NOTE the review on the bike is posted in a different one. This is just about my experience with the after sales of TVS. The bike review can be found from my profile.
I am in Pune and this bike was purchased by the previous owner from a dealer which is far from my house. So I found a service center nearby (Chatrapati TVS Erandwane) and took my bike there for servicing.
The Problem - My rpm meter used to go behind zero when I switched the bike.
My bike had its warranty as well, so I was not at all worried. When the told the service center guy about the issue they said I would require to get it done from where I purchased the bike (Sai Baba Sales, Chichwad) as they did not have some ’data’.
They said they would service my bike but the issue would not be fixed. So I got the bike serviced from there and took it to the place where the bike was purchased. Actually I had to go there anyway as I has a complementary tefloan coating to be done from them.
I left my bike there for the day but when I went to collect it the next day the coating was not done. The issue was fixed though. I asked them about the coating and they said that they had by mistaken coated another bike mistaking it to be mine and asked me if I could wait for sometime and they would do it right away. I agreed and they took me to a waiting lounge.
It was very good and had an LCD TV for my use (not that it is something great but just that I had never received treatment like this with Bajaj in the 5 years of my ownership).
Finally within an hour they gave me the teflon coated bike and I came home happily with it. I had never ever received such a good treatement from Bajaj in the five years of my ownership.
The next day I emailed the company narrating my experience with the first service center and told that since my bike was a TVS it was supposed to be serviced at any TVS authorized outlet and all the issues as well should be fixed at any TVS authorized outlet.
I was a query more than a complaint. TVS propmtly asked for my vehicle details and my name. Within a few minutes of my reply I got a call from the first service center asking about my problem. I told them about what happened.
They guy on the phone immediately started apologizing and asked me to get the bike there and said that he would fix the issue immediately. I said I had already got it fixed to which he apologized again and said it would not be repeated in the future.
Next I got a call from the regional office of TVS again asking for the details. When I provided the details, the person said that they should have serviced the bike irrespective of where it was purchased from and it was their mistake.
He gave me a regional office number and asked me to contact them if this was repeated or if I ever faced any issue with servicing anywhere. Then I got a call from the place from where the bike was purchased and the same thing was repeated.
The person who called was the manager for that service center and he gave me the number of the manager for the other service center as well. He reassured that if I had any problem I just needed to call him and he would take care of it no matter what the issue is.
I was surprised with all this and so I told that person that my intention was not to complain but it was a general query and that I had no idea it would be dealt with so seriously. To this the manager replied that TVS is extremely cautious and sensitive when it comes to customer care and that they do not tolerate anything when it comes to customer service.
He said that one of his customers was facing some problem with his TVS (not sure which bike) and so he had send his technician to help that person and mind you these were two ends of the city (Chichwad and Fursungi for those who are from Pune).
I was very very flattered with this service as in the 5 years of Bajaj ownership I had never received any response to my mails sent to bajaj and because of this I never expected TVS to reply either but I was totally wrong. Bajaj service is also way pathetic.
The number of vehicles are far beyond what the local service centers can manage. The bikes are parked like cattle in the park yards giving them scratches and dents and when you tell them that the scratch was from them, they flatly refuse.
Even the managers are non-cooperative and rude. I had this experience very recently and so am cautioning all the would be bajaj customers. Bajaj might be cheaper but the money you spend on getting the defects rectified later is too high to be neglected.
So all dear people out there who think TVS is a desi company and is not good, TVS is a much better company than what people can even imagine and apache is a product that is a class apart from the Heros, the Hondas and the Bajajs.
For people who are planning to buy a bike in the 150cc segment I would really ask you guys to screw the pulsar and take an alternative route to an Apache (by a trouble Pulsar owner, frustrated Bajaj customer and a satisfied and happy TVS customer and Apache Owner).