Horrible service experience for my Ather 450
The problems started in Feb 2022 when I raised the request to get the 2G module replaced by 4G. The technician who was sent seem to be untrained and in the process of fitting back the cowl cover, he ended up stripping the thread due to which he was unable to fit the screw. The issue was mailed to Ather.
Within a month, the 4G module stops working. I then scheduled a service in April 2022 to get the 4G module replaced under warranty. Along with it, I asked the stripped thread to be fixed and the screen guard to be installed. To my surprise, when the vehicle was returned, both these issues were not addressed. What’s even more surprising was that both these tasks were mentioned as “Done” in the job card
Job card showing complaints marked as done but never addressed.
No screen guard installed.
Screw not installed correctly.
I let the matters rest thinking that these can be addressed during the next service. Post the service, I saw a drop in the range (by around 2 or 3 WH/km increase) which I thought was ok. But recently, I observed some faint scrapping sounds from the front brake and on further inspection, it was found that the disc is heating up even when no brake is applied possibly due to the pads scrapping against it which was possibly causing the drop in the range too. So on 22nd September, I again wrote to Ather customer care. Finally on 10th October (after waiting more than two weeks), I get a call from Ather to schedule the technician visit on 12th October (today).
And today, things just went from bad to worse.
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The technician was ill equipped to address the issues I had reported. The only issue he was able to solve was the issue with the cowl screw thread damage.
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For applying the screen guard, the technician did not have the required tools to apply the screen guard. I had to provide the isopropyl alcohol and cloth to clean the screen. The screen guard was applied so poorly with air bubbles and gaps that I am sure it will fall off in some time.
- For the brake disc heating issue even when not applying the brake, the technician did not diagnose the issue properly and was not even ready to listen to me trying to explain what was the issue. He sprayed WD40 on to the calipers and also spilled it on to the brake pads. The front brake is performing poorly after soaking up WD40 and I am unable to use my scooter now. He did not carry any brake cleaner spray and hence is unable to get rid of the oil on the brake pad and disc. Now he says that the vehicle needs to be picked up and taken to the service center. He was unable to remove the caliper for cleaning as well since all he had was a T-Handle allen key using which he could not apply enough torque on the bolts. I am not sure how such basic things as not to get oil on brake pads are missed by the Ather service engineers. I am also not sure on how the pickup would be done since it’s risky to take the scooter on road with a non-functioning front brake. I hope Ather is ready to cover the risks here.
@tarun , @swapniljain , hope something can be done to improve the customer experience here. All three of my experiences with Ather service technicians in the last 6 months was very poor.