Need directions to the nearest petrol station? What about a more challenging request, like making a reservation at a hotel nearby? The BMW Concierge Service, as part of BMW’s Connected Drive, is always on hand to answer such requests – like a personal butler, or a very polite voice but a face you never meet.
We recently put BMW Concierge to the test in a BMW 2-Series Active Tourer and came away impressed. This is because the South African market is usually last to get these services; all too often we get the hardware but not the connection. Well, BMW Concierge SA is up and flying along smoothly. Sure a window-fitted GPS can locate fuel pumps and restaurants but they lack a personal touch. They’re also unable to overcome a simple AI interface.
To become part of this ‘exclusive membership’ you’ll need to pay the nominal subscription fee of R3500 for the three years and have BMW’s Connected Drive system fitted to your car. From there you can place calls to the centre located in Europe where a friendly voice, fluent in several languages, will do his best to assist. Don’t worry, you won’t suddenly get charged for international calls, the call is placed through the on-board sim card.
It might seem inefficient to have a centre located several thousand kilometres from your location but they can track your car’s every move through the navigation system. Ask for a French-style restaurant and they will seamlessly upload the coordinates to your car’s navigation. We did encounter one small niggle with the pronunciation of a typical South African street name, leading us to believe that regional call centres are probably still the best solution. Job empowerment too…
Verdict? We give it the thumbs up. In an industry where the majority of cars are almost flawless and modular platform sharing has dissolved some of the uniqueness, brands will have to differentiate themselves through services. And at a time when BMW’s controversial front-wheel drive platform threatens to push that idea even further, the reason you might buy a BMW is not necessarily for the mechanics, but premium services like BWW Concierge.
