Gone from a decade of satisfaction to never buying another BMW

I have enjoyed being a BMW customer for almost ten years, during which time I have had a consistently great customer experience until the past few weeks. In light of how I am being treated I will never purchase another BMW again - they simply don’t deliver on their promise of a superior experience.

1. Late in September I had a small accident in my 2-series coupe which resulted in damage to my front bumper, which my insurers authorized for repair at the Sandton Autobody Repair Centre In Johannesburg. This is a BMW licensed repair center which I am obliged to use to retain my warranty and maintenance plan. I duly dropped my vehicle off at the Sandton Autobody Repair Centre on Wednesday, 24 October 2018 and was advised on Thursday, 1 November 2018 that my vehicle was ready for collection.

2. When I collected my vehicle it had been left outside in a storm and therefore I was asked to wait for it to be dried before it was handed over to me. When my vehicle was handed over to me the person assisting me pointed out damage to the paintwork on my bonnet which I had not seen before. I was advised that it was caused by “bird mess”. Additional damage to my bonnet paintwork was pointed out which was attributed to “stones”.

In respect of the damage to paintwork caused by “bird mess” I was advised that I needed to lodge a claim with BMW South Africa as part of my warranty. I was frustrated and enquired why this was not bought to my attention early in the process as I would have authorized its repair and would now be further inconvenienced having just returned the hire car I had been using while my vehicle was being repaired. While I was expressing my frustrations the Customer Relations Manager was called and she informed me that the person who was managing my case was a trainee and that he had provided me with incorrect advice as I could not claim for damage to my paintwork from my warranty. It did raise concerns to me that I was being assisted by a trainee and that I was not informed upfront of this or by any marking such as a badge that highlighted this. From my perspective this is unprofessional from a luxury brand like BMW that promises excellence and a superior experience.

3. After collecting my vehicle I proceeded to my home. When I got home after parking my vehicle I noticed that the driver’s side front headlight was fogged up and assumed that this was due to the vehicle having been left in the rain at the Autobody Repair Centre.

The next day (Friday, 2 November ) I started to receive warning alerts that there was a problem with my daytime headlights. As I had a service booked on 5 November at BMW I decided to ask the service team to check what was wrong with my headlight and duly raised this issue with the Service Manager when I checked my vehicle in. She advised that they would need to investigate and that I might need to take the vehicle back to Sandton Auto. I found this frustrating as to preserve your motor plan you need to use a BMW approved repair centre but none of the dealerships are integrated & you have to go back to the dealership who did a repair if you have problems leading to a fragmented and disjointed customer experience.

I was duly advised during the afternoon of 5 November 2018 by the dealership that was servicing my vehicle that the drivers side headlight of my vehicle was “full of water” and that I needed to return the vehicle to the Sandton Autobody Repair Centre. As a time poor person and due to my frustrations with the fragmented nature of the customer experience I called BMW SA Customer Service and lodged a complaint. I was assisted by an agent, who tried to offer a number of uncompelling legal reasons for why there is such a fragmented experience but did promise to contact Sandton Autobody Repair Centre. The agent called me back later in the afternoon and advised that I should take my vehicle, at my convenience, to the Sandton Autobody Repair Centre where I could have a coffee while they investigated my problem.

4. Late on the afternoon of Monday, 5 November when I collected my vehicle from the dealership where it was being serviced the service manager pointed out to me that there were tiny white paint splatters all over my car (both sides, front, back, roof). These included splatters that had been erroneously pointed out to me as stone damage when I collected my vehicle from the Sandton Autobody Repair Centre. She pointed out that these paint splatters were also present inside the door frame of the drivers seat. It was indicated to me that these were likely to have been caused by overspray while the vehicle was at the panel beaters and advised that I should raise this when I returned my vehicle to the Sandton Autobody Repair Centre.

5. I duly took my vehicle to the Sandton Autobody Repair Centre later in the week where I was assisted by the Workshop Manager and the Customer Relations Manager. Following an inspection of my vehicle, they identified a fault in the repair of my headlight which they indicated would need to be repaired pending further authorization from my insurer. In respect of the tiny paint splatters on my vehicle they could not offer an explanation. I highlighted that when I collected my vehicle from the Sandton Autobody Repair Centre the person assisting me indicated that what turned out to be paint splatters on my bonnet was damage caused by “stones”. They asked to take my vehicle to the workshop to investigate further while I worked on my laptop in the coffee shop.

Approximately 15 minutes later the Customer Relations Manager came to me to give me the key to my vehicle back. She advised that they had submitted a claim for authorization for further work to my headlight to my insurer and was awaiting a decision from the General Manager of the Sandton Autobody Repair Centre in respect of the paint splatters. I indicated to her that I did not understand what decision needed to be made, the paint splatters needed to be removed. She advised that she was awaiting feedback from her General Manager and could not offer additional information.

At this stage I asked for her name, to which she rep**** with her first name. I asked for her surname and she rep**** with her surname and sarcastically asked me “would you like me to spell it for you”. I indicated “there was no need to spell it, however a copy of her business card would suffice”. While this was happening there was one other customer in the coffee shop who witnessed this and subsequently indicated to me her concerns regarding how I was spoken to.

8. As I felt disrespected, angry and highly frustrated with the manner in which I was treated & that the service I received from BMW was not living up to the service expectations and standards that I expect of and which are promised by your brand sent a complaint to the Office of the Chief Executive for BMW SA Tim Abbott where I shared my experience and requested assistance in getting the paint removed and in ensuring that the Customer Relations Manager was disciplined for the manner in which she spoke to me.

9. After 5 working days I received a response from the Customer Relations team as follows:

“We have been in contact with Sandton ARC regarding your concerns, the following was the feedback. · ARC loaded for authorisation on the light concern, it was granted by the insurer, they have ordered the part and arrangements will be made with yourself to bring in the vehicle for 1 day. · Sandton ARC advised they will not take liability for the splatters, ARC management have taken this decision based on the ascension that this did not happen whilst the vehicle was in their care. · BMW SA would like to apologise regarding the service experience with an employee of Sandton ARC. The ARC has advised BMW SA that they were managing a situation in the reception area. We trust the above is able to address your concerns”.

10. I am appalled and dissatisfied with the response received. I was engaged nor has my vehicle been assessed in response to my concerns. Instead BMW South Africa has sided with and taken at face value the feedback of their licensed Autobody Repair Centre, where I have been subjected to service that can only be described as shocking and unacceptable. A review of Hello Peter complaints confirms that my experience at this ARC is not unique. The paint splatters were not pointed out to me when I checked in the vehicle, the splatters were erroneously pointed out as damaged caused by “stones” when I collected the vehicle, the paint appears to be high grade motor duco and is even present inside the driver’s side door frame so it could not have been splattered while driving or parked & the paint splatters were pointed out to me two working days after collecting the vehicle from the repair center.

The BMW brand promises excellence and a superior experience and through the manner in which I have been treated I can only say that this brand promise has not been met. Beware of the promise of excellence they make, in my experience BMW has no desire to deliver on this promise or treat customers fairly.