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Warning: First World White Boy Problems
As those who follow me on G+ know, I got a letter from the Audi folks the other day. It seems my MY2014 RS5 will be pushed to a MY2015 RS5, which means I won't receive it until July at the earliest. I'm pretty frustrated about this, as I ordered it in December 2013. The dealer had allocation by December 31st, but it never got out of Factory Order Bank. The steps in the process are basically: allocation (the window the dealer has to order specific cars from the factory), factory order bank (the factory acknowledging the order), production order bank (build date/building the car), shipping (on the boat/in port/customs), dealer stock (physically at the dealer for prep/customer pickup). Obviously the delayed time is a problem.
What's a larger problem is the MY2015s haven't been announced yet. The dealers don't have their option books, and there have been no leaks of what they'll change from MY2014 to MY2015. There were subtle differences between MY2013 and MY2014, but no platform switch. MY2015 is a total unknown. year over year, they often tweak trim options and sometimes mechanical features. It's possible (although still unlikely) that MY2015 will bring about the new B9 platform for the Audi 4 and 5 series. This means a total revamp of the body, and an entirely new engine. They will get rid of the high revving naturally aspirated V8 and replace it with a forced-induction V6. Nice, but a large factor in my buying decision was that V8. The other HUGE factor was the sexy-as-fuck body. Simply, the car is a classic. Some of the pulled-out-of-the-arse renderings I've seen of the B9 platform RS5 are simply not good.
In the end, I had the dealer keep the order in the system. They will announce the MY2015 cars in late March/April timeframe, and then I'll know more. I do reserve the right to cancel my order. I can probably leverage something out of the deal if I wish to keep it.
In other news, my frustration with the Kimpton Hotel chain's InTouch loyalty programme continues. They are all good folks, and they truly want to help to do the right thing. However, the company puts in so many obstacles that prevent their employees from achieving this, you really have to wonder why I bother being loyal to them at all. To wit, every time I've attempted to redeem my rewards nights, I've had to jump through a jillion hoops along with the person on the other end of the phone. It's never a simple transaction like "hey, I'm booking 5 nights, 2 of which will be rewards nights". Oh, no. Each reward night type (there are at least two) has to be a separate transaction/reservation, and separate from normal paid nights. I now have three separate reservations for a five night stay. Of course, this triggered minimum stay requirements, and it also triggered pricing changes, all of which had to be reconciled. On top of this, I've had to deal with rewards nights simply disappearing, as they have insanely short expiry dates. Even airlines are better at this. Loyalty is a two-way street. If they're not loyal to me as a customer, why am I loyal to them?
As those who follow me on G+ know, I got a letter from the Audi folks the other day. It seems my MY2014 RS5 will be pushed to a MY2015 RS5, which means I won't receive it until July at the earliest. I'm pretty frustrated about this, as I ordered it in December 2013. The dealer had allocation by December 31st, but it never got out of Factory Order Bank. The steps in the process are basically: allocation (the window the dealer has to order specific cars from the factory), factory order bank (the factory acknowledging the order), production order bank (build date/building the car), shipping (on the boat/in port/customs), dealer stock (physically at the dealer for prep/customer pickup). Obviously the delayed time is a problem.
What's a larger problem is the MY2015s haven't been announced yet. The dealers don't have their option books, and there have been no leaks of what they'll change from MY2014 to MY2015. There were subtle differences between MY2013 and MY2014, but no platform switch. MY2015 is a total unknown. year over year, they often tweak trim options and sometimes mechanical features. It's possible (although still unlikely) that MY2015 will bring about the new B9 platform for the Audi 4 and 5 series. This means a total revamp of the body, and an entirely new engine. They will get rid of the high revving naturally aspirated V8 and replace it with a forced-induction V6. Nice, but a large factor in my buying decision was that V8. The other HUGE factor was the sexy-as-fuck body. Simply, the car is a classic. Some of the pulled-out-of-the-arse renderings I've seen of the B9 platform RS5 are simply not good.
In the end, I had the dealer keep the order in the system. They will announce the MY2015 cars in late March/April timeframe, and then I'll know more. I do reserve the right to cancel my order. I can probably leverage something out of the deal if I wish to keep it.
In other news, my frustration with the Kimpton Hotel chain's InTouch loyalty programme continues. They are all good folks, and they truly want to help to do the right thing. However, the company puts in so many obstacles that prevent their employees from achieving this, you really have to wonder why I bother being loyal to them at all. To wit, every time I've attempted to redeem my rewards nights, I've had to jump through a jillion hoops along with the person on the other end of the phone. It's never a simple transaction like "hey, I'm booking 5 nights, 2 of which will be rewards nights". Oh, no. Each reward night type (there are at least two) has to be a separate transaction/reservation, and separate from normal paid nights. I now have three separate reservations for a five night stay. Of course, this triggered minimum stay requirements, and it also triggered pricing changes, all of which had to be reconciled. On top of this, I've had to deal with rewards nights simply disappearing, as they have insanely short expiry dates. Even airlines are better at this. Loyalty is a two-way street. If they're not loyal to me as a customer, why am I loyal to them?
