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

[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!

[backdoc]

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

Thanks Chris, I sent you a PM.

[Jayse]

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!

I did the same thing with the BMW 335i or the 3.0TDI A4...couldn't justify spending the extra 30-40k!!

I don't think you'll be dissapointed with your purchase mate, i'm patrolling the skoda thread now as i'll be getting a vRS when we need a second car next year. (Chris i'll be in touch!) Great car for the money!!

Cheers,

Jayse.

[Sales @ Mentone Skoda]

Hi Guys,

As embarrassing as this is in the spirit of the forum i should come clean and mention that the dealer 'backdoc' had purchased the vehicle from was us at Mentone. Not from me specifically but at the end of the day i am as much responsible for this as anyone else working here

Backdoc has PM'd me and i have been able to give him all the relevant information and my personal assurance that i will keep him well informed from here on until he takes delivery of his new car.

[h100vw]

Hi Guys,

As embarrassing as this is in the spirit of the forum i should come clean and mention that the dealer 'backdoc' had purchased the vehicle from was us at Mentone.

Good on you for 'fessing up Chris. I am sure that will go a long way to winning back friends.

The other dude looking for a job??

Gavin

[noone]

Good outcome.