Has AOA/Customer Experience Gone to Crap?

[McTTRS]

I bought my first Audi in 2001, have had one since and noticed a significant demise in the AOA 'Customer Experience' since Scott Keogh was promoted from the head of AOA about 5 years ago and the resulting corporate shakeup. In particular, AOA's web/IT customer experience seems to have been significantly depreciated. For example, a friend bought a new Q7 in the last year and it took AOA over 6 months of constant customer and dealer harassment to get around to resolving an issue that was blocking key user registration. Another example is AOA's depreciation of the web capability to update navigation system maps which is still apparently available in Europe. The last example is the fact that the last time "The Audi Customer Experience" has graced this forum with a post is over 2-1/2 years ago.

Has anyone else noticed this demise of "The Audi Customer Experience" for AOA?

[aenyc]

Very much so.
Audi customer since 2009. My most recent is a 2021 Q7, which is my 6th Audi. Recently one of the USB-C ports that is located under the arm rest "fell in", as in broke, was pushed into the enclosure, and is obviously no longer working. Took the car to the dealer - long story short - Audi blames the user because the port is physically broken. Being an electrical engineer I can clearly see that this was a soldering defect on the part that was most likely made very cheaply - USB ports should no be desoldering under normal operation such as inserting a cable.
Anyways, after long negotiations with both Audi of America and the Dealer, the best offer was spending around 1000$ to replace the broken port. (Initial offer was almost 2.5K for repair). Since the car has 3 more ports I decided not to bother, but this incident has made me really rethink my relationship with Audi.

[kevin#34]

sad to hear about a disappointing customer care in your country too…
(the attachement doesn't work)

[bloodstar57]

So many things to say about this, as a long time Audi owner, but to keep it short; yes it has surely changed. I'm in the market to purchase a RS5 and the experience is terrible at the dealership level; very harsh and unaccommodating.

[aenyc]

I am curious - Are MB and BMW suffering the same issue? I was looking at the M440i to replace my S5 when the time comes, but I would like to know if this is an industry-wide trend.

[bloodstar57]

Just had the best dealer experience getting a RS5 from a BMW dealership! How is this even possible?

Dealing with several Audi dealerships in multiple states nearly pushed me to buying a BMW; something is not right, it was not like this, in times past.

[RMode]

As someone who worked for them for 5.5 years, until recently, here was my observation.

What’s deteriorated is twofold. First, the dealer experience, at least at many dealers. Why? Turnover. Why is that? Obvious reasons. A great ownership is mainly, though not wholly, down to the dealer. There’s so many in service, sales and elsewhere that have no vested interest in the brand, that it becomes transactional only. And transactional is fine - many clients only want that. But transactional can, and should be fun. It’s the dealer chance to turn even a transactional purchase into something a little more special.

On the corporate level, it’s simple lack of accountability and especially lack of effective communication. When Keogh was there, he made his presence known. On a monthly basis, when you would login to the dealer portal, there would be a video message from him outlining how the prior month went, and giving a generalized, but still informative “state of the state” if you will. What’s more, the training directives he organized and commanded were outstanding. Ongoing video series that were very well produced, very engaging, that it made you care about what you were selling. It made you want an Audi if you didn’t yet own one. That is so critical, and so overlooked.

Then he left, and for the last 3 years, you had to actively look up WHO was running the ship in the first place. He never made his presence known. That’s highly problematic, because it trickles down. Now, the overall experience is ultimately at a dealer level, since that’s who the public interacts with. But effective leadership at the corporate level yields big dividends at the franchise level. This is basic business, at a very elementary level. Yes, everything from 2020 on has caused major changes in SOME parts of the industry. We all know that. But there were a thousand ways they could have done things better, and simply chose not to. This was, and remains true at the dealer level and corporate.

Still own the cars, still love them, but it was time for me to move on. This was a year where many of my colleagues felt the same, and did the same as a result - again at a dealer level and corporate.


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[bloodstar57]

As someone who worked for them for 5.5 years, until recently, here was my observation.

What’s deteriorated is twofold. First, the dealer experience, at least at many dealers. Why? Turnover. Why is that? Obvious reasons. A great ownership is mainly, though not wholly, down to the dealer. There’s so many in service, sales and elsewhere that have no vested interest in the brand, that it becomes transactional only. And transactional is fine - many clients only want that. But transactional can, and should be fun. It’s the dealer chance to turn even a transactional purchase into something a little more special.

On the corporate level, it’s simple lack of accountability and especially lack of effective communication. When Keogh was there, he made his presence known. On a monthly basis, when you would login to the dealer portal, there would be a video message from him outlining how the prior month went, and giving a generalized, but still informative “state of the state” if you will. What’s more, the training directives he organized and commanded were outstanding. Ongoing video series that were very well produced, very engaging, that it made you care about what you were selling. It made you want an Audi if you didn’t yet own one. That is so critical, and so overlooked.

Then he left, and for the last 3 years, you had to actively look up WHO was running the ship in the first place. He never made his presence known. That’s highly problematic, because it trickles down. Now, the overall experience is ultimately at a dealer level, since that’s who the public interacts with. But effective leadership at the corporate level yields big dividends at the franchise level. This is basic business, at a very elementary level. Yes, everything from 2020 on has caused major changes in SOME parts of the industry. We all know that. But there were a thousand ways they could have done things better, and simply chose not to. This was, and remains true at the dealer level and corporate.

Still own the cars, still love them, but it was time for me to move on. This was a year where many of my colleagues felt the same, and did the same as a result - again at a dealer level and corporate.


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Thank you for this! I was so closed to getting a BMW. In my own work life, I've seen leadership bring a company back from the brink or to it.

[Blue20S4]

First time Audi owner here; bought a 2020 new during Covid and now have the dreaded telecommunications module failure. It’s been over 6 months and they have been unable to fix the car which obviously is under warranty still so the dealer I’ve been working with told me to call Audi Customer Experience to see what they could do. They all but told me to stop calling them (the dealer).

Calling Audi started promising but I eventually realized that they were just operating how they all have been trained, which is to never say no. Lead the customer along and eventually the problem resolves itself. I basically told Audi I love the car but I just want it to work and they made it out like they would do a buyback. I had to fill out ten different forms and provide bank statements and maintenance records but eventually they said they would contact me in 30-45 business days. On right around 40 I got a letter from VW saying that they still not be doing the buyback and with no reason as to why. I called Audi again who said that I didn’t “meet requirements” but no other reason. They say my best bet is to see if I could get a trade in credit at least and that I should call Audi financial.

I call Audi financial who says there is nothing they can do, that the dealer would have to give a credit and that I should try them. I call the dealer AGAIN and explain how I keep getting led along with no solution in sight and of course he agrees with me and says it’s just criminal and he’s going to reach out to the regional Audi guy and that I should call him back the following Monday. I’ve tried to call him for weeks and they just keep sending me to voicemail.

TLDR: my car is broken and Audi won’t do shit, and instead of just telling me that, they are passing me around to different business units within Audi leading me on the entire time with no true willingness or care to help.

So now I either trade in or just wait for even longer for a part that doesn’t even have an ETA. Could be months, could be years.


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[RMode]

I’ll just chime in, having worked for them. Without the part being available, there isn’t anything the dealer or Audi corporate can do. This is why it’s important to get it documented, so that when the revised part becomes available, it can be taken care of. It’s not like Audi is making the modules, they are outsourced, and as such, redesign and reproduction is not a fast process. This isn’t something unique to Audi either. It’s happening all over, tons of industries, and isn’t unfortunately going away anytime soon.


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[zircular]

My experience attempting to buy an Audi has been hilariously terrible. I thought I was in great shape after getting an allocation quickly and receiving the emails to the point that the car was built and on its way to me. That was about four months ago…complete 10/7. I finally started asking questions this week after finding a bunch of similar cars in local inventory with build dates 2 months more recent than mine. I can’t get an answer from anyone on its status. The dealer is telling me that their system indicates an ETA in November of last year, which obviously didn’t happen. The sales manager supposedly called distribution but came up empty. Finally the dealer told me to call Audi customer service because they’re out of ideas. Which I did. She just told me they don’t discuss new car orders and to go back and talk to the dealer…who has no information and referred me to Corporate. I give up.

I think it’s kinda funny that not only is Audi corporate being useless, the dealer pretty much told me to go buy something else. I haven’t even been a pain in the ass! One text per month to my SA asking if there’s an update in his system. That’s it! Am I that disposable as a potential customer that they wouldn’t even try to find some way to keep my business? When has a car dealer ever told someone with $60k in his hand to go away? It’s so surreal I can’t even get angry.

In moving on to a different manufacturer my wife is probably correct: “Sounds like you dodged a bullet!”

[bloodstar57]

My experience attempting to buy an Audi has been hilariously terrible. I thought I was in great shape after getting an allocation quickly and receiving the emails to the point that the car was built and on its way to me. That was about four months ago…complete 10/7. I finally started asking questions this week after finding a bunch of similar cars in local inventory with build dates 2 months more recent than mine. I can’t get an answer from anyone on its status. The dealer is telling me that their system indicates an ETA in November of last year, which obviously didn’t happen. The sales manager supposedly called distribution but came up empty. Finally the dealer told me to call Audi customer service because they’re out of ideas. Which I did. She just told me they don’t discuss new car orders and to go back and talk to the dealer…who has no information and referred me to Corporate. I give up.

I think it’s kinda funny that not only is Audi corporate being useless, the dealer pretty much told me to go buy something else. I haven’t even been a pain in the ass! One text per month to my SA asking if there’s an update in his system. That’s it! Am I that disposable as a potential customer that they wouldn’t even try to find some way to keep my business? When has a car dealer ever told someone with $60k in his hand to go away? It’s so surreal I can’t even get angry.

In moving on to a different manufacturer my wife is probably correct: “Sounds like you dodged a bullet!”

This is sad, I’ve been through it with several audi dealerships in December. I will report that I had a great experience at a audi dealership this past weekend. However, it seems there was a inflection point and now the good dealerships are the minority! Next car is either a R8 (or 911) but if they continue to act this way I’ll go else where for sure.


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[audisquirrelrye]

It seems like customer service has become less responsive and many of the features that were once available on the website and through the navigation system have become outdated.

[RMode]

My experience attempting to buy an Audi has been hilariously terrible. I thought I was in great shape after getting an allocation quickly and receiving the emails to the point that the car was built and on its way to me. That was about four months ago…complete 10/7. I finally started asking questions this week after finding a bunch of similar cars in local inventory with build dates 2 months more recent than mine. I can’t get an answer from anyone on its status. The dealer is telling me that their system indicates an ETA in November of last year, which obviously didn’t happen. The sales manager supposedly called distribution but came up empty. Finally the dealer told me to call Audi customer service because they’re out of ideas. Which I did. She just told me they don’t discuss new car orders and to go back and talk to the dealer…who has no information and referred me to Corporate. I give up.

I think it’s kinda funny that not only is Audi corporate being useless, the dealer pretty much told me to go buy something else. I haven’t even been a pain in the ass! One text per month to my SA asking if there’s an update in his system. That’s it! Am I that disposable as a potential customer that they wouldn’t even try to find some way to keep my business? When has a car dealer ever told someone with $60k in his hand to go away? It’s so surreal I can’t even get angry.

In moving on to a different manufacturer my wife is probably correct: “Sounds like you dodged a bullet!”

One of three things happened. Either that car never left the factory due to damage, it left the factory and was damaged in transport or at the port (at which point dealer would be able to give you the vessel #), or, it arrived, and they sold it to someone else. Sadly, the dealers often suck, which is unfortunate. It’s makes the job of the good dealer that much harder and makes it far easier for any competitor to listen to your story in a 5 minute conversation, and understand exactly what to do to move you forward with them. I’m sure the owner of the dealer would not love to hear which of his paid staff jerked you around this way, from top to bottom.


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[zircular]

I suspect option 1 or option 2 based on the fact that the car is still, as it has been since the end of September, listed on their website as “In transit from factory.” I also never received any in transit email from Audi Experience whereas I had received the first couple of production status emails. So I don’t think the dealer is the root cause of this one. All they’re guilty of is total apathy toward keeping my business, which is weird but ultimately their problem not mine.

Fortunately this ended well for me. My second choice has always been a 6MT Integra and I happened to find one in my preferred color combination fresh off the truck at my local dealer. The test drive sealed it. It has different strengths to the S3 but I’m really enjoying the car. That, weirdly, was the best dealer experience I’ve ever had. No pressure, no BS, no attempt to mark up the price, no gouge on my trade, and I didn’t even say the word Audi. Just slept on it, wrote them a check the next day, and drove off in it before noon.

[Kolyan2k]

I've had some nightmare experience at local Porsche dealership, almost sued them, but another local dealer eneded up being extremely helpful

[GoneQuantum]

Here's my experience with Chicagoland dealers:

- From a service perspective, I have always had good experiences. The dealerships I have dealt with have always been honest and flexible.

- Sales is hit or miss. Went to a high-volume dealership in the suburbs last year to get on a waitlist for an S5 and never got follow-ups from my sales guy like he said he would. After about 3 or 4 months of this I went to my local dealer (much smaller and lower volume) and put in an order with a much better experience. Though, the one thing that is strange is that it seems there is a lot of inconsistent communication between AoA<->Dealership and AoA<->Customer. The dealer had a "Build Date" of my car scheduled for March of '23 but I was receiving the emails from AoA and it went into production at the end of December. It is now in transit to the US and when I checked with the dealer recently they still had a build date of March. Seems like wherever the dealers are getting their data is not always accurate.

[RMode]

Here's my experience with Chicagoland dealers:

- From a service perspective, I have always had good experiences. The dealerships I have dealt with have always been honest and flexible.

- Sales is hit or miss. Went to a high-volume dealership in the suburbs last year to get on a waitlist for an S5 and never got follow-ups from my sales guy like he said he would. After about 3 or 4 months of this I went to my local dealer (much smaller and lower volume) and put in an order with a much better experience. Though, the one thing that is strange is that it seems there is a lot of inconsistent communication between AoA<->Dealership and AoA<->Customer. The dealer had a "Build Date" of my car scheduled for March of '23 but I was receiving the emails from AoA and it went into production at the end of December. It is now in transit to the US and when I checked with the dealer recently they still had a build date of March. Seems like wherever the dealers are getting their data is not always accurate.

The dealer pulls their info from the same source as the audi generated emails come from. So somewhere, there is a disconnect. Any dealer can easily screen shot your order status and send it over


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[GoneQuantum]

The dealer pulls their info from the same source as the audi generated emails come from. So somewhere, there is a disconnect. Any dealer can easily screen shot your order status and send it over


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That's what I would have figured...My salesman is pretty new, so that could be contributing to the disconnect

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[JoshDub]

AoA is garbage. They stop supporting older Audis and actively block you from ordering from Audi Tradition

[RMode]

AoA is garbage. They stop supporting older Audis and actively block you from ordering from Audi Tradition

Tradition stuff isn’t blocked. It’s just generally not worth the effort of the dealer to bother.it’s a separate system, separate method of ordering, and many parts departments just can’t be bothered spending the time to learn it all. Unless they own the cars themselves which often they don’t.

But some of us easily have access to the full catalog, so if there’s something I can help with, lmk. I bring in at least a shipment a month, sometimes more.


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[bloodstar57]

Just had another one:

Had a messenger session with Great Neck Audi; I told them I was interested in testing driving a E-Tron GT. Based on that conversation I provided my number and email. I was called to setup a time and date to come down to the showroom. Long story short, once at dealership I was told by a very uninterested sales person that in order do a test drive, a deal would have to be “90%” closed.

I have never heard of such a thing.
However, at the least tell someone this 90% deal closure for test drive policy, before they waste time coming to the showroom.




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[kevin#34]

what idiots

[doughboy17]

I can vouch my local dealership changing ownership groups and going down the crapper. When I purchased my two Audis, the local dealership was owned by a local entrepreneur that owned a few different types of businesses -- insurance brokerage and car dealerships included -- and was known for honesty and customer service. Although I did not purchase my Audis from the local dealership, they were CPOs, so had my maintenance performed there. Good experiences! Within the last decade, the entrepreneur passed away and the dealership was sold to different ownership within the last several years.

My co-worker purchased her first Audi based on riding in my car and my consistent praise for my A4. She LOVED her A6 and its SC V6 and would talk about it consistently. This month after many years of ownership, she shows up to work in a BMW 340. I told her I was disappointed in her and she shared my disappointment but advised that the Audi dealership had went down the tubes. Although she admitted the BMW was quick, she said the overall experience and satisfaction with the car did not meet the Audi's. It's a shame.

I work for a Fortune 100 co. that utilizes a worldwide dealership network and we are VERY particular about who we grant dealerships to.

[Blue20S4]

Yes. Complete trash. Feel free to go through my post history for details as it’s way too much to type again, but the tldr is they are absolutely worthless.


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[Spock]

Audi's customer support has been poor from day one of my ownership experience. AoA and my dealer have refused to acknowledge or fix any problem with my 2017 A8, even those verified by an independent mechanic. Had to sue them to get compensated for an accident caused by a known defect in the Auto Start-Stop system. My next car will not be an Audi or any VW Group product, purely because of the unethical way they have behaved.

[tattoo24v]

like was mentioned above, change from the top trickles down. no longer any enthusiasts involved in marketing or decision making process. sadly, i feel like VW and Audi damn near had a volunteer marketing dept via all of us enthusiasts, and sadly fell back on that going forward after backing away from it how many years ago now. no longer sponsoring forums like this ( i get it, social media has moved on from old forum sites like this), and the like. i can even remember Johan De Nysschen showing up in town for a Glacier Lakes Quattro Club season ending track event, and also coming to town after leaving Audi for a local Audi legends funeral.

times have changed, and not for the better. and pretty sure no one at Audi Minneapolis even know what the GLQC is anymore expect for maybe a select few.

[bloodstar57]

like was mentioned above, change from the top trickles down. no longer any enthusiasts involved in marketing or decision making process. sadly, i feel like VW and Audi damn near had a volunteer marketing dept via all of us enthusiasts, and sadly fell back on that going forward after backing away from it how many years ago now. no longer sponsoring forums like this ( i get it, social media has moved on from old forum sites like this), and the like. i can even remember Johan De Nysschen showing up in town for a Glacier Lakes Quattro Club season ending track event, and also coming to town after leaving Audi for a local Audi legends funeral.

times have changed, and not for the better. and pretty sure no one at Audi Minneapolis even know what the GLQC is anymore expect for maybe a select few.

Audi Minneapolis was one or the dealerships that was terrible to deal with. Was working on getting a RS5 from them but because of their behavior I pulled the deal.


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[tattoo24v]

Audi Minneapolis was one or the dealerships that was terrible to deal with. Was working on getting a RS5 from them but because of their behavior I pulled the deal.


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sadly, an ownership change a few years ago really made a difference. sadly, it wasn't for the better. if it wasn't for a couple of the old school, been there forever guys in parts and F&I, i wouldn't even be stepping in the door there any longer.

[bloodstar57]

sadly, an ownership change a few years ago really made a difference. sadly, it wasn't for the better. if it wasn't for a couple of the old school, been there forever guys in parts and F&I, i wouldn't even be stepping in the door there any longer.

I understand completely, same thing happened here with two dealerships I went to. This old school enthusiast people are all gone. We are currently get ready to sell the SQ5; sadly I doubt my wife and I will chose Audi again.


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[Spock]

Agree to everything - including the paint protection, the extended warranty, the outrageous doc fees, and the dealership's financing at the inflated rate. 😇 Ask them to prepare the paperwork while you take a test drive. Drive it like you stole it, scare the shit out the salesman in the passenger seat. Go back to the dealership and leave without buying claiming that the car wasn't 'all that'. 😈 That'll teach them a lesson. They may not sell you a car again, but you don't want to buy from them anyway. 🤣

[azzurri0]

Just had another one:

Had a messenger session with Great Neck Audi; I told them I was interested in testing driving a E-Tron GT. Based on that conversation I provided my number and email. I was called to setup a time and date to come down to the showroom. Long story short, once at dealership I was told by a very uninterested sales person that in order do a test drive, a deal would have to be “90%” closed.

I have never heard of such a thing.
However, at the least tell someone this 90% deal closure for test drive policy, before they waste time coming to the showroom.




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I have a better one for you. I asked to test drive an AMG GT63 around 2020. I was told that I could do that but had to give a deposit and sign the purchase contract to test drive it.

Hmm…I think that’s not called a test drive then. That is my car then. How absurd.

[Audiguy96]

Agree to everything - including the paint protection, the extended warranty, the outrageous doc fees, and the dealership's financing at the inflated rate. Ask them to prepare the paperwork while you take a test drive. Drive it like you stole it, scare the shit out the salesman in the passenger seat. Go back to the dealership and leave without buying claiming that the car wasn't 'all that'. That'll teach them a lesson. They may not sell you a car again, but you don't want to buy from them anyway.

That's crazy

[karen batten]

I'm looking to buy an A6, but the dealership experience also has been awful as well.

[Spock]

I'm looking to buy an A6, but the dealership experience also has been awful as well.

If you are in the Chicago area, try the Audi Exchange in Highland Park. Even if you are not, they may be able to ship the car to you if you know exactly what you want. They are better than most in my experience.

[rhr1960]

Tradition stuff isn’t blocked. It’s just generally not worth the effort of the dealer to bother.it’s a separate system, separate method of ordering, and many parts departments just can’t be bothered spending the time to learn it all. Unless they own the cars themselves which often they don’t.

But some of us easily have access to the full catalog, so if there’s something I can help with, lmk. I bring in at least a shipment a month, sometimes more.


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Hi RMode -- Thanks for sharing your insider's insight into things at AoA. I'm currently waiting for a callback from Customer Experience and, being a bit pessimistic about their ability to help me, thought I'd take you up on your kind offer regarding Audi Tradition. A few weeks ago I (finally) took my 2002 S4 (B5 Avant) in to the dealership where I had bought it in order to have the airbag recall addressed. When they returned the car to me it showed an airbag error on the instrument cluster. Went back in and was told "the mechanic said it came in like that." I shared with them the OBDeleven scan I did before taking the car in as evidence that this was not true. Then, they told me that the airbag control module was defective, which was confirmed by another OBDeleven scan. Weird coincidence that it should happen while they were doing the airbag recall service, though!

Naturally, this critical safety-related part has been discontinued #PlannedObsolescence! They said they sent out the equivalent of a Parts "APB" to all dealerships but that has not yielded any modules that might have fallen behind a shelf. I asked the service advisor if it was accurate to say that I traded a small probability that a working airbag might spray shrapnel in my face for a 100% non-working airbag system and he said "yes!"

My questions are:
1. Is this the kind of part that might be available via the "Audi Tradition" resource? [https://www.buyaudivwparts.com/oem-p...e-8d0959655ta]
2. Alternatively, as I understand it the problem may stem from a corrupted memory chip inside the module. If I can't find a replacement via Audi Tradition or eBay, are there entities -- either within Audi or third-parties -- that can suss-out what's wrong with my module and repair it?

TIA,
Rob

[RMode]

Hi Rob,

It’s been a few months since I imported one, but yes, the final revision of it was available to me.

If the module is the root cause, it’s fairly common, though more so on earlier cars. On those, the solder on the board would begin to go bad, and in colder weather (think shrinkage!) a start on a cold morning would trigger the light, and it usually then won’t go off. While there are third parties that claim to repair it, I’ve been down the road - 9 times out of 10, they can’t. All they will do is wipe the memory from the module. This will make it work again, but then of course the next very cold morning/evening start, the light comes on again: went down this road on my own car several times before just replacing the module. It’s now been 2+ years I think, and my car is New England based. So it’s seen plenty of cold. Zero issues.

I’m out of town for a family matter, but will be back next week. Shoot me a message and I’ll check for you.

Alternatively, there was a recall even on the B5’s in the last couple years, for what I “think” was the steering wheel airbag and/or clock spring. This can also trigger a light. I never had it done on my own car, because I don’t use a steering wheel or airbag native to the car. So I knew the recall wouldn’t apply in my case.

[dpcompt]

After reading your message, I realized I have had the same experience with my '24 S5. the MyAudi app worked perfectically for a few days after purchase but has not worked since. AoA's responses seem to completely ignore my complaints and just kept repeating the same emails. I finally gave up and afterwards I realized that MyAudi is really for the benefit od AoA selling tracking information to other parties. An other than the ability to lock or unlock the car, I don't miss it. The dealer was helpful but couldn't fix it. Thank god it wasn't an engine issue.