Crappy service at C&C

[Huggable]

I had a nightmare servicing at C&C today. Have you met a mechanic who needs to wait for your car engine to cool down before they can work on it? I have attached my feedback to C&C below:

 

I had an appointment at Thomson satellite service centre today to replace my power steering pressure hose, which was leaking. I had made my appointment through Benny on Thurs, and was told that the hose replacement job would take about 2 hours. I arrived today at about 10am, and parked my car behind a white Space Wagon. I understood that Benny is not in the centre today. There were 2 service staffs at the counter. The lady owner of the Space Wagon was served, and when it came to my turn, one of the staff asked about my purpose here, and told me to take a seat first. I had to wait about 10 minutes before I was called, by my car number to the counter. I believe the person who served me was LTC. I was not feeling well today, and decided to see a doctor after sending my car for the hose replacement. I told LTC that I would be waiting at the centre, and he promised that the car would be ready in 2 hours. The lady ownder of the Space Wagon waited at the centre too. I beared with my flu discomfort until about 11.30am, when the servicing of the white Space Wagon was done. I approached the counter staff, Lim, to check the status of my car. He checked with the mechanic, and replied that the hose was not changed yet. I nearly had a heart attack. He went on to say "they had to wait for the engine to cool down before they can replace the hose". I think this is very unacceptable. A general servicing could be performed almost immediately after the engine is turned off. And yet the mechanic could not touch my engine bay because it was hot? When I related Lim's reply to my mum, she could not believe it either. The mechanics are issues with gloves, furthermore the hot parts could be covered by a towel to isolate the heat. As my regular GP clinic at Toa Payoh closes at 12pm, I told Lim that I need the car before 12pm. He answered that it is not possible, even though I was told earlier that the mechanic requires 2 hours to replace the hose. Given such a unexpected "delay", I had no choice but to walk to the nearby shops to locate a clinic. There was none. I took a taxi to Toa Payoh, which cost S$5.20. Shortly after I arrived at the clinic, Lim called me on my HP to inform that my car was ready. I was too tired to had to travel in such blazing sun, so I went for a short nap at my mum's place at Toa Payoh. I collected my car at about 2.30pm, and headed home. On the way, I decided to stop by to inspect my car. To my utter shock and anger, I found that the steering fluid level in the reservoir was filled way beyond the "Full" mark, and nearly to the brim! I drove to a workshop at Sim Ming Drive, and the mechanic there charged me S$10 to siphon away the excess. I returned home totally disgusted today.

 

Many car owners pay a premium to get their cars serviced at the agent, hoping to get a high level of service and care to their cars. Seems like they are constantly penalised with overpriced labor and parts, in additional to unsatisfactory servicing.

 

I have a few queries:

1) The service at the satellite station was very disappointing. The staff do not make the customers feel welcomed. In fact at one point, LTC asked me if I had booked the steering hose for my car, when I could see over the counter that the hose was lying on the table behind him, together with other Mitsubishi parts, like lamps. Isn't it the service staff's job to ensure that parts are ordered prior to the appointment? My car number was reflected clearly on the appointments sheet.

 

2) I sent my car to C&C as I trust the mechanics are properly trained and competent. My perception has definately changed entirely after today's experience. In my 13 years of driving, this is the first time I encountered a mechanic saying that they had to wait for the engine to cool down before they could work on it. It makes me wonder if the mechanics know what they are dealing with. I know that certain Kia parts designs varies, even with the same year of manufacture. Seeing that the job was not done at 11.30am, I checked with Lim if there was problem with the new hose, he told me that there was no problem. His statement on waiting for the engine to cool was the most absurd reply I've heard from any mechanic.

 

3) If the servicing requires more than the projected 2 hours, shouldn't the service staff keep the customer informed, since the customer was never more than 10m away from the premises? If a general servicing could be completed in that timeframe, why couldn't a replacement of a hose be? Were the mechanics given specific instruction only to complete the job after 2 hours?

 

4) The discovery of the excess steering fluid in the reservoir completely tarnished my impression of C&C servicing. Was the steering system supposed to be bleeded after the hose replacement, but was not done? Was the mechanics having an attitude problem and decided to empty the entire bottle of steering fluid? Was there a mechanic IC to check and ensure the quality of the mechanic's work?

 

I believe each customer to C&C has the right of expection, given the premium paid, as well as the promise of quality service by C&C. I hope the service manager would give me a favourable reply to my queries. I can be contactable at xxxx (HP) or xxxx (Office) or xxxx (email).

 

Thank you.

[Mivec9]

yo bro,

 

think personally they shd not have made u waited so long cos my mechanic can do that in under 1 hour.

 

yes shd wait till engine cool down say abt 10-15min enuff. as for waiting from 10-11.30am is utterly crazy...

 

frankly..the guy who told u @ 11.30am that ur car won't be ready by 12pm ought to be shot...as after all ur hassle despite ur sickness, took cab to see a doc..and this guy called back to say ur car is ready - totally unacceptable - in fact they even do a shoddy job...sucks.

[Cheekg99]

poor thing, sick already still need to write such letter

[Silver_blade]

Hope C&C give you a good reply and show that they value their customers.

[Huggable]

I thought only untrained mechanics would top-up fluids all the way to the brim. Still can't believe C&C could give such service!

[Huggable]

I hope so too... initially was still thinking of taking up a car polish with them for the next servicing, for convenience' sake. Now I really don't think so.

[Ic3boi]

Ur article have made mi totally disgusted with C&C level of Customer service. I support u!

[Cheekg99]

why not switch to other service ctr ?

[Mivec9]

cannot make it ..C&C...one of my fellow sgkiaclub made a big fuss...a girl to the sales with her new car that she got more than she asked for.

 

the trick is blow up the whole thing...customers who make most noise get priority..was in customer service line before..hee

[Huggable]

Do you mean other C&C service centres (like Ubi, Havelock), or other service centres (Like Stamford, Autobacs)?

 

I can do general servicing at other centres. The problem is with parts. So far, the workshops I've been to have problems getting the right parts for my car. Reason is there are not many Kia Sephias in SG, and secondly is that the parts design could be different, even for the cars manufactured within the same year. I had problems getting the correct replacement damper for my car before, as well as brake parts.

 

My steering hose has been leaking since 1st day of CNY. I had bought a total of 3 bottles of steering fluid to top up weekly. Prior to Fri's appointment, I've visited Sim Ming workshops, and none of them could find the replacement part through phone. Earlier this week I called up C&C Pandan (parts), hoping to buy the steering hose directly from the parts section, and get a normal mechanic to replace it, or even DIY myself. C&C Pandan never called me back. Personally I feel that Benny of C&C Thomson would not give me such sxxt, so I called him for assistance. He managed to locate the part within 1/2 a day, and helped me slot in the Fri appointment, knowing the urgency of the matter. Just my luck, Benny is off on Friday, and the rest of the staff just CMI.

[Huggable]

You have the link to that post? I'd like to read about it too. Anyway when I heard about the "wait for engine to cool" crap, I initially wanted to screw that bugger; but decided not to, as my car was still with them. Who knows what they might do with my car after that. When I walked to the servicing bay, my car was not even hoisted up yet! Decided to take on the matter with their customer feedback instead.

 

Personally I think given the right tools, I can replace the hose in 1 hour!

Edited February 26, 2005 by Huggable

[Cheekg99]

if Benny is so helpful, stick to him

[Hoppe]

hmmm...I thought they were advertising the service at 95FM a while back.

Something like can relax in lounge and get your car serviced in a jiffy.

Edited February 26, 2005 by Hoppe

[Lukie102]

my fren got her new kia with insufficient engine oil (way below acceptable level) and she discovered the problem when she tested her car upon delivery.....

[Huggable]

Looks like I just have to do that.

[Huggable]

Oh no! That could cause permenant damage to the pistons, etc. How is her car performing now?

[Lukie102]

oh...okie lor. she went back to have the engine oil top up. mech told her to complain and she did. dont know what they gave her

[Pisces69]

Hi Huggable,

 

I don't think u r the 1st neither will u be the last person to get such wonderful service from the agents.

 

I tried the agent for my previous car long ago, and the way the repairs were done almost made me want to vomit.

 

I also heard of problems my friends had with those slipshod agents.

 

I u'stand many employ very inexperienced cheap trainees who use your car for practice sessions.

 

Even those big workshops have the same stratergy. And the mechanice being lowly paid, just bo-chap as they know they most prob won't b sacked. For those who r already fed-up with the low pay & lousy conditions, they r just waiting to sack themselves.

 

I now only use those small workshops where the boss does the job himself & his reputation means wheather next time got customers of close shop. U can b sure he takes much more pride in his work.

 

Nowadays, new cars need special tools & diagonistic equip to be repaired. Agents know this & this is how they plan to control the motorist as they will have no choice but to pay exortbant high prices & get crappy service in the process, and u even have to smile & say "thank you" after the shitty service as otherwise next time u go there, they will do more than just overfill the power steering reservoir.

 

Oh and about the thing about letting the engine cool. It's trus that certain jobs need to let engine cool down b4 can start as they might need to work near some very hot parts.

 

But if they use this as an excuse bcos they didn't schedule their jobs properly, then it's unacceptable.