Service with a smile
We receive lots of complaints from people when it comes to their experiences at dealerships, especially when they have their car serviced.
Often it is a case of poor customer service, usually coming down to knowledge or that age old mantra of making the customer feel like a king.
Maintenance plans have made many things easier, both in terms of expectation and actual cost, but dropping your car off for a service can take a big bite out of your day and there is the fact that it is your car, a major part of your household budget and often a prized possession. It is the latter that some dealerships forget.
One of the major things about running a long-term test vehicle is that we get to go through what owners do and this is particularly true when it comes to the service experience. We have had some good and bad experiences over the years, so we were intrigued to find out how Renault Bryanston was going to handle us booking in the Renault Kadjar for its first service.
The ever-important first impression was good. We arranged a suitable date and the person behind the phone was professional and courteous. Things were off to a good start. On the day, I arrived at the dealership and was directed to service parking where the sign informed me that someone would check the vehicle with me. They didn’t and so I headed to the service reception. Here I was greeted by Jade Clarke.
I mention Jade by name because she is possibly the best customer service person I have ever come across in a dealership. She clearly knows she is the face of the dealership to the customers, possibly even the face of the brand. She was cheerful, professional and knowledgeable. I got the impression nothing would be too much and yes, I felt as though I was king. She organised everything efficiently and quickly, understanding that customers have other things to do.
Impressed, I headed to the seating area to wait for a lift to the office. There I found a great display of models detailing the history of Renault. I also found some newspaper clippings on the wall but none was from Business Day so we won’t talk about those. The dealership could do with investing in a decent coffee machine though.
One element often overlooked by dealerships is the lift to and from the office. My driver was professional and courteous but clearly under pressure to get everyone where they needed to be. Some road safety lessons would have been useful.
Overall, my experience was superb, one of my best yet. Well done to Renault Bryanston. The Kadjar only needed a few minor things as part of a standard service and Jade phoned me during the day to ask if I wanted a tiny windscreen chip repaired. So a great experience all round.