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Disappointedly excited…..

Gaston the Grenadier

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Well,

Being the more than half glass full type, my experience with Ineos Automotive’s legendary Customer Support Dept and Contracts Dept will be aired with as much of a positive spin I’m able to muster.
Spoiler Alert! It ends well, but in an unexpected way.

I put my deposit down in March this year, and was very quickly welcomed by Customer Support representatives, as well as some interesting junk mail offering me the opportunity to purchase some over priced and tacky merchandise. Naturally I declined…..apart from a 1:18 scale model and a tee shirt……. Damn!!

Opting for a very high spec Grenadier in 2 seater Utility guise (for my business), it was important for me to at least have an idea of when my “to be Works Van” was going to be built, so I emphasised this to Ineos Automotive. They quickly responded by saying my truck was scheduled for production in July (this year). I thanked them for the info, and politely reminded them, that like Ineos, (but on a smaller scale) I have a business to run, so schedules are important to me.

Fast forward to mid July this year, and my Ineos Grenadier inbox was gathering dust, with the exception of great offers on limited edition merchandise. This time I resisted. I did. Really.

Come the last week of July, I’m starting to grow anxious, as I don’t know whether I should put the current Works van up for sale, or tax, insure and MOT it for another year.

A polite but slightly snotty email slipped from my outbox asking for a proper update, as opposed to a scripted reply.
Unfortunately I received the scripted reply,” If you haven’t been sent your contract, then we can’t give you a build date. Check your inbox over the next month or so…….” Harrumph. That’s not what I wanted to hear.

I replied by asking to speak to someone further up the food chain, as scripted answers were of no help to anyone.
I also mentioned that I would have to cancel my order by August 1st, unless I received some concrete information that I could tweak my business activities and work around the evident delay.

By unbelievable coincidence, the following day my contract popped into my inbox, as well as an alert on my Grenadier account page. Hallelujah! I contacted Customer Support and let them know my relief, and their representative informed me that he hadn’t submitted my request to cancel my order (although, somewhat impulsively I had pressed the “request a refund” icon the day before, which would prove to be my undoing). All was well. I thought.

Upon trying to open the links from the Contracts Dept, I discovered I was unable to open nor sign my contract.
Another day taken up contacting Customer Support who stated they had a number of contracts that needed to be retriggered and that mine would be re sent over the next few days. No worries I thought.

We’re in to August now, and my contract arrives, this time with the DocuSign link up and running, so contract read and duly signed.

The following morning I opened up my Ineos account to check that my status had been updated, and whether a date had been notified for production.
Clicking on to “My Vehicle Orders” revealed “You have no orders”.

A quick message to Customer Support querying my account brought the reply,” We’re sorry to hear you’ve cancelled your order. Your deposit will be refunded sometime in the next 14 days” etc.

Checking my online bank account revealed that Ineos Automotive had in fact refunded my deposit two days previously, after I had signed my contract. Apologies if timeline appears a bit mixed, but you get the gist of what’s going on.

After firing some choice expletives (albeit politely) at Customer Support, I finally had a phone call from a representative, probably working from home. He promised me he would address the misunderstanding (I used a stronger term that began with “cluster” and ended in **ck).
Too late, I told him. Even though I’d signed my contract (legally binding), my order had already been cancelled and if I wanted to re order, then he’d try and put my order back in my original slot, but I’d be paying the newer price (over £10k more than my original order). I declined, and politely asked him if he was on the 6th floor or higher at his place of work, and whether the window was open.

The moral of this saga is to never assume that the Contracts Department and Customer Support Department are in the same building, let alone the same country (or planet).

I tried to explain to Customer Support that communication is vital when running a business. Simply picking up a phone and calling me to ask me what I wanted would have earned Ineos Automotive over £75,000 (my original order price).
Picking up the phone and communicating with the Contracts Department would have also been a prudent move. Neither happened, that’s for sure.

The end of this embarrassing situation has resulted in my wife and I heading off to Cumbria next week to collect a three month old Grenadier, Utility, in Magic Mushroom (our original choice), with a few essential add ons that my business requires.
It’s cheaper than my original order (no winch, but Red Winch have the new Nomad winch with Grenadier fitting kit nearly ready for release), so I’ll have nearly £10 put aside to add essential accessories as and when needed. Result. I’ve contacted my original supplier (Compass Automotive of Bridgewater) who will happily register my Grenadier on their system for maintenance and the inevitable software gremlins and teething problems. Good chaps.

I’ve never doubted the product, hence persevering with my desire/needs, but with Ineos Automotive being such an untried and untested company, they really need to take a leaf out of some of the more established companies and get their communication skills sorted.

Speaking to a couple of Grenadier suppliers, my case unfortunately, is not an isolated one, by a long stretch.

Buyer beware, but not for the product!
 

Ever Pragmatic

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Great story and we’ve all been there, but that was when there was no vehicles on the road. Customer service apart, you’re going to love the new works van and be prepared for the “Gren grin“.
 

Miles

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There are many on the group who have suffered similar issues around appalling communication and having been an early follower who placed an order on 21st May 2022 with production dates promised initially in December with delivery date of Feb/March for this to be pushed back again and again was more than frustrating.

Having planned a road trip around the new vehicle we were resigned to the fact, after repeatedly chasing it ,that our Grenadier wasn't going to be with us for the 18th August.

Having entered a cycle of chasing for an update with customer services on a monthly basis I received a contract out of the blue on the 25th April which I promptly signed and returned after which I heard nothing after repeatadly chasing on a weekly basis.

I was also liaising with my UK agent Tim at Lloyd Allroad in Carlisle, who has been exemplary, and it was Tim who kindly phoned me to inform me the Gren was in production late June after which I eagerly awaited an update but having contacted customer services and my dealer repeatedly they were unable to provide any updates.

Imagine my surprise when on the Thursday 27th July I received an email from Ineos stating my Gren was sat with my dealer! needless to say I was straight on the blower only to be told that it wasn't and that it was probably in transit. Tim then phoned me at 10:am the following Monday to say he was looking at my car!

I hadn't even been asked for payment, so a quick scrabble around looking for some funds down the back of the sofa and a request to Ineos to send a payment request, I subsequently paid for the vehicle on Wednesday and collected it last Friday the 4th August.

Still early days but it is an amazing vehicle and currently there are no issues to report, apart from the lack of a bottle jack and the rubber mats but apart from that I am now the proud owner of a Donny Grey, 5 seat SW, comfort pack, leather, safari windows, compass, dark glass, side runners etc

Lets see how I get on over the next 3 weeks and 1,000 miles ..
 

Krabby

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It’s cheaper than my original order (no winch, but Red Winch have the new Nomad winch with Grenadier fitting kit nearly ready for release)
I’m very glad it worked out in the end but admittedly I hope my purchase experience is a bit smoother.

That said, what can you share regarding an aftermarket setup for the winch?
 

Cheshire cat

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Feel your pain and as said previously, I don’t think many will have found the purchasing process a piece of cake. A great colour choice and hopefully everything you want it to be.
 

Gaston the Grenadier

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I’m very glad it worked out in the end but admittedly I hope my purchase experience is a bit smoother.

That said, what can you share regarding an aftermarket setup for the winch?
Thanks for your remarks.

I spoke to Red Winches yesterday following up an initial question from a couple of months ago regarding the limited role capacity of the OE fitment winch (15m).
Their new Nomad winch (aftermarket) will carry over 30m of rope (depending on diameter). Same rating, or heavier if needed.
A couple of options were mentioned for installation (both requiring the pre ordered auxiliary switchgear and wiring, which incidentally, Red Winch described as top quality kit). First was a replacement bumper with brackets built in. Second was a replacement centre section of the bumper (the steel part of the Grenadier bumper comprises of three sections).
So with just the centre section being replaced, I understood that the Grenadier would still retain its shape at the front.

The other part of my enquiries was whether the suspension would need uprating, bearing in mind the Nomad weighs in at 37kg and will be set further forward than the recessed OE fitment winch.

I was told that Ineos use seven spring rates for the various markets that they sell to; I imagine Australia having the heaviest springs to deal with bull bars as well as the winch. Red Winch said they’d be contacting Ineos Automotive for advice on spring rates and availability in the coming future.
 

Gaston the Grenadier

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See my reply to Krabby a couple of mins ago.
Glad my original order didn’t materialise now, as the Red Winch Nomad will definitely be the way to go if you plan to use your winch regularly.
No doubt the constrained OE fitment winch will be fit for purpose, as are all of Red Winch’s products, but with only 12 useable meters of the supplied 15m, you’re going to be limited to self recovery only (as explained by Red Winch).
The Nomad can carry 30m+, depending on rope diameter, so far more practical in real terms; so snatch rings and doubling up will work without extension ropes etc.
 
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