Re: First Post Here- I need HELP (Johann)
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Yannis.<p>Want to start a dealership in the Netherlands? <IMG NAME="icon" SRC="http://********************/smile/emsmile.gif" BORDER="0"> <p>One unfortunate miscalculation in Volvo's strategy, the forums on the internet...<br>A lot of people are very knowledgable when it comes to flaws and shortcomings on cars these days.<br>You can read the real problems between the whining.<br>I my case me and my brother both owned a V70T5 GT, one from April and the other from July.<br>Both were serviced by different dealers and both showed identical problems.<br>My car was the worst of the 2 but by brother left the Volvo brand because he was fed up with the way he was treaded at the dealer.<br>Fyi, he is 3 years older and has a "stutter" problem so probably more brains and tactics compared to me but still fed up with the way a dealer wants to put him in place by telling all kinds of fairytales.<br>Both dealers are now under one oranization.<br>My impression in the Netherlands is that there is no Volvo overhead but that all things are operated as a big dealer network so I wonder how many real problems are directed straight to Volvo.<br>What I think what most dealers forget is that the customers have to pay a huge amount of money for their cars, it's not a Sony walkman you buy at a street corner.<br>Add to that that most customers are not very technical and start worrying when the slightest kling or klang appears in their car.<br>The dealer MUST take this in to consideration, it's part of his job so he must act accordingly.<br>For a lot of people a gearbox change on their car is like an operation on their own body.<p>I think Volvo should drop the AT's and go MT only <IMG NAME="icon" SRC="http://********************/smile/emwink.gif" BORDER="0"> <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><p>Yeah...In Europe, I would like to start one...My grandfather owned a very large size dealership, in Greece and my father was the Sales Manager; he always treated his customers with care and self respect and he taught me to be this way, sometimes to a fault. I did not have to work where I work now, I just chose it because I secretly admired Volvos (and BMWs! hehe!) ever since I was little...<p>Anyway, back to the story...You made some very valid points about service, problems, etc. Unfortunately, for the consumer, in Europe the system is very much centralized to the point that there is one "chief" importer who also acts as a dealer and allocates cars to his...competition...HUH? So, any major problem that a customer may have, it will be very hard to reach the manufacturer unlike here in the US where the dealer network is not this centralized.<p>It is a vicious cycle, Johann. The manufacturer can get bogged down by a huge number of idiotic complaints that do not merit attention and in that "sea of stupidity" the valid complaints get drowned. On the other hand, many Customer Service Centers are staffed by low-paid, ignorant people who do not know anything about cars and the bureaucratic juggernaut gets started with all the disastrous results that may follow (unsolved problems, complaints and finally loss of customer base)...Arghhh, it should not be a hard problem to solve as long as the right people are there to listen...<p>Yannis
