Hi All

Just collected the car after parting with £500 plus VAT = £600 for four new tyres, which actually was a competitive price, because it included fitting, balancing, valves, disposal of the old tyres and so on. It compared very favourably with about ten quotes from a variety of internet and main tyre dealers. Besides, I am happy to support this dealer - and for them to check two points on the car.

My heated seat doesn't heat my backside, and so a new pad has been ordered for me.

Secondly I asked about a firmware update for the Bolero to enable the iPhone to stream my music to it. There is indeed such an update, and I was offered it today, but since it was a "big update" which would have taken about an hour extra I decided to leave it until my 20000 mile service in a month. So - anyone with a pre-summer-2010 Yeti/Bolero combo will be able to stream after the update.

However - when I arrived, i didn't get seen to immediately as there was a chappie with a camera up and down a stepladder taking pics of anything that stayed still long enough, and this included the entire staff of Sinclair Skoda, who were out congregating around one of the three Yetis they have for sale. I noticed that they were clutching a perspex plaque - and sure enough, they'd won the national Retailer of the Year. I didn't mind waiting for their celebrations to end!!

And, as happened when I was in for the service, Andy Shorland the Sales Manager spotted me and came over to shake hands, even recalling my name and circumstances - and again I was impressed, as he'd only met me twice before. Sure, this is what customer service is all about - make the customer feel special........ hence the award, I thought.

Andy was telling me that he is rationed in terms of the Yeti, having sold, last year, about 70% more than budget. Because of demand dealers are restricted in their Yeti numbers, and he did say that part of the problem across the whole Skoda, VW, Audi range is the supply of diesel engines. He also told me that his budgeted sales figures for this year are up by about 50%, and again for the following year. This represents a pretty aggressive sales thrust for the Skoda brand into the future, and he wasnt't too worried about achieving it. He's the chap who would prefer 5% of something to 100% of nothing!!

Anyhow - I was pleased for them, to see they had won that award, and since many of the dealers spoken of on this forum seem to get cussed, I thought it only right to share some good news given that it reflects my own assessment of them.

One last point - Andy was saying that he is desperate for second hand Yetis, so if anyone wants to make a quick buck... ... ... ... It is interesting how our Yetis are holding their value.

Hey congrats Freshacre, all we need now is to see some photos of your new SM :yes:

Good new for early adopters re the Bolero firmware update & BT audio streaming.

Good to hear you are getting good service.

I hope James & his crew can match it..........

Mike

Good new for early adopters re the Bolero firmware update & BT audio streaming.

Good to hear you are getting good service.

I hope James & his crew can match it..........

Mike

Hi Mike

Yes - I was pleased to learn of the update as there have been a few posters on here who have lamented the lack of streaming.

The service angle is just SO important, and James and Allams have a great reputation with customers travelling miles to do business - BUT a bit of competition and pressure from other places does no harm!! Wouldn't it be great if every Skoda dealer was up to their standards? (And perhaps Sinclairs could be persuaded to sponsor on here too ......? says he, full of mischief).

This award must be decided on sales and not on customer service. I am still waiting for a call back from 2 weeks ago from Sinclair Swansea about a Yeti! Luckily James at Allams noticed I was getting frustrated and sent me an email to see if he could help.

You could always try him again instead of sulking (!!) - it MIGHT have got dumped into the spam folder!!

You could always try him again instead of sulking (!!) - it MIGHT have got dumped into the spam folder!!

It was an enquiry done by the old fashion telephone, and I spoke to a human being, a lady!

Ahhh!! She was probably doing her nails at the time... ... ...

Still worth another try - and when you get him, let him know how let down you feel by the whole shameful exercise, and that it has to be worth another 500 quid off for the stress and disappointment!! (You might just get a tenner off!).

Seriously tho', if I read the guy rightly, he'd be pretty fed up that it happened and would then try and make amends.

Oh dear - a sexist remark, will get you into trouble! Sinclairs must be too busy selling Yetis to read this forum, otherwise they would know we are talking about them!

Hey congrats Freshacre, all we need now is to see some photos of your new SM :yes:

Mac, He's had it almost a year! Unless of course you are after pictures of his new tyres