Not impresses with Merc customer service so far...

[John]

you may have spoken to the one person who couldnt be bothered..

Given the number of experiences of bad customer service I've read about, it's slightly more than one person who couldn't be bothered...

 

[jaymanek]

Unfortunately its the norm these days...

This week I have had to keep on at o2 about my fault blackberry, not once did they ring me back.
Ive had to call my joiner 4 times to get our staircase done, again never called back as agreed..

Dont even get me started on the Mercedes Parts Department...

 

[John]

I'll tell you the reason why I think the way I do about it.

It's because over the years I've heard various people moaning about the customer service of various companies.

Excellent customer service is not complicated - it just requires effort.

Sometimes it takes 95% of the effort to achieve the last 5% of customer satisfaction.

However, when I sit there listening to people ranting at the customer services of numerous places, I think to myself "why would you want to put yourself through all that aggravation".

Now I am not immune to it, but the minute I sniff out piss poor customer service, I aint chasing that company and I certainly aint using them.

As a result, I can't remember the last time I had to get angry with customer services - or even complain.

Even this week, I hear our FD wasting hours of her time ranting at a certain 3 letter furniture company (think DIVS) about something she was mis-sold.

You only get potentially 80 years on this planet - why spend it talking to inept monkeys...

 

[nick mercedes]

People that think that Mercedes have 'spirit and soul' etc are sadly mistaken, it's all a front to shift boxes. Have a look at the promotional bumf at the 'new' Mercedes Citan; it's a small van for funks sake.

The good news is that as it's a rebadged Kangoo, it won't rust, and the next Vito will be based on the superior Vivaro/Trafic.

 

[John]

I saw an 05 plate Vivaro parked right next to an 05 plate Vito - neither had rust which was a surprise...

 

[nick mercedes]

I saw an 05 plate Vivaro parked right next to an 05 plate Vito - neither had rust which was a surprise...

Vivaros never rust, and nor do Vitos, much.

 

[st4]

Vivaros never rust, and nor do Vitos, much.

Because of these threads I look at Mercedes vans. 58 reg merc van with rust on the rear doors, front doors and rust stains all down the sides from the panel that would be a window.

I wonder how they make them do that?

 

[Rayny]

Because of these threads I look at Mercedes vans. 58 reg merc van with rust on the rear doors, front doors and rust stains all down the sides from the panel that would be a window.

I wonder how they make them do that?

It's a trade secret design feature,

rather like the biodegradable electrics in the C class.

 

[steve333]

Vivaros never rust, and nor do Vitos, much.

Suprised you think vitos don't rust Nick,i've seen numerous2004>(and sprinters)even as new as late 2007 with rusty tailgates/arches etc(a work colleague had a vito from new in 2005 which started rusting within 3 years-he did nothing about it & got very little for it when he changed it late last year-you should have seen the state of it,i've never seen a 6 year old vehicle with as much rust on it)

 

[Charles Morgan]

Because of these threads I look at Mercedes vans. 58 reg merc van with rust on the rear doors, front doors and rust stains all down the sides from the panel that would be a window.

I wonder how they make them do that?

Thorough testing over numerous years. Apparently numerous Mercedes van owners reported they had received incessant rib-taking for driving around in pristine white vans ('oi mate - did your mother iron that for you?'), and felt rejected from the white van driving community. In order to keep them happy, the factory worked on and developed a pre-ageing process. While it is a secret kept close for patent reasons, it is rumoured that the process includes bathing in warm sea water prior to paint application. Result, happy owners driving new vans around that look like they have been on a building site for life.

Mercedes - the best or nothing.

 

[trapperjohn]

Mercedes - The best rust or nothing.

 

[nick mercedes]

Suprised you think vitos don't rust Nick,i've seen numerous2004>(and sprinters)even as new as late 2007 with rusty tailgates/arches etc(a work colleague had a vito from new in 2005 which started rusting within 3 years-he did nothing about it & got very little for it when he changed it late last year-you should have seen the state of it,i've never seen a 6 year old vehicle with as much rust on it)

Bill says they don't rust, he even did even a poll that agreed with him (bodywork section), apparantly our eyes are decieving us when we see endless examples of rusty Vitos...

 

[steve333]

Bill says they don't rust, he even did even a poll that agreed with him (bodywork section), apparantly our eyes are decieving us when we see endless examples of rusty Vitos...

Ok,a poll that didn't involve vito owners i guess

 

[steve333]

Mercedes - The best rust or nothing.

It would appear that the 2004> galvernising has done little to improve the problem(i viewed an approved used late 2007 ml with a rusting rear arch),many years ago i worked for a sheet metal company that had contracts with the mod,they used a process where mild steel was dipped in various chemical tanks(the process was called cadmium plating from memory-the finished artical had a rainbow colour effect to it) after this the mild steel never rusted-makes you wonder why mb/other car manufacturers don't do something simular?(maybe it's because people wouldn't need to visit the bodyshop for rust repairs/replacement panels or change there caer as often).

 

[trapperjohn]

From "The Gazette" February 2012. Its from an article by Richard Share page 26 and 27.
Peter Share is now a Club Technical Adviser at MB Club and for many years was head of Mercedes-Benz UK Tecnical Training Centre. Here he is talking about some MB High ups.

""Profit, profit, profit" was his motto. He was a pioneer in Germany of the US capitalist ethic of "shareholder value", putting the interests of shareholders above everything else. During his tenure, between 1995 and 1997, the stock value of Daimler-Benz doubled. Perhaps this went to his head. His biggest mistake was to neglect the Mercedes-Benz "brand" Quality went down at the same rate as new models were appearing. Paint thickness was reduced by 50 per cent. Press tools were used for much longer - with the quality of finishing suffering as a result. The recycled steel being used was not of the best quality and investment in training as also cut back"

Who you ask is responsible for this - apparently it was Jurgen Schrempp who resigned in 2006. His replacement Dieter Zetsche had the job of putting Mercedes-Benz back on track. This apparently took until the face lifted 211 appeared. Dont know if he ever looked at the "van" issues. Not much rust seen on Mercedes wagons though?!

The whole article is an interesting insight to big business.

 

[UKandLovingIT]

Hi, I am a complete newby on this forum, and basically joined out of frustration with MB Guildford. Yesterday my radio dies and displays a message "Anti-theft Protection activated. Please visit your Mercedes-Benz workshop." I was a bit irritated to say the least - the car is 4 months old ... and now this !?!

A phonecall to Tony Purslow reveals that it is NOT just a matter of visiting your workshop. In fact 2 days waiting for an appointment, and if you want a courtesy car you have to organise the insurance yourself, or pay them for the pleasure of trying to fix something that is clearly no fault of yours. .... and they have no idea how long it can take to sort out.

One would guess that having a brand new car, under warranty, with service plan in place - they would try a little harder to make the inconvenience a little more bearable.

 

[jonnyMercUK]

Hi, I am a complete newby on this forum, and basically joined out of frustration with MB Guildford. Yesterday my radio dies and displays a message "Anti-theft Protection activated. Please visit your Mercedes-Benz workshop." I was a bit irritated to say the least - the car is 4 months old ... and now this !?!

A phonecall to Tony Purslow reveals that it is NOT just a matter of visiting your workshop. In fact 2 days waiting for an appointment, and if you want a courtesy car you have to organise the insurance yourself, or pay them for the pleasure of trying to fix something that is clearly no fault of yours. .... and they have no idea how long it can take to sort out.

One would guess that having a brand new car, under warranty, with service plan in place - they would try a little harder to make the inconvenience a little more bearable.

I had an issue with my steering column (rubbing), the car was 3 months old. I was told by Mercedes Doncaster that if the issue was not a warranty issue I would have to pay for the insurance of the courtesy car that they sort (£10 a day I seem to remember), if it was a warranty issue then there would be no charge. On a 3 month old car it's definitely warranty!

If I was in your shoes, I would refuse to pay!

 

[Dryce]

It would appear that the 2004> galvernising has done little to improve the problem(i viewed an approved used late 2007 ml with a rusting rear arch),

Personally I think it has made a difference. Compared with 70s and 80s the amount of visible rust on cars is very low.

the process was called cadmium plating from memory-the finished artical had a rainbow colour effect to it) after this the mild steel never rusted-makes you wonder why mb/other car manufacturers don't do something simular?

I suspect that the *cadmium* is the reason.

Also if it's expensive then the likes of MOD run on a different set of cost criteria for specialist kit compared with us cheapskate consumer mortals.

 

[st4]

BMW time...

 

[jaymanek]

And u think the dealers are better?! Our local one is terrible..