Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Reg Vardy the worst possible customer service Part 1

A few months ago I went to buy a new car with my wife. We wanted a Citroen Picasso, nice car, just right for the kids. We figured Reg Vardy in Sheffield would do us a good deal and give good service. We couldn't have been more wrong.

Here is a copy of the letter and email we sent to Reg Vardy and Citroen to complain. I'm still waiting too months after for a good answer.

I've removed actual names, Reg Vardy is the one who should be ashamed of hiring and training their staff. It's not the staff's fault that they are allowed to work in this manner. Here goes, enjoy. Let me know what you think.

Would you ever buy a car from these people?

I am writing to complain about the appalling service I received from your team at Reg Vardy Citroen, on Penistone Road, Sheffield. On 17th September 2006, my wife and I visited the dealership and spoke to XXXX XXXXX, one of your sales representatives and informed him that we were interested in test driving a Citroen Picasso. After a lot of deliberation he found us a Picasso in our price range on your system. We were told however that it was in Sunderland and would need to be brought to Sheffield for us to test drive it and this would be done within the next few days. We were asked to leave a deposit of £100 to secure the vehicle and told that if we were not happy with it after a test drive we could have the deposit back. We were not totally happy about leaving a deposit but did so any way as a show of faith in the company.

As the following week wore on, we received no phone calls from XXXX or Reg Vardy. On Friday 22nd of September we received a message on our answer machine at home from XXXX saying that he had trying to get hold of us all week to give us an update on where we were with the car. This was the first message we received. I called him back on Saturday 23rd September and was told that the car would be in early the next week. I then waited and heard nothing so I called the dealer on Thursday 28th September and spoke to a man called XXXXX who said he was the sales manager. He said that he would check on the progress of the car and call me back in five minutes. He actually called 2½ hours later, and said that the car should be ready to see at the weekend.

We then called on Friday 29th September 2006 and were told that the car was in and having its checks and would be available to test drive on Saturday. We agreed that we would test drive on Saturday 30th September 2006 at 2.00pm. We arranged a babysitter for our children and arrived at the showroom at about 1.50pm with my father-in-law who we brought along to help us assess the car.

When we arrived, XXXX looked for the car in the back lot and couldn’t find it. He said it had been there 40 minutes earlier (approx. 1.10pm), he then went back into the office and said that it was in the mechanic’s garage and he would take us in there to see it. He then took us into the garage to show us the car which was up on a ramp without its wheels and brakes. I assumed it was part way through its checks. At this point I said to XXXX that I was upset because we had been promised that we could test drive the car and arranged child care to fit this in. I then said that I wanted to cancel the deal and wanted my deposit returned. My father-in-law then mentioned a scratch he had seen on the passenger side of the car. XXXX then became quite aggressive and asked who my father-in-law was. He then said that he didn’t want to discuss the matter any more in the garage and wanted us to speak to the manager.

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