Customers! What are they then?
 

When you spend somewhere in the region of 8 thousand pounds on something like a new car would you go to a small family run franchised dealership where you'd normally have every right to expect friendly service from a place that took their time over getting to know you and your needs, giving you good service, even though it cost a few quid extra, or would you take your chances with a big chain of garages with teenage salespeople completely devoid of product knowledge, where nobody remembers your name and you're just another faceless number in their computerised records of people buying their cheap goods?

Are the days of "Customer Service" dead and buried, or do you know somewhere that stands by the maxim "The CUSTOMER is always right"?

while i have voted for small with good customer service. i would only pay a small premium on the purchase. i am much more willing to pay a premium for quality services themselves at a known specialist.

for most things i do the research myself and then look for the best price

Probably going to start a tirade of responses .... but .... add in an option to buy your "car" or what ever from the face less big chain at the best possibly price and then take it to the family run establishment for servicing and looking after.

Here's the first then:D

If you do that the "Family run establishment" goes out of business:(

I think I know where Paul is coming from, you should base your decision on your own experience, always served me well, as has WM Snell, give em a try. Just vote with your feet Paul. Go quietly which shouldn't be difficult without Termis:lol:

[Edited on 4-9-2005 by Dementor]

i guess it depends where your priorities are,,

if you are buying a car etc then facotrs like how often you use it. if its for pleasure, whether or not you interested in cars all comes into play.

some people crave the "attention" relationship that comes with the customer care provided by say a small famuily run business, other people depend on the trust aspect of it when they are not knowledgeable.

yes its nice to go to your local ducati dealer or wherever and know that they remeber your name/ bike and are able to take time to provide a service that encompasses providing knowledgeable advice.
but thats coz im enthgusiastic about my bike, i coulnt give a toss about the car, as long as the works done properly by knowledgeable mechanics etc.

for me buy from a reputable source if you dont have enough expertise to check out the car you are buying( assuming second hand) or if you are buying new i agree with carbon get the best deal from wherever and then get it serviced somewhere else if you prefer. you just need to know that ( be able to trust) you are getting the service that you are paying for by people that are knowledgeable in your specific vehicle. possibly dont opt for a jack of all trades we service anything local garage.

Ditto electricsheep. :)

Depending what we are talking about here, if it is cars then all the profit is in the serviceing and sales of parts. The initial purchase gives very little profit.

So by going to the small family run business with the service and repair works is giving them the most profitable part of car ownership :D

Reading between the lines ...
 

... tell them how they made you feel mate and see if you can't get it sorted. I know from personal experience that it does no good to bottle it up :)

knowing what you were saying at the weekend Paul - vote with your feet!!

As Roy says try another good local family run establishment, like he & I do. W M Snell :cool:

I agree, far better to resolve, and i'm sure things will be fine, life too short to be upset over something small I'm sure

If I'm buying a car, I'll only go to a family-run concern - normally the family-run concern owned by my brother;)

I work for a small family business - we are only as good as our last job, and we take our highly regarded reputation very seriously. Very few of our customers talk with their feet, as they aren't put in the position where they feel they need to.

My experience of WM Snell has been much the same.

#

It takes a long time to build up a relationship - trust, but it can be gone in 5 minutes!

Paul,

You and I discussed this in depth on Saturday when you collected your new Multistrada and I was present. You are aware of my thoughts and feelings on this matter.

Although I see Henry's point of view, I'm sure you've tried this and as a result this has left you unhappy and unsatisfied.

I am not naming names but the offending dealer is my local too, however like Roy, Charlotte and Karen I too vote with my feet and I agree W.M. Snell is well worth the long walk.

As you are also aware, I have had a problem with them as have 2 of my friends.

Others to consider: Moto Rapido, Pro V Twins and Nelly at Cornerspeed.

How ironic. A post that talks about openess and honesty, yet those not in the know struggle to work out who we are talking about!:D

[Edited on 5-9-2005 by andyb]

Sorry, but I'm not going to enlighten you any more either Andy. I'm not happy about washing dirty linen in public, I just wanted to get your impressions of the type of salespeople you are happy dealing with.
:cool:

except for end of year volume bonuses which can be critical....parts and servicing = cash flow, bonuses = expansion/growth

my experience, being in sales my whole working life, I have only ever come across a handful of peolpe who are any good, and that includes ones I have worked with as well as ones who have served (term used loosely!!) me, and NONE have been at a car/bike dealer!!

i understand that mate, besides i know now, ive read another one of your posts! ;):P

The bottom line is, if you aint happy go elsewhere!

Funny how everyone believes only half the story, people are too quick to judge.. What a shame :(

[Edited on 6-9-2005 by Melnie Mouse]

half of what story? what's going on?

Don't worry it's not important, Paul's a mate of mine, I'm not going into it, nor do I want to wash dirty linen in public

Just a shame people have to fall out over little hiccups....

well hope it get's sorted then, not worth falling out over I'm sure, I had a problem with my audi, and it's been nothing but problems since I had it, the dealership refused to give me back my money even though they kept trying to fix it, and said I drove it too hard! how ridiculous, it broke down with my wife driving it, and she was stranded for 2 hours, In the end I just sold it back to them, but i've lost quite a bit of money on it..

Crikey Melanie, whats the other half of the story that I'm missing?

Dirty linen... public... let's not go there eh?

Bottom line is, for the customer there's not another side to the story. It's your money paul so take it where you chose... I do just that after my own experience.

Blimey, all these people with bad experiences, I guess it's good to be aware of what's going on, but do we ever know the full story? As nbs says, your money -you go where you want. Everyone wants bargains and good service, and not good to put your eggs in one basket, but whatever happens we shouldn't be bitchin about things, this should be a friendly place.. I feel it's getting out of hand, and I'm a new member.. wahhhh help....

Worry not Philip ...
 

... wait until the bad weather arrives and folks have nothing better to do than sit infront of the PC, then you'll see fireworks :lol:;)

oh great :)

Well looking forward to my first rideout, you guys seem quite nice :) See you at box somewhen

lets not protect bad business, expose and make it change...if service is poor, why not tell others? if its good then do the same....seems straight forward to me. :)

Ditto Paul (Bradders)

Is that what you had then Paul, bad service? :(

The people I'm referring to dont access this board and dont give DSC discounts so the majority of members here wont be affected and here is not the place to discuss details. I've deliberately tried steering clear of specifics such as namimg names as all I wanted to do was get peoples thoughts on where they go to buy goods and what level of "service" they'd expect there. If I'm to be pushed into a corner then I'd say from a certain individual, yes, I would say I had been done a "dis-service"!

Well I will tell you somthing Owning a hotel give you a real idea of what lousy sevice people get in all forms. Yes we get things wrong but it's how you deal with a situation that count's. If we break our backs to give a first class sevice then why should I not expect the same when on the other side of the till. Case in point, Loyal VW purchaser for 15 years always from the same very large but family run dealer, fantastic sale deals ofter sales and sevice second to none. then I move to the other end of the uk take our new car in for a few problem's that's fine alway's the same with a new model teething problems. But 12 months on car in dealers on and off for4.5 of those all the time We are pleasant despite the sh##t service. manufacturer dose not give a hoot either despite numerous polite calls. so in the end We get a result. Not by being patient but by walking into the showroom on the 1 sept handing out A4's with the whole story printed on them all factual and balanced. Then start throwing Fcuk's in to the MD and all the sale staff as they hand over key's to expectant new customers.

Result of this antisocial and outragous move? A full refund and an apology from mVW UK.

The things one has to do!