Problems with Fiat Dealerships

[G Spag]

https://www.fiatforum.com/showthread.php?t=67

This may be a bit of an idiotic idea, but I thought I'd mention it anyway.

Having read the thread above, it's quite clear that the majority of Fiat owners on this forum aren't receiving the service they expect. Some may be fully justified; some may just not understand the situation and are blaming the dealer. Either way they are dissatisfied (well dur! )

A thread like this could put off a potential buyer (either new or used) as I believe this is one of, if not, the biggest Fiat site for the UK. Anyone who has any concept of business management would know that, for a company to last, you need repeated sales. Now there are plenty of threads on the forum from disgruntled Fiat owners, who have stated clearly that they will not buy another fiat for a long time.

Now, I am not saying that other car companies have don't disgruntled customers, nor am I saying every Fiat dealership franchise has employed a bunch of incompetent people to run the place, as I have had to deal with the good and the bad at the very same dealership; but am a firm believer that something can be done to shorten the list to a couple of unfortunate people (Just thought I’d clear that up)

So, would it not make sense to forward it onto someone at Fiat UK who actually deals with the customer service of the franchises to try to get to the bottom of the problem raised by the people who have kept faith with them?

Sure, the e-mail/letter may get disregarded, but never know what may come of it. If people have made individual complaints there’s a tendency in many organisations for the complaint to be disregarded. It may be the way a customer is told something, or a lack of communication internally, or misleading information etc.

I apologise for the length, but if things are as bad as people say, maybe something can be done?

 

[trigxm]

https://www.fiatforum.com/showthread.php?t=67

This may be a bit of an idiotic idea, but I thought I'd mention it anyway.

Having read the thread above, it's quite clear that the majority of Fiat owners on this forum aren't receiving the service they expect. Some may be fully justified; some may just not understand the situation and are blaming the dealer. Either way they are dissatisfied (well dur! )

A thread like this could put off a potential buyer (either new or used) as I believe this is one of, if not, the biggest Fiat site for the UK. Anyone who has any concept of business management would know that, for a company to last, you need repeated sales. Now there are plenty of threads on the forum from disgruntled Fiat owners, who have stated clearly that they will not buy another fiat for a long time.

Now, I am not saying that other car companies have don't disgruntled customers, nor am I saying every Fiat dealership franchise has employed a bunch of incompetent people to run the place, as I have had to deal with the good and the bad at the very same dealership; but am a firm believer that something can be done to shorten the list to a couple of unfortunate people (Just thought I’d clear that up)

So, would it not make sense to forward it onto someone at Fiat UK who actually deals with the customer service of the franchises to try to get to the bottom of the problem raised by the people who have kept faith with them?

Sure, the e-mail/letter may get disregarded, but never know what may come of it. If people have made individual complaints there’s a tendency in many organisations for the complaint to be disregarded. It may be the way a customer is told something, or a lack of communication internally, or misleading information etc.

I apologise for the length, but if things are as bad as people say, maybe something can be done?

I see what you are saying but on the flip side people do have a right to know about dealerships in the local area. Very much like WatchDog or Rogue Traders.

Whilst our issues are somewhat serious or annoying, they only represent a very small percentage of the thousands of people in the UK who own a fiat and that will and should be looked at when people buy motors. I have seen several posts that say 'i had a problem at this dealership' and then another saying 'but i didnt have a problem'...

just my 2p worth..

 

[G Spag]

Oh, sorry didnt mean to close the thread or 'protect' people from being put off, didnt mean that at all

 

[trigxm]

Oh, sorry didnt mean to close the thread or 'protect' people from being put off, didnt mean that at all

 

[raton_laveur]

Two or three weeks ago there was an article in The Economist that mentioned that large companies do in fact pay a lot of attention to sites like this one to see what people really think of their products. For them, it's cheap market research and gives them an idea of the problems people are having, what they want from the company in the future, and even what's going right at the moment. I can not promise you that Fiat UK is minitoring this board, but it would certainly be to their advantage if they did. Of course we are the hardcore and don't exactly represent the entire general public, but it still gives them a pretty good idea of consumer thought about their products and services.