Let me introduce myself. I am a Director at a Fortune 50 company, Mumbai based, part of the services industry, and I run a 1500 person, Rs. 400 crore business vertical.
Professionally, I see a lot of things that go wrong. So generally, I believe I have a lot more tolerance for lapses, human errors, or organisational faults than much of my peer group.
Over the years, I have encountered various consumer issues, but by and large they get fixed in due course and I have never felt the need to really share bad experiences with anyone. But my god, the folks at CC India - the Veneta folks in India take the cake.
A few years ago, we were privileged to purchase a flat in a prime Bandra, Mumbai, neighborhood. We revamped the entire flat, exhausting our personal savings, into furnishing the flat to our specifications.
A modular kitchen was a key decision and we made the rounds of Poggenpohl, Hacker, and Veneta. Had finalized on a lovely Hacker kitchen but in a stroke of ill luck, decided to save a few lakhs and chose Veneta. And started down the route of Veneta apathy and misery.
Purchase: Kitchen design process was ok. My spouse is extremely well versed in matters reference interiors so we were quite clear on what we wanted. Plus we had already gone through the process with the team at Hacker.
So after a few iterations we settled on a kitchen design. Cost - approx Rs. 14 lakhs. They wanted most of the money upfront and everything before delivery. We agreed to most of their terms, wrote out these huge cheques, and agreed on the delivery period(3-4 months if I recall).
Post Purchase: Complete radio silence immediately after cheque encashment. The kitchen was coming from Italy we were told, so we didnt follow up either. Closer to the date of installation, we casually enquired on how our kitchen is doing.
To our shock, we learned that the order hadn't gone. Why? Apparently, we had made a small addition to the design post order so an additional payment of I think Rs. 20, 000 odd was pending. But why didnt anyone tell us? Well, they did try calling us at home a few times but no one answered.
Did they think about sending us a letter or email to follow up - they knew how critical delivery was to us(we were paying high rentals in an alternate place till our house got done up). Well, they didnt.
Anyways, Veneta completely washed off their hands and refused to take any responsibility on this debacle. So grudgingly, we pushed the delivery back another 2-3 months.
And I cannot even begin by describing the arrogance, apathy, and attitude of the executive who was dealing with us through this nightmare.
And anyways, I don't want to - this is not about treatment by individuals - it is about the service standard, values, and philosophy of the organisation.
Installation: The kitchen finally landed up and they quickly started making calls on charging us demurrage if we don't install it. The irony - even now, I am laughing as I type. We were sorting some matters with the building society so work had stopped for a bit so there was some delay in installation.
Don't recall if we ended up paying demurrage or not - but it was chaotic negotiating with them. But anyway, the kitchen - with a dishwasher and oven supplied by Veneta was installed fairly seamlessly - one of the bright spots in the experience.
After Sales Service: This is the single biggest reason I might caution anyone against Veneta. Once the cheque clears, they apparently simply do not seem to care.
Within 18 months of installation, their dishwasher broke down. Had costed me close to Rs. 1 lakh(you have to buy their appliances if you want them within the kitchen - or so we were told.). It was around August 2010 when I called the Veneta folks to come and take a look. And I have been calling them since then.
- After a few weeks, someone did come by, mumbled something about getting a part, and disappeared - After a few weeks of escalations, the process got repeated. - Someone then visited a few times, fiddled around, and went back - It was now Diwali and our extended family was visiting.
We were now washing dishes for 12 people, rather than the usual 4, by hand. Called the CC India office in Bangalore and asked to speak with the CEO. Was stonewalled completely. - Someone came by and picked up the machine to take it to the workshop- Few weeks later got an estimate of approx rs. 27, 000 to fix the machine. - Rs. 27, 000?!
Its a 18 month old machine and shouldnt warranty / service guarantee etc cover it. Was told that I had refused their service contract costing Rs. 3500 a year at time of delivery so now I have to bear this. I still dont understand why would I refuse to pay Rs. 3500 pa after writing a cheque for Rs. 14 lakhs if someone had offered this to me. But apparently I did.
So I wrote out a cheque for Rs. 27, 000 and they installed the "fixed" machine. This after 5-6 weeks of delay and multiple followups. - And now we are in January, and the machine still doesnt work. Our house has gotten flooded 3 times, we have had to wash dishes in the bathroom, a service guy appears once in a while and either potters around or blames it squarely on the plumber, RO filter guy, or someone else.
The flooding issue stopped last fortnight, but now the dishwasher doesnt wash the dishes cleanly. Have tried calling Veneta multiple times - same story. - The cheque has been cleared by the way. As always, they insisted on payment in advance
One or two service lapses can be bad luck - my wariness on referring anyone to Veneta stems from the following
They are quick to wash off their hands on any service issue. If a Rs. 14 lakh client has been given this runaround, I wonder where their bar for good service lies.
They are obsessed with taking money upfront. They simply cite company policy and refuse to move till they have everything in the bank. After which one is left to fend for himself / herself - They have no escalation process. Their CEO or senior management is inaccessible.
Calls and mails - whether angry, plaintive, pleading, or talk of legal / media action - have no effect. One just gets the sense that they live from quarter to quarter, sell new kitchens, and move on - Veneta is certainly operating at an unacceptable point in the cost-service grid.
As for me, I carry on this painful battle against customer apathy.
Best wishes to all of you who are reading this and working on your dream flats. God bless.
PS: Update(Jan 22, 2011). Called Veneta to follow up on the dishwasher. mentioned that I have put a review on Mouthshut and asked again for the CEO.
Company policy doesn't allow giving the number of the CEO - I can have the number of the regional manager if I want. Stonewalled again. And I was even offered the names of 8 other consumer sites I can post reviews on!
PPS: Update(March 6, 2011): No dishwasher still.
No call from Veneta HO. One visit made but they couldn't find some parts so disappeared promising to return with them. Am still waiting.
PPPS(March 23, 2011): No news still. Rs. 27, 000 taken by Veneta for phantom repairs. No dishwasher. CEO still unaccessible. Regional Head mumbles something everytime I call him.
