Mercedes emailing customers
04-16-2004, 12:57 AM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Mercedes emailing customers
Here is a new tidbit on the discontinued free maintenance:
From Autospies.com
http://www.autospies.com/article/in...29&categoryId=1
"Regarding the our breaking of the story of Mercedes-Benz dropping free maintenance for 2005 cars, here is what MB USA had to say about it in a recent email to a customer!"
Mercedes:
"Thank you for your Internet message. We regret to learn of the circumstances which prompted your correspondence and apologize for any inconvenience this issue may have caused.
Your information is not correct, however. Free Maintenance has nothing to do with the New Vehicle Limited Warranty 4 years or 50,000 miles (whichever comes first). This is not changing.
Free maintenance related to an oil change and replacement of certain filters during the warranty period. It was our observation that customers were only focusing on the free items and ignoring other critical maintenance requirements on their vehicles. The program will be replaced with one that will increase that probability that the vehicles will be properly maintained by their owners.
Thank you for the opportunity to address this matter."
Frank P.
Customer Relations
Phone: 800 367-6372
Well, seems the hunches from many of us have some real merit. (The above statement from a verfiable source is just the beginning. In the end, we'll read statements that will really take the cake.)
Personally, I find the response by Mercedes unsatisfactory and perhaps too adamantly concerned with mere service profits. Seems they, like others in their business, really prefer that service is one and the same as sales. They want paid service to be the priority and no longer feel the need to maintain free services as a perk. After all, sales are at an all-time high. (This is a scary message to the MB enthusiast.)
Those increasing warranty repairs reflected by their slipping quality standards are inescapably where its at.
Just one man's take.
From Autospies.com
http://www.autospies.com/article/in...29&categoryId=1
"Regarding the our breaking of the story of Mercedes-Benz dropping free maintenance for 2005 cars, here is what MB USA had to say about it in a recent email to a customer!"
Mercedes:
"Thank you for your Internet message. We regret to learn of the circumstances which prompted your correspondence and apologize for any inconvenience this issue may have caused.
Your information is not correct, however. Free Maintenance has nothing to do with the New Vehicle Limited Warranty 4 years or 50,000 miles (whichever comes first). This is not changing.
Free maintenance related to an oil change and replacement of certain filters during the warranty period. It was our observation that customers were only focusing on the free items and ignoring other critical maintenance requirements on their vehicles. The program will be replaced with one that will increase that probability that the vehicles will be properly maintained by their owners.
Thank you for the opportunity to address this matter."
Frank P.
Customer Relations
Phone: 800 367-6372
Well, seems the hunches from many of us have some real merit. (The above statement from a verfiable source is just the beginning. In the end, we'll read statements that will really take the cake.)
Personally, I find the response by Mercedes unsatisfactory and perhaps too adamantly concerned with mere service profits. Seems they, like others in their business, really prefer that service is one and the same as sales. They want paid service to be the priority and no longer feel the need to maintain free services as a perk. After all, sales are at an all-time high. (This is a scary message to the MB enthusiast.)
Those increasing warranty repairs reflected by their slipping quality standards are inescapably where its at.
Just one man's take.
Last edited by c2jones; 04-16-2004 at 01:00 AM.
04-17-2004, 08:19 PM
#3
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Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: New York
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2000 S430
A skeptic would say, "If sales are at an all time high, and quality at an all time low, why change anything??" The lower the quality, the more service the vehicle needs, resulting in more revenue. The catch-22 in this scenario is, as quality decreases, normally so does sales, prompting the factory to increase quality. This is apparently not the case. I am, unfortunately part of the problem, as I will continue to buy MB products and just hope that the quality will return to the days when MB was run by engineers and not by accountants (no offence to accountants). Just my opinion.
