[ROG_AK]

I have always been apprehensive about leaving my car at the service centre and after my recent experience, I never will.

I own a Baleno RS which was due for the second free service, so I setup a service appointment and took the car to the service centre. I was greeted by the service advisor and he started to take down all the details and asked the usual questions. I did not have any issues with the car except for one thing, when I cold start the car there was a petrol smell which lasted for about a minute and disappeared, I asked the service advisor to check this and he said he would. I have installed a dash cam in the car and the whole service was recorded.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PAF...ature=youtu.be

The video is kind of long but it shows the entire service form the time I left the car till the time the service centre driver is dropping it off to my office. As you can see from the video, there was absolutely nothing done to the car. They simply washed the car and gave it back to me! No fluid levels were checked and absolutely nothing was inspected! The only time the bonnet was open was to clean the engine bay, that's it!

Let's break down the video (language is Kannada)
- The video starts when I was just about to leave the car, I tell the service advisor not to polish the car inside to which he asks if it's alright to polish the outside and I tell him that's fine.
- Just before I leave, I ask him to check the petrol smell and he said he will look into it. I leave at this point.
@ 22 sec the car is being driven into the workshop and I see this happening just before I exit the service station.
- the car gets driven inside and reversed into a service bay
@ 57 sec someone from behind yells 'washing washing don't put it here, there is no candidate (i assume he means mechanic)' To this the service advisor driving the car says 'wait for the customer to leave at least' Then they both have a conversation which is not relevant to my car.
@ 1:45 car is being taken out of the service bay (after they are sure I have left) and is driven to the washing line. The person on the phone is actually the service manager, he comes into the picture later after I go back the next day and confront them with this video.
@ 3:53 the car is in the washing line queue. The person in the car is feeling hot so what does he do? Turn the AC on at MAX speed. I myself have never used the AC at full blast! The car is sitting idle for several minutes with the AC at max speed. When I first watched the video I though they might have been vacuuming the car but I realized later that this was the sound of the AC because the sound is there almost throughout the entire washing process.
@ 11:17 till now the car is still in the washing line but at this point the service advisor has a conversation with someone about the dash cam asking if it records. The other person says yes and they ramble on for a bit.
@ 14:11 the bonnet is open for the first and only time during the entire 'service' process where the engine is cleaned.
@ 15:23 washing completed and its lunch time so what happens? A bunch of people decide to use my car to have their lunch and they seem to be fascinated by the dash cam and have a conversation about it with the AC on at full blast.
@ 18:32 the boys in the car have been chilling for a while now and the service advisor walks past and waves to people inside my car and tells them to get out because the camera is recording.
@ 18:45 the car leaves the wash line finally and makes its way to get parked. There are several conversations the driver has and at one point even asks the service advisor 'is this car not serviced?' Not sure if the service advisor responded to this because the mic did not pick up anything.
@ 21:34 the car is making it's way (after being parked) to get a final clean done before being delivered to me.
@ 25:49 at this point all the formalities are done (gate pass, billing etc) and the driver was instructed to take the car and get the under chassis checked before delivering it to me, which the driver does. Not sure what kind of checking was done in 4 minutes! (time stamp when the car switches off and dash cam stops recording is 15:02 and recording resumes again at 15:06).
After this the driver is making his way to my office to drop the car off.

So as you can see the car never went inside the workshop again for any kind of fluid checking or inspection whatsoever! They didn't even pull out the dipstick and check the oil level! To make matters worse they blatantly lied and ticked all the boxes in the manual.



After watching the video I went back the next day and confronted the service manager (the person you see talking on the phone in the beginning of the video) and showed him the video. He reacted in a very sympathetic way and told me that these kind of things don't usually happen and it is their responsibility to check everything etc etc and he will take action on the people concerned. I told him that I am sure you guys do this for all first and second service vehicles because nothing really happens in those services anyway and the customer would not know. The attitude of the manager was very humble and understanding (might have been an act). I told him that I was taking the car for a long trip next week and what if something had happened and if that something could have been found and fixed at the service. He apologized repeatedly after which he conducted the service and did what they were supposed to do in the first place.

EDIT: Further update on 15th October:

Originally Posted by ROG_AK

Well it's been a rather eventful day to say the least! This is what transpired

- Got a call in the morning from the GM of the service centre humbly apologizing for the incident that occurred and requesting to meet me tomorrow to discuss about it. I told him that would be fine.
- He calls back a few moments later asking me if we could possibly meet today. I told him that I was busy and might be free in the evening.
- Next the service manager calls me and very politely asks me, why even though he had acknowledged the incident, apologised to me and taken necessary steps, I went ahead and created the this thread. I told him that I had appreciated what he did and even acknowledged the same on the thread, but I felt it was my responsibility to share the incident to ensure that it does not happen to others.
- A few moments later got a call from the RSM of Maruti Nexa, he starts off with an apology stating that these kind of things should not happen and that they would take the necessary action. I told him that I might not be the first customer this has happened to and we trust the service cantres to do their job properly, which did not happen. He asked me if they can take the car in again and check everything properly including the fuel smell, to which I agreed.
- Get a call back again from the GM of the service centre very humbling asking me take the video down because it will have consequences to the people concerned. I tell him that is not possible because I felt everyone has the right to know.
- Next the RSM calls again with a conference call to the MD of Mandovi Motors, the MD apologises telling me that he is shocked by the incident. I thanked him for the apology (he sounded quiet sick on the call, hope you get well soon) and he also told me that he will take the necessary action required to ensure that this does not happen again.
- A little while afterwards, the zonal head of Maruti Nexa (based in Mumbai) called me and apologises for the incident citing that it is a very serious matter. He asks me a few questions about the video and said he will do what is necessary.
- Now this was the best part, four people from Mandovi (service manager, GM of service centre, senior GM of services & spares and another person whom I am unable to recall) actually come to my house in the evening! They again apologise stating that it is an eye opener and it should not happen again to any customer. Then they ask me if there is anything they can do. We have a conversation for a bit and I told them that their service advisors should not take things for granted because people put their trust in them to take care of their cars. I also suggested that they install CCTV cameras in all service centres and not just the Nexa ones. Apparently this particular service centre has only one CCTV camera at the entrance! They apologise and two of the gentleman leave. The other two very humbly and politely ask me to remove this thread because it will tarnish the reputation of the service centre. I told them that is not possible, they make the request several times and after saying no several times they leave.
- The two gentleman return a while later and again humbly request me to take down this thread. I told them it was not my intention to cause harm to anyone and I just shared my experience. The damage is already done and the best thing to do is move on and ensure this does not happen again. They leave after this.

Well thank you Maruti and Mandovi for all your concerns and apologies and I do hope you will do what is necessary to ensure this does not happen again to anyone.

And an update from 16th October!

Originally Posted by ROG_AK

Oh my lord! Wonder if there is a record for hearing the word 'sorry' a certain number of times in a span of 24 hours, pretty sure I would make it in the books . On a serious note, all their apologies seem to have a serious ulterior motive!

This is what happened today:

- As promised yesterday, four gentleman (service manager, senior general manager, mechanic and RSM of Maruti Nexa) come to my house in the morning to inspect the fuel smell.
- They come to the conclusion that it is an enriched fuel mixture which occurs when the engine is cold to bring it up to operating temperature. They leave a few moments later ensuring me that everything is fine.
- I was making my way to the office when I get a call from the relationship manager, who took care of the delivery process, asking me to meet him. I oblige and asked him to come to my office.
- The relationship manager brings the service manager and yet another manager with him. They start off by apologising and go on to tell me how customer satisfaction is the number one priority at Maruti and they take their customers very seriously. We have a conversation for sometime, I tell them that it is important to change the attitude and work ethics of the mechanics and service advisors so they don't just do the work just for the sake of it.
- Then they also request me if they can take the car in again and do a system scan to check for any issues. I told them that would be possible only next week because I was going on a trip.
- This is what pissed me off! Right when they were about to leave, they make a humble request to remove this thread and to explicitly mention that they had come and apologised to me.

Maruti, let me make it CRYSTAL clear:

I will NOT remove the video and this thread cannot be deleted!

You can sweet talk all you want but it will not make ANY difference. I appreciate all your apologies but please focus on making things better instead of trying to do damage control!

[ike]

I hope you have escalated this to Maruti (with a link to this thread). This is why I dont leave the service center when my car goes for ``Service".

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by ROG_AK

He reacted in a very sympathetic way and told me that these kind of things don't usually happen and it is their responsibility to check everything etc etc and he will take action on the people concerned.

Knowing Maruti Suzuki and the way they react to such complaints, I'm sure these kind of incidents will not happen at this service center again. The overconfident fellows just played with their jobs for a few minutes of casual chit-chat time! No need to mention that this incident will reach Maruti top management by Monday morning - pretty sure they pay proper attention to Team-Bhp. The video clearly proves things beyond suspicion or debate!

You have mentioned Mandovi Motors. However, please also mention which particular facility as well - so as to help other BHP'ians avoid the same in the future.

That said - I never leave my car at the service station, except only on one occasion where they had to keep it over a couple of days to check a recurring a/c issue. Sometimes it feels like a waste of time (which could otherwise be utilised at office or home) but these sort of incidents just proves that it is the only way out!

Atleast till all brands implement the camera live streaming facilities which are supposed to be featured in the upcoming NEXA service centers.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...e-station.html

[WhiteFang]

If dealers of company like MSIL which is considered to be the benchmark when it comes to Service quality do this, I can imagine how others treat our cars.
Only option here is to be with the car while its getting serviced. That requires a lot of patience as I own a VW and they rarely give car back on schedule here in Mumbai ( I'm referring to my Polo's last -3- services.)

By the way, which dash cam do you use? And how long it can record with ignition off?.

[arun_josie]

Thanks for sharing.

I always have this worry of what if they don't service the car properly when I am not around and hence I make sure to be around the car when they do the servicing.

I really wonder how they left the dash cam running because most of the service guys are aware of the dash cam these days. At FASS, I have noticed the service guys turning off the dash cam every time.

Also, did they keep the engine running throughout? Or does your dash cam have battery backup as well?

[Engine_Roars]

Woah, we all do have doubts when we leave our cars at the service centers and collect them back. There is always a feeling of being fooled in the back of the mind, but this takes it to another level. Please do escalate this to Maruti & this sure needs to go to the home page of T-Bhp.

Silver lining - You at least got your dash-cam back, I once left a pen drive & few coins in my car while giving the car for servicing, never saw them again. Complained, and I was directed towards a notice which read it is customer's responsibility to clear off the car before giving it for servicing. Honest people, I must say.

[dailydriver]

Having seen this happening umpteen number of times at multiple service centres, the footage neither shocks nor surprises me.

The language used throughout the video is crude, unparliamentary and at times vulgar. The customer is referred to in the singular (avanu) many times. The entire process captured here reeks of gross unprofesionalism.

Some heads will surely roll once the matter gets escalated to the higher ups. That being said, I would entreat you to be careful about your personal safety and avoid going to the service centre again at least for a few days. Going by their conversations, the characters in this charade don't seem to be a cultured lot.

In the long run, this incident will surely result in some restrictive behavior towards all cars with dash cameras. The ones that aren't hardwired will invariably be disconnected before moving the car to the service bay. Customers with hardwired cameras may be threatened with voiding electrical warranty and so on.

Nevertheless, it would be great if your case acts as a lesson to the ignominious bunch. Instead, if they get on the offensive towards the customers, Maruti will have a lot to answer and account for.

[audioholic]

I had a similar experience having my dashcam on during service. First there was a discussion about the dashcam, and then one of the mechanics came and spoke to the SA on how I come back everytime with the clutch juddering issue. That time too, he spoke about me in singular. But did not abuse me in any way. He told something similar to "Oh I know this guy, he comes in every now and then with the issue". I think given these guys are barely educated, that is how they speak. I also came to know how poor these guys are technically. They started exploring my DRL and Fog lights and I could understand that they had been impressed by it.

Coming to the second service, it is something which is just a regular inspection and wash. I was there with my car and it took only two hours or so to go in and come out. The car is inspected briefly and any faults if reported are looked at. If not, the fluid levels are checked, air filter is cleaned and the car is signed off. Nothing surprising about that. In this case, they should done some extra checks for the fuel smell issue reported which seems to have been shrugged off.

Partly blame owners for this too. It is only us enthusiasts who catch such tactics. The regular customer rarely bothers as long as his car is dropped back with a good dose of cheap polish all over the plastics.

[SmartCat]

I guess nothing interesting ever shows up in these 'free service' inspections. That's why the callous 'shortcut' taken by the dealership (middle/bottom rung employees).

Question: Is the dealership compensated by the car manufacturer for 'free service'?

Anyway, my free service bill is never Rs. zero. I always get something done - most likely interior cleaning & shampoo (Rs. 1,000). Hopefully, they take the free service inspection job seriously because now I'm a "paying" customer.

Has anybody noticed? When you call up a dealership for service appointment, the lady usually asks "Sir, free service aa paid aa?"

[IshaanIan]

Pathetic service attitude I must say that I have witnessed similar levels of indifference in many Maruti service centers except for Varun motors in Begumpet Hyderabad, all other Maruti service centers in Bangalore and in Hyderabad, are just one big scam. Same is to be said for Hyundai. My aunt's Grand i10 had come back from a 40,000kms service with a clearly worn out alternator belt (something so easily noticeable yet ignored), and air in the brake lines. Bikes are just the same too my KTM needed some major work but no one would bother doing anything more than an oil top-up at the service centers (literally visited every single one of the service centers in Bangalore in the span of one year), trying to avoid warranty claims. 90% of the time all my vehicles are serviced at an independent garage and carefully watched over.

PS: I sympathize with your experience, but what is the big deal about AC being on at full blast?

[rajathv8]

Quick question though. Does the cam record when the key is not in ACC or the engine is not running? Is the video a snapshot of a longer version or is this the full recording?

I ask because since no fluids need to be changed, the actual level check is a 2 min job which could probably be done while the cam was not recording. I do a oil level check, brake fluid check, coolant check and wiring check with phone torch within a few mins. He does mention under-chassis check and drives the car to a under body check area. I wonder if the issue is as bad as it seems at first glance.

One thing that I am surprised to see not being done is a QA check. Usually before delivery one person sits inside and another stands outside and the duo do a quick functional check of all the lights, indicators, wiper and washer. It takes less than 2 mins but has been done during all my services.

Also can you please specify which dealership specifically?

Thanks for sharing

[im_srini]

Appalling, to say the least
So they just washed the vehicle & sent it back !?!
I don't need an "Authorised Service Center" to do that, do I ?

The list of items to be checked means that a mechanic has to spend time to check each & every item ( I count at least 44 on that list ), obviously the service centers are compensated for this by Maruti.

For 99.99 % of cases this callous attitude might not result in any untoward incidents, but given Maruti's sales numbers, there will be some unlucky customers who suffer because their M.A.S.S did not carry out the inspection in a competent manner.

I think you should post this on social-media so that other "Authorised Service Centers" are warned off from practising the same.
One wonders, if this is the situation with the much vaunted Maruti, what's it like with manufacturers with flaky service-center reputations ?
I guess this is why having a service center that you can trust is so important, & I'm glad I have one.

P.S. - Well, at least they checked the functioning of the A/C thoroughly

[GrammarNazi]

They are being seriously contemptuous & blatant, they must be doing this for SO MANY people! THANKS for sharing!!

You have receipt & the proof required. Lodge a criminal complaint! Quite actually you really should! See, for the checklist, Maruti would definitely have a service-procedure where they're required to switch-on & switch-off the car multiple times. If they'd have done those checks, the recordings during the ON-OFF would've been captured in your camera. From the time-stamped video which stands as an audit of the events & from the statements being made, it is easily apparent that its impossible that they could've done the service as it was meant to be done!

Once one guy falls, he'll atleast try bring down the person above him, this should atleast shake them up. IMO If you can, go legal, you've nothing to lose! Infact this would be in the interest of the people! Why take pity, consider also the fact that they're rather stern when it comes to service schedules & its effect on warranty!

Anyway, shameful on Maruti's part for not having internal controls at their service center to check such blatant cheating! With this, they've lost their "badge of honor" in terms of service. I guess future Team-BHP reviews of Maruti cars would have a caveat when it comes to Maruti Service.

[abhishek46]

I have heard about such instances from a few neighbours, so I am not really surprised.
The key is to 'hang' around in the service centre for as much time as possible.

[ROG_AK]

Originally Posted by GrammarNazi

they must be doing this for SO MANY..

You have receipt & the proof required. Lodge a criminal complaint!..

Yes they must be taking the first and second service for granted and not doing anything for many customers. I know they are not major services but they should at least check everything. Initially my intention was to lodge a complaint, but after meeting the service manager his reaction seemed very genuine and understanding so I decided to leave it for the time being. After reading all the comments here, I actually should lodge a complaint!

Originally Posted by rajathv8

Quick question though. Does the cam record when the key is not in ACC or the engine is not running? Is the video a snapshot of a longer version or is this the full recording?

I ask because since no fluids need to be changed, the actual level check is a 2 min job which could probably be done while the cam was not recording. . He does mention under-chassis check and drives the car to a under body check area. I wonder if the issue is as bad as it seems at first glance.

Also can you please specify which dealership specifically?

The dash cam records for 10 seconds after the car is switched off. The video is not a snapshot, the car was obviously switched off several times and the dash cam only recorded when the car was on or in ACC mode.
Agreed that checking the fluids etc would not take long but they didn't do anything. I had asked them to check the petrol smell but they never bothered at all! When I met the service manager he confirmed that they checked nothing and during the under body part they just ticked all the boxes in the manual.
I did not specify the dealer on purpose, these guys might get into serious trouble. When I was chatting with the service manager he told me that there is a very strict no water usage policy for washing the car, as you see these guys used water (only for the wheel arches apparently). I am not sure if this rule is enforced by Maruti or BBMP but he told me that several service centres were shut down for some time due to the use of water. So why are these guys using water? Apparently to keep customers happy because they expect a clean car.
So the service centre in question is Mandovi Motors Yeswanthpur Bangalore.

Originally Posted by IshaanIan

PS: I sympathize with your experience, but what is the big deal about AC being on at full blast?

It was simply unnecessary. I am not sure if the car was on or if it was just in ignition mode when the AC was being used. If it was in ignition mode it would definitely not be good for the battery.

Originally Posted by smartcat

I guess nothing interesting ever shows up in these 'free service' inspections. That's why the callous 'shortcut' taken by the dealership (middle/bottom rung employees).

Question: Is the dealership compensated by the car manufacturer for 'free service'?

..

Yes nothing probably shows up but it definitely should not be taken for granted. Pretty sure these free services are compensated for by Maruti. The first three services have coupons in the manual which the service centre tears off and are redeemed.

Originally Posted by audioholic

..
Partly blame owners for this too. It is only us enthusiasts who catch such tactics. The regular customer rarely bothers as long as his car is dropped back with a good dose of cheap polish all over the plastics.

So to the average joe this is a great service centre.

Originally Posted by arun_josie

I really wonder how they left the dash cam running because most of the service guys are aware of the dash cam these days. At FASS, I have noticed the service guys turning off the dash cam every time.

Also, did they keep the engine running throughout? Or does your dash cam have battery backup as well?

I guess this particular service centre did not have much experience with dash cams, throughout the video everyone was intrigued by it. The service advisor wanted to remove it but I told him that it can't be removed because I had routed the wire through the A pillar. I guess he fell for it . The engine was not on throughout, the car was switched off multiple time and as mentioned earlier, the dash cam only records for 10 seconds after the car is switched off.

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Knowing Maruti Suzuki and the way they react to such complaints, I'm sure these kind of incidents will not happen at this service center again.
..
That said - I never leave my car at the service station, except only on one occasion where they had to keep it over a couple of days to check a recurring a/c issue. Sometimes it feels like a waste of time (which could otherwise be utilised at office or home) but these sort of incidents just proves that it is the only way out!

At least till all brands implement the camera live streaming facilities which are supposed to be featured in the upcoming NEXA service centers.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...e-station.html

If the reaction of the service manager was actually genuine then I hope this does not happen again at their service centre.
According to the service manager, the first Nexa service centre will be operational next month in Bangalore and will be in Yelahanka. The opening ceremony was apparently a few days ago i.e. the 11th and will be owned by Mandovi Motors.

Originally Posted by ike

I hope you have escalated this to Maruti (with a link to this thread). This is why I dont leave the service center when my car goes for ``Service".

No I have not escalated it. Will definitely do so!