I own an Etios Diesel and my mother own an Etios Liva now. We no longer own a Maruti car.
But, when me and my family used to own an Esteem and Zen, the best service experience from Maruti always came from the Maruti Service Masters ( the only service masters workshop in Kerala ) -
Autoteam
There were several good experiences with them. Listing out a few of my good experiences.
1)
Engine Grooving (My Grooved Esteem FE is 14.5 Kmpl)
2) Our zen had an issue with the distributor. Every other service center including Popular, Indus, and Sarathy recommended a distributor replacement which would have costed me Rs. 10k plus. Autoteam director Rajan Sir told me that it can be corrected, but I need to give him time because it would involve trial and error. Within one week, the problem was resolved. Cost - Rs. 1200 odd/-. Works perfect even after 1.5 years after the fix.
3) There was an issue with the power window motor on my Esteem. Every other dealer suggested power window replacement which would have costed me 10k +. Again, Autoteam gave me a work around solution where an additional relay was fitted which helped the power window motor draw more power. Works perfect even after 2 years
4) He also configured a custom "Cool air intake" for my Esteem. Did not charge me anything extra for that because of the long term relation, I have with Autoteam.
5) Then, the countless discussions I have with Rajan Sir of autoteam with regards to cars.
In short, Autoteam believes in fixing the root cause rather than going for the easy fix - ie, to replace, replace and replace.
They have the expertise, passion and the patience to fix complicated issues. But, they are a bit slow as well. If you are ok with the slowness and more interested in getting the problem resolved, Autoteam is the place to go for.
Sharing a very special moment, I had with them during one of my visits. ( This happened in may 2010 )
PS: All comments were actually written on May 2010 on my personal photo album.
May 18th 2009 is when I bought Esteem from an X-Poornamite - Murali ( Popularly known as Murumol ) 1 year and 15,000 kms later, I'm pretty satisfied with this highway cruiser. Undoubtedly, a 'driver's car' I would also like to thank Maruti Suzuki, Autoteam (
http://autoteam.in ), teambhp (
http://team-bhp.com ), and the previous owners for making it a hassle free vehicle
I decided to celebrate his birthday in Maruti Service Masters - Autoteam's Cochin Workshop. If I'm able to drive hassle free even after 92,000 kms, it's because of the hardwork of each and every employee working here.
Just wanted to thank Autoteam for their fantastic service. No wonder why you are the only Maruti Service Masters workshop in Kerala. You people are truly fantastic. I had a long talk with one of their directors - Rajan Sir and he explained to me the kind of tweaks he did on his OHC ( Old Honda City ). Every minute of the discussion was so valuable since, he is genuinely passionate about what he does. It's like talking to Amar ( One of the directors of Poornam ) on Operating Systems. If I ever buy another vehicle, the odds are highly in favour of Maruti. One of the main reasons is the service I receive from Service Masters like Autoteam.
Now, this was a surprise. I just gave a pack of Jilebis for their employees. But the director - Rajan Sir and Customer Relations Manager - B S Nair Sir, wanted all the employees to pause their work for 5 minutes and celebrate it. I thought I was in Poornam ( my company ) for a moment.
Full team assembled. Now time for celebration.
B S Nair Sir talked about what customers mean to them, and it's because of the hardwork of each and every employee that a customer thought about celebrating a car's birthday in a service center. Very true!
Then came one more surprise. B S Nair Sir asked me to talk a few words. I was caught unawares!
But, then decided to talk, since I had no other option in front of me.
Decided to use the occasion to explain an experience I had with Autoteam. It was regarding an engine grooving work ( performance mod ) done by Autoteam Cochin. I explained to them how Saneesh ( the mechanic ) who was fitting the engine back, was more happier than me, when the engine started on the very first try after the modification. That kind of happiness comes only out of utmost sincerity for the job they do. More details about this work is posted @
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/technical-stuff/13470-my-grooved-esteem-fe-14-5-kmpl-13.html#post1508667 I also told them that I have prior experience in Popular, Indus, Sarathy, and a service center in Bypass Road, and that I never got such a personalized care I get from Autoteam. The biggest difference I see in Autoteam is that they enjoy what they do.
Then they thanked me for the gesture of deciding to celebrate the car's birthday in their service center. But, I should say that, this is something which I learned from Poornam. Each other's achievement brings in happiness in the face of his/her co-worker. Even our clients relish celebrating with us.
Lijesh explaining about another story, when I consulted Autoteam, when I was in Trivandrum where I was being misguided by another service center. I decided not to repair the car, and then took it to autoteam who fixed the problem for me using a much more efficient methodology.
Team - Autoteam
Jilebi distribution about to start.
Started with the mechanics. They are the heart of Autoteam
Unfortunately Saneesh wasn't around. He was on leave. But, I'm sure all these people have worked sincerely for Autoteam. Otherwise, they wouldn't have got this kind of customer loyalty. An X-Poornamite Harish used to bring his Zen from Aleppey just for Servicing at Autoteam, Cochin. It's Harish who introduced me to Autoteam.
Employees enjoying the Jilebi.
I felt so happy that I was given the opportunity to distribute the Jilebis to all of their staff.
Jilebi continues...
The person taking Jilebi is Jithin, The Customer Relations Engineer. He was my first point of contact in Autoteam. Whenever I get into Autoteam, even if he is not assigned my car's responsibility, he makes sure that he enquires about the condition of the car.
The Autoteam billing/customer relations team. They are always helpful and courteous. They always invite me to go and relax in the lounge. But, normally I prefer standing by the side of the car, when a work is done on it ( Techie Mind! ).
Ok, back at V C Valley ( my flat ). birthday boy resting now.
Even after we sold off our Maruti vehicles, we still have a very good relation with Autoteam and its director - Rajan Sir. Just wanted to share a very recent incident as well.
I went to pick my friend from Autoteam, Cochin since he was giving his Esteem ( my old car ) for service. The service center people saw me and talked to me and then saw a small scratch on the rear bumper of my Etios. On seeing that, they asked me how it happened and then took the car to their paint shop and did a touch-up with brush. I never asked for anything. But, the gesture was so amazing for me. And they did not charge me as well. Even though, I enjoy the service at Toyota, I do miss the personal care I get at Autoteam Maruti Service Masters, Cochin which I consider as the best Maruti Service center in Kerala.
Thank you,
Autoteam. You are simply the best as far as customer empathy, technical skill level and customer care is concerned.