Customer Service at Audi

Its been a while since my last update.... hmmmm.......

In the recent months I have played with the idea of downgrading my car. Not for financial reasons at all - rather because I am very aware how uneconomical my car is. It’s a great drive, awesome performance and I love it - but when I see how much fuel we are using, then I get a bad conscious. During the week, on my way to work I stopped at Audi at the V&A Waterfront. I went to the pre-owned section to see what they have in stock. Yes, I want to stay with Audi - I love the cars. But I want to have a more economically car. I have been driving Audi’s for 10 years and always been a customer of Audi Cape Town – yes, the branch at the Waterfront. Both my cars were pre-owned and purchased from them.

I spoke to a representative of pre-owned. I explained to him that I wanted a more economical car, a car with similar mileage to mine (+/- 50000k) and ideally I did not want to pay in. He was very friendly, took down my details and advised that he will get back to me later than day.  I was surprised that he never event went outside to take a closer look at my car. I never heard back from him – not that day, not the following. So eventually I followed up. It was obvious that he had not really spent any time on my request. I explained to him again what I had asked for, and a little later than day I received an email from him. With the details of a car which cost quite a bit and has only 2000 ks on the clock. Not a bad car, but it was definitely not what I had asked for. This is almost a new car, and I would have to pay in …– not a sideways “downgrade”.

Slightly frustrated I phoned Audi Claremont – I am known to not give up so quickly. The representative I spoke to provided me with quite a bit more information and seemed a lot more helpful. He advised that I should bring my car in so that they can assess the value and see what they can do for me. On Saturday morning I drove through to Audi Claremont.  The guy I spoke to on the phone was busy with another customer, so I dealt with his colleague. I explained my idea to him.  And he promptly explained to me what they can do for me. They would do a proper valuation of my car, work through the financials to see what the target price would be to keep my payments constant. And once they know this, they will see if they can find a car for me in that price range…. Wow – what a different experience. They understood what I wanted…. They listened to my request and offered to do just that. So why did Audi Cape Town not do that?
As the customer Audi Claremont already won my support… now I am curious if they will follow through… let’s see what the week will bring. And it will guarantee another blog update from me.