Crown

Has anyone had any experience of the service side of the OPC at Bristol (Cribbs Causway)? I need to get a service, and it's much trickier to get to Poole now.

GR:
Its used to be the same company (Dick Lovett) as Swindon and they've always been excellent.  Not sure if its still independent from Porsche GB

GR:
I always used to use Swindon over Reading, despite being 40 miles further from me becasue they were so much better but Reading have pulled their socks up in the last couple of years and they're Porsche GB

        Well my sincere advice to anyone reading this is to avoid Guildford as if they were carrying the plague. Just awful.  Both the purchase and after sales treatment of their customers is an utter disgrace. Kinrara was treated with contempt having spent  £110k+ on a fully loaded 997 turbo - how they would treat Boxster customers at the bottom of the Porsche food chain I dread to think.   

 

Popped into the Cribbs OPC yesterday. Was quite impressed with the site and the service. (Or at least the service so far!)

Firstly the showroom has a LOT more square foot than I'm used to, and so lots more cars on display. I didn't have time to wander around as much as I'd like, as I wasn't alone, and the Mall was also on the itinerary.

They had a FL Boxster in white, with black and black. Have to say I'm not a fan of white! The switches on the rear centre console for the roof seem to have been re-designed. Or at least there were two buttons not one. Anyone got any photos/info on that? Otherwise, the side mirrors have an odd rim to them, the rear bumper is personal taste. I don't like the rear lights shape when standing right next to the car, but from a car following they might look OK. And the front lights are Not so bad, but I do think that the twin 'projector' units within each headlight housing seem to depersonalise the friendly face of the car a little, make it look a little more vacant and soulless. Maybe that's just me!

The Attention from the front desk staff was good. Quick to ask if we needed help, quick to guide, and most importantly, quick to feed with coffee! You do tend to forget that you don't get freely available coffee in posh designer cups when you go to a mainstream dealer!

The guy at the service desk was friendly, helpful, seemed to know his stuff, and actually beckoned me into the service area to show me stuff, rather than what I usually get, which is having the problem explained to me from behind a desk. It's soo much better to be actually shown stuff. We're Porsche people, we are interested in the engineering. We don't usually get to see our cars from underneath. And also it's nice to see the service area. Even my GF commented that you can tell it's Porsche, because even the service area is so spotlessly clean!

I'll post more on my experience of the service side later - I'm booked in for the end of the month. Looks quite expensive, so I hope the customer service experience softens the financial blow!

All these anecdotal reports of poor treatment increasingly make me believe that it is never really worth building a long term relationship in the UK with any single dealership.

OPCs in the UK adopt a short termist relationship with a customer in order to make a sale and then simply don't care about continuing customer care and after sales etc because they are not relying upon further repeat business from that customer. They don't care about particular customers provided that they get business from somewhere. They adopt the view that the product is so good it will sell itself hence the customers will come from somewhere.

I think in the long term, it makes more sense to work with whichever OPC is offering the best financial deal at that time. If OPCs aren't loyal, there's no reason why I should be loyal to them. I keep a small range of OPCs in the South East on my shortlist for whatever purpose I need them for and then I use whoever gives me the best deal and best customer care.

For bigger ticket stuff, I am more than happy to seek out OPCs in mainland Europe if that works out cheaper for me. 

At the end of the day, we are each dealing with individuals at each OPC. Some people are better at their jobs than others. So I hunt out the right individuals not the right OPC. The situation is constantly changing with continuous changes/upheaval at every OPC as staff come and go and management keeps changing. 

It's the same story with car insurance companies. I keep a small number of insurers on my shortlist. I have already done a massive trawl of UK insurers before in the past so I know that, for me, Admiral, elephant and Bell Direct work out by far the cheapest. So each year I keep rotating amongst them. It keeps them on their toes for my custom. I am a great believer in the saying that the "customer is king" so I don't let salespeople forget that.  

People in the UK sadly no longer value loyalty anymore - it's all about money. We've become a very selfish nation so, given that this situation won't change anytime soon, I prefer to acknowledge that status quo and play by those rules so that no one can take advantage of me financially. 

"Treat 'em mean to keep 'em keen" is my motto with all salespeople working on commission. 

Rennteam Moderator - 997S GT Silver/Cocoa, -20mm/LSD, PSE, SportDesign rims, Zuffenhausen collection

But surely that behaviour is just reinforcing the behaviour of the dealerships staff?

And I have to say that OPC behaviour and turnover is location dependent. I guess behaviour is worse, and turnover higher the closer to London you get.

In my experience (and I have lived in both areas) people in the South West of the country treat people more as human beings, where as in the South East people treat each other more as faceless entities, to be either used or ignored. And your attitude of 'I'll be mean to them, 'cause they'll only take advantage of me otherwise' seems to back this up!

I don't mean to be critical of yourself personally Easy, but more critical of living conditions and social environment that comes with living and working in or near the Capital.

Reinforcing their behaviour? With respect, I don't think so at all. In my experience, they would behave that way no matter what I did. To think that I individually can change society is mistaken IMHO. Please don't take offence but I actually think it's somewhat naive to think that.

The breakdown in the concept of 'society' has been accelerating geometrically since the early 1980s and Margaret Thatcher's credo that there is no such thing as 'society' but that we are a 'collection of individuals'. 

I believe in 'old fashioned values' too (just like you) but they only work in certain situations where these values are reciprocated e.g. with friends and family. In relation to OPCs, those values are an invitation to an OPC to take advantage since they only care about the money they will make out of their customer.

I don't agree with this statement: " .... I guess behaviour is worse .... the closer to London you get .... ". I think this is actually behaviour that is found all across the UK but which is (relatively) more prevalent in major cities such as London, Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham etc etc. Attitudes in major cities are different - it's not just a 'London thing'. I think criticising London can come a little too easily to people who live in rural areas, towns or smaller cities outside the capital since they may often have a preconception and can latch on to anything that might reinforce their preconceived ideas. It's a dangerous assumption to make - underneath I'm like you really - but living in a major city makes me that little bit more alert to the risk of potential exploitation.

wtsnet, don't worry - I didn't take what you wrote personally and please don't take anything I write personally either.  The reality is that our country is on a slippery slope anyway no matter what any of us does. Some parts of the country are just that little bit further down the slope!! 

--

Rennteam Moderator - 997S GT Silver/Cocoa, -20mm/LSD, PSE, SportDesign rims, Zuffenhausen collection

wtsnet, don't worry - I didn't take what you wrote personally and please don't take anything I write personally either. 

I don't quite agree with the 'There's nothing I can do as an individual' attitude, though I understand it, and wonder if this is the way big city environments influence our behaviour and mindset. Surely a mass of public opinion or behaviour is just built from that of a group of individuals, and we should all try to lead by example, to try to steer the herd.

Often I am struck by the fact that when I let someone out of a busy junction, the person that I just let out does the same for someone else the first oportinuty they get. They pass on the good deed to someone else, and also remember that a Porsche driver was nice to them. Alternatively I could have just driven by, re-inforcing the opinion in that driver's mind that Porsche drivers are arrogant.

Now if we all just let someone out now and again... the world becomes a nicer place to be. And that is more important to me than money.

I think criticising London can come a little too easily to people who live in rural areas, towns or smaller cities outside the capital since they may often have a preconception and can latch on to anything that might reinforce their preconceived ideas. It's a dangerous assumption to make - underneath I'm like you really - but living in a major city makes me that little bit more alert to the risk of potential exploitation.

wtsnet:

 

Surely a mass of public opinion or behaviour is just built from that of a group of individuals, and we should all try to lead by example, to try to steer the herd.

Often I am struck by the fact that when I let someone out of a busy junction, the person that I just let out does the same for someone else the first oportinuty they get. They pass on the good deed to someone else, and also remember that a Porsche driver was nice to them. Alternatively I could have just driven by, re-inforcing the opinion in that driver's mind that Porsche drivers are arrogant.

Now if we all just let someone out now and again... the world becomes a nicer place to be. And that is more important to me than money.

That's exactly where this analysis breaks down in my view. You're absolutely right to say that 'society' (whatever that means) is the sum total of individuals. So you might argue that, if I individually set a good example, and if others also do the same then it snowballs and the world becomes a better place. BUT the argument breaks down because, just because I might do a good deed, there is absolutely no reason to expect that everyone else (or indeed anyone else) will do good deeds. So all that ends up happening is that I have done a good deed (and felt self-satisfied about myself  for doing it) BUT that it has no effect whatsoever on other people or on the behaviour of others more generally.

I don't think that courtesy towards other drivers is a good analogy. What good we do on the road costs us almost nothing so reciprocating any favour we receive by showing an outward display of courtesy towards another stranger on the road is really an empty gesture. On that superficial level, it's fine but the really telling indicator is if we do something worthwhile that actually costs us something. Now that would be more meaningful! It's also much much more rare to see that done nowadays. I'd love to see you give me an example of that! 

Rennteam Moderator - 997S GT Silver/Cocoa, -20mm/LSD, PSE, SportDesign rims, Zuffenhausen collection

wtsnet:

I think criticising London can come a little too easily to people who live in rural areas, towns or smaller cities outside the capital since they may often have a preconception and can latch on to anything that might reinforce their preconceived ideas. It's a dangerous assumption to make - underneath I'm like you really - but living in a major city makes me that little bit more alert to the risk of potential exploitation.

I do have to smile at that though. So you see people living in rural areas as more naive? I'm kidding of course, but pre-conceptions work both ways. LIke I said, I have lived in both London and Dorset, and am now lucky enough to live in Bath.

Touché  Nice one BUT you will have noticed that I didn't use the word "naive" here. My end comment (in the final sentence) was not so much about those living outside major cities but more about those living in major cities.

I think it's an empirically verifiable truism that surviving in a major city involves one being just that little bit more competitive than elsewhere. Surely you will agree with that. Well, having to face that challenge day in day out inevitably has an effect upon one's outward personality making one seem just that little bit more ruthless as a result. It's not necessarily a good thing from an ethical/moral perspective. 

Rennteam Moderator - 997S GT Silver/Cocoa, -20mm/LSD, PSE, SportDesign rims, Zuffenhausen collection

easy_rider911:

I think it's an empirically verifiable truism that surviving in a major city involves one being just that little bit more competitive than elsewhere. Surely you will agree with that. Well, having to face that challenge day in day out inevitably has an effect upon one's outward personality making one seem just that little bit more ruthless as a result. It's not necessarily a good thing from an ethical/moral perspective. 

Maybe you have a point about the competitiveness aspect of city living. But I'm not entirely convinced. I've found myself competing with higher skilled individuals in my field for less money here. Maybe it's competition for time and space? I don't know. What do you feel you are competing for?

Anyway, trying to back-track to the main point in the thread - 'Customer service'... well, as you say, a pleasant demeanour costs nothing, and just as much effort as a bad attitude. .And in my experience, in an interaction between two individuals, you are more likely to mirror each others mood.... So if you start off on a happy foot, you're more likely to get a happy response, which might lead more easily to getting the outcome you were looking for (a sale, or at least a repeat visit or good referral) rather than a negative one (a customer that vows never to return, or bad-mouths the dealership)....So you would think that natural selection would favour good service?.... Maybe with the downturn this might happen! I'm already getting lots of calls from the dealership that sold me the Boxster, trying to tempt me into a test drive of a FL model, despite not having been there for years!

GF and I were mulling yesterday over coffee in John Lewis if a partnership model is a better one to follow for instilling a sense of ownership and work pride (and therefore customer service) in staff.

GR:
Its used to be the same company (Dick Lovett) as Swindon and they've always been excellent.  Not sure if its still independent from Porsche GB

        x2

I can’t comment on Dick Lovett Bristol but their Swindon outfit is excellent.

The way they reacted and resolved a major complaint I had on my 993 turbo (a car which I didn’t even purchase from them) was the primary reason I gave them my 997 order. Courteousness, patience, understanding and passion for the Porsche brand are what sets them apart from some of the other (e.g. Reading) OPC’s.