Just came back from the Royal Enfield Bandra showroom. Went there to collect my refund cheque against cancellation of my booking made way back on 23rd Dec '09 for a Classic 350.
The showroom manager's smiling. His assistant's also smiling. Proudly (might say arrogantly too) announcing that the booking for 350 has been stalled for the moment and that the waiting period for a new booking is 8 months!!!
Downright pathetic. The guys have gone mad.
First, it's no happy moment that a customer is canceling his purchase no matter the high demand.
Second, it's no laughing matter that the waiting period is 8 months; it just tells us that you (the brand) don't care much about the customers.
Third, Classic 350 and the new engine converted quite a few non-Bulleteers into going for a Bullet. But that's just half the job done. If your service still sucks (like it did earlier), the same guys might turn their backs to you pretty soon.
Fourth, the company can't hold money like this and ask the person who made the booking to come and collect the money from the showroom. The least they could do is respect the customer, respect his time and the faith he put in you, apologize for inconvenience and try to make up in some form.
Sure there's only one Royal Enfield. And scarcity often leads to a favorable impression of the brand but guess they are stretching the loyalists much too far and far too often.
I can go on and on about my disappointment but the folks at Royal Enfield might not listen. Royal Arrogance or Royal Lapses sounds better.
The showroom manager's smiling. His assistant's also smiling. Proudly (might say arrogantly too) announcing that the booking for 350 has been stalled for the moment and that the waiting period for a new booking is 8 months!!!
Downright pathetic. The guys have gone mad.
First, it's no happy moment that a customer is canceling his purchase no matter the high demand.
Second, it's no laughing matter that the waiting period is 8 months; it just tells us that you (the brand) don't care much about the customers.
Third, Classic 350 and the new engine converted quite a few non-Bulleteers into going for a Bullet. But that's just half the job done. If your service still sucks (like it did earlier), the same guys might turn their backs to you pretty soon.
Fourth, the company can't hold money like this and ask the person who made the booking to come and collect the money from the showroom. The least they could do is respect the customer, respect his time and the faith he put in you, apologize for inconvenience and try to make up in some form.
Sure there's only one Royal Enfield. And scarcity often leads to a favorable impression of the brand but guess they are stretching the loyalists much too far and far too often.
I can go on and on about my disappointment but the folks at Royal Enfield might not listen. Royal Arrogance or Royal Lapses sounds better.
I wasn't aware that the Classic 350 was in such huge demand..
ReplyDeletemaybe you are right, the UCE and the left side gear lever has managed to get some new customers
It's good there's such a demand for RE bikes. But it doesn't seem like the folks at RE are bothered at all to respond appropriately, in words and in deed.
ReplyDeleteIts sad because RE is actually trying to build a strong community of RE loyalists.
ReplyDeleteHope things will turn better