[ramjiramu]

Looks like Tata dealership experience is not consistent across cities.

I had similar bad experience. I was very much interested in Tata Safari and booked a test drive in Visakhapatnam city.
Tata's "Premium" customer team was prompt in responding but unfortunately no dealer called back. After some follow-ups with Tata Premium customer support team, one dealer gave a false promise of test drive and never showed up. I looked up some google reviews for the showrooms in my city and found them to be very poor as compared to other brands.

This bad experience coupled with googled reviews for the showrooms deterred me from pursuing further with Tata motors. I just wish Tata fixes this kind of customer dealership gaps sooner.

[VKumar]

Looks like Over Promising and Under Delivering has become a norm these days with Tata dealers. Here is a snap of the booking receipt of my friend, who was promised a delivery within 4 weeks, it's already well past 2 months, but the dealer is still clueless when the car will come:

Why I believe that the dealership guys lied blatantly?
Because a TSM of Tata motors (an ex-classmate) himself told us clearly that waiting time is around 10 weeks

But in our case, my friend just wants a green Nexon, and he is fine waiting for it till mid April too. If they don't deliver by then, we will then shift to Ford.

Nexon XZ, XZ+ and XZ(O) trims, particularly in petrol, have quite high waiting periods in Delhi-NCR, or maybe entire North. Same applies to XUV 3OO W8(O) petrol, we are told at least 2 month waiting for that too.

What actually matters? Waiting doesn't hurt, broken promises do. Tata guys are probably making false promises just to secure the bookings, but this leaves the customer with a very poor pre sales experience - that actually hurts!

Polar Opposite Experience: I went to enquire for Thar with a close friend. Diesel, hard top, manual, black; was our requirement. Since the dealer is a known guy, we were seated with principal, and his senior staff, they had a hearty laugh listening to our requirements and said "paise jama kar jao, 2022 se pehle toh milegi nahi (Just pay the money, it's any way not coming before 2022)". The Thar is also booked, but we are already mentally prepared to wait 10 months, in fact, even we tel people in our circles that it's a 10 month waiting, and most of the times it ends up in a nice and positive discussion. Hence I say, dealers should show the clear picture, the one who wants it, will happily wait for it too.

Till date, we haven't seen a Maruti dealer lying over waiting period (remember first gen Swift diesel waiting?), Mahindra dealer never did it, Ford dealer never lied (Ecosport launch time), Toyota dealer never did (First gen Fortuner time), Hyundai dealers are clearly telling people that Creta E and EX variant may not come before 6 months, and SX(O) may take 3 months. Why only Tata dealers want to over promise and under deliver?

[Naetik30]

I am just surprised at the number of initial responses that immediately came to defend TATA with - "Oh, but you should have escalated to TATA Motors on email, chat, FAX..".

This is the exact "adjust maadi" attitude that wont work in this day and age. Is this to be considered SOP for bookings with TATA Motors? I would happily take my business elsewhere.

But to be honest, it has become a trend on several threads on TATA. Why is the customer supposed to be extra lenient with TATA? Because they are 'desi'? Because they build better NCAP rated cars?

We go to a TATA dealer not to buy a car from the dealer. It is because we want a TATA car. If TATA could not track or has processes in place to track this, they are squarely to blame. And someone at TATA should be taken to task for this.

[bhavik.1991]

No matter how great your products are, poor dealership experiences won't get you anywhere in India. Skoda is a living example of that, Tata needs to understand it.

[JithinR]

Originally Posted by thiagar

It is really sad how bad dealership/presale experience continues to ruin Tata. Wondering why Tata does not step in. It appears that Tata has absolutely no control or say on the dealers. What a shame!

Why should they or why are we assuming that TATA is not already involved?

You can see the number of members who will defend TATA even if there is a deficiency from TATAs end.

Our forum is tame in comparison. Try complaining about your sales experience or even your issues with your brand new car on YouTube, Facebook or Twitter and you will get torn apart for not supporting a desi brand by our super nationalist Indians.

If this is how TATA wants to handle complaints made over SM then more power to them (yes, i do think TATA is involved in this). You complain about an issue with your Hyundai then the same group of people will deride you for putting your faith in a firangi product and nor our home grown brands.

Somehow questioning your customers patriotism seem to a valid SM strategy with TATAs PR company.

[roadrunner_nv]

Tata does not listen; period!

The only thing between me and a Harrier + Nexon EV (Yes, I would want to buy both of them) is the dealer.

What can you say about a manufacturer who has almost no presence in the very town that it is based out of? Or the fact that there’s just one test drive Harrier (and no Nexon EV) shared between multiple dealerships in a 150 km radius?

If Tata does not fix this, doesn’t matter what they put in those glorified models, the customer is gonna stay away

[Adam]

I have recently saw a trend growing, If we say anything bad about TATA then you will be trashed by the so called Fans of TATA or is it some new form of Patriotism?

After visiting multiple TATA showrooms one thing I understood is that most Employees in these dealers take Customer for granted, and is not very customer focused. They definitely need some proper training in customer handling and Customer satisfaction from TATA and it should be unified and controlled by TATA.
As Dealerships are the face of a Brand, and these are the people who interact with the customer they can built or destroy the brand image just with their behavior. As a fellow Bhpian mentioned above, "Waiting doesn't hurt , but broken promises do" , they should be transparent and need to understand the value of Trust.

[IUNKWN]

I had a similar experience with nexon. Booked it in January, no updates and then sometimes in February dealer gets back saying prices have increased. You will need to pay the new price. I wrote to tata motors and was fortunate enough to receive response from marketing and regional head. The same dealer agreed after a week it's ok to pay as per the old price saar. I haven't received the car yet, it should be early next week.

[Naetik30]

My responses to the common arguments put forth by TATA supporters -

1. But it is the dealer you should blame. TATA is not responsible.

TATA is to blame. period. I buy a TATA car. Not a dealer car.

2. But, TATA has improved so much on customer experience.

I do not care, if they have improved from Rank 100 to Rank 90 on customer experience.

3. They build safest cars in India.

Agreed. But I need to first buy the car and then only can I feel safe in it. If TATA Motors is built on sub standard dealer network - TATA's fault. Not the customers.

4. Oh, but I had a good experience at the same dealer

So, what!!!

5. Did you escalate to TATA on mail?

If it is so well known to all that - escalating to TATA is the SOP for dealer issues. Tata to TATA.

6. Compare it to delayed Dominos pizza delivery. Will you blame the local Dominos or the Dominos corporation? <<Yup, saw this, right on this thread>>

Yes. Lets Compare a 15Lakh rupee car delivery with 300 rupee pizza. Even then pizza delivery post 30 minutes is free. Should I expect the same from TATA?

[cryptex]

Originally Posted by MadTitan47

TLDR: Rant about nightmarish experience of a failed Tata car purchase

Being an owner of Tiago 2019, I suggested the same for one of my friend. This turned out to be a colossal mistake.
...
...

I had a similar experience with Tata. Had booked a Nexon automatic in Jan as a gift for my father before his retirement. I had specifically mentioned that I would need it by mid March and the SA over promised that it will be delivered by Feb end . Obviously that never came through and in the end I bought a Honda WRV (delivered yesterday). Sales rep was amazing and the whole process was quite smooth. I know Honda doesn't sell that much anymore, but the car is a solid one with basic features. Have decided not to engage with Tata anymore.

[mvadg]

I am not a Tata product aficionado. I have a different take on this.

Anyone who complains about the bad service, a bad product has simply been rejected by the system in place - you sir, are not fit to buy these products.

You don't have the patience and the wealth to participate in the great journey called Tata Motors. Tata Motors needs people who have an expense account, a dozen cars from all brands in their garage at home and a personal assistant who will go buy the latest Tata Motors product without getting personally involved in the details. If something goes wrong, your lawyers will decide on the best course of action. You will be seen in your Tata Motors vehicle when required, at other times you are probably being chauffeured around in your Audi or Mercedes or even your trusty Maruti. In the event of a breakdown, you guessed it, your lawyers will decide on the best course of action and your trusty driver will be right by your side in your trusty Maruti.

If you are small fry like me, avoid paying out of your own pockets for the research and training at Tata Motors. You want to see our desi manufacturers join the top leagues - just repeat the nice things their PR department says. Don't try to get in above your head and then complain. It's like going to a five star hotel and then complaining about the prices - you are not welcome!

[MadTitan47]

Originally Posted by Naetik30

My responses to the common arguments put forth by TATA supporters -

1. But it is the dealer you should blame. TATA is not responsible.

TATA is to blame. period. I buy a TATA car. Not a dealer car.

2. But, TATA has improved so much on customer experience.

I do not care, if they have improved from Rank 100 to Rank 90 on customer experience.

3. They build safest cars in India.

Agreed. But I need to first buy the car and then only can I feel safe in it. If TATA Motors is built on sub standard dealer network - TATA's fault. Not the customers.

4. Oh, but I had a good experience at the same dealer

So, what!!!

5. Did you escalate to TATA on mail?

If it is so well known to all that - escalating to TATA is the SOP for dealer issues. Tata to TATA.

6. Compare it to delayed Dominos pizza delivery. Will you blame the local Dominos or the Dominos corporation? <<Yup, saw this, right on this thread>>

Yes. Lets Compare a 15Lakh rupee car delivery with 300 rupee pizza. Even then pizza delivery post 30 minutes is free. Should I expect the same from TATA?

Very succinct and satisfying reply.

[Technic90]

Originally Posted by Adam

I have recently saw a trend growing, If we say anything bad about TATA then you will be trashed by the so called Fans of TATA or is it some new form of Patriotism?

Completely agree on this. I have many examples to share but in this particular website, people were abusing a guy who posted experience of his brand new TATA vehicle breaking down in the middle of the road. He was called 'MG's paid troll', 'Chinese slave', 'liar', 'anti-national' and what not. The logic was that none of their TATA car broke down so how come his did. Some people accused the owner of not knowing how to drive and maintain a car while some scolded him for ruining India's image. I am pretty sure most of them didn't even own a car, they just have too much free time to troll people online who do not agree with them.

Regarding this thread, I can't comment much on delivery promise because there are circumstances in these times which are not in anyone's control but what shocked me is that when a vehicle was available, the person was forced to pay new price even though he had made the booking on old price and TATA did mention that new price is not for existing bookings. So what right did the dealership have to ask for more money. That's not just taking customer for granted, it's also rude, disrespectful and unethical. I will not go into whether it's legal or not because I am not expert on that.

As long as there are people to defend such behaviour, I don't expect any change. TATA sales might increase for now but that will change when more horror stories come out. For those who think TATA is not to be blamed, then don't praise as well when you have a good experience with the dealership, because 'What has TATA to do with dealership'.

What's surprising about TATA dealerships is that even if multiple dealerships exist in the same city, all of them turn out to be same. It's like they know even if the customer goes to the other dealership he will be met with the same attitude so no point in being competitive and better for more sales. Usually when only a single dealership exists, the monopoly goes to their head and they act like this. I have lost count of people who went to checkout a car and no one from the sales team bothered to even approach the customer. For those who think this happens everywhere, please go to a Japanese dealership especially Maruti. I actually felt bad for the sales guy when I cancelled my plan. They were much better than the Toyota folks as well. I wish TATA atleast reach 50% of that level of customer service and reliability so that I can start thinking of owning a TATA vehicle.

[Acid Burn]

Originally Posted by VKumar

Polar Opposite Experience:

Till date, we haven't seen a Maruti dealer lying over waiting period (remember first gen Swift diesel waiting?), Mahindra dealer never did it, Ford dealer never lied (Ecosport launch time), Toyota dealer never did (First gen Fortuner time), Hyundai dealers are clearly telling people that Creta E and EX variant may not come before 6 months, and SX(O) may take 3 months. Why only Tata dealers want to over promise and under deliver?

It's not only the case with Tata motors. I was promised delivery of XUV 300 in January when I had booked the car in December and till date I haven't got the delivery of the car

Reason: shortage of semiconductor chips.

[Hayek]

The ignorance and Tata bashing displayed by some of our members here is just incredible.

The shortage of semiconductor chips is a worldwide phenomenon. It has become far worse over the last quarter.

Please read this - https://www.reuters.com/article/us-h...-idUSKBN2BL16Y

Hyundai is shutting one of their main plants for a week because they don’t have chips. Various other producers are doing the same. But Tata failing to deliver a car for the same reason becomes a cause célèbre over here.

And before people accuse me of being a Tata fan boy, let me assure you my reaction would have been the same if the company concerned was Suzuki or Hyundai or MG or VW. The fact is that delivery times indicated when you book at indications, not guarantees. If prices get revised while you are waiting, you usually need to pay the higher price. And if a car is in short supply and one customer is sitting there, cheque in hand to pay the revised price, while the other is arguing, i would sell to the first customer.