A Complaint of sorts...

Well, considering that I did call and there was a file created, I'd say it was more a formal complain than not...

2 weeks ago Shrek was due for his regular servicing and I took him to the regular workshop I go to. He was closing in on 20K KM but more importantly it's been 3 months since he got a makeover and since the last service he has taken me to Kuantan, Singapore and Cameron Highlands in between the usual commuting around the city.

Now for a Viva, I only need to service the car once every 10K KM after the 1st 10K KM, but me being me and generally letting people do their job with minimal fuss, I've failed to realised that the servicing @ 10K KM was only for 5K KM and not for a full 10K KM. On my 15K KM service, which was in May 2009, I let them serviced it for yet another 5K KM seeing that it would be weird to go from 15K to 25K when the distances should be every 10K (20, 30,...).

The main issue was the engine oil, which depending on the grade used, would last either 5K KM or 10K KM. Clearly my past 2 service sessions Shrek only got the 5K engine oil. This time around I made it a point to ask and to insist on getting the 10K KM engine oil so that my servicing schedule will be as per Perodua specs. it turns out the 10K engine oil cost only RM 15 more, but if I had to do the service again in 3 months (10K lasts 6 months), I'd have to fork out another RM 120! Realising what seems to me as an exploitation of the unlearned public, I made it very clear before they took my car that I am to be given the 10K engine oil.

About an hour later my car returned. To my horror they gave me the 5K engine oil! The woman manning the counter had the cheek to say they had no more 10K engine oil! They didn't even have the decency to let me know BEFORE they decided to go against my wishes. As the job was already done and I would like to think that they did DO the other things as required during each service, I paid up but not before telling them I'd never go there again.

The next day I decided to just vent my frustration by calling up Perodua to lodge a complaint. After telling my piece and asked to fax over the receipt, I thought that was about as much as I'd hear about this issue. To my surprise, the same Customer Service Rep rang me back the next day to follow up and they called me again a day after to update me on the case! Maybe Perodua isn't as hopeless after all?

While I wanted to get a written apology and something done about the way I was exploited (which, yes, at some point I was at fault too for being ignorant), they manage to get the service centre to agree to change my engine oil to 10K for free. Unfortunately, the service centre didn't seem all too happy about having to do this and in the call with the supervisor at the service centre I felt there was much disdain from him.

I manage to get my engine oil changed last week. I'm still mulling whether to still write in officially since I still feel that the place is a con job (not so much in the work, but the scheme) and now I have to find myself another service centre to visit by February 2010.

In the meantime, I hope Shrek feels good as new, even if I haven't been all that nice to him...