Luxury Customer Experience

[Focusin]

I would agree that the Genesis experience is not up to snuff yet. I'll accept that they are starting out as a new brand and are converting - especially on a dealership level - from selling econoboxes to luxury cars. That doesn't happen within a few months.

I accept this too and it's why I am interested in the long-term development of the brand. I drove (and loved) a 1992 Buick Riviera for 15 years and would probably still be driving it today if parts were readily available, so my interests are in the next 7 to 10 years of Genesis ownership.

I want to hold Hyundai executive to the statements they've made because I'm the guy who will still be dealing with Hyundai when the CEO has moved on to the next executive position at another company.

 

[Focusin]

This is premium luxury car hardware sold by a non-premium luxury car maker. The car is sold in stores which are modeled for and cater to an entirely different audience. Exceptions are out here, but in general when you build a dealer model to sell and support the audience of Hyundai's traditional bread and butter, it's going to feel that way.

It is also ironic that there are constant posts here about conquests obtaining the car for basement prices - should be no shock that comes a lower level of luxury experience. If you can lower your expectations for white glove treatment, then the Genesis is a bargain. The experience described in the OP would be disconcerting, but that level of service has worked for the markets they traditionally serve.

If you are going to rub elbows with Accent and Elantra customers, you may have to get reset or lower some expectations - not common courtesy or fairness, but expecting a higher level of service.

This is true, to you and me but the executive level at Hyundai states otherwise. They maintain they are all about the Genesis experience (see my previous quotes from the CEO) but then appear to disregard the very statements the CEO makes.

 

[Focusin]

That does not excuse or in any way explain the fact that they on several occasions they failed to follow up on their own promises. If they promise to follow up then someone needs to follow up. Period. No excuses.

I was told that many dealerships make more money from services than new car sales - not going back will hurt them. Communicating this back to the dealership and to Hyundai (Genesis) corporate should also have an impact.

Your feedback is valuable, and I will provide my experiences back to Genesis in a similar manner. Improvement requires constant feedback - and the willingness on their end to listen and act upon the things they learn from their customers.

This entire post echoes my sentiments.

When a company says, "We are all about (X)" and then X is the worst part of their product, then they need to be called out on it. I want them to be better because I may have to interact with them in one capacity or another for the next 7 to 10 years.

 

[PMCErnie]

Things do go tits up at times in any business. Employees call in sick; equipment breaks; customers get hissy, just as the OP did.

I've never seen any service facility that could promise exactly when they would finish the work. I've owned many brands over the years, including BMWs.

I'm also suspecting that the referenced oil change was for premium oil, not the dinosaur variety.

 

[Focusin]

I'm also suspecting that the referenced oil change was for premium oil, not the dinosaur variety.

No, it was not premium, so you are wrong.

Again, please stop with the insults and keep the discussion on topic. I would be happy to discuss the issues I've raised regarding the Hyundai customer service experience.

 

[greekgeek]

bummer, my service experience at Hyundai dealer has been pretty stellar overall. My only gripe so far is that I took it in for 1 year service and they forgot to change the air filters. First oil change was free and second was like $50. Also got a loaner Genny too.

 

[Focusin]

bummer, my service experience at Hyundai dealer has been pretty stellar overall. My only gripe so far is that I took it in for 1 year service and they forgot to change the air filters. First oil change was free and second was like $50. Also got a loaner Genny too.

It would be nice if customer experiences like yours were consistent from dealer to dealer so that no matter where you went, you knew what to expect.

That's where Hyundai Corp comes in, but if they're not prepared to hold their dealerships to a certain standard, then they can never hope to bridge the gap between econo and luxury no matter what fancy names they give their vehicles.

To be clear, a good customer experience is not just beneficial for the Genesis brand, it helps drive sales across all models. That's why I find it so baffling that Hyundai continues to suffer customer experience issues this far into their luxury market foray. They should have nailed this down by now and yet it seems they haven't even tackled it at the corporate level, let alone the dealership.

 

[CanukV6]

Things do go tits up at times in any business. Employees call in sick; equipment breaks; customers get hissy, just as the OP did.

I've never seen any service facility that could promise exactly when they would finish the work. I've owned many brands over the years, including BMWs.

I'm also suspecting that the referenced oil change was for premium oil, not the dinosaur variety.

While I respect your long association with this Forum and often helpful comments, I think you are wrong on this issue. I accept that things can go wrong in any service situation, but it is how you handle the problems that matters. The service advisors know when the car was promised to be ready and if they cannot meet that deadline, for any reason, they can contact the owner rather than waiting for them to walk in the door. Having now inconvenienced the owner they could also offer a loaner or rental car so at least they have transportation until their car is ready. I am in industrial sales and if I am running late for an appointment or meeting, I call my customer, I don't just leave them waiting. It doesn't matter if it is a Hyundai Accent or a Rolls-Royce Phantom, all owners deserve respect. I too have owned many premium brands and Lexus changed the owners Service Experience back in the 1990's to a level that many premium brands are still struggling to aspire to. As already mentioned, I have had excellent service from my Hyundai Dealer, exceeding my expectations, but obviously not all Genesis owners have had the same experience.

For as long as the CEO of a manufacturer cannot take the time to respond (or have somebody respond) to a letter that praises the product, but raises some valid concerns, then it shows that the culture of the company or the individual is flawed and this will be reflected at every level in the organization. Effluent has a tendency to flow downhill. Hard to be taken seriously as a Premium brand (which Genesis now claims to be) if management ignores their customers.

 

[greekgeek]

yep it isa roll of the dice on the service, hopefully when the Genesis brand is separated the service level will be elevated and consistent. It will need to be, I am tired of maxwell house in lieu of Starbucks in the lounge!

More seriously though I think it mostly comes down to the individual Dealership and who is managing the Service dept. Even with the big names you hear plenty of service complaints.

 

[Nikgen]

While I respect your long association with this Forum and often helpful comments, I think you are wrong on this issue. I accept that things can go wrong in any service situation, but it is how you handle the problems that matters. The service advisors know when the car was promised to be ready and if they cannot meet that deadline, for any reason, they can contact the owner rather than waiting for them to walk in the door. Having now inconvenienced the owner they could also offer a loaner or rental car so at least they have transportation until their car is ready. I am in industrial sales and if I am running late for an appointment or meeting, I call my customer, I don't just leave them waiting. It doesn't matter if it is a Hyundai Accent or a Rolls-Royce Phantom, all owners deserve respect. I too have owned many premium brands and Lexus changed the owners Service Experience back in the 1990's to a level that many premium brands are still struggling to aspire to. As already mentioned, I have had excellent service from my Hyundai Dealer, exceeding my expectations, but obviously not all Genesis owners have had the same experience.

For as long as the CEO of a manufacturer cannot take the time to respond (or have somebody respond) to a letter that praises the product, but raises some valid concerns, then it shows that the culture of the company or the individual is flawed and this will be reflected at every level in the organization. Effluent has a tendency to flow downhill. Hard to be taken seriously as a Premium brand (which Genesis now claims to be) if management ignores their customers.

I wrote a letter (email) to the CEO and was not ignored at all - heard back directly within 20 minutes and HMA ultimately resolved my issues beyond what I ever requested or expected. The dealer sucked, but HMA and the CEO resolved my issues. Hyundai's big issue is crappy dealers!

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[Focusin]

I wrote a letter (email) to the CEO and was not ignored at all - heard back directly within 20 minutes and HMA ultimately resolved my issues beyond what I ever requested or expected. The dealer sucked, but HMA and the CEO resolved my issues. Hyundai's big issue is crappy dealers!

As I mentioned at the start, this seems to be more of a Canadian problem, in fact, it was because of the positive responses people like you were receiving from the CEO on the American side that I was inspired to write to the Canadian CEO. I expected a response from his office (not necessarily him) within the 3 day time frame I was told.

Instead, it was two weeks later and it came from a customer service rep.

 

[Focusin]

yep it isa roll of the dice on the service, hopefully when the Genesis brand is separated the service level will be elevated and consistent. It will need to be, I am tired of maxwell house in lieu of Starbucks in the lounge!

More seriously though I think it mostly comes down to the individual Dealership and who is managing the Service dept. Even with the big names you hear plenty of service complaints.

Ironically, they have an espresso machine in the lobby at the dealership so coffee wasn't an issue lol.

The dealership in question is the logical choice for the spin off brand since they're the only dealer selling the Equus, so it's important that Hyundai Corp be aware of the problems they are experiencing now instead of after the fact.

 

[Pamplona/Beige]

You don't say what the delivery issues were in addition to the oil change. No excuse for rudeness.

I live in central Florida and could not ask for a better service experience. Been there several times for oil changes and new tire campaign and they always are pleasant polite and charge like 20 bucks for the oils change to keep me returning to them and I do.

Sorry for your trouble but clearly it is a dealership experience. I've also had other Huundai products and received similar positive dealer experiences in both Virhinia and southeast Florida.

 

[Focusin]

You don't say what the delivery issues were in addition to the oil change. No excuse for rudeness.

Here is an excerpt from my email to the salesman after the argument with the SA on March 11th. I've bolded the relevant part.

I dropped the car off at 8:30am and was told by ******** to give them until 12:00pm to pick it up. He advised me that the oil change would be $60. In addition to the oil change, I asked them to take a look at the rear climate, it has not worked since delivery and also there was a plastic film left on the front sensor that was only partially removed during prep which I could not remove myself (baked on). I explained these issues were not a priority since I would be returning in a few weeks for the tire swap and could have it worked on then.

When I arrived 2 hours after the promised delivery time, the oil change had not been completed. In other words, they prioritized the issues I had not asked for and left the one issue I was there for, last.

Most commenters here have pointed to it being a dealership issue which I tend to agree with but dealership issues are in fact corporate issues. The dealership is an extension of Hyundai Corp and is the interface with the end user of Hyundai's product, so in essence, the dealership plays a much more important role.

If there's a problem with the dealership experience, which according to the responses in this thread there appears to be, then the problem lies with Hyundai Corp.

 

[ksoze]

Most commenters here have pointed to it being a dealership issue which I tend to agree with but dealership issues are in fact corporate issues. The dealership is an extension of Hyundai Corp and is the interface with the end user of Hyundai's product, so in essence, the dealership plays a much more important role.

The car dealer system is built on an old model that may not reflect how we research and buy cars today. The auto dealer lobby has fought hard to keep manufacturers from selling direct (ex. Tesla), so they are in some sense held hostage to the dealer system in place to sell their cars. The relationship between a dealer and the manufacturer is in a way a contractor relationship that also allows each to point at the other on when things go bad.

 

[Mark_888]

Most commenters here have pointed to it being a dealership issue which I tend to agree with but dealership issues are in fact corporate issues. The dealership is an extension of Hyundai Corp and is the interface with the end user of Hyundai's product, so in essence, the dealership plays a much more important role.

If there's a problem with the dealership experience, which according to the responses in this thread there appears to be, then the problem lies with Hyundai Corp.

In theory yes, in practice there are severe limits as to what can be done by Hyundai Canada or Hyundai Motor America with regard to dealer customer service quality. Dealers are independent companies and Hyundai cannot directly order them to do something, unless it is in regard to a manufacturer warranty issue (for which Hyundai reimburses the dealer).

If you go to Walmart and buy a Samsung TV, Walmart is an authorized Samsung dealer, but Samsung is very limited in what it can do about Walmart customer service problems that one may encounter.

 

[Focusin]

The car dealer system is built on an old model that may not reflect how we research and buy cars today. The auto dealer lobby has fought hard to keep manufacturers from selling direct (ex. Tesla), so they are in some sense held hostage to the dealer system in place to sell their cars. The relationship between a dealer and the manufacturer is in a way a contractor relationship that also allows each to point at the other on when things go bad.

In theory yes, in practice there are severe limits as to what can be done by Hyundai Canada or Hyundai Motor America with regard to dealer customer service quality. Dealers are independent companies and Hyundai cannot directly order them to do something, unless it is in regard to a manufacturer warranty issue (for which Hyundai reimburses the dealer).

This is why I've posted my experience at this time. While you're correct there may be limits as to what Hyundai Corp can and can't do, they do have control over who is going to carry their brand forward.

The dealer I dealt with is the logical choice for the brand spin off since they are the only dealer to offer the Equus and yet they are simply not equipped to offer a luxury car experience. I want Hyundai Corp to be aware of the shortcomings so that they can have some influence now rather than after the fact.

 

[CanukV6]

In theory yes, in practice there are severe limits as to what can be done by Hyundai Canada or Hyundai Motor America with regard to dealer customer service quality. Dealers are independent companies and Hyundai cannot directly order them to do something, unless it is in regard to a manufacturer warranty issue (for which Hyundai reimburses the dealer).

If you go to Walmart and buy a Samsung TV, Walmart is an authorized Samsung dealer, but Samsung is very limited in what it can do about Walmart customer service problems that one may encounter.

I agree with some of what you say, but manufacturers do have influence over even independent dealers in a few ways. BMW & Mercedes for example contacts customers directly after service visits (in addition to anything the dealer might do) to gauge their satisfaction. If the dealership does not score above a certain high percentage in customer satisfaction, they will not reimburse the full value of warranty repairs. Another way they can influence dealership behaviour is in the allocation of vehicles, especially popular models that are in demand.

 

[biturbo]

I had good experience with my dealer so far, also Canadian.

 

[Mark_888]

I agree with some of what you say, but manufacturers do have influence over even independent dealers in a few ways. BMW & Mercedes for example contacts customers directly after service visits (in addition to anything the dealer might do) to gauge their satisfaction. If the dealership does not score above a certain high percentage in customer satisfaction, they will not reimburse the full value of warranty repairs. Another way they can influence dealership behaviour is in the allocation of vehicles, especially popular models that are in demand.

A manufacturer might be able to have those kinds of leverage with its dealers, if the terms are known up front when the dealership signs on with the manufacturer. The manufacturer-dealer relationship is secured by a contract that specifies those things.

But even so, the OP seemed to be talking about non-warranty service item (oil change).