Ford targets Customer Service

[Bossxr8]

About 5 years too late but good to see anyway. Question needs to be asked why they are only deciding to target this now, after they have lost so many customers over the years due to shoddy customer service. But better late than never.

[SSD-85]

Finally.

And to think Mr. Gover wrote this.

[falconnut]

all dealers are shocking, not just fords.

Thank god their at least trying unlike toyota who are telling their customers to take a running jump, glad i didnt have anything to do with the ft86

[Buntz]

Well it's about bloody time. Good to see though. Onya Bob.

(AFF discussions could probably have been instrumental in this revival?)

[Franco Cozzo]

Well they can start with Sunbury Ford.

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by Eagleheart

Finally.

And to think Mr. Gover wrote this.

I'm shocked he didn't mention Falcon sales dropping by 20% at least 6 or 7 times in the article.

[Auslandau]

Never too late I say ...... and they have also kept customers with their service (in my case so far anyways). Yep there are some bad ones and met them ..... but luckily in metro area there is another just up the road. Country is where they should be really looking into it seriously. A good country dealer can do very well ..... a bad one can be disastrous. Good to see they are making the effort and good to see it being reported!!!

BUT ... how good does the Terri look in that pic

[FGII-XR6]

More like all makes have some bad dealers. there are good and bad dealers in all makes. the good dealers have a loyal customer base who don't even shop around they just return at change over time the bad dealers have to work hard for every sale

Originally Posted by falconnut

all dealers are shocking, not just fords.

Thank god their at least trying unlike toyota who are telling their customers to take a running jump, glad i didnt have anything to do with the ft86

[Jim Goose]

They also seem to running an advert blitz at the moment (but no falcon adds still).... I watching SBS at the moment and every add break is a ford add!

[Buntz]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

I'm shocked he didn't mention Falcon sales dropping by 20% at least 6 or 7 times in the article.

Maybe they started listening to all the bashing their articles got online about every Falcon doom and gloom story.

[brydie76]

Hope this applies to cars already sold and still under warranty/capped price.

Oh, and Ford, one thing you can do- please add trim rattles to your services covered under warranty. Nobody believes me when I tell them my annoying dash and door card rattles aren't covered by warranty and it has turned a lot of people off the brand when I tell them. Simple things!!! : )

EDIT- oh, has anybody seen those health reports when they got a service yet? Didn't get one when I put my Fezza in for service late Sept so they are either very new or the dealership I went to is getting a talking to.

[Buntz]

Originally Posted by brydie76

Hope this applies to cars already sold and still under warranty/capped price.

Oh, and Ford, one thing you can do- please add trim rattles to your services covered under warranty. Nobody believes me when I tell them my annoying dash and door card rattles aren't covered by warranty and it has turned a lot of people off the brand when I tell them. Simple things!!! : )

EDIT- oh, has anybody seen those health reports when they got a service yet? Didn't get one when I put my Fezza in for service late Sept so they are either very new or the dealership I went to is getting a talking to.

OMG.. BA Falcon dash rattles. around 1500rpm. Drives me nuts.

[Smoke Pursuit]

Sacking all the rude arrogant ****** at CRC would be a good start. They add nothing to the ownership experience.

[csv8]

Thats good news !! Still waiting two weeks for a part for my Fez!!! Tropical Ford said "its coming from Melbourne !!!" what ? by carrier pigeon !!!!! it is good to see, but will there be increased warranty, decrease in capped price servicing ? , pricing is above Toyota, Hyundai etc ??? What Hyundai are offering at the moment with their new cars is a great incentive to buy...Lets hope Ford make Dipped in Blue, widely known and whats involved..
Future looking brighter!!!

[Windsor220]

Originally Posted by brydie76

Oh, and Ford, one thing you can do- please add trim rattles to your services covered under warranty. Nobody believes me when I tell them my annoying dash and door card rattles aren't covered by warranty and it has turned a lot of people off the brand when I tell them. Simple things!!! : )

What manufacturer does cover rattles? None of the ones I have worked for do.

[mik]

Originally Posted by falconnut

all dealers are shocking, not just fords.

Thank god their at least trying unlike toyota who are telling their customers to take a running jump, glad i didnt have anything to do with the ft86

i don`t think it`s fair to blanket claim all dealers are bad, unless you have been to every one and can honestly make that claim.

[Fiesta_Man69]

Originally Posted by DASH GT

Sacking all the rude arrogant ****** at CRC would be a good start. They add nothing to the ownership experience.

In fact their attitude on multiple occassions means I will never buy a new Ford from a dealership again. A low km private sale is the only way I'll ever own another Ford.

If Ford could suggest a dealership in western Sydney that take warranty issues seriously I'd love to hear it: tried 7 dealerships, all use the same scriptwriter:

"Pinging is a characteristic of all modern engines."
"Rust is to be expected when you live near the ocean" (I live near Penrith lol)
"brake rotors wear early on Fiestas because they're European cars"

Seriously.

[csv8]

Fiesta Man69. brake rotor wear seems to vary from Fez to Fez..mine has just had its 60k service, rotors are good..could it be the quality of the rotor steel ? and some people get the rotors made from lesser quality steel ???? bit of a mystery...

[svo supporter]

Originally Posted by Fiesta_Man69

"Rust is to be expected when you live near the ocean" (I live near Penrith lol)
"brake rotors wear early on Fiestas because they're European cars"

Seriously.

No person in a dealership knows where you drive round......do you know how rust is created?

Brake rotors....How about owning a Chrysler Voyager....Getting 15,000K from a set of pads and rotors was classed as brilliant a couple of years ago...

And all modern rotors don't last as long as the older ones....Firstly inferior materials and 2ndly better braking qualities than the older cars....this adds up to wearing out quicker....

So complain to the company for having such good braking quality...

[Nikked]

Originally Posted by mik

i don`t think it`s fair to blanket claim all dealers are bad, unless you have been to every one and can honestly make that claim.

Just as it is to claim all Ford dealers are bad with a blanket claim.

[mik]

apparently the type of pads and material can also have an effect on rotor life, lots of brake applications and spirited driving will shorten the rotor life too, i reckon modern cars are more prone to rotor problems for one simple reason, these days even little cars go like cut cats, it`s very easy to over heat the pad and the rotor .

[DJM83]

I have had, not one problem with Ford customer service since buying my XR5. And it was looked after by Ford for 30k kms.
Also had CRC call me about 8 weeks after purchase to find out how it was going.

Ive only had 1 warranty claim that was honored after a faulty CD stacker.
Over all ive been very happy, and if i do decide to buy a new Ford again i wont have any qualms.

Seems Ford is pulling all strings to get better results. Good on em i say.

Originally Posted by Buntz

OMG.. BA Falcon dash rattles. around 1500rpm. Drives me nuts.

Its a 10 year old car FFS, they aint gonna care, purely becuase it long out of warranty.
With a new car i do agree there should be some kind of tolerance with rattles. Another issue ive not had. Only rattle i get is when my sway bar come a little loose (Whiteline)

[brydie76]

Originally Posted by Windsor220

What manufacturer does cover rattles? None of the ones I have worked for do.

VW, Toyota, Hyundai and Kia have all fixed rattles under warranty for people I know who own those brands. Whilst that may be individual dealer discretion for some cases, at least the dealers have that discretion and the possibility of being allowed to claim stuff like that on a case by case basis. The dealership I went to basically said they don't have that discretion.

[galaxy xr8]

Originally Posted by Auslandau

but luckily in metro area there is another just up the road. Country is where they should be really looking into it seriously. A good country dealer can do very well ..... a bad one can be disastrous. Good to see they are making the effort and good to see it being reported!!!

Exactly, I have been saying this for yr's about my local dealer, it's alright for metro people to have an issue with their local dealer because they can easily drive to another, but for us in the country that only has one dealer, well once bitten twice shy.
And I can painfully say that I have heard many a bad stories and customer feedback that are shocking about my dealer, it's time to act.

[Elks]

I've had plenty of good experiences with my local ford dealers Strapp & New Oak. Over the years.

But standards can always improve at anything. For those saying to late. Look at it this way. The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is now.

[Fiesta_Man69]

Originally Posted by svo supporter

No person in a dealership knows where you drive round......do you know how rust is created?

Brake rotors....How about owning a Chrysler Voyager....Getting 15,000K from a set of pads and rotors was classed as brilliant a couple of years ago...

And all modern rotors don't last as long as the older ones....Firstly inferior materials and 2ndly better braking qualities than the older cars....this adds up to wearing out quicker....

So complain to the company for having such good braking quality...

I live and drive around western Sydney, 50km from saltwater, as was told on numerous occassions to the fantastic people at Ford CRC.

Regarding "modern" brakes: totally disagree..

Braking quality of my Mirage was easily better than the Fiesta: and the rotors lasted 3 times as long. My 32gtr rotors lasted over 80K km with trackwork included...

EVO got over 100K MILES from their long term Insignia, so the "it's European, that's the price you pay" arguement is pure rubbish.

Fords obviously using inferior materials in their Fez brakes (and zetec alloys, read the thread in the Fiesta section lol), simply to save cash.

[DJM83]

My g/fs WQ Fiesta has no issues with pads and rotors and its done 60k and its an auto aswell.

This is a positive thread about Ford, can we try and keep the momentum up please folks.

[Pedro]

With over 5000 posts in the "What problems have you had with your FG" thread, I thought this was a joke thread when I came across it.
Ford "No Service" killed me from ever buying a new Ford again back in 2009.

[EA30TH]

After my most recent experience with service at a Brisbane dealer, I will wait and expect nothing better, whilst holding an open mind towards being surprised. Disappointment only comes from expectations higher than the reality before you.

My continual amazement is that Ford can deliver product with so many epidemic (or endemic) defects despite having a robust design and systems engineering framework. If they are truly interested in customers, how about getting out there and saying to customers "yes, we stuffed up on diff bushes - we're going to fix that for you irrespective of a warranty sunset". No, let owners get shagged for $1000 each and walk into the opposition next time.

Pity the Fords are generally so good to drive when they aren't in getting fixed!

[Fiesta_Man69]

Originally Posted by DJM83

My g/fs WQ Fiesta has no issues with pads and rotors and its done 60k and its an auto aswell.

This is a positive thread about Ford, can we try and keep the momentum up please folks.

But surely you can see the irony in this article?

The very fact that Ford have to come out publicly and state they are now suddenly going to focus on customer service proves that it had been so substandard in the past; something so many frustrated owners have said on here while getting stonewalled by Ford CRC...

Yes it's good that Ford are finally going to treat their customers with respect and stand behind their product, but surely it shouldn't have taken this many disgruntled customers and a massive drop in sales to do so??