Are Audi Centre service advisors on a bonus scheme?

[neckarsulm]

the reason I ask is because some of you may recall in Oct 2010 I had mine serviced at Bham Audi and the service advisor who knew I was in a position to check anything he tells me by being 'in the trade' told me that my nearside exhaust tailpipe was damaged and the flap was stuck open.

I checked it on the ground immediately and it was fine and managed to see the underside on a ramp yesterday and there was no damage at all.

Which made me wonder, did he just put that on the receipt to get a bonus knowing fullwell I wouldn't get it done? Why else would they lie so blatantly?

I should say Birmingham Audi is a Listers Group franchise (as is Worcester and Stratford) so other Centres may work differently.

[ARSEY4]

I think there could be some kind of incentive scheme going on as it seems to always be about the big sell. Our X5 had its first service and they started banging on about micro filters and air con so I said yes, when I got back to the car there was a can of air freshener left in the car which made me think they just spray that around to give the impression that something was done.

[HYFR]

It very much depends on the business, so each dealer group is different

Certainly the recommendation from aftersales guru's is that they should be on bonus or commision as they should take on the role of salesman to maximise profit ... Just like a car salesman, as the profit opportunity in aftersales is huge yet many service advisors are mere admin monkeys

[neckarsulm]

It very much depends on the business, so each dealer group is different

Certainly the recommendation from aftersales guru's is that they should be on bonus or commision as they should take on the role of salesman to maximise profit ... Just like a car salesman, as the profit opportunity in aftersales is huge yet many service advisors are mere admin monkeys

I suspect Bham Audi who must pay a hefty rent to Audi UK who own the premises have to use every opportunity to maximise profit.

[philipwalker]

I would ask yourself first why dealers/garages exist.

This could be a clue as to why they diagnose or advise as they do?

[neckarsulm]

would ask yourself first why dealers/garages exist.

Profit?

This could be a clue as to why they diagnose or advise as they do?

they diagnose/advise to fix the car and make a profit, not sure why it has to mean bare faced lies though

I don't have a problem with profit but if I know advisors are on commission that benefits them personally then I'll take their suggestions with an even bigger piece of salt

[philipwalker]

This quality is not just reserved motor traders/dealers.

Can you trust every builder, every policeman etc etc....The list is long.

[neckarsulm]

Can you trust every builder, every policeman etc etc....The list is long.

unfortunately people (and I mean the general motoring public) put a lot of trust in main dealers thinking they are less likely to get conned there as they charge enough anyway.

[Golfather]

This quality is not just reserved motor traders/dealers.

Can you trust every builder, every policeman etc etc....The list is long.

Presumably the list also includes BBS Traders ??

[philipwalker]

This quality is not just reserved motor traders/dealers.

Can you trust every builder, every policeman etc etc....The list is long.

Presumably the list also includes BBS Traders ??

Yep, especially the ones palming off replica BBS wheels as the real deal......

[gdavison]

Although I have had my Issues with Reading Audi .. their Service folks are on Customer feedback based bonus's and rewards .. which always puzzles me when I sit at the desk of the Service rep with the "last months best rep gold trophy" and it goes to hell in a hand basket ..

BUT to be honest the dealer principle at Reading (Mike Murphy) is just amazing .. he is the only reason I go back time and time again as he WANTs the experience to be right for us all .. and always always takes feedback and personally gets involved with any issues ...

[andre3k]

Lol, you must have a beef with Birm Audi

[neckarsulm]

BUT to be honest the dealer principle at Reading (Mike Murphy) is just amazing .. he is the only reason I go back time and time again as he WANTs the experience to be right for us all .. and always always takes feedback and personally gets involved with any issues ...

good stuff, I am not saying they are all bad.

Lol, you must have a beef with Birm Audi

1) denied sw0090 existed
2) made up faults
3) missed the DRC misting that had been noticed at the last MOT at Halesowen Audi when I specifically asked them to check it
4) spilt oil when doing the oil change which has only just stopped smelling (that was in Oct10)
5) ticked long life service in service book when it wasn't


that was one visit!

[Iain_S4]

I view service advisors as sales people to and have had a few issues. In particular they don't pass on information from the techs correctly and twist it to try and get more work/money out of you.

Most recently when my car was in for oil service and MOT I was told by the service advisor that the front brake discs were below minimum thickness. I told them to leave them (planning to get them much cheaper elsewhere) and expected some hard sell/fail MOT etc and was surprised he didn't push it. The exact wording from the technician turned out to be that they would likley require replacement at next service. I later measured them at 32.5mm.

[bboy]

I don't think that Neckarsulm is alone in thinking that Birmingham Audi are crap.

My purchase experience with them was exceptionally poor and they got a number of fundamental things completely wrong when organising the paperwork associated with the purchase. I raised my concerns with management but found the DP rather condescending and arrogant. Obviously not what I expected when spending nearly £35k with them.

Listers like to portray themselves as a family business with good old fashioned customer service. My experience was that are only interested in volume and nothing else. My parents bought a car from another one of their dealerships and their experience was equally as poor.

Needless to say I will not return and or recommend anyone to them. In fact I would positively advise people to avoid their dealerships.