Satisfied customer

[Hobojim]

Conscious of the many unhappy souls on this forum I thought it might introduce a more positive note if I mention my own experience. I ordered on the 22/05 a GTI 5door,PP, DSG, park assist in CSG. The car was built in the week estimated ( BW28) and arrived at the dealer's premises in London on the 8/08 . I collected on the 2/9 as I wanted a 63 plate.The collection experience as the dealer's showroom was first class , in that amongst other things I was taken through the PDI list and the head of sales took me through the car's systems and explained various features. The whole experience felt special and the salesman seemed to get almost as much pleasure as I did in inspecting the car and discussing its many virtues. I am not usually in the habit of recommending dealers , however given the substantial discount I received , the flawless service from the date I ordered through to collection I have no hesitation in recommending this particular dealer, despite the fact that I had to travel to London to collect ( delivery was available but I preferred to collect personally).I do not know what the forum policy is on recommending particular dealers ,however if anyone wants details of the dealer please feel free to contact me

It's fine to post details of dealers, which one have you enjoyed good service from?

[Ricepop]

There are a few issues here:

The first is about the Dealer performance, I don't think anyone can complain about learning how well a particular dealer has performed, I think we definitely need to spread the word when we have good or bad experiences. Personally I don't really have a problem with my dealer (Robinsons in Stamford) they always return my calls and have done a fair bit of work trying to get my courtesy car, Yes I would like to be their number 1 priority but common sense dictates that this isn't possible as they are busy people.

Secondly we have to talk about the performance of VWUK, again good and bad experiences are appreciated as we can use examples to try and help things along, Personally it has been very hit and miss for me, some people I speak to couldn't give a cr4p and others are very concerned about your situation and ring back to make sure things are going OK (The arrival of my courtesy car is the only real reason I have been speaking to VW, It seems that VWUK are intent on not providing the Dealer with the correct information)

Finally we have people on this site (mostly with best intentions) saying how their car didn't take long at all and you just need to be patient.

While I agree its a fair comment it really does grate. It makes you feel like you are in the post office queue and someone walks in the door and gets served straight away while all of us suckers wait.

As ever there are valid reasons why some cars are delayed and some arrive super fast, but please if you are going to tell us how wonderfully fast your car arrived you had better be prepared to accept a barrage of light hearted banter (abuse) from us waiting for 'checkout number five please'.

[monkeyhanger]

My dealer rang me today to ask me how the car is, how i'm enjoying it etc - something he didn't have to do. A nice touch to say they've still got an interest in you after they've had your money (although thy do have a vested interest in trying to retain you for servicing and warranty work)

For the vast majority of issues we've all had, the blame lies with VW UK and not the dealership. Maybe even as a level up VW UK aren't really to blame, but are reliant on limited/poor/incorrect information from the factory. There seems a level of fear/reluctance on the dealerships part to get VW to sort their act out and stop faffing their customers about. You'd have to be brave to risk 3/4 of your profit margin potentially to challenge VW strongly (15% potential profit on the car whhich is discretionary in addition to the mandatory 5%).

DVLA have cocked up - my V5 arrived this morning and it it the keeper/non-owner version with teh red cover. I own mine, it was not financed through VW. Maybe it was applied for by the dealership on the assumption I was taking finance. A very minor issue - i'll get DVLA to correct it next week.

[EpicUsername]

I've said it already, but as much as I love the mk7, I am in no way prepared to wait over half a year for a new car. If they had been very apologetic about the whole thing, offering some kind of token freebie like some servicing or extended warranty, I would tell people that I was treated well and thank them before heading off to buy something else.

However, the general consensus seems to be that VW don't give a flying Banana about customer service for the most part. That's why even though I'm currently in negotiations to buy an Ex Demo GTD, I'm also looking at A3's and may even go to the BMW garage just to have a nosey *Dodges rotten fruit* 

I have alot of respect for the guys on here who are being super patient waiting 6+ months for their car. I couldn't do it, which is why I'm not trying to. I'm sure when the wait is over though it will be super sweet to sit in that cockpit.

[jrc193]

I suspect my good fortune is down to the fact that the dealer I finished up using ( after contacting many dealers around the UK) is that a) they are large and handle large numbers of sales which no doubt gives them larger allocations than the smaller dealers and b) I ordered a GTI and not a GTD ,the latter seemingly prone to delays.
I sympathise with your analogy and should have been a bit more diplomatic in my attempt to share my good fortune with others by offering to direct them to the dealer I used.

[Black oil]

I have had the same experience as Monkeyhanger.
Plenty of attention from my dealer (Martins VW in Camberley) and follow up text,call and e-mail.
I have not had the misfortune some have had of delays in delivery so no reason to keep me sweet other than customer care and professional courtesy.
I very much look forward to dealing with them again should the need arise.

[Bill_the_Bear]

I have not had the misfortune some have had of delays in delivery so no reason to keep me sweet other than customer care and professional courtesy.

They want a good review on the survey they are going to send you nothing more nothing less... its purely mercenary.  I think it is extremely rare that you ever meet a business who cares about you, a stranger, and wants to be nice to you with no personal benefit... I'm not sure I've ever encountered that its that rare.  They are a business not a charity.

I was called by my dealer the day after cancelling to enquire was I happy with the "handover of my new car".  Obviously they had an admin error where the ending of my case triggered the call without the person calling knowing the exact circumstances.  The instant I explained I had cancelled all pretense was dropped and they ended the call asap (voice speaking much faster "oh thats a shame, sorry you cancelled good bye then" phone goes dead).  They couldn't get more money from me so they no longer gave a damn.

This is just how the world works.

[Black oil]

I have not had the misfortune some have had of delays in delivery so no reason to keep me sweet other than customer care and professional courtesy.

They want a good review on the survey they are going to send you nothing more nothing less... its purely mercenary.  I think it is extremely rare that you ever meet a business who cares about you, a stranger, and wants to be nice to you with no personal benefit... I'm not sure I've ever encountered that its that rare.  They are a business not a charity.

I was called by my dealer the day after cancelling to enquire was I happy with the "handover of my new car".  Obviously they had an admin error where the ending of my case triggered the call without the person calling knowing the exact circumstances.  The instant I explained I had cancelled all pretense was dropped and they ended the call asap (voice speaking much faster "oh thats a shame, sorry you cancelled good bye then" phone goes dead).  They couldn't get more money from me so they no longer gave a damn.

This is just how the world works.

Must say that's a bit all encompassing and slightly cynical.
I'm sure some sales people do it because they want to and even partly do it to give the customer what they want.
I do not believe they are all 100% hard nosed and numbers driven.
It takes allsorts.

[EpicUsername]

I have to agree with Billy Bear. Now days people who go out of their way to help other people are the minority. Especially in trades involving commission. I never trust anyone trying to sell me something, so I always read everything written down. Paperwork isn't going to screw you over to make an extra quid. A person probably will.

[Bill_the_Bear]

I'm sorry I didn't mean to give the impression that sales people are being bad and I'm not saying they are hard nosed or whatever.  Its their job and they probably get a buzz out of having a satisfied customer... but they did it because they are paid to do it.

As you know businesses are trying to sell you stuff.  Even when they are trying to make you happy they are doing this because they think this will make it easier to sell you stuff.  It is extremely rare that any business will go out of their way to do something to make you happy with no prospect for some kind of profit, why would they?

When they call you which they "don't have to do" they want you to think afterwards, oh that was nice of them to do that.  That is why they did it.  This is just like advertising, people get taken in by it.  When a business does something nice like this for me I am happy they have done so but I have no illusions about why they have done it.  I don't think it is being cynical to recognise selling tactics, its being smart.