Holden Service issue - Is this a bit of a scam?

[jules]

It appears there is evidence of it happening widely, Im sure the accc might be interested in this tactic.

pushing unneeded service options onto naive customers is a time honoured practice by many mechanics. it's dishonest but as far as i can tell, it's not illegal or anti-competitive.

as others have said, you should question why you need any additional service before agreeing to it. however many people just don't know enough about cars to make a proper judgment and rely on (and hope for) honest advice.

there is a funny prank call on Youtube or somesuch where a radio host rings a girl and up-sells her headlight fluid and an engine alignment etc. it's funny but sadly it also happens in reality.

 

[Sabbath']

that's fair enough, but the problem is that the service guy (read: sales guy) is not always going to give honest advice is he? they are placed under a lot of pressure to up-sell these optional services. so he's unlikely to say "oh look you really don't need it, i'm just supposed to ask".

From my experience, i've never had a service advisor try to up-sell anything to a customer. They're there to book the cars in and thats it. There are products on the counter and information about them,if the customer wants them they can request them. But there certainly hasnt been any pushing to sell sell sell from what i've seen.

if your fuel system is clogged then presumably it may help unclog it. i've had my injectors ultrasonically cleaned and the guy showed me the flow chart, one injector was well out and from memory he replaced the seals and stuff then retested it and found it worked ok.

that would save on fuel consumption and if you're really keen, i suppose give a few more ponies. but my car was an old VN - i suspect most newer models wouldn't benefit that way.


of course, i'm not even sure Holden do an injector clean. i think they may just run stuff through the fuel lines. either way, if your fuel system is already working ok, it is a waste of money.

Just as a matter of interest how much did you pay to get your injectors ultrasonically cleaned and how long did it take?

another point is that on a new model Commodore with OBD2 all that jazz, if there's anything really wrong with the fuel supply it will show up. no error codes mean it's probably working OK.

Not all error codes are shown to the driver

 

[Sabbath']

There are three things I dont like the sound of here:

1. the recommendation of some work where the probability of it being necessary is quite small

Necessary or not, probability small or large, the customer ok'd it.

2. the lack of description of what the work actually entails for the cost involved.

Service Advisor: Do you want your injectors cleaned?
Customer: What does that entail and how much?

Really isnt that hard

3. the tactics used to get the customer to agree to it.

Which is that? They contacted the customer on the number they would of provided to ask if he wanted a service carried out on his car. They didnt send him a text message which had the condition of "If you open this message you are agreeing to have this service done" He had the choice.

It would appear that it is a dealer tactic to ring the person at work when they are otherwise engaged and put them under pressure to make a decision when they can not give the matter the proper attention it deserves.

Again, its the number the customer provides. If the car needed brake pads and discs, would you just not ring up because they could be too busy? And if something was $200 wouldnt you sit up and listen to what they were saying, or tell them that you cant make a decision on it there and then instead of agreeing?

Obviously the better thing to do would be to say Ill ring you back later when I can ask more about it etc, but they probably try it on later in the day and say that they wont have time to do it unless you approve it now etc.

Then dont get it done. Simple

It appears there is evidence of it happening widely, Im sure the accc might be interested in this tactic.

Widely? A couple of people on an internet forum is not "widely"


This person made the wrong decision and now they're dirty on themselves for doing it and are looking for somebody to shift the blame for their stupidity onto, so have chosen the easy target...Holden Service.

 

[commsirac]

. If the car needed brake pads and discs, would you just not ring up because they could be too busy? And if something was $200 wouldnt you sit up and listen to what they were saying, or tell them that you cant make a decision on it there and then instead of agreeing?


.

Dazza, you made your points previously,why do we need to hear them again?

The difference here is that a call during the middle of the day would be justified if it were for extra work that they found during their inspection etc.

However, the recommendation of a fuel system cleaning would not come under that banner(unless they had taken samples of fuel to test and/or had found injector supply was sluggish etc), and could have been suggested at the time of booking or drop off as suggested. It appears to be clearly a tactic to catch people off guard and agree to something they may not otherwise agree to.

Comprehend?

 

[minux]

Dazza, you made your points previously,why do we need to hear them again?

The difference here is that a call during the middle of the day would be justified if it were for extra work that they found during their inspection etc.

However, the recommendation of a fuel system cleaning would not come under that banner(unless they had taken samples of fuel to test and/or had found injector supply was sluggish etc), and could have been suggested at the time of booking or drop off as suggested. It appears to be clearly a tactic to catch people off guard and agree to something they may not otherwise agree to.

Comprehend?

:rofl: How is it a tactic? Whats the point of asking the customer when thye pick up the car? If the customer wants it done they then have to wait extra time...bloody stupid if you ask me.

I am not too sure about this, but if you are too hectic during the day to make sense of a phone call, then why answer your bloody phone in the first place?

He agreed to it on the phone, end of story. Comprehend?

 

[commsirac]

:rofl: How is it a tactic? Whats the point of asking the customer when thye pick up the car? If the customer wants it done they then have to wait extra time...bloody stupid if you ask me.

I am not too sure about this, but if you are too hectic during the day to make sense of a phone call, then why answer your bloody phone in the first place?

He agreed to it on the phone, end of story. Comprehend?

are you confused with the difference between "drop off" and "pick up"?

Why do you think they call people in the middle of the day rather than ask them about it when the drop the car off or book it in for service? because they forgot earlier? think about it.
I wouldnt agree to it either, or answer my phone if I couldnt think carefully about the call, however, they are preying on people that dont do these things.
If they told the customer all the brakes needed replacement and they didnt, that would be justified because the customer agreed to it? The customer in many cases, has no alternative but to accept what they are being told is the truth.
Taking advantage is not what a reputable service centre should be about......snake oil salesman, "dodgy brothers motors" etc, that's what we'd expect.

 

[Shounak]

I would only side sith Commsirac if the customer was <18 yo.

I hate how no-one takes responsibility for ANYTHING these days. If you get burnt on a coffee, it's because they didn't tell you it was hot. If you injure yourself burgling someones house, it's because the owner didn't make it safe enough.

The age of adulthood comes at 18. That's where your decision start mattering.

 

[jules]

Just as a matter of interest how much did you pay to get your injectors ultrasonically cleaned and how long did it take?

this was a few years ago so prices would be irrelevant today. i think it was $100-200 i can't even remember for 6 injectors and they were quick enough, a day or two.

this was not a car dealership it was an injector service place.

 

[Sabbath']

Dazza, you made your points previously,why do we need to hear them again?

Just like the customer in this case, you can choose to ignore what im saying

However, the recommendation of a fuel system cleaning would not come under that banner(unless they had taken samples of fuel to test and/or had found injector supply was sluggish etc), and could have been suggested at the time of booking or drop off as suggested.

At larger dealerships, drop off time is for that. The work you want is booked in from when you call up, customers come in, drop off their cars and want to get out the door again. There is no time to recommend any further work be done or even to gauge if it could be done. Everybody is assuming here that the service didnt need to be provided.

It appears to be clearly a tactic to catch people off guard and agree to something they may not otherwise agree to.

Comprehend?

So he was "caught off guard" more fool him for not paying enough attention

 

[commsirac]

Just like the customer in this case, you can choose to ignore what im saying
.

Well, Im ignoring it the 2nd and 3rd time!. You seem to think that it is okay for people to rip off unsuspecting people, ie it is the customers fault for being conned....and they are just suckers waiting to be plucked.

At larger dealerships, drop off time is for that. The work you want is booked in from when you call up, customers come in, drop off their cars and want to get out the door again.

As I mentioned b4, why didnt they ask at the time the booking was made? We all know the answer dont we, the would have time to consider it properly, even if agreeing to it at the time of booking, they'd have time to reconsider and ask people what they think etc.....and possibly most likely decide not to go ahead with it.
Then of course if you read the original post we have:

This item, while possibly being beneficial, was not discussed at vehicle hand-over - during the chat that I had with the service officer at the time of handover in the morning when it could have have easily been brought up. I have no problem with a call during the day for an essential item - this was not essential.
?

That's the only logical reason this tactic/scam is happening, ambushing people when they already have the car so they have to make a quick decision and if they change their mind it will be too late.

Ill repeat again..they should only be ringing about additional items that were found to be faulty/in need of work after an inspection of the vehicle and/or to advise about delays in picking up the vehicle.

Anything else is just soliciting for business in an unscrupulous manner.