Dealer Response........or lack thereof!

[backdoc]

I've ordered a new RS wagon which was a special delivery due to leather and sunroof. I was told it wouldn't arrive until end of Jan or start of Feb 2010.........4 month wait

After reading this forum I thought I'd find out the VIN and track the process of the car as I ordered it 6 weeks ago.

I rang the Melbourne dealer first thing yesterday and they said they'd get right back to me.

2 full business days later and not a single return phone call. After investing close to $50,000 of my hard earned cash I reckon that is appalling customer service. Not even a courtsey call back to say they weren't able to provide it at this time or anything. I hope this is not what to expect after I take delivery!

Not happy..........

[FJ Steve]

Maybe the sales guy is off work sick...or his missus had a baby...or he won 'lotto.

Have you actually followed up with another phone call....or is this the only outlet you have tried?

Story = 2 sides

[woofy]

I can guess which one it might be, they are good at times, but forgetful.....I have had to ask a few times about the same thing. The best thing is to contact the other person there as well....one of them is better at remembering.

[G-rig]

I've noticed it's much better to call than email dealers (oldschool) as they may not get the email instantly even though you may be on a computer all the time.

Otherwise maybe you just got a useless prick.. Name and shame!

I guess they thought there is a four month wait so what is the difference between a day or two..

[gregozedobe]

After investing close to $50,000 of my hard earned cash

I think you may be exaggerating just a little in your frustration - "Close to $50,000" is an awfully large deposit for a mid range vehicle like an Octy (wonderful cars though they are ). Unless you have pre-paid the whole purchase price upfront for some reason ?

I agree with G-rig, give them a phone call. If they are unable to supply a VIN that means that your car hasn't been scheduled to be built yet (or other much more unpleasant explanations).

I have read a few horror stories of people waiting for months for a special order, then the specs are seriously wrong when the car finally arrives. So I would also suggest asking for a printed copy of the build specs from their computer so you can check what the factory is actually going to build (as opposed to what a salesperson is telling you they have ordered).

[backdoc]

I think you may be exaggerating just a little in your frustration - "Close to $50,000" is an awfully large deposit for a mid range vehicle like an Octy (wonderful cars though they are ). Unless you have pre-paid the whole purchase price upfront for some reason ?

I agree with G-rig, give them a phone call. If they are unable to supply a VIN that means that your car hasn't been scheduled to be built yet (or other much more unpleasant explanations).

I have read a few horror stories of people waiting for months for a special order, then the specs are seriously wrong when the car finally arrives. So I would also suggest asking for a printed copy of the build specs from their computer so you can check what the factory is actually going to build (as opposed to what a salesperson is telling you they have ordered).

With all due respect, I've signed a sales contract, with a deposit of $2000, so whether I've paid now or not is irrelevant.

I don't believe it is good customer service, whether it's a $50000 car or $100 buck pair of jeans you've had on order. I'm just disappointed that this is their approach.

[CatonaPC©]

With all due respect, I've signed a sales contract, with a deposit of $2000, . . .

Two grand!!! What? I once paid $50 on a deposit for a car, and for my current Golf I paid only $500 deposit and that was on my suggestion!

Regardless of whether you think it is or isn't good service the dealer doesn't have to give you a VIN. On a potential 4 month delivery estimate, it is well within the manufacturer's rights to change the specs other than on the extras your ordered, so a VIN may not be so readily available now.

You agreed to 4 month wait when you signed the contract.

Wait.

[noone]

What the reality is and what you'd like are 2 different things.

I rang a recruiter about a job over 2 weeks, didn't get a response phonecall.

The next time I called and again was told he was in a meeting, I asked to speak to the manager, found out he was in charge. I suggested to the receptionist that he return one of my many phonecalls or I'd find the business owner and voice my concerns to them.

I had a call back within the hour.

Moral here? Doubt it. But to call once and get overly upset is a little demanding. Could be as simple as 2 of the digits in the number taken down were swapped (I'm a little dyslexic and have done this before) or maybe they are super busy (or super lazy) and just don't really care to follow up with a person who's car is still some months away.

I understand your concern and this is your soapbox, but think you can stretch to a second call. The only 2 places I've EVER found amazing customer service was an Apple store and my not so local video store (worth the extra travel). If it really gets you, take your business to a dealership you think wants your business.

[aslsw]

As another post says, I think the more important things is to make sure you have a signed list of the specifications which you can use to check the vehicle once it arrives.

[Transporter]

I think you may be exaggerating just a little in your frustration - "Close to $50,000" is an awfully large deposit for a mid range vehicle like an Octy (wonderful cars though they are ). Unless you have pre-paid the whole purchase price upfront for some reason ?

I agree with G-rig, give them a phone call. If they are unable to supply a VIN that means that your car hasn't been scheduled to be built yet (or other much more unpleasant explanations).

I have read a few horror stories of people waiting for months for a special order, then the specs are seriously wrong when the car finally arrives. So I would also suggest asking for a printed copy of the build specs from their computer so you can check what the factory is actually going to build (as opposed to what a salesperson is telling you they have ordered).

With all due respect, I've signed a sales contract, with a deposit of $2000, so whether I've paid now or not is irrelevant.

I don't believe it is good customer service, whether it's a $50000 car or $100 buck pair of jeans you've had on order. I'm just disappointed that this is their approach.

Hi, backdoc

With the respond like this to the good advice, don't expect others to be too sympathetic with you.

As others said give them another call, we are all humans and sometimes forgot the things. Didn't it ever happen to you?

Cheers

[backdoc]

Hi, backdoc

With the respond like this to the good advice, don't expect others to be too sympathetic with you.

As others said give them another call, we are all humans and sometimes forgot the things. Didn't it ever happen to you?

Cheers

Who siad anything about getting overly upset or overly frustrated? I think people may be putting words in my mouth here!

I am merely commenting on the fact that I didn't believe it was good customer service. Nothing more, nothing less.

As for demanding a VIN or whatever one of the posters wrote. I wasn't demanding anything. I simply rang to see if it was available. If it's not, then a simple return phone call to say as much would suffice.

I reckon there is a slight feeling of senstivity in here! I'll keep my opinions to myself I think unless they are positive.

And yes I may have forgotten to call a friend or two, maybe even my wife, but as I said, in the world I come from (I'm in the customer service industry too) a courtsey call is always appreciated and does wonders for professional and mutually beneficial relationships!

[gregozedobe]

Regardless of whether you think it is or isn't good service the dealer doesn't have to give you a VIN. On a potential 4 month delivery estimate, it is well within the manufacturer's rights to change the specs other than on the extras your ordered, so a VIN may not be so readily available now.

While the dealer dosn't "have" to give out VINs, from the many reports I've read where dealers won't (when asked politely) it is usually either :

- the car hasn't been scheduled to built yet (IIRC Skoda are/were having supply problems of some components leading to delays in building of some cars), or

- a strong indicator of potential problems with that dealer - either slackness/incompetence, or just plain dodgy dealer practices (eg selling "your" car to someone else, failure to order the correctly specified car or whatever).

Once a Skoda is scheduled to be built a VIN is allocated (yes, well before the first parts are put together), so changes in specs are all settled at that stage. If a dealer is saying the car has been built but won't give out the VIN for a special build order that a customer has paid a deposit on then I would wonder what is going on.

Sometimes we don't get the customer service we think we should, then it is up to each individual what they are prepared to do about it. My personal approach is to (usually) give the intial contact person a gentle reminder and a chance to fix things up, but if that doesn't get results I have no hesitation in going further up the line of command. I find it best to be calm, straight forward and persistent (sometimes VERY persistent ).

[Sales @ Mentone Skoda]

Who siad anything about getting overly upset or overly frustrated? I think people may be putting words in my mouth here!

I am merely commenting on the fact that I didn't believe it was good customer service. Nothing more, nothing less.

As for demanding a VIN or whatever one of the posters wrote. I wasn't demanding anything. I simply rang to see if it was available. If it's not, then a simple return phone call to say as much would suffice.

I reckon there is a slight feeling of senstivity in here! I'll keep my opinions to myself I think unless they are positive.

And yes I may have forgotten to call a friend or two, maybe even my wife, but as I said, in the world I come from (I'm in the customer service industry too) a courtsey call is always appreciated and does wonders for professional and mutually beneficial relationships!

Backdoc, here’s some insight about how the process should go when you purchase a new vehicle.

You should expect a call/email the following day after the purchase/deposit is given. This phone call should outline the time frame for delivery (in your case 4 months+) and any potential delays that may occur e.g. factory closing over Christmas and stagnant shipping and transport over this period.

The process would then be to call you after a week just to confirm the ordered number and that it is in the system. You should then be told in about 4-5 weeks you will receive another call to confirm the build has been accepted and a planned week/day has been allocate for production. Once the car has started the build process it will receive all it’s identification number engine, vin etc, this normally happens around 7-8 weeks after you placed the order but maybe a few weeks either side in some instances.

I personally ask every client what level of contact suits them, I tend to try and make a phone call every 4 weeks after the first week call but would also ask whether YOU wanted more or less contact.

This is not to say i am better than everyone else or to discredit anyone , I really do not know the circumstances surrounding your dealings with the dealership in question, I am merely offering some insight of how it should transpire.. Maybe this is also a dialogue you can have with the dealer and tell them what you want and prefer.

If none of this has been done by the dealer then you probably do have a reason to be upset, it's a lot of money in anyone’s terms and you shouldn't have to chase them for this information at anytime.

As everyone has said it maybe a simple mistake but you should definitely make it clear to the dealer that you are unhappy and then gauge their reaction and level of customer service based on how they come back to you from here. If all else fails send me a private message and I will help you further.

Cheers

Chris

[Jayse]

Backdoc,
Don't worry mate, it is still common courtesy for someone to act on something they say they'll do. Like the others have said though, maybe the dealer has forgotten about it/maybe lazy...doesn't hurt to give them another call back and ask again.
I think quite a few of us on this forum have gotten quite used/jaded to the sometimes slack/lazy attributes of some dealers, be it from VAG or other companies. (Chris from Mentone Skoda is an exception to this rule.)
We all know how excited we get when a new car is ordered and sometimes we might get a lil impatient with how the process is going ( i think one of the guys waiting on a MkVI GTI has been told to stop ringing his dealer), but if you follow some of the tips here from fellow members(awesome point by Greg for getting a print out of your exact order) and the very rare helpful dealers on here also, you'll be much better prepared to handle the wait. Don't worry, been there done that...waited 6months for my .:R36!

Good luck with it all mate and if the dealer is really being a PITA,then check your contract and go somewhere else. There should be exemptions to break the contract due to various circumstances.

Cheers,
Jayse.

[backdoc]

Backdoc,
Don't worry mate, it is still common courtesy for someone to act on something they say they'll do. Like the others have said though, maybe the dealer has forgotten about it/maybe lazy...doesn't hurt to give them another call back and ask again.
I think quite a few of us on this forum have gotten quite used/jaded to the sometimes slack/lazy attributes of some dealers, be it from VAG or other companies. (Chris from Mentone Skoda is an exception to this rule.)
We all know how excited we get when a new car is ordered and sometimes we might get a lil impatient with how the process is going ( i think one of the guys waiting on a MkVI GTI has been told to stop ringing his dealer), but if you follow some of the tips here from fellow members(awesome point by Greg for getting a print out of your exact order) and the very rare helpful dealers on here also, you'll be much better prepared to handle the wait. Don't worry, been there done that...waited 6months for my .:R36!

Good luck with it all mate and if the dealer is really being a PITA,then check your contract and go somewhere else. There should be exemptions to break the contract due to various circumstances.

Cheers,
Jayse.

Thanks Jayse, & no one has been that poor, just was commenting on what would seem a common courtsey. And I have no doubt the dealer forgot.........I certainly wouldn't be one to assume that they have actively chosen not to call.

In the overall scheme of things, it is minor. Previously I had the Mark V R32 and I actually found VW really good. Kept in touch via text and phone calls, but not hassling & all warranty stuff was taken care of pretty efficiently. I was going to buy the R36 but I actually was finding it hard to justify the extra $25-30k for it over the RS. It does look awesome though!