Getting Customer Service Right

Last week I came home to a letter informing me that my car was subject to a product recall notice.

It’s one of those things that whilst inconvenient always make me thankful that we have pretty good systems set up that means the manufacturer has a legal duty to obtain the details of all registered owners and notify them of the issue, as well as providing the fix for free. Damian tells me that the manufacturer also has to report to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency every three months as to how many cars have been repaired/checked.

The letter I got was clear as to what the issue was, and the two step approach they would take to ensure my car remains safe. I therefore contacted my nearest approved repair centre to book the car in.

This is where things took a bit of a nose dive. The nearest centre is Arnold Clark, located in Salford. To get there by public transport is a bit of a pain with two small children (train plus tram and then a bus or longish walk). So we decided we would book it in in a few weeks (11th December) when Damian is off work. The plan being we would drop the car off at the garage then head into the city centre to look at the Christmas market, returning to collect it a few hours later.

It took me three phone calls to get through and speak to someone at the garage, only to be told that there was no one available to speak to me and they’d phone me back. When they did call me back all seemed fine until the lady casually mentioned that if my car was found to have the fault it would need to be taken off the road until it could be repaired. When I said ‘OK, so will I get a courtesy car?’ I was told ‘probably not, although you can hire one from us at a cost of £12 a day.’ What was most surprising was that they couldn’t give me any idea of just how long it would be off the road for – I was literally told it could be a couple of days or a week, it ‘just depends when Vauxhall sends us the parts’. In December, two weeks before Christmas that is less than ideal – especially with the two children.

Now, given that the car needs to have a repair through no fault of my own, it did seem a bit strange that should my car have this fault (and it does seem like a minor but important safety fault) that I am then left without a vehicle for an indefinite amount of time.

I contacted Vauxhall on twitter and to be fair they were pretty quick getting back to me and we were in the process of arranging for them to phone me to discuss this in more detail. However, I had opportunity a day or so later to contact another garage, Pentagon, (my mum was round and could occupy the children whilst I made the call!) and the difference in customer service couldn’t be more stark.

We had originally bought the car from Pentagon and they had been brilliant with us. We had had a few issues with other garages offering us a really low price for our old car and at one garage the salesman refused point blank to even let us sit in the car we wanted to buy unless we agreed a price for it beforehand. A peculiar sales tactic we felt.

The salesman who sold us the car at Pentagon in Eccles was superb – he gave us a more than fair price for our old car, took us out for a test drive as soon as we arrived – no discussion about finances etc and was just excellent in his whole approach. They even gave me a huge bouquet of flowers on the day we collected it (the next day was my first Mother’s Day). It was customer service that really made an impression and that I’ve held up as when someone does their job really skillfully.

When I phoned Pentagon I got to speak to someone straight away. I was asked when I’d like to bring the car in and the date was all fine. The lady I was speaking to seemed a bit bemused when I asked if my car would be taken off the road if it was found to have the fault. She replied along the lines of ‘well, erm, yes technically it’ll be declared as unsafe and off the road, but in reality you won’t be aware as we’ll just sort it out for you when you collect it’.

I clarified that the car would be fixed the same day, and she said, ‘of course, we have all the parts here from Vauxhall. It’s only a quick job’. I told her the detail of the conversation I’d had a day or so early and she was surprised – and said that if for some reason they didn’t have the part or there was an issue then they’d provide me with a courtesy car as standard. What perfect service. It couldn’t be faulted at all. When I asked if I was right in recalling that the garage was quite close to a Metrolink stop they said ‘yes, but don’t worry we can give you a lift there if you need one.’ What more can I ask for?

We are tentatively thinking of changing our car next year and we will once again be going back to Pentagon – I cannot fault the service we have had from them. Stark contrast to Arnold Clark in Salford.

When things like this happen, especially as you enter the lead up to Christmas time which is always busier with extra food shopping and trips to the post office or courier depots to collect gifts, it can be an added stress or complication – I was certainly feeling a bit panicked with the prospect of the car being off the road indefinitely, but I am relieved that Pentagon Vauxhall have made this a pain free thing to resolve.

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