What would you say if you could ?

[Annee Grenadier_girl]

Hi all,

I'll edit this as someone has mentioned negative undertones to my post !

This is not meant to be a negative or critical post, more a constructive one so please take it in the way I meant it and not as criticism of Ineos, I for one love my vehicle but I see the company for what it appears to me, poor management structure, terrible customer service and at times I have felt like they couldn't have given a crap back in the early days of ordering and buying my vehicle....some still feel this way.

I have asked this question on the FaceBook pages and I'd welcome peoples thoughts here too.

If you could ask Sir Jim Ratcliffe any questions what would you ask ?

I'm directing this at us owners or ones awaiting delivery.

I'm gathering up questions, concerns etc to direct to him via email in the hope he is made aware (which I'm not sure he is).

There are so many disillusioned people having to had/had to deal with the dire customer service, after sales, servicing, vehicles arriving missing parts, vehicles arriving at wrong locations, the dreaded "Raised a ticket" comment, updates etc etc

I wonder if Jim knows how people feel, not only owners but the exhausted staff in dealerships (Mine included)...exhausted at getting no adequate answers to tell their customers all who have had to deal with vehicles coming in to have a part fitted only to be told its out of stock, the vehicle then sitting at the dealership for weeks and then having the owner(s) say they don't want to carry on and ask for the vehicle to be taken back by the dealership.

Whilst some of us have incredible people at our dealerships others don't live anywhere near their closest one so find that they have to deal with trying to get answers from customer service who are in my opinion about as useful as a chocolate teapot.

I'd welcome your comments, questions, thoughts.

Many thanks,

Annee aka Grenadier_girl (Instagram)

 

[Lord Ripon USA]

Where is the service manual?

 

[Annee Grenadier_girl]

Where is the service manual?

This is the most asked question I have at the moment, seems to be a big issue....obviously.

 

[Annee Grenadier_girl]

The service manual that we were all promised isn't happening, apparently if it does it will have a monthly subscription, just their way of making us take our vehicles back to their own service departments....really bloody annoyed at this one.

 

[bigleonski]

Despite the negative undertones in your initial post, you can tell him from me that I love it, he should keep up the great work, but if he could get someone to fix the rear view mirrors that would be nice thanks very much - they’re dangerous.
Oh, and the Brissy dealer is doing a great job and Jordon deserves a pay rise.

 

[Zimm]

It sounds more of frustration than negativity, but people with anosognosia will categorize anything other than enthusiastic cheer as such.

But I'll play. I'm curious if Ineos intends on repairing cars with chronic conditions. There are people that cannot get their HVAC systems to work, and who is going to buy a car like that? It's a straight up 90gusd loss for that person, but yet they do nothing. I find the prolonged struggles of these owners amazing and not the least bit reassuring.

Directly address the fate of service centers and repair manuals as owners purchased cars under that pretext.

 

[trobex]

Why would a company (and you Sir J) with so many resources allow the RHD version to be built with a 2L milk carton acting as a footwell intrusion forcing my entire left leg and knee to sit 2 inches higher than my right in any seating position and wedged hard to the overly wide console... through numerous prototypes and the obvious nature of the design flaw and defective seating outcome that remained through to production version vehicle, from a company that told us there were no quality issues? You were saying?
- I do not care about the manual!
- I do not care about mirrors, viewing angles, whatever!!
- I do not care about a few beeps and bonks for that matter!!!
- Even the lumbar support lacking seats... I mean... sure I can remedy it with foam infills!!!!

 

[Dok]

The service manual that we were all promised isn't happening, apparently if it does it will have a monthly subscription, just their way of making us take our vehicles back to their own service departments....really bloody annoyed at this one.

I did save the video : Building The Grenadier Live 2021 September

 

[Jean Mercier]

If you could ask Sir Jim Ratcliffe any questions what would you ask ?

You were faster than I did, I had on my to do list to start a thread "What would you say to Jim Ratcliffe if you met him somewhere in the wilderness driving his Grenadier?"

Of course, my complaint list corresponds mainly to yours:

• Ineos didn't keep it's word in promising us the technical documentation.
• Ineos didn't keep it's word in providing us service centers nearby.
• Customer support is underperforming
• My dealer isn't a 4x4 dedicated dealer! (This was also a promise!)
• My dealer didn't answer my technical questions during my first year of ownership, I had to show them the additional 12V power wires in the footwell and under the hood (this has improved dramatically since I had a meeting with the staff about7 months ago).
• Quite some "early diseases", most but not all of them solved: late delivery of accessories, a multitude of false warnings, no maintenance schedule sheet in the owner handbook, leaks at the Safari Roofs, sticking door buttons, loose bolt at stabilization bars, the doors seals become loose at all doors, wrong wiring in the roof panel buttons, water into the NATO plug connector, no possibility to reset fault codes or even service interval if you change yourself the motor oil, clock sound at a damper, airco not working, etc.

I would tell him I love the car, and would thank him for his investment in this.
I would ask him if he would be happy with unkept promises?
I would ask him if he would be happy with an undedicated 4x4 dealer as principal communication channel?
I would ask him if he would be happy with an underperforming customer service?

 

[ForceV4]

I’d thank Sir Jim and advise him to “keep it weird”. It’s by far the most interesting and fun vehicle on the market today and I honestly didn’t care how much it costed. Its eccentricities are why I wanted it. But, I guess if I could change anything, I’d like a dipstick, or a site glass, or some manual way to check the oil other than running that program thing (which I suspect will fail at some point). I’m a car guy with a rag hanging out of my back pocket. It’s what we do. - Mark

 

[UncleBuck]

I'd start by telling Jim, I love my truck.

Then I'd ask for a service manual, and a service location nearer to where I live.

I have not had the troubles some others have had with their vehicles, so I will not bemoan others troubles.

Ah, last thing, I'd ask if he particularly likes the whining of the power steering pump, cause that shit annoys me to no end.

 

[AngusMacG]

Why not form a partnership with other vehicle manufacturers (Toyota, Honda, etc.) and establish a universal platform for hydrogen fuel cells and jointly develop a refueling network. Then re-introduce the Fusilier as hydrogen powered. Then you can get a share of fueling as well as the vehicle sale.

 

[holdmybeer]

Sir Jim, please release the truck's bus/communication protocols.

Along with shop manuals, this is in the spirit of "you actually *own* your truck".

An owner should have the ability to plug a device into the OBD (or whatever) port for sending/receiving system messages. For diagnostics or for enhancements.

e.g. Turn off ISA/ADAS at every startup. Mount a rotary controller for fast day/evening ouchscreen brightness change without wading through menus. Mount a dedicated CarPlay button. DIY fuel range estimate based on tank level. Endless possibilities depend on the protocols. A hardware interface and microcontroller are cheap. The code is easy for those inclined, given the protocols. No need to wait for factory firmware if an owner or aftermarket is motivated.

We own the trucks. Please just let us talk to them.

 

[parb]

I would ask...

If you could change one thing, only one thing, on the gren... What would you change?

 

[Eric]

I would ask...

If you could change one thing, only one thing, on the gren... What would you change?

My passenger

 

[chrsbe]

The HVAC

 

[Highwayman]

Thank You for pulling this together Annee

For me there are two points to raise.

First is HVAC. It doesn’t work properly and, in my case, is getting worse all the time.

Second is Dealer Empowerment. We are constantly told to go to the dealer, but the dealer is little more than a message conduit between end customer and INEOS. The dealer can only fix what INEOS approve and can only tell us what they are told to tell us, at least officially. Dealer should be empowered to fix what they can see is wrong.

 

[Tazzieman]

Well done Jim!
Because without the Grenadier I'd be looking at a Toy-ota , or worse (insert any modern 4x4 brand here).
Probably be buying an old Mog.

 

[acwiltshire]

I'd thank Sir J for inspiring it.
I'd thank IA for replacing my Fieldmaster with a new build after the original was rejected.
I say that the road presence , the diesel engine and gearbox are superb.

I would ask him to try and drive more than 6 miles using Android Auto whilst recieving phone calls and texts.
I would ask him if he has a packet of sweets, a pair of sunglasses and a cloth for the screen , then where on earth are they to be stored!

Most importantly I would ask him to reflect VERY quickly on the experiences of the early adopters, the dealer network, to ensure the vehicle and the brand reputation grows rather than crumbles in the next 2 years

 

[Tazzieman]

I would ask him if he has a packet of sweets, a pair of sunglasses

My sunnies just go on the steering column in front of the steering wheel.
The reading glasses are in a soft case held in place by the otherwise useless grab handle above the window.
I don't do sweets , so all good there