I thought it important to post my latest experience from a main dealer.

I encountered a strong smell of petrol from my VRS on my way home from a meeting yesterday at 1pm. I went to the dealer who sold me the car and they had a quick look and asked to have the car to se what was wrong.

No loan cars available so a problem. The sales team moved a few of their cars about and sorted out a car for me.

Today a call at 11am to tell me that the high pressure fuel pump had failed and that..... It's replaced and car ready for collection.

Car picked up today fully Valeted and engine bay steam cleaned. Car perfect!

As I said thought it important as it's not all gloom and doom with Skoda

This is how it should be - a positive customer experience.

 

Unfortunately most seem to have lost the plot ......

 

Hence why my servicing and warranty work is now going to a Skoda Service Partner that is actually part of a Toyota Dealership and doesn't sell Skoda's! They have the correct customer service skills and attention to detail.

Having come from years of buying fords because I get the employee discount I can only say what I've encountered so far is a breath of fresh air.

Even to the point of being able to call SUK to chase the car as the dealer was away. I had an issue with the satnav and it was sorted promptly.

Andyvee - how do you find a skoda service partner like that? I really don't want to take my car to the local skoda garage less than 5 miles away if I can help it. Their attitude to selling me a car stunk (down to refusing shake hands with me when I left after I refused to sign for the deal he wanted me to have on a car I hadn't asked him to quote for!) so I ended up using a broker and getting a far better deal from someone with a far better attitude. I am now wondering what to do for servicing though as going back to the broker dealer isn't an option.

You can find them on the Skoda website

 

http://www.skoda.co.uk/owners/service-and-maintenance/online-service-booking/online-service-booking

Afraid that's the thing with buying through a broker.They don't have the overhead costs to be able to cater with after sales issues. Bit like buying a lawnmower on the internet 100's of miles away. Then expecting a local dealer to sort an issue out. Why should they give you loyalty if you don't give it back. However any Skoda dealer should carry out rectifications,servicing etc. Just don't expect free gratis for non warranty issues such as, how's this and that work etc.

I bought from a dealer, and wanted to give them the service work, but they made the whole booking in and courtesy car experience much more painful than it should be that I went elsewhere. It was almost as if it was too much trouble for them to do a service and provide a courtesy car in a reasonable time frame. Unfortunately I can't predict 4 weeks ahead when I might need a service or warranty work (I can do 1000+ miles one week, and only 200 the next depending on work).

 

RRG in Bolton were spot on, and even did the Saturday morning whilst you wait, in and out in just over an hour and a half, job done. So much so it is booked back in with them to replace the leaking power struts for the tailgate .........

My first service was carried out by the dealer I'd bought the car from - to say I was disgusted with the customer service is an understatement, so much so I took part in a hastily arranged meeting with the staff and dealer principal. Apologies all round of course, but once bitten etc.

Anyway, just had my 2nd service, carried out by another dealership 55 miles away from where I live - "chalk n cheese" springs to mind, at last I've experienced the famed Skoda customer service, and well worth the 110 mile round trip. From the initial reception, through the excellent waiting facilities, the prompt,efficient & correct service completed, to the friendly and courteous staff ( even the mechanics / technicians smiled a "hello") and the inside & out valet all provided as part of the (free) service, I couldn't have been more pleased - Mitchell's Skoda @ Cheshire Oaks, take a well deserved bow.As Arnie says, " I'll be back" !

JKW

I actually really wanted to buy the car from our local dealer, but when it came to agreeing a price for it, the salesman behaved so badly that there was no way I was giving them the business.  I had the broker price with me at the test drive and the second it came to discussing figures for the car and I asked him about it, he threw his toys out the pram and refused to negotiate at all.  He muttered something about his best deal not being anywhere near that price, but wouldn't even give me a proper written quote showing his best offer (and he still didn't even want to talk about the model of car we really wanted!).

 

The stupid thing was that from the few details he did give me verbally, when I got home and worked it out, it would have been a close enough price for me to have signed on the dotted line with him.  There was no effort on his part to contact me again afterwards for further discussion either.   For a "sales" man he really didn't seem very interested in selling!

 

I fully understand that it must be frustrating as hell for them to keep seeing these broker prices, but brokers have been around for years now so it shouldn't have been a surprise to him. It just took me aback that there was absolutely no effort to win my business at all - it really was a "take it or leave it, I'm doing you a favour" approach. 

 

The car was actually bought from a main dealer in the end - the broker I used literally just put me in touch with them and the whole transaction was with them and not the broker.  It was a dealer who is often praised on here and quite rightly so.  The whole process with them was brilliant - they were polite, courteous and totally on the ball, just as it should be! 

JKW,

That is good news, we have just bought a car from Mitchell's Skoda @ Cheshire Oaks, nice, civilized and not at all pushy, and a really lovely bunch of flowers for the "Senior Management".  A long way from home, but I'll not be at all surprised if we go back for servicing etc.

I've praised Mitchell's before. Mark Mitchell, the man behind the company, has strong moral ethics. Doesn't open on Sundays, says his staff work hard and one day a week should be kept for family life.

 

 

(No connection other than a satisfied customer.)