1 reviews | Active since Feb 2021
Poor and Exploitative Customer Service
I had an absolutely terrible experience with Toyota Woodmead and would strongly caution others about their poor service and exploitative practices.
On 28 August, I took my car in for a battery replacement. After waiting for 2 hours, I was told they were too busy and that I should leave the car. I was only contacted the next day (29 Aug at 1pm) and told no fault could be found, even though I had provided screenshots of the error messages. By 4pm, their customer service rep, Yolanda, informed me that both the battery and alternator needed replacing/reconditioning – quoting me R2,400 for the battery and R1,500 for alternator reconditioning. I approved the work on condition the car would be ready by Tuesday.
On 1 September, I had to proactively chase them for updates (after multiple failed attempts to reach Yolanda). Only after I insisted did the Manager, Andre, call me back and reveal that alternator reconditioning was actually on back-order for 2+ weeks. The “alternative” was a brand-new alternator for R17,000. When I asked what would happen if I just replaced the battery, I was told the car wouldn’t last 3 hours without alternator work.
On 2 September, I instructed Yolanda to reinstall my old alternator and fit the new battery. The next day (3 Sept), after several failed calls, she finally admitted the alternator had only just been returned and needed reinstalling. By midday, I was told the car was ready, but I was billed R2,400 for the battery plus R1,200 for ONE HOUR of labour. To date, I have still not received the invoice by email.
This entire process has been reactive, disorganized, and exploitative. The lack of transparency, the inflated costs, and the dismissive communication (especially to a female customer) is appalling.
Toyota Woodmead – you should be ashamed of this level of service.
Thank you for reaching out to us. We genuinely appreciate you sharing your concerns, and we want to sincerely apologise for the experience you had during your recent visit to our dealership. We understand how frustrating it can be when expectations are not met, and we are truly sorry for any distress this may have caused you.
It seems there may have been some miscommunication regarding your vehicle's service. To clarify, your vehicle was towed into our service center, where we diagnosed that the battery was not charging due to a faulty alternator. We took the necessary steps by sending your alternator to an expert for repair, and they informed us that parts had been ordered. Unfortunately, we later learned that these parts are on back order, with an expected delivery time of about two weeks. We understand how disappointing this news can be, and we apologise for any inconvenience this has caused.
We quoted you R2400 for the alternator repair, excluding labor, and we also provided you with an option to replace the alternator with a new unit from Toyota for R17000. We regret that you feel our pricing is inflated and exploitative; this perception is far from what we strive to uphold. Our goal is to provide fair and ethical service, and we regret that your experience did not reflect this.
We will ensure that you receive a detailed invoice as soon as possible.
Again, we truly apologise for the inconvenience you've experienced, and please know that we are actively working on improving our communication to prevent this from happening in the future.
Warm regards,
Bidvest McCarthy Toyota
Thank you for reaching out to us. We genuinely appreciate you sharing your concerns, and we want to sincerely apologise for the experience you had during your recent visit to our dealership. We understand how frustrating it can be when expectations are not met, and we are truly sorry for any distress this may have caused you.
It seems there may have been some miscommunication regarding your vehicle's service. To clarify, your vehicle was towed into our service center, where we diagnosed that the battery was not charging due to a faulty alternator. We took the necessary steps by sending your alternator to an expert for repair, and they informed us that parts had been ordered. Unfortunately, we later learned that these parts are on back order, with an expected delivery time of about two weeks. We understand how disappointing this news can be, and we apologise for any inconvenience this has caused.
We quoted you R2400 for the alternator repair, excluding labor, and we also provided you with an option to replace the alternator with a new unit from Toyota for R17000. We regret that you feel our pricing is inflated and exploitative; this perception is far from what we strive to uphold. Our goal is to provide fair and ethical service, and we regret that your experience did not reflect this.
We will ensure that you receive a detailed invoice as soon as possible.
Again, we truly apologise for the inconvenience you've experienced, and please know that we are actively working on improving our communication to prevent this from happening in the future.
Warm regards,
Bidvest McCarthy Toyota