bitch, please... :p

Joking aside, it does reflect poorly on the dealership. Courtesy is in short supply within the sales world, as it is.
 
M3mPh1z said:
Thats good to hear, my father has a chev and has had complete incompetence from Reeds on numerous occasions, so its good to hear the whole group isn't a write off.
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I bought the car from Reeds, but I have heard too many horror stories about their after sales service, much like your dad probably got, so I never went back there.
 
I agree with the OP. Regardless of what the car actually costs, you should be getting follow up service.

The funny part is, what the dealers don't realise is that if they just take a little time and effort to provide after service, people would come onto a forum like this and post about it. Thereby giving them free marketing.
 
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