Johannesburg - Consumer watchdog Georgina Crouth received the following letter from Kia driver Daniel Heunis, who was rightfully upset after waiting three months for his car to be repaired:
I am by no means Kia’s wealthiest customer - I drive a Kia Rio. But I hope that you can provide me with honest feedback about what is happening to my Rio at the Alberton branch.
I am also not the kind of customer who lashes out on social media; or the type who vents on complaints sites. But I believe there is some value to being a customer of a company like Kia SA.
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I have been waiting for my car to come back since October 27 and at this point, it feels like I am being held hostage relative to information and reasonable feedback.
I don’t want to bore you with a long essay, so herewith the short version: I bought the vehicle new and had it for four happy years without any issues.
On October 27, I drove my car to work and the engine cut out while it was idling. I had it towed to Kia Alberton where I service the vehicle.
After a week, nothing was done. Thando at the customer service desk organised a courtesy vehicle for me. I kept following up at Alberton to no avail. At long last, I was informed that the warranty claim had been approved but parts would have to be ordered from Korea. The parts were supposed to be delivered on December 4, but then I was told they had received the wrong parts. So I delayed my leave until December 23. The parts arrived on December 11. I was told they needed two days to fit the parts. Then I was told I would only get the car in January. How could this take so long? - Daniel Heunis
KIA RESPONDS:
You are correct in stating that we find the service Mr Heunis received from the Alberton dealership utterly unacceptable and sincerely regret the severely sub-standard experience he has had. Kia Motors prides itself not only in the exceptional quality of our vehicles, but also the service we provide our customers and the manner in which they experience our brand.
In response to Mr Heunis’s query, and his allegations that Kia Motors cannot and did not give him information on what was wrong with his car or when it would be repaired, please allow me the opportunity to comment and point out some factual errors: We received the communications from Mr Heunis, which were sent to our national aftersales manager, as well as our sales director, on December 15. The situation was immediately investigated. Our customer service manager has been personally managing this situation, and has been in constant contact with Mr Heunis, updating him on the processes and progress, and explaining where complications occurred.
There have been a series of telephone calls with follow-up e-mail discussions, the latter which we are happy to provide should you require it. Unfortunately, there have been several delays with some aspects of the repair process due to many companies, and indeed many of our suppliers, closing during the festive season. However, in all instances, our customer service manager gave Mr Heunis detailed feedback with time frames in which certain outcomes could be expected.
In some instances, as parts had to ordered from South Korea before a fitment could be done and because the vehicle still had to be tested after the fitment, we were unable to give Mr Heunis an exact date on which his car would be ready. We committed to keeping him posted, and our customer service manager did exactly that.
In conclusion: the outstanding part arrived in South Africa on January 25... Mr Heunis was informed on January 27 that the vehicle was ready for collection. As he is away on business, he has indicated he will collect on January 29 where a thorough handover will take place. Additionally, we have launched a detailed investigation into the sub-standard service received from the dealership in question and due process will be followed to correct the behaviour to the benefit of our customers.
- Christo Valentyn, Public Relations & Product Marketing Manager, Kia Motors South Africa
FINAL SAY
Heunis is rightfully still peeved, saying: “Factual errors they say... The point is they only replied in December. And the car has been there since October. They only knew about me because I contacted them, not the other way around.”
Georgie: At the time of printing, Kia hadn't responded to my question of why it should take three months to source parts and repair a car.
The Star
Georgina Crouth is a consumer watchdog with serious bite.
Write to Georgina at [email protected]
Follow her on Twitter: @askgeorgie