Io ho fatto due cose:
1) ho scritto a Kia Corporate un messaggio in inglese, utilizzando la loro pagina Facebook (
https://www.facebook.com/Kiamotorsworldwide/)
2) ho risposto a Kia Italy con questo messaggio:
Spett.le Kia Motors Company Italy,
nel ringraziarvi per avermi risposto, osservo come il vostro mail in nessun modo indirizza concretamente i punti da me segnalati. Ritengo inoltre la pratica di inviare risposte fotocopia agli utenti che vi hanno scritto come un sostanziale disinteresse verso il cliente. Per vostra informazione, allego comunicazione che ho inviato a Kia Corporate.
Rimango a disposizione per eventuali chiarimenti che vogliate farmi avere.
Cordiali saluti,
<nome cognome>
Il messaggio in inglese che ho inviato a Kia Corporate e che, come scritto sopra, ho mandato per conoscenza anche a Kia Italy, è il seguente (se a qualcuno interessa ovviamente lo può riprendere o modificare a piacimento - inserite il vostro numero di telaio [VIN number] e i dettagli personali, se volete):
Dear Kia Corporate,
I am the owner of a Kia Niro, VIN number <VIN number>.
I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with how your dealer in Italy, Kia Motors Company Italy, handles marketing and customer relationship. Let me break this down into several points.
1) While I am fully satisfied with the car itself, I and several other Italian buyers of the same model find the decision of Kia Italy not to distribute and support important optionals or features of the vehicle - not at ordering time and even worse not even post-sale - very questionable.
For example, while in basically all worldwide markets the Kia Niro can be equipped with front parking sensors fully integrated in the vehicle display and control unit, Italy was left without this important equipment. The only viable option seems to be to resort to non-Niro specific, after-market or third-party solutions, which not only are not integrated into the vehicle, but are often clumsy to install and operate, and will void Kia’s warranty.
2) Several other examples can be brought for accessories available (even post-sale) in most of the other countries, but not in Italy. Then there are examples of decisions which are completely unclear, such as the fact that Kia Italy decided to only seek approval for a single tyre size (16” or 18”), while it would have been natural (as is in most other countries) to sell the car with at least two tyre sizes approved. This limitation, which is by the way not publicised anywhere, requires customers wishing to have a second tyre size approved to enter into long and costly procedures.
3) Then there is the point of post-sale communications, related e.g. to safety, hardware or software upgrades. A case in point is the fact that due to a manufacturing mistake the rear door child safety lock was in several units assembled upside down. This can happen, but we discovered this only when we went to service the car for other reasons (it was a known fact to Kia Italy, which fixed the issue applying a sticker). This is an extremely dangerous attitude, because if anybody relied on the safety lock being applied, while in reality it was not, a rear door could have been opened e.g. by a child while the vehicle was in motion, with potentially very serious consequences. Other brands have a much more proactive attitude toward this kind of issues, informing their customers periodically and/or whenever necessary.
4) Finally, there’s the attitude of Kia Italy toward its customer base. While I understand that every country decides what should be available or not for its respective markets, I feel that Kia Italy’s attitude of essentially not listening to the requests of its customers, refusing to provide any details about the reasons behind their decisions (beyond some generic “market assessment” they say they carried on) and, most importantly, refusing to consider any solutions, is rather annoying. After unsuccessfully trying to speak over the phone with some marketing managers, several of us, through a forum dedicated only to Kia models (
https://www.kiaclub.it/) and with more than 6000 registered users, wrote a letter to Kia Italy asking for information and possible solutions. The only thing we got back was a canned answer basically saying that their decisions are only theirs. This is certainly true, but I feel this is not the way to approach customers who bought your products and provided you with feedback.
While I believe that Kia Niro is an excellent vehicle, I am left with the unpleasant impression that the Kia Italy marketing and customer relationship department is not up to the value of the Kia brand.
Whether or how much this is having or will have an impact on the sales figures of Kia Italy or more in general on customer confidence about the Kia brand is anybody’s guess, but I suppose that it certainly does not help. After having sought communications with them as explained above, I am therefore writing you so that you aware of this situation.
I would appreciate if you could get back to me, hopefully with actions or solutions, after having verified the points I described.
Best regards,
<name>
e-mail: <email address>
?, queste le caratteristiche: