Unreasonable customer!

[R and K Autohouse 3]

SOLD Volvo V50 to a customer from Lincoln which is about 40 miles from us, all smooth transaction, we said we will deliver the car for free, customer over the moon and all that! 10 minutes into driving the car down to the customer bloody car wont go faster than 20 miles per hour and shaking like crazy! Rang recovery took the car down to the garage, they couldn't look at it until next day as they were really busy which is completely understandable from my point of view, but not from the customers of course. Next day got a call from the garage saying that one of the injectors got blown so they'll replace it also they rang to the electrician which can only come day after to inspect the car if anything got burned or something like that. Today electrician came, said that everything is well just need to program the injectors (i think) to the car. So i just took it down to Volvo to get it sorted........ now just a waiting game really. But besides of doing everything i can to sort this car out, customer is on my back "where is my car?" "what happened?""can you keep me updated?""can you call me instead of texting""I think we should get full tank of diesel because of this problem" but the most messed up one is this one "i think you are treating us differently because we are buying cheap car from you, if we would buy expensive one we would have been treated differently" why the hell would someone think that? Yes car broke down, they all do, i cant predict when it will happen, but we are paying for this repair, still delivering the car for free, i have offered multiple times to refund the car as well to which they have rejected. So my boss thinks that they will be on my back for life and will put bad review because of this problem and that we should refund them fully and sell the car to someone else. What do you guys think?

[Stalker 180]

Refund and sell to somebody else.

Shit happens sometimes.

[Mark101 536]

Refund, Repair, Resell - no doubt - they will have the preconception that the car is a nightmare and hit you with every squeak, rattle and glitch for ever

[It's me 609]

Unless your signed receipt clearly has written in it that a sale can be undone then if you were to refund without the customers agreement it would be a breach of contract

you could be held liable for any reasonable costs incurred for them to source a replacement vehicle

a colleague used to ring them up and tell them they had found chassis  damage from an unrecorded bump this would scare your customer off he used to do it because someone else had seen the car and had offered the full asking or more

he's still in the job, but i wouldnt buy a jack handle off him

Edited April 20, 2018 by chief runnin bee
just thought

[Arfur Dealy 823]

Thinking about it, they have been inconvenienced... They don’t want to reject, they just want a tank of diesel as a gesture of goodwill. I would oblige with a smile thanking them for being so understanding... get the car gone....

[EPV 631]

3 minutes ago, Arfur Dealy said:

Thinking about it, they have been inconvenienced... They don’t want to reject, they just want a tank of diesel as a gesture of goodwill. I would oblige with a smile thanking them for being so understanding... get the car gone....

Exactly this. They have clearly stated they don’t want a refund, seems to me that a tank of fuel is £50 worth of customer PR well spent. 

OP, think about it. Someone had bought a car from a complete stranger and they haven’t received it. The internet is awash with stories about people being ripped off. 

IMO you should have made a gesture offer of something in the first place. This isn’t your fault but it certainly isn’t the customers fault. Life, shit happens but get them on side early. Photos of the car on a recovery truck, copy of correspondence to garage etc. 

 

[BHM 994]

I’m surprised they don’t want a refund as most would bite your hand off. As they don’t want a refund you aren’t in a position to breach the contract so you’ll have to repair & hope they don’t come back.

Personally I wouldn’t give them a tank of diesel - this is simply because they’ve had the cheek to ask for it. If they think you’re a ‘soft touch’ now, they’re more likely to saddle you up & ride your arse in the future. The situation is shite for you & for them but you must keep control of your customer & their expectations - they’ve shaken the tree & if you give them something for nowt they’ll shake it again to see if any more fruit falls 

[have a word with the wife 299]

9 hours ago, R and K Autohouse said:

 But besides of doing everything i can to sort this car out, customer is on my back "where is my car?" "what happened?""can you keep me updated?""can you call me instead of texting""What do you guys think?

quite reasonable request i think 

[andymc1973 199]

the car went to shit straight after delivery, simple as that....

[Mark101 536]

My only critique, accepting you are sorting the car and have offered a refund is, stop texting them; pick up the phone and confirm your conversation by email (more for your protection).

Texting is so unprofessional, it is akin to those irritating buyers texting "how much for cash m8" and implies you're hiding something or fearing/avoiding confrontation.

In offering to unwind the deal, you have nothing to fear by talking to them.

Rather than responding to their call, be proactive and call to update them, even if it isn't the news they want. There's only one thing worse than bad news......no news.

Just my opinion.

Edited April 21, 2018 by Mark101

[BHM 994]

+1

[Rory RSC 596]

3 hours ago, Mark101 said:

My only critique, accepting you are sorting the car and have offered a refund is, stop texting them; pick up the phone and confirm your conversation by email (more for your protection).

Texting is so unprofessional, it is akin to those irritating buyers texting "how much for cash m8" and implies you're hiding something or fearing/avoiding confrontation.

In offering to unwind the deal, you have nothing to fear by talking to them.

Rather than responding to their call, be proactive and call to update them, even if it isn't the news they want. There's only one thing worse than bad news......no news.

Just my opinion.

Bang on - Good and clear professional communication is all that this customer wants.

[umesh 336]

3 hours ago, Mark101 said:

My only critique, accepting you are sorting the car and have offered a refund is, stop texting them; pick up the phone and confirm your conversation by email (more for your protection).

Texting is so unprofessional, it is akin to those irritating buyers texting "how much for cash m8" and implies you're hiding something or fearing/avoiding confrontation.

In offering to unwind the deal, you have nothing to fear by talking to them.

Rather than responding to their call, be proactive and call to update them, even if it isn't the news they want. There's only one thing worse than bad news......no news.

Just my opinion.

Agree with you ! proactive makes all the difference and looks professional ! #MyThoughts 

[MattR 177]

If theyve said they dont want a refund, they clearly want the car. So give them something for nothing - they are without the car that they have paid you for, and have (presumably) Taxed and insured it. Which may mean they have uninsured their current car? 

There are genuine costs and inconvenience for them here and although you are doing the right thing for them, they are likely to be out of pocket by a few quid. If all they are asking for is 70 to 80 quids worth of fuel, I'd give it to them and then they will be a little more likely to smile at you when you do drop it off. I think they may see you as a reasonable person too, and trust that the right thing has been done on the repair. We all know selling it is easy, its keeping them onside that can be difficult. Theyve made a sensible request, not an outrageous one.