[sac23]

I have previously shared my experience with how Nexa dealerships spam to get a 5-star rating after a service.
link (Getting harassed by Nexa Service Center asking for an 'Excellent' rating)
We have no other option but to give them the highest rating. If we reduce it by even one point, they will keep calling us continuously until we give them the highest rating as well as a confirmation over text or WhatsApp that we are fully satisfied with their service. This has gotten so bad that I have blocked 5 or 6 numbers, and they keep calling from different numbers. I had already decided not to take my car to the authorized service center because of this!
And just when you think they can't go any lower, here comes the next surprise.
People from different Nexa and Suzuki service centers in the city started calling me on my phone well before the next service was due, randomly asking me about my current ODO reading. I told them all that the vehicle hasn't even run half of the recommended service interval, and I would only service it on the due date.
Regardless, I kept getting calls from them 3 or 4 times a month, and I used to keep blocking them, thanks to True Caller. They seem to be more eager to get the vehicle serviced as the due date is nearer. There are still 2 months until the service due date. But it has again gone out of control, like how once they spammed me constantly for weeks for not giving them a 5-star rating. I have already blocked two Nexa numbers this week, and today being a Sunday, some lady called me today. I was not able to answer the first call since I was sick with a fever and asleep. They called me right away for a second time after the first call was not answered, which woke me up.
It was the same ordeal. I told her clearly that the car's service due date is yet to come up and that the vehicle has not even run anywhere close to 5000 km. She ignored this completely and blatantly asked if I'd be able to bring the car in tomorrow for service. I politely declined this and told her that I would be busy tomorrow. Then she insists that there is a staff member who resides near my place, and they would take the car from my home. For this, I told her that the car is used by my father, and he needs the car. I thought she would disconnect the call by now, but no. She told me she would call me back again tomorrow so that I could confirm with my father if the car would be taken for service the day after tomorrow.
I seriously believe that Maruti Suzuki/Nexa is not making enough money these days from their service centers. Their employees are given targets to meet, or perhaps even a commission, based on how many people they can pull in for a service or how much they can bill. And their service advisors are also seen overselling stuff lately and trying to fool technically unsound customers. During the last service or so, I was told that there is something wrong with the clutch because the 'clutch is returning!
Imagine how desperate you have to be to spam people even 4 months before the service due date, even when you sell about 40% of the cars on the market.
There are memes in the US about how dealerships call all the time to ask for extended warranties, and I believe there will be similar memes in India in the near future.
Have you faced anything similar?

[sharmanova]

Exactly! these Nexa guys are so irritating. For example - Our Baleno's service was due on May 20th. These people started to call my dad from March onwards saying Saar! your car service is due. My dad replied that my car's service is scheduled in May, please remind me in the month of May. But still, these people used to call my dad every week. Finally, my dad got fed up and gave the car for service in the month of April itself

Also my dad had reminded them not to apply that 'sticky polish' on the car, but still they applied those on the dashboard and door trims.

[Geo_Ipe]

This whole debacle cannot be blamed on Maruti Suzuki. This is the handiwork of the individual dealer. Dealers always make more money from the service centre than the actual car sales. Also, these staff are underpaid and they depend on commission/incentives for a decent monthly income.

I still get service reminder calls from Hyundai even after selling off my Santro more than 6 years ago. I've asked them to delete my number from their database multiple times, which they haven't yet. Customer data is like gold to them somehow! It costs them nothing to make these calls, but if someone replies in the positive, it is a huge gain for them.

[Gupts007]

I have atleast 20 numbers from my nexa dealer in my block list. They irritate you continuously imploring you to get the vehicle serviced and post service they call you incessantly for feedback. If you are honest you will never give them 5 stars every (during my last Baleno service they didn't even know correctly how much oil went into the sump and i corrected them) they would harass you.

[GTO]

Thanks for sharing, Sac23. Reworked the title to make it more generic, because all service centers will spam you. In fact, not just service centers, I get spammed by all dealerships too with trade-in offers & discounts. Truecaller to the rescue - I rigorously block all spammers, whether calls or SMS or email.

The biggest scam was Honda dealerships spamming you non-stop for a "compulsory service" every 3 months, back in the day. A majority of Honda customers fell for it. Honda India was well aware of it, but did nothing - related thread (What is service interval for Honda Cars?). Can you imagine sending your car to the dealer every 3 months? How terribly inconvenient!

[TorquePull]

Originally Posted by GTO

The biggest scam was Honda dealerships spamming you non-stop for a "compulsory service" every 3 months, back in the day. A majority of Honda customers fell for it. Honda India was well aware of it, but did nothing - related thread (What is service interval for Honda Cars?). Can you imagine sending your car to the dealer every 3 months? How terribly inconvenient!

This used to happen with our Mobilio, actual service interval was 10,000kms/6 months. We used to cover the distance in about 5 months, sometimes sooner. But still, they managed to convince my dad to send it much sooner, claiming it was system generated based on our usage pattern. The very next service I gave negative feedback citing the frequent calls and unfair practice of calling for service before due. The issue escalated and I was guranteed that it won't happen again. That put an end to it.

[Rocketscience]

I have seen if you are persistent, they eventually give up or maybe if the car has crossed 5 years they do give up.

Earlier Honda and Hyundai used to constantly bother me for service, I started getting the car serviced from outside after 5 year mark and used to tell them the same, they did bother for a while but this thread reminded me that I haven't gotten a call from them in quite a few years.

Also for our new Verna, they haven't bothered calling at all, hell I am the one bothering my dad for getting it serviced more than Hyundai people are.

So, perhaps Nexa/Maruti is the one to blame here.

[adityaNview]

In recent years, we have dealt with 3-4 automobile companies but Maruti is truly the worst. The biggest mistake I made was to give them my phone number. They relentlessly call you and irritate you. If not the people, then the automated machines will take their place. I have blocked more than 10-15 numbers but every day I still get an automated call for servicing even when it’s not due.

[Apex1815]

I had a Pre-worshipped Alto K10 which I had purchased from Bimal Auto Whitelfied, Bangalore ( Truevalue Divison) which I bought in Jan 2017 and sold in Dec 2017 and later moved to Hyundai and Tata cars.

So, I was a Maruti customer for exactly 12 months. Its been Seven years, in the year 2024 I still get Calls from Bimal Auto to service that Alto. I have told them every time that I already sold that Alto a long back, however the calls keep coming from random numbers despite blocking several contacts.

To teach them good lesson recently, when I received a call from BIMAL Auto, I told them to come and pick up the Alto for service and gave them a random wrong address which is around 15 Km from their service centre.

I got a call next morning from the car pick up person and he informed me that he is about to reach my address shortly in the next 10 minutes and asked me to share the whatsapp location. I stopped responding after that.

[kirans]

Not just cars, but 2 wheelers as well. To raise the game higher, what my service centre person did is to ask me to forward her the link to the feedback form that Suzuki sends post service. It seems like they want to fill the form themselves to help reduce the 'burden' on the customer. So much for these feedback mechanisms. I checked a little more in detail and it seems this is a new method they want to use to ensure that the dealership gets a good feedback.

[rakesh_r]

Originally Posted by Apex1815

To teach them good lesson recently, when I received a call from BIMAL Auto, I told them to come and pick up the Alto for service and gave them a random wrong address which is around 15 Km from their service centre.

Its been 2 years since i sold off my SCross 1.6, I still get service reminder calls, i keep blocking these numbers but somehow these people keep on calling me from random numbers, sick to the extent that I will never be buying a Maruti for sure.
Is there anyway to stop this menace, I have a good mind to send them a legal notice on mental harassment.
Loved your idea, will try to this next time.

[Apex1815]

Originally Posted by rakesh_r

Its been 2 years since i sold off my SCross 1.6, I still get service reminder calls, i keep blocking these numbers but somehow these people keep on calling me from random numbers, sick to the extent that I will never be buying a Maruti for sure.
Is there anyway to stop this menace, I have a good mind to send them a legal notice on mental harassment.
Loved your idea, will try to this next time.

Sir, there is one more trick which I apply to them if I am idle and in a good mood. The moment service person calls for Alto service I ask them the following details:

- What kind of service you would be doing ?
- What all consumables you will be changing ?
- Random questions on wear & tear parts example which brand of brake shoe they will be changing ?
- Showing curousity on Body coating / Under body coating etc and showing my interest in going for that.

By this time Service people get excited expecting a fat service bill after that we can throw your brahmastra and explain a more complex issue with the car and ask for potential cause.
To this they cannot reply and connect you to someone (senior service person) and the call goes back to them and by this time they realize that your car is going to give them good money.

Finally, when they offer pick up then I explain them about the elephant in the room that the Car is already sold Seven years before to which their reaction is on

Please try this, you will feel really good !

[handsofsteel]

And I thought I was the only one getting spammed by Nexa. I get about 15 whatsapp messages a week from them and a few calls every month. On this occasion, I got a call from an unknown number a few days after my recent service. I picked up the call and the lady after starting off Sir, main xyz Nexa se call kar rahi hun, suddenly realised and mumbled, aapki service to kal hi hui thi, sorry sir, galti se lag gaya. Had a good laugh and forgot about it till this thread came up. The worst part are the automated callers from Nexa with a Bangalore prefix who keep calling till you don't review their service, I never review and keep cutting those calls.

[parik_ind]

I agree, these calls are very irritating. I have had instances where two different service centers of Keerthi Triumph have been calling incessantly to send my bike to their center. Even after I got my first service from the Lalbagh road center, the Kanakapura Road one kept calling till I started ignoring the calls. They then resorted to WhatsApp spamming. Funnily enough I have now moved closer to the Kanakapura Road center and have taken the bike there for minor repairs. It will be interesting to see how Lalbagh takes this betrayal .

Another hillarious instance happened with Blue Hyundai. My wife's car had an issue with the headlight stalk and I had asked for it to be replaced because the light kept flickering when the steering wheel was turned. They decided not to and that just adjusting something would solve the problem we were facing. The problem reappeared the very next day and my wife complained again. For reasons unknown they refuse to register her number even though the car is in her name and keep calling me. While this was happening I received numerous calls for a rating. Finally they offered to send someone home to check the car but by then we had moved so I told them that I will bring it over when I had the time. Promptly I receive a message that asking for a 5 star rating, because they have apologised for the problem not being solved.

Parikshith

[Small Bot]

I keep getting spammed on WhatsApp by this number. They just don't quit until you give them a 10 rating.



For me, what was worse is, I had given my car for repairs and insurance claim. This number started pinging me twice daily before my claim was even approved, let alone the car being repaired and handed back to me.

What sort of service feedback am I supposed to give if the car is still with the service centre?

Also, MSIL is not alone in this. Hyundai are their equals in spamming customers. In my case, an ex-customer.