Service Centre Rudeness. - Common VW Australia trait?

[walbjj]

Unless you don't look like one of their stereotypical customers, in which case you can go jump.

I went with a mate to drop off his LS460 for the 3 month first service - we were on the way to the gym so dressed accordingly. The service manager saw us walk in, came out of his office and told us to leave as the "service department for your Toyota is next door".

My sister also went through a mad stage where she wanted to buy an SC430 convertible - thankfully the "this car costs more than you can afford" attitude of the salesman at the Lexus dealer put an end to that.

Fully agree with the independent service recommendation - find one in your area who you can trust and you'll never go back to dealer service again.

Are you serious that they said that. I would have thought they would have been taught to not make assumptions on people's net worth by appearances. That's a letdown. If they ever make any car that I would want to buy. Ill turn up wearing what I normally wear and see how it goes down. That's really disappointing to hear that. I would have expected it from a vw salesman tho

[Guest001]

Are you serious that they said that. I would have thought they would have been taught to not make assumptions on people's net worth by appearances. That's a letdown. If they ever make any car that I would want to buy. Ill turn up wearing what I normally wear and see how it goes down. That's really disappointing to hear that. I would have expected it from a vw salesman tho

Bet he is right.

I went shopping for a boat a few years ago, Went in shorts and thongs as you do.

One boatyard on the South side virtually said I wouldnt have enough money for what he was selling.

Shame that as we had just sold a busines for well into 7 figures.

He lost that one and I bought somewhere else.

The dont judge a book by its cover comes to mind.

A guy in our area looks a bit like a tramp at times but owns half the area and flies his own chopper as well.

You never can tell can you.

[jamesatfish]

Are you serious that they said that. I would have thought they would have been taught to not make assumptions on people's net worth by appearances. That's a letdown. If they ever make any car that I would want to buy. Ill turn up wearing what I normally wear and see how it goes down. That's really disappointing to hear that. I would have expected it from a vw salesman tho

Yes I'm serious on both counts.

You would have thought that car salespeople would learn this very simple fact but for some reason it just doesn't get though. I've been told to my face that I couldn't afford a particular car (at a VW dealership) - even worse my mother-in-law has been told to "come back with your husband" before they'd serve her at a Holden dealership. I've even heard stories of how a salesman at a particularly uppity dealership in Sydney shooed away a Murdoch from the front door because it was a few minutes before opening time on a Saturday...

Absolutely no idea why that attitude would persist at the service department though - whilst I can see people getting their jollies test driving cars with no intention of buying, why on earth would someone go to a service department for any reason other than getting service on that particular brand of vehicle?

[OilBurna]

Always had good experiences at Bayford Epping they gave me a loan car last time even though technically they didn't have to, always call you before and after the service to see how it went. Not had great experience with one closer to the city which shalll remain nameless. They are also open on Saturday mornings which is handy if you have a minor service.

[Polo GTEye N9]

I will say I have had a good experience at HWY VW Springwood, when Mike Comasuli was a Service Adviser there. Then afterwards I have had one situation that should have been better, if the staff had communicated to us as well as we did to them. They failed to have our car ready as agreed to only an hour earlier and then offered me a loan car 'free' even when I did not want to take it.
VW really have to do better and so do all business places that offer a high fee for service. Especially for us highly emotional 'car owners' lol
Cheers A

[Tobes_WIR35]

Are you serious that they said that. I would have thought they would have been taught to not make assumptions on people's net worth by appearances. That's a letdown. If they ever make any car that I would want to buy. Ill turn up wearing what I normally wear and see how it goes down. That's really disappointing to hear that. I would have expected it from a vw salesman tho

Ive had plenty of car salesmen not even acknowledge me in various dealerships. Real estate agents at open houses too. They usually think we're just sticky beaks. Sure, we're only in our 20's but little do they know we're both on 6 figures and own multiple properties. Their presumptive attitude gives me the ****s. "Oh so are you guys first home buyers just getting ideas". "No dip****, we're not." Lol

I have family friends who own lots of quarries. They have more money than they'd ever spend but you would never pick it. They have had similar experiences. Every 3 years they buy a new Land cruiser Sahara and Holden Caprice. Every 3 years they tell a similar tale about how they were ignored be salesmen.

[mb1907953]

I find it amazing how many people just don't want to sell their products these days. A bit of a step up from Vdubs but my dad flew down to Melbourne the other day specifically to look at ferrari's as hes wanted one all his life and now has the cash to get it. Prior to flying down he calls up a 'luxury' 2nd hand car yard that had some F355s and 550 Maranellos and no one picks up at 2pm on a Friday. Tries again later and gets some young bloke over the line that proceeds to explain to him how he knows absolutely nothing about Ferraris and he should trust the salesmen on what is best. Having been around cars for his entire life, one of the things that rang alarm bells was the fact that one of the F355s had had an engine rebuild at 60,000klms. This salesman continually claimed that "its just what ferraris are like, they need rebuilds at 50000klms" without offering an explanation as to why and even criticised my dad for telling him otherwise. With a bit of research you find out its to do with an exhaust manifold temp sensor but the bloke didnt want a bar of that.

Anyway, he finally gets the bloke to agree to allow him to test drive the F355 and 550. So he gets down to Melbourne, attends a number of work meetings and rushes (still in a suit) over to the shop to test drive the cars that hed been told he could. First thing this bloke says is "nah you cant test drive any of them, theyre all parked in and the batteries are flat". After some 'discussion' he finally convinces the bloke to let him test drive the 355 but he wouldnt budge on the 550. Still claiming that the engine rebuild is a must, dad leaves the shop unimpressed that hes made such an effort to see the cars. Once at the airport, the guy rings up saying that he can now have a test drive of the 550...

Obviously that didn't work out so he's ended up buying a 550 here at the goldcoast. What's interesting is that the salesman texted him a week later explaining how "I knew you weren't a genuine buyer so thats why I hesitated from letting you test drive the other car. I am sick of dealing with people who arent serious about buying these cars and I hope you realise what a waste of time you are to shops like mine."

What I find insane is that this bloke has actually been hired by someone to sell cars. He didn't even have the judgement to realise that this bloke has made the trip from Brisbane to look at his cars and has turned up in a full lounge suit having just left board meetings. And then on top of that, without provoking, proceeds to berate him about how he isnt a serious car buyer. How can these places expect to sell cars??

But I guess the best feeling for dad will be sending the guy a photo of his new Ferrari 550 Maranello sitting in the garage.

[jamesatfish]

I find it amazing how many people just don't want to sell their products these days. A bit of a step up from Vdubs but my dad flew down to Melbourne the other day specifically to look at ferrari's as hes wanted one all his life and now has the cash to get it.

There's just something that makes Ferrari sales people far worse than any others.

As if that type of attitude at a dealership isn't annoying enough, their motorshow behaviour is even worse.

A motorshow, as far as I can tell, is an event that car makers pay big dollars to attend in order to let the general public look at their cars, obviously with the intention of selling said cars to said members of the public.

Apparently Ferrari interpret this as "a place where we can gather our cars behind a big glass cage in order to prevent anyone who doesn't know the secret Ferrari owners handshake from looking at them, but making it possible for the public to see said owners on the inside of the glass and marvel in their wonder".

Personally I just wish I could be in the financial position that allows me to decide that rather than selling a 6-figure car to a customer and taking the profit from the sale I should instead treat them like dirt and follow up with a rude text message.


On a lighter note I hope the experience didn't sour things for your Dad and he enjoys realising a lifelong dream.

[BrashDaniels]

Re: Service Centre Rudeness. - Common VW Australia trait?

In fairness to all perhaps this thread could come back to bite you.

It is dangerous to name and shame in a public forum without actual legal proof and should some of them read this maybe a libel suit could follow,

Just a thought. I was careful not to name anyone in my post for that very reason

I realise the Forum has disclaimers as to responsibility for posts but all the same could be thin ice here.

libel and slander, now grouped under the single banner of 'defamation", requires several proofs to be sustained. One of those proofs is , what you are saying must be FALSE.

Even if what you are saying IS false, you can still defend defamation if you are stating an honest opinion based on your experience and a set of facts, not supposition and conjecture.

That said, you should think over what you say before you say it. It may not have been an organisation that was rude to you, or the principal whose name appears on the dealer banner, but instead, an individual employee.

Additionally, before you complain in ANY forum, complain to the source first. No point whining unless you've sought a conciliation or solution.


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[Mk3 AAA]

That's horrid, even if a 10 yr old comes into a Ferrari dealership with his mum in their old Magna, they should give them the time of day the arrogant... , those cars are all about buying into the dream etc. That's annoying, what a twit.

Love the victory at the end though, did he respond to that? Not that I'm a petty person, but that is well justified and frankly gold.

What colour is the 550? Family friends used to have a blue one here in Bris, and I noticed it was on carsales not all that long ago. At the time it had a slight chip out of the front bumper down the bottom.

Amazing cars. Guess you'll be sweet talking your dad for many days to come to get that run around the block?

[Mk3 AAA]

I agree you should always be careful with what you put on the net, but if you script it as your opinion/experience and make sure you make that distinction, for this sort of issue, on a forum, you're probably pretty safe.

Not only that, there is legislation to protect individuals from being pursued in defamation by corporations (ones >10 people) e.g. Defamation Act 2005 (Vic).

BUT one thing people don't throw around so much is injurious falsehood (which is a tort), basically (very rough explanation) deliberately slagging off at someone/a business and causing economic loss, it has a higher standard of proof than that of defamation, and the burden would be on them to show that it was communicated with malice and caused economic loss. I forget the nexus between the economic loss and the malice, I don't know if it has to be an intended result by the defendant or merely a 'but for' their actions scenario (haven't looked at it for years and cbf looking it up).

Nonetheless being tactful about what you say about people and their business is important in protecting yourself (and not burning bridges), but you're probably not as exposed as some will lead you to believe.

Then again... I'm not a solicitor, nor am I qualified to give advice on such issues.

Max, the Ferrari... spill.

[ziggyboy]

Volkswagen scored poorly in this customer service survey in Australia: Survey finds Honda, Toyota offer best customer service

But even in saying that, I believe that bad customer service is not uncommon in the car dealership world. However, the manufacturer (ie. VW) will have reasonable influence on dealership behaviour. Take all these "nah mate nothing wrong with your car it's all working as per normal" or "that's the first time I've seen that problem" excuses. Do you really believe it's the first time they've heard of it?

Some dude in Gerald Slaven in the ACT told me that my car "chirping" when stepping on the accelerator was weird and he'd never heard of it. Here's over 60 pages of it: http://www.vwwatercooled.com/forums/...ion-35588.html

What's likely happening is VW has been instructing dealership to downplay certain issues to avoid spending money for replacements or repairs. VW cars may have more issues than they'd like so add that with this whole downplaying attitude and what do you get? More and more customers unsatisfied with customer service. They truly deserve that bad customer service ranking. I don't know how long they think they'd survive telling everyong these problems are "normal" or I'm just imagining things.

And to finish this off, my car sqeals on acceleration and until now HAS NOT BEEN FIXED mainly because dealerships (yes 2 of them) say it is normal. My passengers point out the sqealing noise when my radio is off so I am not imagining things.

Is that good customer service?

Edit: This is the main link over 300 pages http://www.vwwatercooled.com/forums/...ion-31066.html

[Tiggy1]

Re: Service Centre Rudeness. - Common VW Australia trait?

Very much a common trait in many car dealerships - also known as H.I.A.D (Head In Ass Disease). As with all consumer products, I‘ve found the best solution is to keep trying around until you've found one you're happy with. Especially difficult in regional areas where can be 100's of km between dealers (sigh). Maybe that has had some influence in me moving to the city which has the best dealership service

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[Mk3 AAA]

Dad used to go through a few company cars, and reckoned taking a Lexus IS in for a service was a great experience, as was the BMW 330. I've heard great things about Lexus and their service, shame I don't find their cars all that exciting. When I was car shopping for the old company I was looking for an SUV or something airport run friendly and a ute. Holden dealer while on his mobile yells across the room that the prices are all on the net. Oh? The internet!? Never heard of that. Denmac Ford gave me the time of day (I was young and likely a tyre kicker) so ended up with a 4x4 Courier and a Territory ghia, both of which were great cars.

[theburningone]

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