Customer World

I have always had a  good opinion about Maruti Suzuki cars in India and their customer service standards.  They are known for their wide-reach  across India, value-for-money cars & customer service and an impeccable sense  of quality in their service process.  But, the last few experiences of mine have left me with a lot of questions in my mind about the honesty and transparency of their service stations.

Last week, I had taken my car to be serviced at a Maruti  Suzuki Authorized Service Station (in Mumbai) near my home.  I had a problem with the bumper as the fitting had become loose and was creating some little noise. I was told immediately that the entire bumper had to be changed, painted and a huge estimate was thrown at me.  This was not needed in the first place and it was even suggested by this service station that  I could even claim  insurance for the same amount!  I was peeved because they were recommending this without even knowing my next premium would become more, if I had a claim. They were blissfully unaware that they were acting against my interest.

I have noticed that all authorized Maruti service stations have this intention to "make money at any cost" on service by unwarranted selling and change of spares, consumables, services etc. I am not shown what spares are changed (I even question whether it is necessary to be changed in the first place), all the service checks and changes are not always done as told to me when the car is being accepted for service.  It is a problem across all their authorized service stations. I always come back with an unsure feeling of what they have charged me vis-a-vis the work they claim to be have  done may not be true.

Thousands of car owners must be facing similar problems without a viable alternative as there are no organized quality multi-brand car service outlets in India.

May be these guys will wake-up then.