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2023 Safari facelift first service: Highly disappointing experience

4th March 2024, 15:35 by Utkarsh Chaudhary

I sincerely hope that Tata Motors gets better. They are making decent products at reasonable prices and it feels good that an Indian manufacturer is trying to make it big.

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2023 Tata Safari facelift first service experience

Summary: Hugely disappointing experience

Got the first free service done after a month of ownership. Link to my mini-review of this car. Odometer was at ~1900Kms. Dropped the car at an authorised Tata service centre which is the same dealership where I purchased the car from.

While buying a Tata car, I knew that the service experience was going to be underwhelming. But sorry to say that in spite of having very low expectations, I was still disappointed. Tata Motors simply does not have the intent for good customer service in its DNA. I don't think it's a specific dealer issue as I have read numerous negative reviews on almost all Tata service dealers in Bangalore. Are other regions different? Please comment, would like to know about other experiences.

The good:

The whole experience was an ordeal but would still like to mention that the service team leader was very cordial and approachable. He conceded that there is a struggle to maintain customer satisfaction and service levels because of the lack of resources at his disposal.
The service drop was pretty quick. The SA (service advisor) duly noted all issues/requests in the job card and I was out of the service center within 20 minutes.

The bad:

Unkempt service reception area

Boy, was it bad - worse than a state government department. Shabby desks, Poor furniture/interiors and casual/unprofessional attitude of staff. However, I must add that I am not blaming the staff. Things like these are part of a workplace's culture and they flow from the top. I get a feeling that the folks at the top of Tata Motors are simply not interested in providing a good service experience to customers. Most of their energies and investments seem to be directed towards sales.

Unresponsive SA

Don't want to take the name but will just say that the SA did not look like the right man for the job. The whole demeanour was so unprofessional that it was beyond belief. I had politely made it a point during the drop that service must be completed on the same day as it is a long weekend and I need the car for a trip. I got the reply "I will try my best to deliver it today". Try my best?

During the first free service, no major maintenance work is needed. The car is put through basic external checks like AC, brakes, consumable fluids, DEF refill and regular cleaning. Couple of hours should be enough for this job so I was surprised at the casual "will try my best". Besides, the advisor was not very approachable. He was not picking up my calls when I was anxious and wanted updates on the service progress to ensure that the vehicle got delivered on the same day. However, they did deliver the car by 6:30 PM. I am not sure if it was because I was pushy OR they genuinely worked towards it.

Poor service job

Now, this is subjective and the experiences of different customers can vary. In my case, I am deeply disappointed because none of my issues were fixed.

The two issues/requests were:

Alignment of bonnet and tailgate

This was not fixed and the reasoning provided was - "Tailgate is supported on hydraulics, we should not tinker with it". To which I said, "OK, can we fix the bonnet at least?". The reply was - "Not recommended to do bonnet as well". Needless to say, it did not make much sense to me. After some push, the team lead said he would note down the issue and report to "the body works team in Tata". I don't know if these are genuinely a hard fix OR they were simply not interested.

Note: Had shown the misalignment issue 2 weeks back in the same service center and they had promised to fix it during the first service. They did not give any indication then that it is not so easy to fix.

Software update

Had requested for a software update as I wanted to get rid of the glitches and niggles. At the time of delivery, was told that the software had been updated. I forgot to check it during delivery and found later that it was NOT updated! It still has September's version running (R12.46), which I believe is the very first version for the new Safari. I don't understand what could be the reason for giving false information. If a software update is not available, they can simply say so and it will make sense. Hope I am not misunderstanding and I am checking the software version in the right place. A picture of the infotainment's "Settings->About" screen is attached below.

Extremely poor post-service delivery

Had to wait for 30 minutes at the unpleasant reception area, in spite of informing about my arrival well in advance. The SA excitedly asked me to follow him to the yard to inspect the vehicle before delivery. We walked some 300 meters to get to a large open area with a lot of vehicles parked. Did not find the vehicle there. He seemed perplexed and we then walked back to the service center. There was a small wash area behind the building and the car was there. To my surprise, the car was not washed/cleaned. SA asked me "Do you need it cleaned?". I replied with surprise "What do you think I have been waiting this long for?". Disappointed, I went back to the waiting area and talked to the service lead. He called the SA and uttered some strict words. Eventually, they cleaned the vehicle and delivered it.

Closing remarks

I sincerely hope that Tata Motors gets better. They are making decent products at reasonable prices and it feels good that an Indian manufacturer is trying to make it big. But if providing this kind of service experience is part of the work culture, it will ruin the ownership experience for a lot of customers.

I don't think I am going back to this service centre anytime soon. Hope I will find a decent dealership for service. Suggestions are most welcome. There is a Prerana Motors (Kudlu gate) close to my place. Will give them a try next time.

Also, I am open to feedback. Would like to know if I am being unreasonable in my expectations. Would like to know if I can do something better from my side. Thanks in advance.

Software version