Took my Cali to South Hereford VW this week for it's first service -2yrs old - after a forum recommendation by 'Welshgas'. WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!! Cardiff VW, where I bought the Cali, hadn't even bothered contacting me to tell my service was due - maybe they don't need/want the business or perhaps they'd read my previous post on the quality of their service & customer care!
Anyway, back to the point, South Hereford were very helpful from initial phone call to paying the bill - They offered me practically any date I wanted for service, including Saturdays, asked if I wanted a courtesy car (Cardiff needed 3 weeks notice for this) or if I'd like a lift into Hereford to shop/sightsee etc and they'd ring when the van was ready and pick me up.
When I arrived at the dealership I was greeted by very pleasant staff, in nice surroundings where they had a Cali on display amongst their car stock - not shoved in a corner of the commercial centre, as in Cardiff. I was offered coffee, cakes & biscuits plus a variety of newspapers to read. Service Advisor, Les Waghorne dealt with my service - knowledgeable guy and had time to sit down with me to check details etc & run through my requirements and had a chat about warranty issues and paint etc.
As promised, I was dropped off into the town centre (well worth a visit - Cathedral, river, shops etc) and was picked up again in under 4 hours. They'd carried out my service and completed a software update after I'd reported a heater fault - something that seemed to have Cardiff stumped - plus they advised me I'd need brake fluid change next year, advised on air con service and discussed my MOT next year - to cap it off - my Cali had been washed & hoovered - again something missing, of late, from the customer care provided by Cardiff VW!
All of this came in at a very reasonable £153 - Bargain.
I had to travel approx 75 miles for this service, but I made it a day out and enjoyed myself, more importantly - was impressed and more than satisfied with South Hereford VW. I only live 20 miles from Cardiff VW but I'll happily travel the extra miles once a year or more as needed for all of the above reasons!
Thanks for the tip Welshgas