Diamond Hell
22-01-2008, 10:55 AM
I appreciate that some people won't use a VW dealer for stuff, they'll use ebay, GSF, EuroCan'tParts and scrappers etc and get pretty much everything they need from those outlets. I've tried to avoid using my local dealer, because it's been so difficult to get hold of them on the phone and when I've gone in there I've spent a long time waiting for service, after trawling in to the centre of Bristol.
As I'm doing a lot of work on a project at the moment I need various slightly odd parts, so I've had to speak to the dealer. |After waiting for ages on the phone I thought I'd be a little smart about it - I know what part numbers I need and they're very unlikely to be in stock, so I've ditched a lot of the waiting - here's how.
If you go to VW UK's website you can find your local dealer, then select their contact details. In here you'll find a list of actual real people, including at least one parts contact - ten quid says it might even be the parts manager - Heritage Bristol list a guy called Steve Luce, who's been exceptionally helpful. The kicker here is that they list an email address for this guy, so you can email in your requirements.
Now, here's the thing - emails are date and time stamped, maybe I'm being a little cynical, but this is the sort of thing it's very easy for a corporate to monitor - when did an email enquiry come in and when did you repsond to it? Add this into someone's 'performance metrics' and it means they've got to respond to your email in a certain amount of time, cos it can all be tracked.
The final part of removing the ballache of buying your parts is when you've got the guy to confirm that they can get the parts you're after you then finish by saying 'please give me a call on <phone number> to take payment for these items' - now not only do you not have to drive in to the dealer to order the parts, you don't have to call them and sit on hold for ages, because he'll give you a call (and they have so far, too). If you wanted to be proper cheeky you could even specify a time for them to call, but hey, let's not push things too hard here.
Although this relies on the parts person in question not being on holiday it has worked really well on the couple of occasions I've tried it. I'd be interested to hear how other people get on trying this - there are service contacts listed, too so you could book your service this way as well. Let me know how you get on.
As I'm doing a lot of work on a project at the moment I need various slightly odd parts, so I've had to speak to the dealer. |After waiting for ages on the phone I thought I'd be a little smart about it - I know what part numbers I need and they're very unlikely to be in stock, so I've ditched a lot of the waiting - here's how.
If you go to VW UK's website you can find your local dealer, then select their contact details. In here you'll find a list of actual real people, including at least one parts contact - ten quid says it might even be the parts manager - Heritage Bristol list a guy called Steve Luce, who's been exceptionally helpful. The kicker here is that they list an email address for this guy, so you can email in your requirements.
Now, here's the thing - emails are date and time stamped, maybe I'm being a little cynical, but this is the sort of thing it's very easy for a corporate to monitor - when did an email enquiry come in and when did you repsond to it? Add this into someone's 'performance metrics' and it means they've got to respond to your email in a certain amount of time, cos it can all be tracked.
The final part of removing the ballache of buying your parts is when you've got the guy to confirm that they can get the parts you're after you then finish by saying 'please give me a call on <phone number> to take payment for these items' - now not only do you not have to drive in to the dealer to order the parts, you don't have to call them and sit on hold for ages, because he'll give you a call (and they have so far, too). If you wanted to be proper cheeky you could even specify a time for them to call, but hey, let's not push things too hard here.
Although this relies on the parts person in question not being on holiday it has worked really well on the couple of occasions I've tried it. I'd be interested to hear how other people get on trying this - there are service contacts listed, too so you could book your service this way as well. Let me know how you get on.