I had hoped not to have to write this post – but now feel I should share my experience with JMG and their apparent maintenance plan and hear people's thoughts.
So early in April, having recently acquired my dream C4S, I felt a maintenance plan was worth the peace of mind. Being in the south, JMG are half the distance of Hartech and as far as I could tell had a good reputation. I duly booked the required full reset service and inspection, despite the former being around a thousand pounds alone.
On the day, JMG finished around the suggested time. A number of advisories were made, mostly minor except a seized front brake bleed nipple. After the technician had run through these, I asked how I would be accepted onto the plan. The young lad then said 'It will be up to Jon, and how he's feeling on the day, but he will email over the next week'.
Before I set off, I checked the service book I left on the passenger seat – no stamp. Popped back in to get it done before heading off to for some new tyres, generally happy knowing my car had not thrown up any surprises. Knowing I needed new tyres and not being able to find any Michelin PS near me, I had previously spent some time calling places local to JMG, and to my surprise a nearby Kwik-Fit said they could get them in, so I had arranged for these to be fitted late afternoon after the service.
Now, this is where it gets messy. After waiting 5 minutes in Kwik-Fit, the chap comes in and says there's something I might want to take a look at. He says one of the rear brake bleed nipples has been left open and is spurting brake fluid. He shows me the tyre which has fluid over much of it and the open nipple which he has not touched (have some pics of this). I explained I'd just had it serviced, but when a Kwik-Fit guy is appalled it is not reassuring (incidentally the Christchurch Kwik-Fit were brilliant and had brand new hunter alignment kit in)!
As you can imagine I called JMG wanting to alert them to this. Now I'm aware this might have looked like an angle to get some money off or something but I just wanted to hear what they had to say. However I had to them chase up after leaving several messages, and then have several conversations with 'Clare' before eventually I get to speak with Jon Mitchell (the boss) and explain what's happened. Now Jon seemed polite, genuinely concerned, and promised to investigate and come back to me (I didn't meet him during the service as he wasn't there). I told him the name of the manager at the Kwik-Fit centre in case he wanted to verify, but he seemed to just take me on my word.
I did have to chase Jon a bit, but finally we get to speak again at the end of April and again and he sounds genuinely concerned. He explains that the technician says he didn't leave the nipple open (as you would expect), but accepts that mistakes happen and seems to implicitly accept this is the case. He assures me the technician is now quite paranoid about checking and asks what can they do to keep my custom.
I wasn't looking for any money as I was fairly reassured and happy with this response, but Jon then said that to make up for it they would fix the seized front brake nipple (nothing to do with the human error on the rear) and they would replace all the threads with ones that aren't prone to rust as these are a bit of a design fault apparently, and they are working with a local business to make a replacement part. He says they will do this free of charge, next time I come down for a service as part of the plan which I would be accepted onto.
I was at this stage happy with this, and felt it a fair – even generous - offer. Jon said he would send me through the necessary maintenance plan documents the next day.
To cut to the chase, 4 weeks later and I have received nothing from them except repeated promises to send the relevant documents through. At first Clare says the documents are on the website (which they aren't, so makes me question how many people actually get accepted onto the plan), but subsequently when I call back she says it's Dave's fault for not sending them (Dave is apparently the manager). Last week I was promised them by Tuesday latest. I politely inform Clare if I don't receive anything then I will read between the lines that they're deliberately not sending it to me. This week I called again as one last try and she puts me through to Dave who says he's been off ill and says he'll send them once he's written the exclusions (even though there aren't supposed to be any). I ask by when, and now I'm sure I'm getting the run around when he just says 'this week'.
So, do JMG actually want people to join their maintenance plan, and after this would you even want to be on it? Or is it just that Jon Mitchell is a good egg who seems to have employed a load of incompetents? I'm now considering just going with Hartech and taking some kind of small court claims action against JMG – mainly as a matter of principle. Any thoughts welcome..
:?:
So early in April, having recently acquired my dream C4S, I felt a maintenance plan was worth the peace of mind. Being in the south, JMG are half the distance of Hartech and as far as I could tell had a good reputation. I duly booked the required full reset service and inspection, despite the former being around a thousand pounds alone.
On the day, JMG finished around the suggested time. A number of advisories were made, mostly minor except a seized front brake bleed nipple. After the technician had run through these, I asked how I would be accepted onto the plan. The young lad then said 'It will be up to Jon, and how he's feeling on the day, but he will email over the next week'.
Before I set off, I checked the service book I left on the passenger seat – no stamp. Popped back in to get it done before heading off to for some new tyres, generally happy knowing my car had not thrown up any surprises. Knowing I needed new tyres and not being able to find any Michelin PS near me, I had previously spent some time calling places local to JMG, and to my surprise a nearby Kwik-Fit said they could get them in, so I had arranged for these to be fitted late afternoon after the service.
Now, this is where it gets messy. After waiting 5 minutes in Kwik-Fit, the chap comes in and says there's something I might want to take a look at. He says one of the rear brake bleed nipples has been left open and is spurting brake fluid. He shows me the tyre which has fluid over much of it and the open nipple which he has not touched (have some pics of this). I explained I'd just had it serviced, but when a Kwik-Fit guy is appalled it is not reassuring (incidentally the Christchurch Kwik-Fit were brilliant and had brand new hunter alignment kit in)!
As you can imagine I called JMG wanting to alert them to this. Now I'm aware this might have looked like an angle to get some money off or something but I just wanted to hear what they had to say. However I had to them chase up after leaving several messages, and then have several conversations with 'Clare' before eventually I get to speak with Jon Mitchell (the boss) and explain what's happened. Now Jon seemed polite, genuinely concerned, and promised to investigate and come back to me (I didn't meet him during the service as he wasn't there). I told him the name of the manager at the Kwik-Fit centre in case he wanted to verify, but he seemed to just take me on my word.
I did have to chase Jon a bit, but finally we get to speak again at the end of April and again and he sounds genuinely concerned. He explains that the technician says he didn't leave the nipple open (as you would expect), but accepts that mistakes happen and seems to implicitly accept this is the case. He assures me the technician is now quite paranoid about checking and asks what can they do to keep my custom.
I wasn't looking for any money as I was fairly reassured and happy with this response, but Jon then said that to make up for it they would fix the seized front brake nipple (nothing to do with the human error on the rear) and they would replace all the threads with ones that aren't prone to rust as these are a bit of a design fault apparently, and they are working with a local business to make a replacement part. He says they will do this free of charge, next time I come down for a service as part of the plan which I would be accepted onto.
I was at this stage happy with this, and felt it a fair – even generous - offer. Jon said he would send me through the necessary maintenance plan documents the next day.
To cut to the chase, 4 weeks later and I have received nothing from them except repeated promises to send the relevant documents through. At first Clare says the documents are on the website (which they aren't, so makes me question how many people actually get accepted onto the plan), but subsequently when I call back she says it's Dave's fault for not sending them (Dave is apparently the manager). Last week I was promised them by Tuesday latest. I politely inform Clare if I don't receive anything then I will read between the lines that they're deliberately not sending it to me. This week I called again as one last try and she puts me through to Dave who says he's been off ill and says he'll send them once he's written the exclusions (even though there aren't supposed to be any). I ask by when, and now I'm sure I'm getting the run around when he just says 'this week'.
So, do JMG actually want people to join their maintenance plan, and after this would you even want to be on it? Or is it just that Jon Mitchell is a good egg who seems to have employed a load of incompetents? I'm now considering just going with Hartech and taking some kind of small court claims action against JMG – mainly as a matter of principle. Any thoughts welcome..
:?: