Came back from MMC this evening really annoyed [RESOLVED]

[SAJ]

Nothing to do with Brandon or Gary.

Really can't be bothered to go into the details but can only say it's the first time the car has gone in since Craig's departure and to be told "well Craig's not hear anymore" to intimate don't expect that level of service really pissed me off.

[campbell]

Words fail me, Saj.



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[j2 lot]

That's disappointing to hear.
I would speak to Brandon, it's in his interest to keep the service support to a high standard.
The benefit (for owners) of Craig not being at MMC is that there is now somewhere else to go if MMC don't maintain the standards. Competition is normally a good thing for customers.

[tut]

Tis something to do with somebody, the two top bods are the Sales Manager and the Service Manager.

tut

[campbell]

Managing Director is a popular route.

[rawsco]

I can't say I've been all that impressed with MMC either. My first experiences were when Craig was there and these were positive and prices fair. Since he left I've always gave them the opportunity to quote for work. The last was tires the prices were more than double what the online retailers were quoting and I was told they can't get 08r's. there was a level of arrogance in their tone and a suggestion they were doing me a favour with a 10% discount. Don't even start me on how much they wanted to fit my 2bular. I like Craig. I trust him to the point that I don't generally ask 'how much' sadly for MMC this will translate into me asking Craig to source my cars from now on.

Next up new brake pads all round... Wonder how much MMC will ask for that.

[j2 lot]

Craig was (is) good at what he does but he took over at a time when service was at its lowest and turned it around over time. There are a lot of new staff and changes and its arguably harder to come in at the top of the game and maintain high service than it is to revive a dead duck. Without knowing the source or reason for Saj being miffed it is hopefully possible for things to be put right and people / person to learn from their mistake .......
That being said, I have 3 years free servicing with my car and if the service standards aren't what they were then CMC will be getting my business when those 3 years are up.

[Kinger]

Sorry to hear about that Saj,

Got to say I was treated great when I was down getting the Evora serviced last Friday, Gary got the car turned around very quickly so I could get through to Glasgow. He managed to politely tell me my warranty claim was invalid as the TC was working fine, OK I hadn't read the handbook on holding the button in for a few seconds. He even found a few minor items which are now being repaired under warranty. Spent a good hour with Ian and Brandon looking at the 311 etc, its a bit like chatting with friends.

The first point of contact with the client is the most important for any business, it can be a deal maker or deal breaker. That's where Craig had that well and truly covered.

As said above a "wee" word with Brandon should hopefully sort the problem out.

My worry is you can train a person but you can't change their personality.

And of course we all have a great option across the road if we're not pleased with the service

[mxvx]

Sorry to hear about that Saj,
The first point of contact with the client is the most important for any business, it can be a deal maker or deal breaker. That's where Craig had that well and truly covered.

Nail on head! Unfortunately a few garages I've used who have said 'aye, we can do it next week' (small jobs) then not bother....as you say....deal breaker.

[cjm]

Who is the new service manager?

[Corranga]

Not so good to hear.

I never really used MMC, as I've either done it myself or it's not be so Lotus specific to matter.
I did call them (after Craig had left) when I needed a windscreen replaced.
I was told to organise getting the windscreen company to MMC to do the replacement there, and to tell them to invoice MMC for the screen.
I then got a moan about the last screen replacement being a PITA as they removed the clam and the wrong screen turned up and the car occupied the ramp for 2 days.
I took that to mean they didn't want my business and was already concerned about going to Edi with a broken screen, so didn't bother.

So, Kinger is absolutely right, first point of contact failed to get me as a repeat customer!

Chris

[SAJ]

The nail has definitely been hit on the head - all about first point of contact, in my case it all started with the phone call.
I'm happy to say I got a call from Gary just 5 minutes back and he's alleviated any and all concerns I had. As I said at the start nothing to do with Brandon or Gary. Both are top guys and their service is always top notch.
I just felt like venting about my experience as I've always held MMC to a high standard and they've always delivered in the past.
Basically this is what happened:

Showed the issue with the damaged to the lower centre tunnel from the damp/water leak issue last week. I was asked if I could leave the car with them at some point as the interior needed to be taken apart to see where the water was leaking from.

I booked in for the 17th and agreed I'd drop the car off first thing. I wasn't expecting anything to be fixed, just leaving it with MMC to examine and work out what they'd need to order from Lotus so I knew I'd have to take the car back at some point to actually be repaired. I dropped the car off first thing and was asked when I needed it back, to which I said close of play that day.

I called up the service department at around 5.20pm to find out the results of the examination (I had missed their call earlier in the day) to which I was told they don't know where the problem is with the water issue as the whole interior needs to come out. At this stage I'm thinking that is what I left the car in for the whole day today. I was then told "we couldn't because you needed the car back today". I was thinking well you never said you needed it longer otherwise I'd have worked something out at the time, the impression I was given was it would all be looked at over the course of the day. So other than the looking into a few other little niggles, leaving the car had been a pointless exercise from my perspective.

I was told the car would be required for a week to fix everything, I was fine with this and said so long as I can have a curtesy car that won’t be an issue as the Evora is my daily driver. I got the response that no cars were available for the next 6 weeks so this is where I had another issue. I said it’ll have to be sooner than that so that it is repaired before the warranty runs out (the warranty on the car runs out at the start of April) and that following the fix I have time to establish that the water leak has indeed been remediated. My concerns were that when it comes to water you may not necessarily find all the leaks the first time you fix it so didn’t want to be left out of warranty should I run into this situation again and it is classed as a new leak and therefore not covered.

I ended the phone call saying I was on my way over to pick up the car and discuss further, so walked over to MMC from the office still annoyed from my conversation around the fact that I left the car at MMC with the expectation that they would have investigated and understood exactly what the issue was.

Once I had arrived at MMC I then I asked about the interior that is now stained and whether that would be replaced, the answer was no it won’t be replaced it would be cleaned. To which I then responded I’ve already shown a detailer the problem and they said it was unlikely that it could be cleaned off fully and a residual stain was likely so cleaning wasn’t going to be acceptable to me.

I then asked about the paintwork issues I had, to which the response was “not sure what the situation is with that, Gary will need to contact you.” At this point I’m thinking so what is the point of you being here if you can’t run me through each and every issue and explain the remediation actions.

It was at this point is said I’ve been a customer for 6 years with MMC and each and every time the car has been in for upgrades, servicing or warranty work I’ve been briefed in detail as to exactly what the problem was, what was going to be done about it and when it would be complete/remediated. It was at this point I got the, “well Craig is no longer here” statement – I was now really pissed off.
There were other things around the boot struts and seat belt etc. but rather than bore you with more details I ended up just taking the keys and demanded that Gary called me the next day instead.
--------

Today:

Gary called, explained exactly what was done, what needed to be checked, his concerns about what parts may be on back order and result in a delay for repair. He confirmed that the centre tunnel would be replaced as would the carpets and mats etc. so no we’ll just clean it rubbish. He said he’d work something out curtesy car wise for when the car went in also. We discussed the paint issues to my satisfaction and options for resolving them and covered the other outstanding issues.

He also alleviated my concerns around warranty even if things go past the period the warranty officially ends.

I guess the moral to the story for MMC is that Gary very much takes the Craig style approach and had the general service staff done the same when I first called them I wouldn’t be writing this post now.
I really hope this was just a hiccup on their part as given the good quality service I’ve received in the past it would be a real shame if this became the norm rather than the exception. I’ve always recommended MMC for new and used sales before any other garage and will continue to do so on the basis the after sales service remains to a high standard.

[j2 lot]

[Shug]

Glad you got it resolved, and TBH, it was similar when Craig was there - you had to make sure you dealt with Craig and not someone else, or you'd get similar to what you describe.

Have to say I've been dealing with Nick for some of the inevitable niggles that need sorted and he's been up to snuff as well.

[j2 lot]