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| mse Member Since: 06 Apr 2008 Location: UK Posts: 5024   
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Many many good comments here - especially health and safety (ive been in the workshop at the dealers)
One point i would make - i hear the comment this is a factory issue. First; I dont care if its a factory issue. Second and most importantly, the reason land rover sales suffer is not the factory, or the build quality or any other element - its the fact the dealers (the customer face of LR) are useless and customers walk. I got the factory to tell the dealer what they were doing wrong (didnt go down well  ) but in the end it was the only way. Now im lucky to be able to do that.
But dont blame Land Rover for the incompetence, incapability of the dealer to do whats required....thats your (the dealers) job by the way!! Mike |
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13th Jun 2011 6:26pm |
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| JSG Member Since: 12 Jul 2007 Location: Berkshire Posts: 2412 
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Hi Tony, welcome to the forum - it's great to see more dealers on here.
Interesting point about the Freelander 2 - backs up what other dealers have said. My local dealer always seems to have plenty of L322s, RR Sports and Freelanders on the second hand forecourt - Defenders are rare and often sold before they get displayed. The other point to mention is that dealers change from one year to the next - even good ones have periods of poor quality - mine has. My local dealer is Lancaster Reading and I am very pleased with them - I've bought 3 Defenders from them over the years, a 2000 TD5, a 2007 Puma and now a 2011 Puma. The first sales guy was great and did me a reasonable deal on an ex-demo CSW - he then left and went to Audi. The 2007 Puma was a disaster from the sales side - the sales woman was a waste of space, didn't return calls, provide any answers to questions and when I took delivery she was more interested in chatting to her mate than dealing with me - hopefully she got sacked as I never saw her again. This time round the sales guy (Ian) has been excellent. Sorted out a good deal for me to meet my timescale requirements and made sure I felt valued. Seems to know his Defenders well and even provided the other half with flowers when we collected it. From a service side they have always been good - taking on board my issues and resolving everything - even free replacement of a wheel bearing out of warranty on the TD5. The parts dept are also top notch - my only complaint is that they now do Volvo as well and the bloke who must be from the Volvo side takes a while looking things up and often needs me to show him the bit I'm after. The other 'Landrover' parts bloke is a veritable encyclopedia and knows what I need before I've finished explaining - knows the part number without looking it up and even knows all the Tombraider specific stuff. Top chap. John http://www.hampshire4x4response.co.uk 2011 Tdci 110 CSW XS |
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13th Jun 2011 7:32pm |
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| Happyoldgit Member Since: 14 Sep 2007 Location: Norfolk Posts: 3471 
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Good thread, I can personally relate or echo very many of the comments and criticisms that have been made.
When I visit a showroom or service department and indicate or say I've got a modicum of experience and insight into a product then I would really like to be treated accordingly and not like someone who is buying a fashion statement or Mr Average who doesn't know the difference between his high and low range and his centre difflock. No matter what I am shopping for I want to be made to feel as though my presence, potential custom and money is appreciated and valued, if I get the slightest hint that they are not or staff are impolite, late for appointments or hurried then I will take my business elsewhere PDQ never to return again. I expect calls or e-mails to be returned as promised and I do not expect to quibble and have a fight over problems which are quite clearly covered by warranty. PDI's should be thorough and customers should certainly not find dinks, dents, or any number of other obvious things that indicate that the product has only been given the most cursory of checks prior to handover. Please don't expect me to come away with a Eurobox courtesy car or shagged out old Discovery 2 when I drop off a newish Defender for service or warranty work. I don't want to be told such things like leaking door seals have been 'adjusted' (again) and to come back if the problem persists - no I want the problem sorted and tested before I pick the vehicle up as it's 50 mile trip and the good part of a morning to get to the nearest dealer now. I want to be able to talk to the man that has completed the work and not the suit or blouse at the service desk who needs to read out loud off a computer screen or job card. Steve. Owned numerous Land Rover vehicles of all shapes and sizes over the decades. Current Defender: A non tarts hand-bagged Puma 110 XS USW. [Insert something impressive here such as extensive list of previous Land Rovers or examples of your prestigeous and expensive items, trinkets, houses, bikes, vehicles etc] http://forums.lr4x4.com I used to be Miserable ...but now I'm ecstatic. |
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14th Jun 2011 7:43pm |
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| Fatboy Slim Member Since: 04 Feb 2008 Location: Bridgend Posts: 1006 
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Hmmm Stratstones.....here we go!
I WAS a good customer of a certain local stratstone dealer (at least £100k a year spend) where they cocked up was: Damaging a vehicle whilst carrying out work and respraying parts of it to cover it up then lying through their teeth to me that they didn't (They did- it was done in a friend of mines bodyshop!!!) Having a vehicle for 11 days and doing absolutly NOTHING to it, not returning my calls until the 11th day and then asking me what is wrong with it  (I had to hire a defender from SHB in the meatime as no sutible vehicle available to me to lend)
Having had the gearbox out of a vehicle of mine 4 times and still couldn't fix the fault despite assuring me they had- fault blindingly obvious to anyone that cared to drive it for more than 10 mins (couldn't get it into gear the clutch was dragging that bad) Service work ticked off on jobsheets but not actually done: this happened lots of times. Oil leaks covered under warranty just hotwashed off, faults not rectified. The list goes on.............these are just a part of the 'customer experience'....................I've got to give up here as my blood pressure is going skywards  |
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17th Jul 2011 12:32pm |
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| Cuthbert Member Since: 26 Oct 2013 Location: Up North Posts: 1535 |
Having picked up on this thread from yesteryear and visited Stratstones in Newcastle recently - I don't think Jasperthehorse has been very successful at communicating and implementing his vision of the future to the troops in the trenches.
I can respect him for coming onto a public forum and engaging with Land Rover owners and enthusiasts but if his business model and vision for success is flawed then he is doomed to failure. One of the difficulties about engaging with the public on forums and through social media is differentiating between potential customers and bunkernuts (those with delusions and no money and perhaps a chip on both shoulders) If dealership staff cannot engage with customers who do have the resources to purchase a vehicle and engage with them in an intelligent fashion, then don't be surprised when they take a one-way trip out the door. Not a single member of the sales staff at Newcastle could be bothered acknowledging my presence (or my family's) in the showroom during a recent weekend visit. The place was empty of customers so they didn't appear to be over-worked and I left with the feeling that the whole place lacked leadership from the top down. |
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4th Nov 2013 11:13pm |
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| Cuthbert Member Since: 26 Oct 2013 Location: Up North Posts: 1535 |
Absolutely spot on - it may be that company policy is not to have a customer in the workshop and I can understand why a dealer might not want Joe Public in their workshop - but it has nought to do with Health and Safety legislation. As a point of note: I had a 12 year old girl visit TATA Steel to see steel at 1400 degrees being processed in a theatre of fireworks - I think the risk assessment for that visit was greater than Uncle Bob entering the workshop at Stratstones to point out a weeping oil seal. |
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4th Nov 2013 11:26pm |
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| sweepc Member Since: 19 Jun 2011 Location: uk Posts: 568 
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I agree i like the idea that you have come on here in order to get our opinions and try to better your team, after all thats all anybody wants, to be treated right and a good service. So
From my experiences ( mostly bad ) i would like to speak to the person working on my car i dont want information lost in translation, i would like somebody competent working on my car. Not somebody who diagnosed it wrongly even after i told them what the fault was. Resulting in more trips back. I want to be kept in the loop, i want to know whats happening, and when promised a call back i would like to actually get a call. Dont say it will be ready every day for two weeks, i would be a lot happier if i was told straight that my car would be in for two weeks. Take every customer seriously young or old, as mentioned many defender owners have some expensive toys. Mainly treat my car with respect and dont mistreat it! (Dont use the wingtop to pile tools) scratches wont go down well. The list goes on but they are all common sense! |
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5th Nov 2013 12:08am |
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| JASPERTHEHORSE Member Since: 29 Apr 2011 Location: Durham Posts: 49 
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Hi there fella, Im afraid i moved on to do a different job for the company and left in Jan 13. Still a shame to hear that you had a cack experience though. Under my watch I had customer satisfaction up into the top quartile of the uk and was selling lots of cars as well. Incidentally did you buy a car from lloyds in the end? |
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5th Nov 2013 9:32pm |
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| Cuthbert Member Since: 26 Oct 2013 Location: Up North Posts: 1535 |
Thanks to Jasperthehorse for updating us.
Well it looks as though Jasperthehorse's successor hasn't raised the game in Newcastle. At least he can take comfort that his successor doesn't appear to have out-performed him and delivered a World Class Centre of Automotive Excellence. Maybe I should ask a question or two at the Pendragon AGM about apparent underperformers in the group and an apparent lack of leadership on display? As for Lloyd's I've been in a couple of times but I like a deal - not the sticker price and maybe a corporate umbrella thrown in. |
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5th Nov 2013 11:35pm |
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