The true test of Customer Service

Rambling from the Sage of Oxford
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Charles
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The true test of Customer Service

Post by Charles » Thu Nov 01, 2012 12:16 pm

Since having the engine rebuilt - gosh, 30,000 miles ago :shock: - I have been changing the oil every 7000 miles or so between Inspections.

Not only does this confuse the hell out of me in terms of whether I am due an oil change, oil inspection or full inspection, but it hasn't been easy for NOG to get into the swing of it because I have used another garage near to where I work a couple of times simply due to ease of getting to them in time at the end of the day.

Anyway, oil change was due so I popped down to NOG and asked for such, plus a diff oil change on the basis that 211k miles is probably slightly longer than what BMW term "lifetime" :!:

Since I was supplying my own oil (£60 versus £130) I informed them that there were two 4 litre bottles of Edge 0W-30 in the boot, confirmed it was simply an engine/diff oil change and left them to it, expecting a bill of about £100.

On returning to collect the car, I was presented with a bill for £230 - which I duly questioned. It appears that they did a full Oil Inspection - including a micro filter and used their own oil. However, when I reminded them of the conversation about "oil change only and oil in the boot" they didn't hesitate to remove the charges for their oil and the micro filter.

People make mistakes and I am prepared to assume that they were doing what they thought was needed given that the last stamp in the book was for an Inspection II, but the true test of customer service is how they then deal with those mistakes. No questions asked and the costs of their mistake immediately carried by the garage is good enough for me. Along with having a new micro filter and 8 litres of oil sitting in my garage for next time :D

Well done NOG :D
Charles
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Post by JPR89 » Thu Nov 01, 2012 11:12 pm

There are still glimmers of good customer service out there, just a case of finding it mostly. The engine rebuild was clearly good as you have failed to notice the miles whizzing past :lol:
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Post by Charles » Fri Nov 02, 2012 1:14 am

JPR89 wrote:The engine rebuild was clearly good as you have failed to notice the miles whizzing past :lol:
Seems to be doing all the right things at the moment - not forgetting the gearbox rebuild 20k miles ago.

As a friend of mine - rather rudely - pointed out to me, my car is like a helicopter. Looks like my original B3S but every part has been changed :shock:

Not quite true but I understand what he means. In the meantime, I am making it my mission to test what is meant by "lifetime" in BMW parlance.
Charles
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Post by JPR89 » Fri Nov 02, 2012 1:48 am

From what I gather, to BMW, "lifetime" is 100,000 miles. I guess you could say or 10 years to that too but that depends entirely on how the car has been treated throughout it's life. Given the standards and tightness of control and build of engines these days, the term could probably be lengthened now I suppose. To me it seems to me that it's all the electrical/computer stuff that's the weakpoint in cars these days, rather than actual mechanics so much. *cough Renault *cough :lol:
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Post by Charles » Fri Nov 02, 2012 7:38 pm

JPR89 wrote:From what I gather, to BMW, "lifetime" is 100,000 miles. I guess you could say or 10 years to that too but that depends entirely on how the car has been treated throughout it's life. Given the standards and tightness of control and build of engines these days, the term could probably be lengthened now I suppose.
I think 120-150k miles is about standard for a 10 year old car nowadays and I would agree that this is getting close to "lifetime". I just like pushing the boundaries!
To me it seems to me that it's all the electrical/computer stuff that's the weakpoint in cars these days, rather than actual mechanics so much.
Agreed
*cough Renault *cough :lol:
This is a bit more haphazard than you suggest. If you get a problem then you will probably always have problems but a good one is worth keeping!
Charles
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Post by ade and liz flint » Sat Nov 03, 2012 12:11 am

Charles wrote:
*cough Renault *cough :lol:
This is a bit more haphazard than you suggest. If you get a problem then you will probably always have problems but a good one is worth keeping!
We've had 6 Renault's (god, that's an embarrassing statement in itself) and never had a 'good one' - each and every one had serious problems in one way or another, and Liz now refuses to take Renault hire cars as they have rubbish seats which leave her crippled after a 2 hour journey. Think you've got the only 'good one' they ever made, Charles.
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Post by Charles » Sat Nov 03, 2012 9:09 pm

ade and liz flint wrote:Think you've got the only 'good one' they ever made, Charles.
I doubt it.

More the case that I'm a stubborn sod who refuses to let Renault get away with supplying poor quality by working closely with my dealer to ensure that they sort my car out and make sure it remains fit for purpose :evil:
Charles
Teacher of Chemistry and driver of ALPINAs - not necessarily in that order ;)
B3S Touring (49/116) - been to the moon and now on the way back!
Renault Grand Espace - not mine but the wife's!

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