As An Audi A4 Driver I am I being a bit of a pain at my local Dealership!!

[Bratty]

I was just thinking there, I buy my car and it is Garanteed:approve:. I believe in the support afforded to me by AUDI no matter where I have a problem (wether it is Britain or Europe) is completely without any problems (so far!).
But when you are down there every second day!! with absoulutely stupid complaints that you know yourself can not be sorted! but you want to be a Drama Queen! How the heck do you think the system can cope!
Car developement takes a long time especially when it is a "MASS" product as is an AUDI.

Perfection is only possible in SPACE!!?!!

Dunk

[a8 tech]

Tell be about it, I deal with so many petty complaints its unbelievable these owners can get out of there house let alone drive a ******* car lol

If I deal with one more rep who cant pair his phone up then a I will make them eat the bloody hand set and force them to read the there owners handbook in the nude

I'm a patent Audi loving guy with lots of time for customers but what planet some of the B8 OWNERS ARE ON IS BEYOND ME, give me A8/R8 customers all day long there the best

Bite me :biglaugh::biglaugh::biglaugh::biglaugh::biglaugh: :biglaugh::biglaugh:

[Bratty]

Commonsense Deficeit Syndrome, could be used against the worst offenders.

Or ****. (Total Waster Analy Thtreatened)

Shizer Even I am scared of being classified there is no WAY!! I am going to complain Now!!

Dunk

[a8 tech]

I deal with all sorts and I really like to sort problems for people and meet customers but former Bmw owners drive me bonkers as they spout crap with attitude and its hard to bite your lip, but one must

[Tony2]

I just think (with exceptions) they make you feel this way! After spending 30k plus on a car i expect it to be right

However i got a tech the other day that was brilliant he seemed to feel the way i did about the expectant quality

But at the same dealership iv been called a perfectionist for kicking off about rusting calipers after 3 months and 5k miles of ownership!!!!!!!!!!!


Ant

[Tony2]

I deal with all sorts and I really like to sort problems for people and meet customers but former Bmw owners drive me bonkers as they spout crap with attitude and its hard to bite your lip, but one must

This is true iv got a thing for BMW Drivers:zx11:

[a8 tech]

Yes a common complaint and worthy, the hubs and calliper issue is unsightly, one possible reason I would suggest would be the correct cleaning of the vehicle from pdi.
I see the valet dept using tfr agent and steam cleaners where as soap and water is sufficient and the correct Audi process

[Tony2]

Yes a common complaint and worthy, the hubs and calliper issue is unsightly, one possible reason I would suggest would be the correct cleaning of the vehicle from pdi.
I see the valet dept using tfr agent and steam cleaners where as soap and water is sufficient and the correct Audi process

Im lucky they are replacing them under warranty! but after that im going to get them painted to stop it happening again.

What are you saying above? That soap and water is the best way to clean wheels and the calipers??


Annt

[Bratty]

OCD!!

Dunk

[Gary_W]

An 'understanding gap' is pretty common with high value goods and a large company. The larger the company gets, the more likely it is that the sales and service sides of the organisation do not communicate their needs to each other.

Sales need service to look after customers so as that customer comes back when they wish to buy again (repeat business from a happy customer is a LOT easier than new business where you're trying to take the customer from another brand..... if the other brand has kept them happy, you'll never see them as they'll buy the other make again!). Service needs the resources, staff and motivation (as in decent salary / working conditions) so that they give a stuff and keep the customers happy. I have no idea how this works at Audi. I worked for a company a few years ago that lost sales simply because of changing to a bunch of minimum paid folks in a call centre for backup of very expensive equipment. The customers all felt shafted and went elsewhere.

The higher the value of the goods, the more likely it is that the customer will expect complete perfection. Complete perfection does not happen in mass produced items. All that you can hope for is that the organisation you buy from cares enough such that they sort things out quickly and without giving you any hassle. From a customer viewpoint, going in with a friendly demeanour will get you a whole lot further than going in with the 'I paid £30k for this and it should be right, damn it!' attitude. Yes, it should be right, but the person on the desk is going to treat a minor rattle a lot more kindly if they believe you to be a reasonable person, and (until my reason is stretched to the limits) that is the postion I take. It serves you well with high value goods, as many customers will go in with a bad attitude from the get-go, so being nice works so well in your favour.


I'll be putting this into practice soon, as I have a rattling dashboard now after 3 weeks of ownership. Not happy about it, but no-one has died and they'll sort it out.

Gary

[Hippogriff]

Not happy about it, but no-one has died and they'll sort it out.

Well said. About the last thing - they'll either fix it or introduce a new issue.

Got a phone call yesterday, Audi now need to order a new seat belt buckle. Not entirely sure why... they were fixing a buzzing / rubbing in the driver's door (to the right of my head). Anyway, I'll let them get on with it...

[Bratty]

Gary_W very good appraisal:beerchug:. I totally agree with the "way that `YOU` the customer approach" a situation can help resolve it or make the situation worse.

I thought that the process of buying an AUDI was far more stressful (because of total incompetence, complaicency and "the Bullshitometer" being on full deflection) than the AUDI aftercare. In fact I have found the "going to the local Audi garage" quite refreshingly positive!! I have the mis-fortune of having two Alfas (The motoring equivelent of cancer because once you have one! it is very hard to get rid-off) which every-time I have to go to the garage for a service I end up having too "read the riot act" and come away with my blood pressure going through the roof! My fault? No!!, it is just an attrocially bad service that is provided!!

Dunk

[Tony2]

An 'understanding gap' is pretty common with high value goods and a large company. The larger the company gets, the more likely it is that the sales and service sides of the organisation do not communicate their needs to each other.

Sales need service to look after customers so as that customer comes back when they wish to buy again (repeat business from a happy customer is a LOT easier than new business where you're trying to take the customer from another brand..... if the other brand has kept them happy, you'll never see them as they'll buy the other make again!). Service needs the resources, staff and motivation (as in decent salary / working conditions) so that they give a stuff and keep the customers happy. I have no idea how this works at Audi. I worked for a company a few years ago that lost sales simply because of changing to a bunch of minimum paid folks in a call centre for backup of very expensive equipment. The customers all felt shafted and went elsewhere.

The higher the value of the goods, the more likely it is that the customer will expect complete perfection. Complete perfection does not happen in mass produced items. All that you can hope for is that the organisation you buy from cares enough such that they sort things out quickly and without giving you any hassle. From a customer viewpoint, going in with a friendly demeanour will get you a whole lot further than going in with the 'I paid £30k for this and it should be right, damn it!' attitude. Yes, it should be right, but the person on the desk is going to treat a minor rattle a lot more kindly if they believe you to be a reasonable person, and (until my reason is stretched to the limits) that is the postion I take. It serves you well with high value goods, as many customers will go in with a bad attitude from the get-go, so being nice works so well in your favour.


I'll be putting this into practice soon, as I have a rattling dashboard now after 3 weeks of ownership. Not happy about it, but no-one has died and they'll sort it out.

Gary


Not in my experience esp with cars (new cars at that) They seem to think that if your friendly they can just fob you off however if you show them your stern and not there to make friends then often they will fix things right first time everytime (just my experience) Having said that i am relatively young compared to most desk staff (or at least this was the case with my last few cars:o) and i feel that they tended to treat me this way because of my age!!

Having said that if they treat me properly from the outset then i will adapt my demeanor accordingly (no need to be arsy to someone trying to help)

Also most of your post i totally agree with Gary w



Ant

[mkc]

I always start with something along the lines of, "I know you didnt make it but.................."

Going in with an attitude and blaming the bird with the make up behind the counter or the tech guy whos in for a bit of overtime on a Saturday will get you know where

You expect these cars to be perfect, youve paid a lot, saved a lot, worked hard and waited months for it to turn up. If its got a few problems or not what you expected you want to tell someone about it and its always the local dealer that gets the wrath of the business man who is so thick he cant pair his phone and go about selling his kitchens.
You are bound to get a few squeeks and rattles from the 1000s of bits they've used to build the car.
Unless you get better response from them if you have spent more? After all the A4 is almost the start of the range.

[Tony2]

I always start with something along the lines of, "I know you didnt make it but.................."

Going in with an attitude and blaming the bird with the make up behind the counter or the tech guy whos in for a bit of overtime on a Saturday will get you know where

You expect these cars to be perfect, youve paid a lot, saved a lot, worked hard and waited months for it to turn up. If its got a few problems or not what you expected you want to tell someone about it and its always the local dealer that gets the wrath of the business man who is so thick he cant pair his phone and go about selling his kitchens.
You are bound to get a few squeeks and rattles from the 1000s of bits they've used to build the car.
Unless you get better response from them if you have spent more? After all the A4 is almost the start of the range.


There are three cars above and three below how is that the start of the range??

And i think your confusing two issues to get the answer you want (i see this alot)

1 - Some idiot who cant pair his phone (should read the manual)
2 - A genuine complaint like a electrical fault or mechanical failure

And like i said its the response you get from the person you explain the problem to - I had a girl tell me 'obviosly we dont have parts in stock' obviously, obviously?? ***

She was nearly crying after i finished with her - Now i dont get any problems at that dealers.

[mkc]

There are three cars above and three below how is that the start of the range??

And i think your confusing two issues to get the answer you want (i see this alot)

1 - Some idiot who cant pair his phone (should read the manual)
2 - A genuine complaint like a electrical fault or mechanical failure

And like i said its the response you get from the person you explain the problem to - I had a girl tell me 'obviosly we dont have parts in stock' obviously, obviously?? ***

She was nearly crying after i finished with her - Now i dont get any problems at that dealers.


The A3 is below, A1 has not launched yet and the A2 is discontinued.
A5,A6,A8,Q5,Q7,R8 above and the TT in there somewhere aswell. All have starting prices higher than the A4. So I would consider the A4 to be second in the range.

[Tony2]

The A3 is below, A1 has not launched yet and the A2 is discontinued.
A5,A6,A8,Q5,Q7,R8 above and the TT in there somewhere aswell. All have starting prices higher than the A4. So I would consider the A4 to be second in the range.

These are part of a totally differant range of cars!!

As is the tt but if anything that would be below the a4 as well

I dont think most people would see the a4 as entry and even if it was does that mean your saying that entry range cars are expected to have problems?????

You may buy into that but i dont.

[Hippogriff]

Think the A4 may be Audi's best selling car. Should count for something, if true. Unless the trainees (robots?) get to work on A4s and the Master Assembler Wolfgang only gets to work on A8s... and signs each one, like the artist he is.