Society Gists

Less than 48 hours after the Unites States sued the automobile company for taking advantage of their customers and at a time when rivals are struggling with recalls, Korean automaker Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors are facing embarrassing headlines that won’t do much for their reputations among American consumers.
Hyundai and Kia will shell out a combined $350 million to settle claims that they tricked customers by overstating fuel economy numbers and understating greenhouse gas emission figures.

But in Nigeria, the story is not too different and this is how Our Source, TheCapital report the story.

“If you stay with Hyundai service, you would have unforgettable experience with your drive.”

Welcoming you to its “Customer Promise” webpage, the above (honey-coated) tagline is what sums up the feeling Hyundai Motors Nigeria Limited promises to give you when you do business with it- unforgettable experience.  And truly, based on my experience and those of others who have ‘stayed’ with Hyundai service, the tagline can be said to be one promise Hyundai Motors Nigeria Limited is observing in breaches.

It is a known fact that the automobile company has seen its net profits plummet quarter after quarter in 2014. The South Korean company has attributed the nosedive to some economic factors. One contributory factor, which the company has succeeded in shielding from the public is its pitiable customer service.

Its profit decline, especially in Nigeria, has much more to do with lack of customer’s confidence and satisfaction in its service than economic reasons.

Staying with Hyundai service has truly brought about an unforgettable as well as unforgivable experience since I fell for its gimmick in June, 2014, when I bought a brand a new car from it. According to investigations by TheCapital, complaints from customers of Hyundai Motors Nigeria abound; the most recurring complaints being the issue of servicing of vehicles.

When Hyundai Motors Nigeria Limited commissioned an ultramodern 3s (service, sales and spare parts) facility and skill acquisition centre valued at more than N500m in Orile, Amuwo-Odofin in Lagos, May this year, it did so with pageantry and a telling promise that its aftersales customer service experience would witness visible improvements. The harrowing experiences of its customers were becoming loudly scandalous that the company could not go on with pretence of not knowing that it was losing customers in droves due to abysmal customer service.

Without mincing words, customers of Hyundai vehicles were enlivened with the show the auto ‘giant’ put up while many others, including this author, were cajoled into believing it was a new vista at Hyundai Motors Nigeria; as such, its showrooms across the state became a mecca of some sort for customers who wanted vehicles whose service delivery aftersales would come handy when occasion demanded. Buoyed by this feeling, a customer, who pleaded anonymity, dashed to one of its Lagos showrooms sometime in June this year to buy (car specifications).

Unfortunately, a month after the purchase, the car was crashed in an accident which heavily dented the car. The car was taken to its “ultramodern facility” in Orile by the owner who was able to secure funds for its repair from his insurance company having regularised all documentations (registration, insurance, etc.) concerning the car.

According to the customer, whose car, Hyundai Elantra has registration number is LSD60AA, “I bought my car in June this year and I had an accident with the car, I took the car to the company (Hyundai) and my Insurance, Mansaad Insurance paid them full amount. I was told the car would be fixed in two weeks. Two weeks have become four months, and nothing has been done about the car. Each of my visits to the place has left me with one form of frustration or the other. No work has been carried out on the car. It is either they come up with unavailability of spare parts of flimsy excuse that speaks volume of their inefficiency. It has been a very frustrating experience having to go through what I have gone through in the hands of the people. I will be detailing my lawyer with this harrowing experience to take the next step;” the visibly miffed man narrated his ordeal.

Grievances have also continued to trail its centenary offer in partnership with Diamond Bank Plc. According to another complainant who expressed his grief, he has had to confront mechanical issues since he took the delivery of the car apart from hidden charges which were not clearly stated as terms required for the offer.

The Hyundai and Diamond Centenary Offer is a vehicle finance scheme aimed at assisting fleet managers and prospective automobile patrons to procure affordably priced Hyundai vehicles. The scheme, which was inaugurated in August, was designed to enable its clients to access the scheme without necessarily paying conventional bank interest rate.