We would like to thank those of you who have, in the past, helped members out with their technical queries and questions

It would appear now that Skoda UK are not happy for you to do this, as witnessed by this thread.

This is a wonderful community and it does need you and your continued help and support.

To this end could you please contact me, either by PM or e-mail (TaviaRS @ Briskoda . net) to let me know who you are.

All details will be held in the strictest of confidence

Thank you.

If you are a dealer / dealer employee, please don't reply to this thread, PM or e-mail only.

:bump:

Thanks indeed

Would it be a possibility to have a members-only technical forum that could not even be viewed by people who aren't registered members?

Possibly even requiring a paid subscription to view it?

Alternatively we could have a "technical help requests" forum where users post and help is provided via PM only?

Let's not get too deep into this. From my experience with similar things (NTL in particular) this never works out too well, and whether it's good PR or not, at the end of the day most people need their jobs more than a forum (no offence intended).

It is a shame, but 'hiding it' is usually not a good plan either as it will probably lead to someone trying to find out what's going on, and this could lead to allsorts of nasty stuff for those involved.

Let's just move on and see what happens

Also need to think about how easy it would be for someone from SkodaUK to post on here asking for help then wait for a PM from one of the Techie chaps offering advice :(

You can bet they know who most of em on here are by now :(

Rest assured we are looking into many solutions.

We'd like to think good faith and honesty were still core values. We respect all views from the Skoda UK team and that of dedicated enthusiasts.

No offence taken WW_VRS, I to value my lifestyle as others value there jobs. Freedom of information is one thing, breeching a contract is another. Let me clarify as far as I am aware this has not happened here, nor do I think it would of thats the tradegy.

We'll leave it as streamling the advice enthusiasts give each other...

This action is as much to make people aware as it is to discuss the future of technical advice on a modern motoring forum.

I personally work in a car manufacturer UKHQ, in fact a stone throw away from VW UKHQ. I agree that car companys' ethos stinks and hypocritical, but I cannot imagine it wants to damage customer relations.

The main problem lies in the gap between the HQ and the dealerships. As 99% of dealers do not belong to the manufacturer and consequently they have a very different objectives. In many cases dealers will not do what they are told, managing and controlling a dealership network of, say, 300 is extremely difficult. They are not aware of all issues bewteen the customers and the dealers, and in most cases they do not reach the top level.

At the end of the day, they are measured by JD Power Survey and I know Skoda is doing well as in other surveys. They really on YOU, the car owners, to rate them! The top guys at VW/Skoda will do anything to rank highly in the table so an average bloke will buy their cars, and they get their million quid bonus.

I am not convinced that the top people at VW or Skoda will favour unhappy Skoda owners and if proper communication is directed at the right people (maybe they have a JD Power Survey team) things might improve.

The J D Power situation is an interesting one. I would not be surprised if in a year or two Skoda starts to slide down the J D Power rankings as they lose the benefit of all the long established small dealerships they have booted out. I think the survey covers cars around two year old so we shall see fairly soon, but probably not in the 2005-published results.

The last thing any motor company in UK want is to do cr@p in it.

I am not convinced that the top people at VW or Skoda will favour unhappy Skoda owners and if proper communication is directed at the right people (maybe they have a JD Power Survey team) things might improve.

As a site for Skoda enthusiasts why doesn't someone from Skoda UK strike up a dialogue, so people can ask questions and have them answered? To find out what the customer really wants and needs.

Is it because we only represent a small proportion of the UK market and that we, individually and as a Skoda community, are not considered important?

We are in the ideal position to make comment and pass on suggestions. Skoda has come on leaps and bounds it would be a real pity for quality products to be and excellent customer service to hidden under a mass of corporate red tape and rubbish.

If the vast majority of members feel this way then you can be damn sure that there are other,non Briskoda, Skoda owners who would also concur.

IMHO of course.

A bit OT, sorry.

As a site for Skoda enthusiasts why doesn't someone from Skoda UK strike up a dialogue' date=' so people can ask questions and have them answered? To find out what the customer really wants and needs.

Is it because we only represent a small proportion of the UK market and that we, individually and as a Skoda community, are not considered important?

We are in the ideal position to make comment and pass on suggestions. Skoda has come on leaps and bounds it would be a real pity for quality products to be and excellent customer service to hidden under a mass of corporate red tape and rubbish.

If the vast majority of members feel this way then you can be damn sure that there are other,non Briskoda, Skoda owners who would also concur.

IMHO of course.

A bit OT, sorry. [/quote']

The question is, who at skoda did you, as a club, spoke to? Sales and mkting? Corporate Event? Customer Service? The top people?

Most people who work there are not enthusiasts, they just want to do a job and go home at 5 and don't give a damn what's going on out there. They want to AVOID as much extra work as possible, and not think outside the box. Why would they (especially at lower level) want extra burden?

Skoda is just like any other company, it is a profit maximising business, not a charity, run by businessman, not car nuts. The top people are probably German or Czech who doesn't know whats going on here. You will have to make them aware how we can enhance their business success. You have to talk to the right people to get the right result.

The question is' date=' who at skoda did you, as a club, spoke to? Sales and mkting? Corporate Event? Customer Service? The top people?

Most people who work there are not enthusiasts, they just want to do a job and go home at 5 and don't give a damn what's going on out there. They want to AVOID as much extra work as possible, and not think outside the box. Why would they (especially at lower level) want extra burden?

Skoda is just like any other company, it is a profit maximising business, not a charity, run by businessman, not car nuts. The top people are probably German or Czech who doesn't know whats going on here. You will have to make them aware how we can enhance their business success. You have to talk to the right people to get the right result.[/quote']

Of course you are right but you can't help but wonder.

we had a very high up member of the renault uk clio team (brand manager iirc) on cliosport he helped in many many situations and was and alround good bloke even got us a demo mk2 v6 before the release date so we could take it to a show etc etc.

he has helped with a good few situations in the past. we also had quite a few RTE (renault spaner monkeys) on the site that were always glad to help out (unlike the dealers) it can help if they are a bit more friendly to us

As others have already said - we can probably handle technical enquiries in a more structured way - whilst not causing Skoda or anyone else for that matter any trouble.

It's good to see that Skoda have spoken to Ross with regards to what he can and can't do,quite why they didnt do that in the first place is beyond me!

As others have already said - we can probably handle technical enquiries in a more structured way - whilst not causing Skoda or anyone else for that matter any trouble.

It's good to see that Skoda have spoken to Ross with regards to what he can and can't do' date='quite why they didnt do that in the first place is beyond me![/quote']

The thing of it is they didn't speak DIRECTLY to Ross, they spoke to his boss !!!, had they spoken to Ross directly I don't think it would have caused the reaction that it has.

It's the underhanded way SkodaUK went about "informing Ross" that most here are objecting to (or am I wrong in that assumption / observation ?)

EDIT :- Hadn't read the Part 2 post by Ross when I wrote this, though the above is still valid SkodaUK do seem to have redeemed themselves somewhat.

Nice move SkodaUK

No offence taken / intended in my previous post & it's good to see things are indeed sorting themselves out.

Best thing is that Skoda has sought to remedy the situation (ref part 2 post) which is positive for all involved (I hope) and we can take it from there again

No offence taken / intended in my previous post & it's good to see things are indeed sorting themselves out.

Best thing is that Skoda has sought to remedy the situation (ref part 2 post) which is positive for all involved (I hope) and we can take it from there again

Unfortunately there is a Part three to the post now and its not good news :(

Unfortunately there is a Part three to the post now and its not good news :(

Can you be a bit more specific please?

Can you be a bit more specific please?

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/t22974-part-3.html

OK so we only have 4 people in "the trade" on the board? Any more for anymore?

Further to a few PMs, thought I'd :bump: this up.

Sorry about dead thread revival. But I know of many car enthusiasts who know more about the car then the dealer mechanics themselves. Are they supposed to keep their mouths shut too? And how about your local neighberhood mechanic who owns his own business... He is suppose to keep his trap shut? I find all of this nonsence utter and complete bullsh*t. Bloody hell... If I wanted control over the free speech of my vehicle I would have bought a Lada.