SUK Yeti brochure - what's wrong

[900000]

I've sent SUK an email with some of my observations about the horrid Yeti brochure. Here is my email to them. Wonder if they will even take notice.

Hi Since I have to wait seven months for my Yeti I'm quite sad and have spent far too much time looking at the latest Yeti brochure. And the more I look at it the more shocking I find it. Compared to some of the other Yeti brochures from other countries and even more so when you compare it to some VW and Audi brochures. So to help you guys make the next brochure have some use to potential buyers, here are some of my notes:

1. All the TINY interior pics are of left hand drive cars. Surely by now you could have found some right hand drive cars to take photos of?
2. The exterior colour page shows the colours totally wrong. Yes, the standard caveat is printed below that they don't reflect the true colours but hells bells that white car looks totally cream (as only one example)?!
3. The acronyms are not all explained - EBD? EBC? DPF? The first two are printed every time you mention ESP and the latter next to every diesel car.
4. The CO2 ratings are shown twice.
5. No mention of the addition of a dual tone horn on Elegance spec. Or maybe from SE and above? Who knows...
6. No mention from which trim level you get the dash top lid to the upper dash storage area.
7. Locking wheel nuts are noted as being standard equipment on all models from the E up, yet are listed as a dealer fit option in the back?
8. No explanation of what tunnel lights are?
9. No explanation of what a Jumbo box is? Not every one speaks Skoda by the way!
10. The car on the front cover is photoshopped in a colour you can't buy - on older brochures it used to be an Aqua blue.
11. Pictures of the seat fabric is so small you can't see the difference between leather and alcantara or the silver and blue cloth.
12. No mention that if you get a spare wheel option you don't get the tyre repair equipment.
13. Why list the varioflex difference between a Yeti and a Roomster? Not everyone has owned a Roomster or even know what a Roomster is or in fact care about this difference.
14. Under "measurements and weights" the car is shown with colour coded valance and rear bumper. There is no note to say this is not standard.
15. In the boot there is a measurement that states 4,161. What is that? Litres, millimeters, volume, the Yeti creature's year of birth?
16. There is no mention of which boot netting system comes standard.
17. There is no mention from which trim level you get under seat drawer to the passenger seat.
18. There is no mention that the internal bike holder can't be ordered if you also have a spare wheel option.
19. There is no mention anywhere in the brochure that the Columbus sat nav radio has an internal hard drive to store music on.
20. What is the difference between "Uphill start assist" (as noted under the pictograms of the Off road button) and Hill hold control?
21. Under the base spec for the E it is noted that body colour mirrors and door handles are standard from this base level and up. Yet when you get to SE spec it is listed again as something that is only available from SE spec and up. Which is correct? From the E spec it implies that all Yetis come with this feature. Again you would have easily picked this anomaly up had you used a column based system.
22. On the SE spec page a stapled photo is shown of the Bolero radio. It is however shown with a manual air conditioning system which is not part of the SE spec thus confusing people as to what a "Dual zone airconditioning" sytem looks like.
23. There is also no picture anywhere of what the E and S "Stream" radio looks like.
24. There is no mention in any spec from which level you get the horizontal rails in the boot with the bag hooks.
25. There is no mention from which spec level you get the arm rests and cup holders in the middle rear seat. E and S don't have these?
26. The dealer fit options page refers to a "Boot hover". This should in fact be a "Boot cover" - the bits of material that go between the back of the rear seats and the parcel shelf to cover this area when the seats are pushed forward.

I'd also like to note that most all brochures out there show all the various spec levels in a column system. Thus you can easily see at a glance what comes as standard on which spec (or not). Please consider using this.

Can the pictures of the interior be enlarged to at least be A4 size for each spec? And the same for each interior colour? It is a nightmare to try and find all these things on the Internet to help in making a decision on trim and spec. Audi puts a caption to each picture in their brochures stating what you are looking at, e.g. the car's colour, which options you are looking at, etc. Please add this.

The French brochure also shows pictograms of all the Varioflex seating positions and the various boot sizes in litres with and without the false boot floor (see attached). Please add something like that.

I hope this helps you in making the next brochure as perfect as the Yeti and give it the brochure it deserves.

Have you guys got any more anomalies to add? Or am I just sad?!

Edit 21 Sep: formatting failed between gmail and this so fixed it.

Edit 9 Dec: added picture of seats from French Forum which was added to the email I had sent.

[The Plumber]

What I would actually like them to do and this covers all manufactures is have actual photographs of the vehicle in question in every avaiable colour rather than these daft 'digital' images.

Anyway I'm still waiting with bated breath for any response to my e-mail regard why here in the UK we the UK customer base are being denied a number of official dealer fit options that are available in Continental Europe. Thought we were all part of this European Union (apologies have rather strong views on this Union ) But apparently not as far as Skoda or SUK :wonder: are concerned.

Bar humbug

TP

[markrh]

It is annoying that the brochure isn't that good but I think if you had your car sat in the drive now you wouldn't give a toss.

It is worth the wait though as everyone who has got theirs will no doubt tell you,

Mark.

[redandwhitepauly]

Just to have my two penneth worth, I am extremely disappointed that Skoda UK does not even write to people like myself who are facing a 7 month + wait for a new car to be built, without any explanation or apology for the delays, which seems a little thoughtless to say the least.

It hardly sells the after sales element of the Brand at all, and whiffs of a cavalier attitude of take it or go somewhere else, which is not what you expect from a manufacturer that won "manufacturer of the year" !!

Mind you 9000 you certainly have dissected the brochure a tad lol

[900000]

...I am extremely disappointed that Skoda UK does not even write to people like myself who are facing a 7 month + wait for a new car to be built, without any explanation or apology for the delays, which seems a little thoughtless to say the least.

I have moaned about my seven month wait as well and I have been promised a "gesture of Goodwill" which we will arrange once I have taken delivery... Though I suspect only a fluffy Yeti coming my way. But time will tell. So they are not doing expected customer service as standard as you'd expect and you have to ask them why they have not apologised. Awful.

Mind you 9000 you certainly have dissected the brochure a tad lol

And yes that is my answer then regarding me and the brochure being sad : I'm a sad, pernickety, Victor Mildrew!

[900000]

It is annoying that the brochure isn't that good but I think if you had your car sat in the drive now you wouldn't give a toss.

You are right Mark, but over the next 5 years or so many more people are going to buy Yetis and why should they suffer at the hands of the non-car people in SUK making the brochures? They all get company cars I bet and have never in their lives had to wonder whether to get silver or blue upholstery or what is the exact difference between Pacific and Storm blue. They really don't care and it shows.

But I still have over two months wait ahead of me so until that shiny Yeti is in my drive my head is in the Yeti literature.

[markrh]

Feel for you, we waited nearly four months, nearly cancelled the order, used to spend hours looking at the brochure, tests in magazines/online reports. Drove wife mad! thank god it turned up.

Remember most people don't just buy on what they see in the brochure,

Mark.

[expostmanpat]

I'm quite sad

Hey don't sell yourself short, your very sad

[900000]

Remember most people don't just buy on what they see in the brochure,

Very true. BUT you can sense a company's passion in a brochure, the attention to detail in that should reflect on the whole company. It is just your first impression from which the rest of the research follows.

It is no different to sending out a really crap CV full of spelling mistakes and thinking you will get the job. You won't. And I have never seen a good word on this forum about a single SUK brochure... So something is amiss and they don't know, or perhaps don't care. So I thought I'd just point them in the right direction.

[Allams Skoda]

It's no wonder salespeople get confused!

I do agree it would be nice if SkodaUK wrote to the customers explaining the delay. If I had a reasonable answer I'd give it to you but they just tell me it's supply and demand, they simply can't build them fast enough. As for the sunroof, the problem appears to lie with the sunroof manufacture rather than the Skoda factory.

I hope Skoda do take note of the brochure issues. It's been wrong on several times in the past which doesn't make things easy for me.

[redandwhitepauly]

It's no wonder salespeople get confused!

I do agree it would be nice if SkodaUK wrote to the customers explaining the delay. If I had a reasonable answer I'd give it to you but they just tell me it's supply and demand, they simply can't build them fast enough. As for the sunroof, the problem appears to lie with the sunroof manufacture rather than the Skoda factory.

Trouble is James they dont write to people like me who are suffering delays, and in some instances some people may be waiting for almost two thirds of a year for a car ??? Now you would have thought that most customer orientated organisations would have the courtesy to write to those experiencing what are now ridiculous delays, to at least keep them informed of the picture, and you as dealers are also SUK customers and you get treated just as shoddily by the sounds of it. I have a Ford which are not the best cars in the world but at least Ford UK talk to the customers !!!

As for the specifics, would it not be nice to be told why there are people who ordered their cars 2 months after me, and already have build dates, whereas just because I want a hole cut in the roof, I have to wait in the dark being told sod all except for rumours of yet more potential delays due to flooding. Now I know you should not bear the brunt of my scathing emails, one of which you got yesterday, but it is so frustrating being told nothing, when I thought that SUK were speaking to the factory at the beginning of August to resolve the sunroof issue, yet we are still told bugger all.

It should be a matter of course to be kept informed, simple as that, and they would find people are more amenable when they are being kept in the picture as nobody likes being ignored, especially when you are about to hand them £22,000+ wouldnt you think ???

Rant over and I shall go away and stew again.

Edited 12 August, 2010 by redandwhitepauly

[Allams Skoda]

I did get your email and I haven't replied yet as I wanted to show it to someone from Skoda at our meeting tommorow just to help prove a point.

I can understand the situation and I don't like it anymore than you do.

But I guess maybe SkodaUK are at the mercy of SkodaCZ much like we are at the mercy of SkodaUK on some points.

[Macdemon]

Have any of you also noticed that on the cover of the latest brochure the Yeti has..........................................................................A PANORAMIC SUNROOF

Talk about poor brochures....It looks like it was done by a school art class rather than a professional automotive company.

It just looks cheap and awful when you have a look at other car brochures

[redandwhitepauly]

I did get your email and I haven't replied yet as I wanted to show it to someone from Skoda at our meeting tommorow just to help prove a point.

I can understand the situation and I don't like it anymore than you do.

But I guess maybe SkodaUK are at the mercy of SkodaCZ much like we are at the mercy of SkodaUK on some points.

Exactly, and my email wasnt intended to have a go at you personally because I know you can do nothing about it, but its just not good enough from SUK to treat both customers AND dealers in the way they are, or they might as well just let the local primary school do their jobs because we would be getting just as little information. People dont mind delays its part of life, but there just is no customer service at all going on, just one way traffic with customers throwing money at them and then getting a wall of silence for their troubles.

Maybe its time for as few customers to come in on your meetings with Skoda !!!

[Trevorminor]

All I can add is that their Website isn't that much better either!

Take a look at the websites for Honda, Nissan, Toyota..... the list goes on. They are all much better and informative.

The only good bit with Skoda UK's is the 'used car' searcher but the rest is a disaster. I can't even be bothered to see whether their 'Vehicle Configurator' is up and running yet. I think it worked (sort of) around the time of launch but hasn't now for months. There are also many errors and contradictions to itself and the brochure as I and many others have noticed over this last year.

If I worked like that, my employer would give me the sack!

Edited 12 August, 2010 by Trevorminor

[Llanigraham]

Reading through this thread you would think that Skoda are the only company who have waiting lists. Well I suggest that some of you check what the market is really like. My relief signalman at work ordered a new Seat 6 weeks ago.............expected delivery DECEMBER. Another signalman is having to wait 3 months for a Mazda.

Sorry, but car companies don't make cars to sit on airfields anymore waiting for customers, invariably they build the car for YOU. Yes it is annoying but that's the way it is.

Just be grateful you're not buying a Morgan, as with them you have to pay 50% up front and you could wait 18 months!!

[Fatbloke]

Maybe Skoda are at the mercy of VAG who are perhaps a little embarrassed that their lesser brands are out performing their premium brands, and have done for some time now in terms of reliability, customer satisfaction etc

[loskie]

Reading through this thread you would think that Skoda are the only company who have waiting lists. Well I suggest that some of you check what the market is really like. My relief signalman at work ordered a new Seat 6 weeks ago.............expected delivery DECEMBER. Another signalman is having to wait 3 months for a Mazda.

Sorry, but car companies don't make cars to sit on airfields anymore waiting for customers, invariably they build the car for YOU. Yes it is annoying but that's the way it is.

Just be grateful you're not buying a Morgan, as with them you have to pay 50% up front and you could wait 18 months!!

Yes but a Morgan is one of the few cars that is an appreciating asset,

[mwas123]

I would speculate that the reason that SUK seems to be so poor at doing everything is this. I gather that the UK sales companies of Audi VW, Seat and Å koda are in the same building in Milton Keynes. Maybe its that all the talented and ambitious people gravitate towards the 'sexier' brands like Audi and VW, and the less talented or more inexperienced people work in the likes of Å koda and Seat. Also, maybe given that Skoda and Seat must have smaller margins than VW and Audi, maybe it's simply that they're understaffed and they are doing the best they can?

I know none of this helps of course!

[GentleGiant]

Has no-one noticed ?? Skoda Uk = SUK; say it out loud and you will understand why things are so bad!!

The left hand drive photo problem is just SOOOO easy to fix; you just use the photoshop "mirror" function to put the steering wheel on the right side and hope no-one notices the speedo is back to front!!

On a more serious note,.

As the only country driving on the correct side of the road, I suspect we get the "hind tit" when it comes to build dates.

[900000]

Well I be never! Skoda acknowledged receipt of the email!

Thank you for your e-mail dated the 12th August 2010.

I confirm that I have passed your feedback regarding the Yeti brochure, to our Marketing Department.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for taking the time to contact us with your feedback.

Kind Regards

But as stated before I think the SUK Marketing Department only knows about graphics and fonts and maybe about proportions and the cost of ink for colour brochures. I doubt they'll even understand what I was on about...