Virtual Local Honda Dealer

[csp]

My Mk4 Jazz SR is due a 3 year service & 1st MOT tomorrow, my local Honda dealer now seems to only want to communicate with customers on line & by email. I have a 5year service contract.

The link to book a service on the website sent to me by email did not work, when I did manage get onto the website I tried several times but could not book a service & MOT so I phoned the dreaded call centre, all I got was an answer phone but they did not call back. I eventually managed to speak to a human being and booked the service & MOT, then they emailed me with a confirmation with instructions to confirm the booking on line and book the car in on line and sign in on line ready to drop off the car & keys tomorrow.

What ever happened to customer sales & with service desk teams at the dealers, it will all be done by robots soon.

The trouble is now that the main dealers with multi manufacturers sales & service sites are taking over and dictating their terms.

I like Honda cars but no longer like the local sales & servicing set up.

[Beaver]

Fortunately, my main dealership still has a phone number I can use to contact them.

[Kremmen]

Name and shame the dealer. Not everyone has online access.

[Kenneve]

What ever happened to customer sales & with service desk teams at the dealers, it will all be done by robots soon.
I like Honda cars but no longer like the local sales & servicing set up.

To my mind, this is totally the wrong way to sell cars and I would like to bet they will regret moving to this type of sales.

Over the years I have brought 6 Jazz cars, 4 of them from the same sales girl. She has always given me a good deal, such that when she moved to a different Honda dealership, I moved with her.

I belief brand loyalty starts with good sales/service and you just can't get that sort of loyalty from a computer screen.

[Karoq]

I would also write to Honda U.K head office and complain. They don't deserve to hold the franchise!
Thank goodness 'Horizon Honda' are brilliant!

[Lincolnshire Rambler]

Yes it’s very arrogant to treat customers as some garage chains do. My Honda dealer e mailed me to say they thought I was due a service and I booked it in over the phone a couple of weeks later for its second service. Upon arrival they had a little notice board welcoming todays customers and my name was third on the list . Service completed they phoned next day to check everything was ok . Video sent of cars underside and of four tyres .

[Marco1979]

Apparently there was a comparative study of all Honda dealers across Europe on customer satisfaction. My dealer (Wesseling, located in Apeldoorn NL) won!
You can email, phone or just enter their building. They review every service. The coffee is good. While waiting they come over to ask how you are doing and whether they can be of any further service. They also like to chat about Honda and their products and developments. Absolutely spot on. Feels as friends or family!

Once a Honda, always a Honda, but also once this dealer, always this dealer .

https://aftersalesmagazine.nl/nieuws/retail/wesselink-is-uitmuntende-honda-dealer/

[Lord Voltermore]

My Honda dealership did warn me that their phone lines can be quite busy a peak times such as Monday morning.  I have never had much problem contacting them although I did once do so by email and someone phoned me back quite quickly.     When you actually go into the showroom staff are attentive  friendly and helpful  .
Better than my local toyota dealership where I sometimes had to winkle reluctant  staff  out of their hidey holes.

'My'  Honda dealership has several sites with different franchises so no doubt economise on  the number of expensive  call handling staff across the group. Annoying maybe at peak times,  but they also gave  a better car price discount than other dealerships . You cant always have it both ways.  .    That said the showroom did still have one or two 'suits' wandering around apparently doing nothing. 'Management' I suppose -beneath their dignity to actually answer the phone at busy periods. 

[Kremmen]

I've been using Crown Honda Bushey for many years and they never try to add on anything not needed and they have a proper reception to answer the phone.

I've recently moved and my local is Marshalls Honda Reading. They get good reviews so I'll give them a go come August for my second service.

[guest9236]

I've been using Crown Honda Bushey for many years and they never try to add on anything not needed and they have a proper reception to answer the phone.

I've recently moved and my local is Marshalls Honda Reading. They get good reviews so I'll give them a go come August for my second service.

Yeomans Honda Churt Surrey
staff are arrogant at times have been rude the sales staff are of course very nice .
Telephone and ask for service department the  attitude of this department  is beyond belief  abrupt  is  the order of the day.
Always tried to push extras at  each and every  service cvt  change etc was never ticked as carried out when this is questioned the reply is always it was checked out by the operative so it was carried out.end of conversation impossible to prove otherwise.
To be avoided if possible.
this I have done  for some time.

[Kremmen]

I bought my 9G from Trident Honda Surrey and had one service there.

They tried to sell me 2 budget front tyres at 11k miles saying mine were over half worn. When I checked they were nowhere near half worn and that was borne out by Crown Honda one year later saying my tyres were only 20% worn.

[Lord Voltermore]

I'm not trying to justify it but A Honda dealership is no different to any other business where there is a relatively isolated  team of staff working together .   Sometimes due to  ineffectual branch  management , or one or two stroppy members of staff it can affect the morale and  attitude of all the  staff and customer care suffers.
 
And some managers will attempt to  improve branch 'performance' by ripping off customers  with unnecessary work.    I think I have mentioned more than once that my Local Chrysler dealer who tried such tricks is now a drive through Macdonalds.  Did they do it in a desperate last attempt at making the dealership profitable, or was it the cause of its decline?   

An Honest and justified 'bad review' thats seen by senior management  might shake things up,, and its worth giving a dealership a second chance  now and again to see if things have improved with a change of staff or attitude. 

[RichardA]

I haven't taken my Jazz to a Honda dealer since 2014. My only dealings with them since then other than for the airbag recall was a few months back over a fautly air con relay. I emailed them (Yeomans Eastbourne) and they quoted the same price as Cox Motors Parts (£35-ish), but the staff at the parts department desk came back with a price of £75 and it had to ordered in from Belgium. In the end I ordered a genuine Honda relay from Tegiwa Imports for less than £20.