[Axe77]

Originally Posted by CircleOfLife

Thinking seriously of cutting my losses on this crap brand and going to back to my roots with VW. Far better experience than Skoda rubbish.

One can survive with bad dealer, bas sales man, bad service technician but not with a Manufacturer with pathetic customer support.

Seems like this is a deal breaker issue for you and has a very significant bearing on your satisfaction with the brand and the product. I think given the above, you should indeed sell the Octavia as you wish. Do keep us posted on the sale process and the new car as well when it materialises.

[M5_fan]

Not accepting AmEx is just a cost saving method (aka stupidity) by Indian Merchants (especially premium ones).
The commission on Visa/Master is 1.8-2.4% while that on Amex varies between 3.5-4%.
And yes, premium places should and must accept AmEx. I have 100% of times paid my Hotel bill with Amex. Be it a VFM Fairfield by Marriott/Country Inn or top of the line JW Marriott/Taj/Oberoi.

When restaurants that accept AmEx try to full a fast one on me by saying machine is not charged or not working then I tell them I have no cash and no cards. Bring a working machine to my home or office tomorrow and let's settle then. Suddenly their machines start working then as cost of commute is more than cost of commission lol.

All about money, honey!

[Turbohead]

+1 to Axe77.

It would be better to sell your brand new Octavia for a Toyota/ Lexus. If you're losing your mind over a CC not being accepted, you really shouldn't be buying any Euro cars considering their ASS, customer service and reliability is sketchy.

No offense meant for the OP- each of us have a triggering point which might seem trivial to another.

[dileepcm]

I read the original post and also the replies. Totally agree that there are scopes for improvements in various areas when it comes to Skoda being a brand.
However Amex credit card is just a one player offering payment services.
My company being HQd in USA, has tie up with Amex corporate cards however Amex cars are not a realistic payment method in most of Europe which is my location of work. I gave the card back to my company a few years ago for the same reason. Now if you end up travelling to Europe, you are going to face same challenges.
My summary will be that every business has their ways of processing (or not processing) payments based on what works for their business. If your payment method is not accepted, you can either offer another way of payment or move on and look for another provider to do business with.

[Maky]

I would like to add to the consensus of AMEX not being supported everywhere as widely as VISA or Mastercard is. This has been the case for a very long time now.
The OP mentioned Skoda but I can say this is the case for many brands premium or otherwise, at my local Maruti service center that have a nice wide laminated print out at the cashier counter reading 'No AMEX accepted. Please use other credit card'.

[narayans80]

I've had an Amex card during '01-'06 in USA, and there were so many places where Amex was not accepted.

So non-acceptance by a dealer in India doesn't really surprise me.

There'll be so many vendors (automotive and outside) who do not accept Amex. This (lack of) vendor acceptance is the reason why Amex isn't that popular among cardholders.

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by CircleOfLife

Whole point is...

...Skoda reluctance to solve issues, rise to challenges and their culture of leaving customers with unpleasant experience...

AMEX acceptability shenanigans aside, I can't imagine Skoda's relatively poor customer service standards in India are a surprise to you? It's a rather well-worn anecdote that people buy Skoda cars despite the organization behind it, not because of it.

Was it a conscious decision on your part to pick the product on its merit, despite the inevitable inconsistent ownership experience that tags along?

On the AMEX acceptability shenanigans, I agree with you 100% they should sort it out one way or another. Either accept it across the brand's financial systems, or abandon it if that can't be done for whatever reason. Consistency is key.

[vinu_h]

Amazon plans to remove Visa from it's platform for better profitability. If they were blocking a payment method altogether, then, there's reason to worry, but, Visa is one among many and that is why Amazon doesn't mind doing this.

[Arv1990]

Originally Posted by M5_fan

Not accepting AmEx is just a cost saving method (aka stupidity) by Indian Merchants (especially premium ones).
The commission on Visa/Master is 1.8-2.4% while that on Amex varies between 3.5-4%.
And yes, premium places should and must accept AmEx. I have 100% of times paid my Hotel bill with Amex. Be it a VFM Fairfield by Marriott/Country Inn or top of the line JW Marriott/Taj/Oberoi.

When restaurants that accept AmEx try to full a fast one on me by saying machine is not charged or not working then I tell them I have no cash and no cards. Bring a working machine to my home or office tomorrow and let's settle then. Suddenly their machines start working then as cost of commute is more than cost of commission lol.

All about money, honey!

Rightly said M5_fan, the main reason for vendors not accepting Amex is because of the higher commission. A friend who runs a motorcycle accessory store told me the exact same thing when I was to make substantial payment there, was asked to present a different credit card or UPI the amount.

Originally Posted by vinu_h

Amazon plans to remove Visa from it's platform for better profitability. If they were blocking a payment method altogether, then, there's reason to worry, but, Visa is one among many and that is why Amazon doesn't mind doing this.

This is pretty funny! Read this news a few days ago and there is this paradox stuck in my head with a credit card I have, it's a VISA ICICI AMAZON PAY CREDIT CARD

[Sahil00090]

Originally Posted by CircleOfLife

Thinking seriously of cutting my losses on this crap brand and going to back to my roots with VW. Far better experience than Skoda rubbish.

As much as Skoda and Zac can scream on social media about being premium brand and organization culture change, what ever project they can name it, to be upfront nothing has changed on the ground either with dealers or within the Skoda india.

Following is the reply received for SMP payment via American express cards. Oh yes man on the twitter seems to only respond on presales most of these days, i guess he got quite acquainted of how post sales work with in Skoda india.

Attachment 2235884

Oh yes the above reply is after 10 days of continuous follow up. If Skoda cannot support their customers who want to make full payment for their services then i don't have a iota of faith on these folks to support for any major issues later.

One can survive with bad dealer, bas sales man, bad service technician but not with a Manufacturer with pathetic customer support.

My VW dealers denied AMEX payment for Service pack and extended warranty and said they will only accept payment via AMEX if I am willing to pay the commission which was I guess 2% or 3% extra. I reached out to other dealers to purchase the packs as there was a discount going on for that month and fortunately one dealer agreed to accept the payment via AMEX at no additional cost, so I made the purchase there.

Maybe you can check with other dealers.

[samyakmodi]

After reading all the comments and the OP's plight - I for once would side with any business establishment which refuses payments via AMEX. AMEX like every other american brand tries to charge you more for everything while giving subpar or equal services/product. They rely on their branding to earn them premium which they simply do not deserve. I think that is the case with almost all the major american brands. Somehow without giving anything additional or better they think they should get a premium because they are "american"!!

Like many have pointed out - AMEX charges the merchants almost 2 times commission as compared to any other provider. Now if think of it from the merchant's perspective, where he is earning 10% and AMEX charges him just 2% extra - it hurts him for 20% on his margin!! No sensible business should accept AMEX because of this.

On a different note - we as users also end up spending more to have an AMEX card and are OK getting lesser benefits. Why?? Because AMEX is considered to be a cool card to be had. I discontinued my AMEX cards after I realised I was getting more than the same services for free or for less than half the price of what AMEX was charging me for.

Until and unless AMEX gets its head screwed the right way around - it makes absolutely no sense for any of us (users as well as merchants) to use their cards simply because it adds less value while being more expensive.

[bharanidharang]

Amex is growing fast in India and definitely customer friendly. However their usage and acceptance is still not great. I have both Amex and Visa cards and primarily use amex for fuel / online payments. Visa cards for everything else.

I for one would not decide on moving away from an organisation because they dont accept amex payments. Use an alternate solution and move on.

[saisree]

The offer clearly states "Dealer will bear the surcharge of every Amex transaction done on this offer". It's the dealer who is not accepting the payment through AMEX and he will have his own plight/stories dealing with payment and customers coming to him with AMEX cards.

I don't get why the brand SKODA is targeted for this issue? Think we have taken "dealer as the face of the brand" too seriously here.

[raaj.bhalla]

Since I have an Amex card and I got it for the cool factor and few offers (at that time) despite knowing about the acceptability issue. I have Skoda Rapid and I got it purely for the car and may be for the brand despite hearing horror stories of After sales. So I have mentally and logistically prepared myself when it comes to the card, I have another one from HDFC. Simple. Thankfully the car has not given any problems and any minor problem has been taken care of so far, with two different dealers in Bangalore. Car has been with me for 5 years.

If you have jumped in the hole, without knowing how deep it is, you are bound to have surprises, albeit an unpleasant in this one. Like they say in corporate, Expectation Setting.

[CircleOfLife]

Thanks, @GTO for creating the thread

Instead of replying to all comments, I could broadly classify them into these 2 sets of questions.

1) Did I pull the trigger without knowing Skoda's reputation?

I owned a VAG for years and each time a decision was to be made there was always Skoda in contention. The reason at that time not to buy was purely based on monopoly dealership at the city, whose reputation even preceded to Skoda.

Now let's talk about the current day with everyone going GAGA on how Zac Hollis is going about solving issues, it does create a positive mindset. I didn't have any difference of perception and went into this black hole with a faith that at least until this man is here in India, issues will get addressed.

Didn't expect smooth sailing ever, big-ticket items I was prepared for mentally.

• Service-related issues if any with the dealer.
• Delays in support for critical components
• Delays or denial of warranty claims

2) Why trigger on thought process to part with the vehicle?

I do expect issues to be resolved, especially in cases where customers are ready for an alternate solution and path. In this case, there could have been multiple paths, but none was even put forth other than the take it or leave it to approach. In a good business, there is always an exception made to create a positive impact. This is where you win one customer and he is your brand ambassador.

When a leader within the organization talks about customer satisfaction on a day-to-day basis and is one of your core pillars to the path of success & you falter on this very basic commitment then how do you win the long-term confidence of your customers?

My overall contention is just not about Amex payment only. Today it is this issue, tomorrow what's next? Big-ticket items are always a cutting edge sword with both sides having their say, but for trivial issues, I wouldn't like to lose my sleep and run around. Don't expect a red carpet welcome, but to have an expectation that the manufacturer meets in the middle to resolve an issue is not much to ask for in the current market scenario. Am I asking Skoda to go over and beyond on this issue? Pushing a customer into a corner will not win any brownie points.

Does it mean everything is bad? No there are bright spots but they don't overweigh current sentiment.

Tiguan pricing will be a major factor to make the final call. Yes, 2.0 ltr engine is what I want in the garage before shifting to electric or hybrid for the next change. If VW goes greedy then there is no other alternative than drink this poison experience and go for an upgrade in the next couple of years, earlier than planned.