Merecedes Benz Pathetic and poor customer service support

I am a Mercedes Benz owner and unfortunately the reason for my mail to you today is to make you aware of my recent appalling customer service experience at Mercedes Benz SA. When I purchased my vehicle and became the proud owner of a Mercedes Benz, I was comforted by the fact that this brand of motor vehicle offers emergency roadside vehicle assistance, this was a major factor for me when considering which vehicle to purchase given that I am a single woman with very little knowledge of vehicle specifications, mechanics and technical related information. Last week, whilst returning from a business meeting at Cummins SA in Midrand, my front left tyre burst. I pulled over to the side of the N1 Highway and called the Mercedes Benz emergency assist line at 14h15. Upon engaging with the call centre agent, she requested my vehicle VIN number, I informed her that the VIN number is on the outside of my vehicle and given that I was alone I would prefer not to exit my car with other cars on the N1 highway whizzing by me at 120km/h, could she not perhaps assist me with my South African Identification number or my vehicle registration number both of which I could provide her from the safety of remaining in my car. Unfortunately the only number she could use to assist me was the VIN number which required that I exit my car in an unsafe spot and expose myself to potential danger, I did not get much empathy from her. So I gave her the VIN number, understand that neither of us could hear eachother clearly because I was standing outside on the N1 highway. Upon purchasing the vehicle I was told that the average time for emergency roadside assistance response is approximately 45 minutes, to my shock, upon concluding the call with the agent, I received a message on my phone informing me that the estimated time of arrival for assistance is 16h15! Not quite 45 minutes… After about one hour of no updates or follow up from Mercedes Benz, I got a call from a gentleman that works at Mercedes Benz Rosebank. This, after I gave the call centre agent my exact location, I was between 3-5 km from the Rivonia Road offramp, hence the closest dealerships to me were Bryanston, Fourways and Sandton, so why they would despatch some from Rosebank is beyond my understanding. This gentleman then requested me to send him a pin location from my phone so that he could determine exactly where I was, upon sending him the pin location twice, he confirmed that I was too far away from Rosebank and it would take too long for him to get to me and proceeded to ask me, should he still come through to assist me given that he was so far away? You can imagine that this question from him got me rather irate and I responded by saying that I do not work for Mercedes Benz, I do not know your processes and procedures and you certainly do not report to me so I cannot instruct you on what you need to do, you need to speak to your supervisor/manager. That call then ended there. At 16h00, I got a call from someone at Mercedes Benz Bryanston from a gentleman who informed me that he just got a call to inform him of my situation and wanted to know whether he should come out to help me. This, after I logged the call at 14h15? So I asked him why did you only receive my request now? He responded by saying nobody had informed him that I needed assistance earlier on, he only just got the call at around 16h00 and he could come through now but he wasn’t sure how long it would take for him to get to me given that it was now peak traffic hour on the N1. I told him not to bother and flagged down an AA emergency assist vehicle on my own and paid for my tyre to be changed. This clearly demonstrates that I had no issue with paying for the service if I was asked to (although it is a free service offered by Mercedes Benz). All I wanted was for someone to take control of the situation and assure me that help was on its way, however, due to limited technicians available I would need to pay a third party for the service. No problem, if I can afford to own a luxury vehicle, surely I can afford to pay for a tyre change? All I wanted was to know that Mercedes Benz was in control, I could stay inside my locked vehicle and wait for help which was on its way. Far from it clearly. I have always led myself to believe that Mercedes Benz prides itself on exceptional products and service. Sad to say that my recent experience indicates that this magnificent brand is being maligned in due to poor staff training, lack of discipline or a sense of urgency for a client’s needs, shocking customer service and absolutely no communication s****s, all of which I think should be addressed with the groups Head of Learning and Development. Disgusted, shocked and appalled at the poor service I received from Mercedes Benz recently

I have since got ridden of my Mercedes Benz - and purchased a BMW !!!!!! Well done to BMW on call????