Yeh Yuva U-VA !

"The Will to fight for others is worthless
If you lack the will to fight for yourself. "
- Sohag Sarkar

(inspired by the Times of India initiative)

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Yeh Yuva U-VA !

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Tipping Point:

After having zeroed in for the new Chevrolet Aveo U-VA; I waited impatiently for the car to arrive. But the impatience grew stronger; and the delivery date came and passed. The dealer who had proudly committed the delivery date; now blatantly refuted his committment saying that my model is not under production by the Automobile company. Not only my booking amount was with the dealer; but also the entire book value of the car was with the dealer from my bank. So I was stranded without a clue - having paid the entire value of the car which was never delivered to me. And the dealer and Call Center turning a blind eye to my worries. And that is when I said "Am not gonna wait and watch".

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Action:

I got the email id of the Country Head, General Motors and wrote my heart to him.....

Sohag Sarkar 10/04/2007 07:49
To: Country Manager, GM
cc:
Subject: Please Respond

Dear Mr. Chaba,

It is with great displeasure that I am writing to you to quote my experiences with General Motors . It's been almost two months since I have booked the new Aveo UV-A LT Model and I have no confirmations on the date of delivery of my car. And, all I have been offered by the dealer (Apex Auto, Gurgaon) is a rolling target date. Moreover, the payment of the car has also been made available to the dealer amounting to Rs. 4,30,000 (plus Rs. 15,000 as booking amount) after the assurance that my car would be delivered very soon. Also, I would like to quote here that I have already paid my first EMI for the car to my bank as the loan amount is received by the dealer. I have spoken to the GMs at Apex Auto; but both haven't been able to provide me satisfactory answer.

I tried to call up the call center and write to the them (please find the attached email); but in vain.

Request you to please look into the matter. Looking forward to your reply in anticipation.

Regards,

Sohag Sarkar


----- Forwarded by Sohag Sarkar on 04/04/2007 19:47 -----

Sohag Sarkar 02/04/2007 11:40

To: gmi.cac@gm.com
cc:
Subject: Please Respond

Dear General Motors India,

This is regarding my booking of Chevrolet Aveo U-VA LT (Color: Blazing Red) on 07th February 2007 with Apex Auto, 64-65, Udyog Vihar, Phase IV, Gurgaon.

I would like to bring to your notice that the expected delivery of the car was confirmed to be 07th March 2007. Apart from my initial booking amount of Rs. 15,000 the complete payment of Rs. 4,30,000 (through Demand Draft) has already been received by the dealer from my bank on 19th March 2007. However, till date there has been no confirmation made as to when the delivery would materialize. I have to personally chase up with the dealer to ascertain the next roll-over delivery date over the past 4 weeks.

The dealer has categorically mentioned that there is limited or no production happening for Aveo U-VA LT model and that they are helpless w.r.t the date of delivery (quite contrary to what I was promised at the time of booking).

Moreover, I have to shell out on an average Rs. 1500 per day to commute between Delhi and Gurgaon since the last one month. I would have been saved of this expenditure had I shown more faith in some other brand of car. My monthly EMI is also starting in few days from now.

Therefore, I would like to understand your views and/or comments towards my complete dissatisfaction for the customer service provided from your end.

Looking forward to a reply in anticipation.

Regards,

Sohag Sarkar

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Reaction:

The people at the top with those grey hairs are mostly wise in their actions; and so it seems was Mr. Chabba. He earnestly called his subordinates to understand the existing practise of car delivery to the dealers vis-a-vis the booking dates & priorities. And he stopped the consignment of cars going to Nepal and made an immediate delivery of my Aveo U-VA. The dealer came and congratulated me; and assured that it was my mail which moved things right from the top.

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What IF?

"What IFs" are the spark that ignites a revolution? "What IFs" is the cause of that one raised-hand amongst the crowd of hypocrites or nonchalant individuals. Few questions can change lives; while others can make it get better.

So, in this contemporary event:

What IF - I had waited till the dealer had give me a call to confirm the delivery of my car? Probably, I would have to wait another month to get the car:

• whose book value was given to the dealer 2 months in advance of the delivery date.
• whose 2 EMI's would have already been paid to my bank; without even getting my first ride.

And, people sitting in the corporate offices would have had no clue, how many dissatisfied customers they are making everyday through their inefficient delivery model.

Few questions can change lives; while others can make it get better.

"JAB I SAT"

....There is a story to tell….almost filmy though….so thought of sharing with you all…

On 2nd November, I started from the office with a wait-listed ticket (going to Bhopal for Diwali). Went to the station and tried to get some favour from the TTE (as Sumeet has suggested); but in vain. And, the chart was not getting released. There was a lot of chaos on the platform as everyone waited eagerly so see if their reservation got confirmed. The entire train was buzzing with unreserved people. Nevertheless, the train started off, without the chart being displayed and I boarded one of the AC coaches.

I thought I was lucky to at least get the attendants seat next to the exit door. I kept my luggage and was waiting for the TTE to come. After 15-20 minutes, the TTE came and to my expectation reassured that the reservation is not confirmed. Since, there was no alternative I decided to put my luggage down and sit on the attendant’s seat…..and that is when the real story begins….titled……..



…..so the moment I sat on the seat, I heard a shot of pressure-release, and smoke started coming out in thick volumes. Two coach attendants seated nearby almost stumbled and crawled their way out of the AC Coach; into the connected SL coach. They thought that it was some fire. The scene was as if some bomb has exploded. Yes, indeed the smoke was that heavy. Soon people got into a panic and the train was halted (by pulling the emergency chain).

…and I, all the while laughing in my mind, knew what has happened….any guesses? Well, a fire extinguisher was placed beneath the seat. The weight of my luggage wasn’t much so nothing happened earlier. But, when I sat on the chair, the cap of the fire extinguisher got pressed and it triggered off. And the mechanism was such that it wouldn’t stop till it fully exhausts its 5kg load.



After the train halted, the conductor approached and opened the doors for the smoke to escape. But, by then the entire area went white with the powdered substance that was inside the extinguisher; so much that the floor, the wash basin, the bed-sheets and the doors were all white. As I cursed my luck; for even loosing the attendant’s seat. Hopelessly, I sat with a bunch of MIT College guys in the SL coach till Daund (next stop after Pune). In Daund, the coach was cleaned to some extend; but the traces of crime were still visible (please check out the pics that were taken hours after the coach was cleaned).

And like in the movie…”Jab We Met” (of course the inspiration to my title), I prayed “Babaji…ab is journey ko boring bana do….please no more surprises”. I was asked to meet the conductor who asked me to write a letter quoting the incident so as to save the poor attendant; which I did earnestly. Seeing my gesture, the attendant (who earlier was hyper about the entire incident, thinking that he had to pay a price for it) invited me to sit on his seat. He also, confessed that it were their mistake to have kept the fire extinguisher down and also that the security cap was missing. And, like some Hindi movie, I came to know that I was not actually responsible for the crime I just committed. Later, I came to know that they even trade the attendants’ berth and even the area where they keep the blankets, pillows and bed-sheets. So for just Rs.300 I finally got a nice berth with nicely spread bed-sheet and pillows.

Going home can be so adventurous I never knew. And as Samrat says “all’s well that end’s well” …so the “Jab I Sat” story ended on a happy note.