From the other side of the desk

Couldn't agree more Mark, well said.

When paying for a product, even more so for a premium product, we deserve top service and it seems that LR and *some* dealers think they can act how they want as they know they have an excellent product that will sell itself. As I said on another thread, it pure arrogance.

I have been lucky that my dealer is a lovely chap who always calls me back, and makes sure he has an update before he calls me back. It's a shame that they're not all like that.

(19-11-2011 04:43am)rsk21 Wrote:  being deliberately rude to fellow forum members however is likely to contravene the rules of the forum

Lol - perhaps you should read some of your own posts in more detail.

And then get back to just chatting about the RRE?

(19-11-2011 10:11am)Grah Wrote:  Lol - perhaps you should read some of your own posts in more detail.

And then get back to just chatting about the RRE?

Fine by me.

Let's all agree to do the same rather than castigating people for spelling, referring to them as being crassly stupid and other such things. There seems to be some confusion and a perception that I, and others, are saying there's no place for complaints. Nothing could be further from the truth. That's what resources like this are all about. Nonetheless pointing out that somebody has been demonstrably, and on several occasions, personally rude to other forum members is not in and of itself rude is it ? I'd call it a statement of fact As a longstanding member of one of BabyRR's sister boards I've seen what greta communities these sites can become. It'll be a terrible shame if this one doesn't attain the same status because of lots of infighting born of personal frustrations.

Anywhere onwards and upwards. I hope Mark gets clarity over his situation soon and the desired outcome as do all the other prospective customers in the same boat.

I'll say this until I'm I'm blue in the face but a bit more research into the habits, attitudes and reputations of various of the LR dealer network could and would have made for a lot less people feeling so aggrieved in my opinion. As we're all aware at the heart of this issue is communication, openness and transparency. Qualities which many dealers would seem to struggle to embody on the basis of much of what I've read.

Let's hug.

I totally agree these sites can be brilliant communities for those waiting then enjoying good engineering. Which presumably is why I apparently have spent 3 days of my life on this one!

(19-11-2011 10:24am)Grah Wrote:  Let's hug.

Ahhh

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(18-11-2011 10:47am)mark_n Wrote:  It's the lack of transparent proactive communications which I do not like.

Shouldn't the "which" be a "that"?

(19-11-2011 09:22am)mark_n Wrote:  I come in for some stick here

Do you mean "schtick"?

Mark, hopefully you'll take those in the spirit in which they are intended - a little bit of gentle teasing! I very much enoy reading your well-written and well-informed posts, even if I take some of them with a big grain of salt or can't relate them to my own experience.

(19-11-2011 10:24am)Grah Wrote:  Let's hug.

I'm all for a group hug! But then again, I'm one of the lucky ones whose cars will be arriving more or less around the time the dealer told me! Only a few days now, which is a good thing as my FL1 died about 10 days ago...

mark_n, your post No50 is definitely one of your better ones.

I only wish that someone from JLR in a Very Senior position could put us as straight on these delays and the nebulous ordering and delivery process.

Come on JLR you are bound to be following this forum, give us all a break, we want your product so tell us all how it is.

(19-11-2011 09:22am)mark_n Wrote:  I come in for some stick here and I am unashamedly trenchant in my criticism of both Land Rover and the dealers (in general, by repute) and my own (from experience).

The fundamental issue is a lack of transparency in the order process. We really do not know how it works and there are people here who have paid their deposit more than a year ago and whose cars have not even been placed on order with the factory yet. All we know is that there is this dark, dank place called the holding pool where orders sit and fester until someone in the dealership gets off their backside and does something useful with their time.

I don't know, for example, whether dealers can prioritise their own orders so that favoured customers (that is, everyone except me) gets priority over those customers who have given them a hard time or pi**ed them off for some reason (that is, me). That may be one reason why my 31 October delivery date turned into 26 January and counting...

Plainly, the assertion in the letter from the now-gone LR MD to placate the Great Unwashed that all orders are handled in sequence is wrong. It seems a complete lottery as to when you get your car - the dealership, when you ordered, what others are ordering, even which cocksure salesman (pathetically limp-wristed in my case) you have the misfortune to deal with. In short, it's a mess and leads to significant dissatisfaction among potential customers. What we all need is a committed delivery date that is met, we can look forward to and plan around and not all this chaotic uncertainty.

People who know me, for example, my employees (now ex- after I sold up and retired) would tell you I am extremely demanding in my reasonable expectations of them but fulsome in my praise and willingness to reward them handsomely for a job well done. So far, Land Rover and the dealer have failed me at every step and I feel more than justified in calling a spade a spade. Placatory remarks such as those by the OP, however well intentioned, simply do not wash.

I have not, and never would criticise the line workers who have every right to be proud of what they do, a revelation compared to the Halewood of the past. They are part of a system which is at fault and over which they have no control.

Well said.