As I always say, nothing in India is what first appears to be. We got the car back on a Monday and Kailash, wisely, drove directly home to pick up my wife for her "errands." A few hours later, my assistant charily came into my office to inform me that the air conditioning in the car had ceased to work on the way back to the office.
I was incensed. It is 115 degrees and the car has no air? You must be joking! The car just came back from service! Ugh!!! My decisions were either ride in the car for the 30 minutes home in the heat or take a taxi with the intoxicating smell of unwiped ass. Have I mentioned that I am “living the dream?”
I opted for the heat and we set off for home. Now, I am old enough to remember cars without air conditioning. As a matter of fact, I owned one in college (a 1980 Renault 5 – otherwise known as the LeCar). I remember being hot, but I also remember that when you rolled down the windows, the breeze was usually sufficient to keep you relatively comfortable. Armed with these memories, I climbed into my car.
Within 2 minutes I knew I had made a gross miscalculation. Even though I lived a summer with my Renault in Washington DC which is known for the stiflingly hot summers, Washington is not New Delhi. At 120 degrees, the breeze coming through the window is so hot that it feels like standing in front of a hairdryer on full heat. It actually burns your nose as it rushes past your face creating an infernal tempest within the vehicle. It is simply not possible to drive with the windows down. By the time I reached home, I not only had to remove my tie, but I had taken off my shirt and was soaked through my undershirt.
Having had enough of that, I opted the next morning for the taxi whilst my driver took the car in to the shop, Harpreet Ford. With my limited, albeit not completely useless, knowledge of engines cultivated over many hours stuck in the middle of Chautauqua Lake with a dead motor, I deducted that we were probably having belt issues - my biggest clue was the screeching of the belt every time the air conditioner was turned on.
About 11:00am the report came in from the driver that the workshop had identified the compressor as the issue and it would need replaced. This was a major part and it would need to be ordered. The car would need to be in the shop for a least three additional days. I asked the driver to insist on having the belts tightened before we committed to a new compressor and, interestingly enough, after the workshop reluctantly did the work, the air conditioner sprung back to life. Hum? The Workshop, though, was still adamant that the compressor was the culprit and tried desperately to convince Kailash that after several hours it would again fail rendering the air conditioner useless. I ordered the car back to the office, post haste.
A few days later the belts began to squeal again, but the air conditioner continued to work, so we used the car through the weekend and sent it to another Ford workshop, NCR Ford, across town on Monday. They not only confirmed that the compressor was fine, but they discovered that the wrong belts had been installed during the service and this was the root of the problem. I now boiled over... quite literally!
I found out the name of the Managing Director of Ford in India, as well as the financial group that owned the dealership and workshop and sent two scathing emails about unethical behavior and brand reputation. I received an immediate response from both, as well as a call from the workshop manager a few minutes later. Apparently the arrow hit its mark.
This is India, though, so you almost never get the response you anticipate. The manager was acrimonious in his tone and completely obstinate in his position that the compressor was the issue. He was basically doubling down on the lie. I asked him to explain the wrong belts and why the air conditioner has worked flawlessly since the car left the shop, but he was unyielding in his answers. He actually told me to come down and replace the compressor and this would prove that he was right. Apparently in his world, replacing a good part with another good part to solve a problem that no longer exists is proof that his solution was correct in the first place. There is definitely a village in India missing their idiot! In the end, we opted not to replace the compressor and the car has been running fine for the last week.
I still, though, have one more email to draft to Ford and the financial group describing the service manager's response, attitude and his desperate need for replacement!
I was incensed. It is 115 degrees and the car has no air? You must be joking! The car just came back from service! Ugh!!! My decisions were either ride in the car for the 30 minutes home in the heat or take a taxi with the intoxicating smell of unwiped ass. Have I mentioned that I am “living the dream?”
I opted for the heat and we set off for home. Now, I am old enough to remember cars without air conditioning. As a matter of fact, I owned one in college (a 1980 Renault 5 – otherwise known as the LeCar). I remember being hot, but I also remember that when you rolled down the windows, the breeze was usually sufficient to keep you relatively comfortable. Armed with these memories, I climbed into my car.
Within 2 minutes I knew I had made a gross miscalculation. Even though I lived a summer with my Renault in Washington DC which is known for the stiflingly hot summers, Washington is not New Delhi. At 120 degrees, the breeze coming through the window is so hot that it feels like standing in front of a hairdryer on full heat. It actually burns your nose as it rushes past your face creating an infernal tempest within the vehicle. It is simply not possible to drive with the windows down. By the time I reached home, I not only had to remove my tie, but I had taken off my shirt and was soaked through my undershirt.
Having had enough of that, I opted the next morning for the taxi whilst my driver took the car in to the shop, Harpreet Ford. With my limited, albeit not completely useless, knowledge of engines cultivated over many hours stuck in the middle of Chautauqua Lake with a dead motor, I deducted that we were probably having belt issues - my biggest clue was the screeching of the belt every time the air conditioner was turned on.
About 11:00am the report came in from the driver that the workshop had identified the compressor as the issue and it would need replaced. This was a major part and it would need to be ordered. The car would need to be in the shop for a least three additional days. I asked the driver to insist on having the belts tightened before we committed to a new compressor and, interestingly enough, after the workshop reluctantly did the work, the air conditioner sprung back to life. Hum? The Workshop, though, was still adamant that the compressor was the culprit and tried desperately to convince Kailash that after several hours it would again fail rendering the air conditioner useless. I ordered the car back to the office, post haste.
A few days later the belts began to squeal again, but the air conditioner continued to work, so we used the car through the weekend and sent it to another Ford workshop, NCR Ford, across town on Monday. They not only confirmed that the compressor was fine, but they discovered that the wrong belts had been installed during the service and this was the root of the problem. I now boiled over... quite literally!
I found out the name of the Managing Director of Ford in India, as well as the financial group that owned the dealership and workshop and sent two scathing emails about unethical behavior and brand reputation. I received an immediate response from both, as well as a call from the workshop manager a few minutes later. Apparently the arrow hit its mark.
This is India, though, so you almost never get the response you anticipate. The manager was acrimonious in his tone and completely obstinate in his position that the compressor was the issue. He was basically doubling down on the lie. I asked him to explain the wrong belts and why the air conditioner has worked flawlessly since the car left the shop, but he was unyielding in his answers. He actually told me to come down and replace the compressor and this would prove that he was right. Apparently in his world, replacing a good part with another good part to solve a problem that no longer exists is proof that his solution was correct in the first place. There is definitely a village in India missing their idiot! In the end, we opted not to replace the compressor and the car has been running fine for the last week.
I still, though, have one more email to draft to Ford and the financial group describing the service manager's response, attitude and his desperate need for replacement!
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