Renew-it should Review-it - and add Client Centicity to its vocabulary!

My wife and I, together with our various friends, family and colleagues, have always utilised Renew-it's services, but this stops with immediate effect. In effect, I was your customer.

It all started when we met with Warwick for a quote to repair two vehicles. He advised me telephonically that he would contact me on Friday, the 29th December, 2017, but he elected not to contact me at that time and, instead, contacted me in the New Year. Demerit Number 1 – don’t ever make a commitment or promise and not stick to it i.e. over-commitment and under-delivery.

When I dropped off my vehicle, I had to complete forms – with information you already had. Why could same not have been pre-populated, since all my relevant information was already on file with yourselves? Demerit Number 2 – preparation is key, especially if you want the customer to experience a seamless booking-in, bearing in mind the fact that you are dealing with customers who are already somewhat emotional having to have their vehicles repaired.

I was told that the vehicle would take five working days – even though I received, on a fairly irregular basis, sms’es indicating the stage of my vehicle’s repair, it took some 14 working days. No-one phoned me, even though I initially received a call from Brogan. The only other call from Brogan was when the vehicle was ready. I assumed that, instead of merely wishing to remove same from your premises, you – she – wanted sign-off in order to receive payment. Demerit Number 3 – keep the customer informed at all times, whether the news is good or bad.

Then, I received an sms or two stating that I merely had to send an sms to 41190 and someone would phone me back; admittedly, I immediately received an sms reply: “Thanks for your message. We will contact you shortly. Renew-It Edenvale.” No-one has ever contacted me. Demerit Number 4 – don’t commit and not deliver, as expectations are raised. When expectations are not met, the let-down is even greater than had no commitment been made.

A further extremely frustrating situation is that it takes an inordinate amount of time for someone to answer your switchboard; then, to further add to the frustration, there is no noise i.e. voice-over, music, ads, anything!, when holding. Sheer silence. I pointed this out to Brogan a week ago. No change. Demerit Number 5 – again, always communicate, let the client know he/she is important to you; alternatively, man more people on your switchboard, or get the operator to revert more often. I actually held for seven minutes, and then put down.

Finally – Demerit Number 6 – I was told that someone would collect me in order for me to take delivery of my vehicle. Pick-up time was 11:30 am – I contacted you at about 11:48 i.e. some 20 minutes after the pick-up time. No-one had the courtesy to inform me that my driver would be late. I am now awaiting a 12:30 pick-up – for your sakes, I hope that I am collected on time. And, of course, I hope and pray that my vehicle has been professionally repaired and, hopefully, also cleaned. PS: Some one-and-a-half hours' later, and still no pick-up. I hope that this review serves to shake up your approach to who keeps you in business. It certainly won't be me.