Skoda Authorised dealer Salesman's knowledge

[GBHam]

How have the others found the level of knowledge / competency  of Authorised Dealer sales folks.

 

Not to happy with mine here in Hamburg, (ex demo with 10 miles on clock)  missing parts which were in the offer, ordered extras not fitted at collection had to revisit, on revisit fitted the wrong parts (even though he admits I gave them the correct part numbers), scratch noted at pickup not repaired at revist, asked if a seperation net could be fitted post production, yes, now find out it cannot be also part of the package. Wife went to pick up after revist and didnt stand up to them.

[james_19742000]

Personally I find dealers can be very hit and miss, I suppose it comes down to if they actually have an 'interest' in what they sell, and this applies to anyone involved in sales, they 'should' know the product inside and out and should have a good knowledge of what they are selling and should be able to answer most questions either from memory or with the help of a brochure or the computer, however, some will just be looking at closing a deal to acheieve commision etc, some will be looking at a sale as the way of starting a long standing business relationship with you for repeat business.

 

My dealer knows that I research everything I look at buying, and generally I like to know the product I am buying and know all its good and bad points, features as standard and what things can be done as extras/options, this applies not only to cars but to other major purchases within the house, TV's, Fridge/Freezers etc etc etc my dealer knows me as the man that comes in and knows exactly what I want, and also knows exactly what is available for the car, they know I often have more up to date information than what they have due to things such as the internet, forum sites etc and they know that there is no point in trying to upsell me as they know I know what I want, my local dealer knows exactly what standards I expect from them and they know how to keep me happy, if they manage all those things then they know they get repeat business.

 

In my opinion, the dealer you have used which doesnt seem to be wanting to keep you happy, either has no product knowledge, doesnt look at you as a person just looks at you as a 'commision', has no real interest in customer service, it could any of those, or a mixture of all of them, that in my view is a poor dealer, some places I have bought a car from in the past have really just 'closed the door once I handed my cash over' and thats just wrong in my view, I can remember one guy at a dealer, I done a deal on a car, collected it, then a few days later I had a query so I rang him, he wasnt available so I asked him to ring me back, he did a little later, I asked him my query and he said to me 'sorry, but unless you are wanting to buy another car from me, then I have no need to speak with you, so please dont call again as next time I will ignore you...' needless to say I never went back, however, my current dealer has always had an attitude completely different!

 

Thats how I have found things and just my thoughts.

[J8mbo]

To date I have never found a dealership to be enthusiastic as i am about a car they sell.

From sales to parts I have always known more. I know more about etka than most parts guys I have encountered and that goes for Ford in the eighties and nineties as well.

I have found the parts guys to be stubborn for want of a better word.

But I am an enthusiast. A VAG enthusiast at that. And we know our onions.

I would love to work in parts in a VAG dealership. It would consume me and I it.

Think - 'The Lawnmower Man' and you'd be halfway there.

[lfc958]

My local dealer is quite poor when being asked to call back & product knowledge, but if you come to the showroom they will help as much as possible, they dont actually try to sell you the car, you buy it from them, they take time to ask you what you want and will answer questions based on the brochure they have in stock.

 

Whenever i have visited they know my product knowledge far out stripts theirs, as like one of the previous posters i do my research, & they just take my order.

 

I strongly suspect that they have actually lost claiming money from SUK, for my 1st service as i had to wait for 6 months for my car to be delivered & the compensation covered the cost of my 1st service.

[kalpat]

My main gripe is when you need any warranty jobs to be done. I would prefer to speak directly to the tech. & discuss the problem rather than the receptionist. In the past problems haven't been sorted purely because the exact detail wasn't passed on correctly. Service receptionists I have encountered have been like a computer firewall - nothing gets passed them.

[scotsblood]

My main gripe is when you need any warranty jobs to be done. I would prefer to speak directly to the tech. & discuss the problem rather than the receptionist. In the past problems haven't been sorted purely because the exact detail wasn't passed on correctly. Service receptionists I have encountered have been like a computer firewall - nothing gets passed them.

As with most things that need accuracy, put it in writing! In addition to transcription errors from reception to technician it gives the opportunity to give the tech the issues in your own language rather than 'reception speak' if you leave a copy in the car.

Also if its a warranty job send it by email to the service manager so there's a papertrail of timescales if you need to refer to manufacturer.  

[Tech1e]

My main gripe is when you need any warranty jobs to be done. I would prefer to speak directly to the tech. & discuss the problem rather than the receptionist. In the past problems haven't been sorted purely because the exact detail wasn't passed on correctly. Service receptionists I have encountered have been like a computer firewall - nothing gets passed them.

 

That is exactly how it is supposed to work now. Master techs are now partly removed from the workshop and are an interface between the service advisors and the workshop. They are expected/trained now as a customer facing role so they can go out with a customer and qualify the complaint. Its all in the aid of increasing first time fix and improving customer satisfaction.

[Stuarted]

I have encountered this issue with other products, where a problem kept on not being fixed because the person I had to speak to was too thick to pass on the details properly to the workshop.

In the end I found the only solution was to write down on a piece of paper, as clearly, simply and briefly as possible, exactly what the problem was and to tape this securely to the faulty product before I handed it over.  Lo and behold, the problem then (at last) immediately got sorted.

This must be just as frustrating for the workshop staff, who find themselves trying to fix a problem which has not been defined and where they have to just try to guess what it is that the customer is actually complaining about.

Why dealers persist in this stupid Iron Curtain of non-communication (which wastes a lot of expensive workshop time as well as hacking off customers) I don't know, but it is one of the main reasons why - wherever possible -  I would go to a good independent specialist where I can actually speak to the man in overalls rather than to some non-technical dollybird (however attractive!) in a mini skirt sitting in the front of a main dealer's palatial glass palace.

Edited 23 October, 2013 by Stuarted

[LadyVienna]

In terms of the salesman I dealt with, my knowledge was considerably better than his. When collecting my car he even asked me if I would give him a lesson on what's what on the amundsen! A lot of my bits of random knowledge came from here so thanks everyone!

 

Havent used the service / aftersales chaps yet so will have to wait and see what happens there.

[pipsyp]

I think its very important before you sign on the dotted line that you have set out all your expectations clearly, best if you get verbal agreements in writing too.

Some salesmen will feed you a line when you ask for something like "oh yes not a problem" or "im sure we can do something about that"; when the time comes they deny all knowledge of the conversation or give some fable as to why they cannot do as asked.

Fair shout to them in a way as every little thing they give away eats into their margins and will affect their commission, you can understand why it happens when you think about how it all works.

When I picked up my last car they wouldnt include a tank of fuel....to be honest I got a good deal and I only pay tax on my own fuel so not a big deal but probably the first time ive been unsuccessful in getting fuel in a deal. Of course it'd been another 50-60 quid they would have had to give away, nothing in the grand scheme of things but id already saved alot of money on list so didnt argue. My own fault for not agreeing it formally.

If you get it in writing there are no arguments and any salesmen worth their salt will honour a written agreement, your word against his/hers is no good at all.

Edited 23 October, 2013 by pipsyp

[GBHam]

Thanks for all the replies, like the analogies from many of you, Firewall, Iron curtain to name just 2. For me a car is just a way to get from A to B when public transport does not run where I want to go I try to be as clear as possible and do research before as recommended above, I did a check list and got issues notes but in the end my case seems to be an idle non interested salesman, I will speak to the Sales Manager for the area of the dealer tomorrow that normally does the trick.

Again many thanks.

[Nipani]

I'm now in the process of buying my 4th car from the same salesman. Although I wouldn't stand up in court as a character reference for him I can say he has been helpful, informative and generally spot on. Ok he can be slow to get back to me sometimes but I know he's mad busy so i don't mind. He keeps me in the picture and is honest (did I just say that). But at the end of the day he has to be that's how he earns his crust. As a return customer I have an advantage though, I can only imagine once you sign on the dotted line you quickly become a nuisance caller.

As for after service I feel your pain dealing with poor receptionists. Try that as well as a language barrier.

How was I suppose to know that schwarz is black in German and not Schwanz (****). Never put black and schwanz in the same sentence. EVER.