Mobil 1 AP - Phone Call

[kschachn]

To be honest I wouldn't know why any formulator or manufacturer would tell you. I would ask in response, what does it matter? I'd ask you why that would make any difference. The operative word in any question would be "why".

I would ask you what specifications your engine requires, and then tell you which products meet those required specifications. I think that's pretty much what ExxonMobil does.

Conversely those formulators that constantly harp on base stock are often the weakest on specs.

 

[goodtimes]

Phone call centers cost a fortune to operate. They get to chose what they answer, most of the calls are probably about how to look up what oil the car takes and things like that. Try the email method. Even if someone tells you something on the phone there is about a 50/50 chance it is correct. I think courts call it hearsay, doesn't mean much of anything.

 

[4WD]

Well ... at least in both cases they have the confidence to stand behind mileage ... still just a percentage do. This is all about sticker shock at Walmart ... it will settle somewhere sensible

 

[SatinSilver]

Originally Posted By: 4WD
This is all about sticker shock at Walmart ... it will settle somewhere sensible


I picked up the last jug of Castrol Edge EP 10w30 this morning for $7. Had a coupon for a free quart of Edge oil up to $9.99 value. I scanned the coupon at the self checkout and it immediately subtracted $7 off the purchase price. But I had to pay sales tax of .56. The other day they had 3 jugs in stock marked down on clearance for $11.

 

[kohnen]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
They all give out similar answers, so why single out XOM here?

We are back to caring about the group thing again, as if it mattered. Most oils are made of various oil bases and add packs in order to achieve a desired level of performance, and that performance is what should matter.
Fair question. Because they're asking for a ridiculous amount of money for what appears to be a marginally better oil. They're asking for $25 more per jug without convincing us that it is $25 per jug better.

 

[kschachn]

Originally Posted By: kohnen
Fair question. Because they're asking for a ridiculous amount of money for what appears to be a marginally better oil. They're asking for $25 more per jug without convincing us that it is $25 per jug better.


But it's marginally better due to the marginally better warranty and not much else.

If you knew it was "100% PAO" would you buy it? Would it be $25 a jug better then?

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: kohnen
They're asking for $25 more per jug without convincing us that it is $25 per jug better.

Twice as expensive almost never means that it's twice as good. It's the law of diminishing returns. You are always going to pay a huge premium for top of the line product, but are only going to get marginally better performance.

Is a $50K Mercedes twice as good as a $25K Toyota? I mean, they both will take you from A to B. The Toyota may even do it more reliably. In the end, it's up to each consumer to decide if the price difference is worth it to him/her.

Would I be more inclined to buy this M1 AP product if XOM told me it was made of unicorn tears? I would not. I don't care what it's made of. It's the performance that matters to me, so I would base my decision on that. Having 100% PAO in there is no guarantee of performance. Knowing that there are other oils on the market that are capable of same/similar performance for half the price and actually have engine mfg approvals to back that up, I certainly will not be buying it.

 

[SuperSalad]

Originally Posted By: kschachn
To be honest I wouldn't know why any formulator or manufacturer would tell you. I would ask in response, what does it matter? I'd ask you why that would make any difference. The operative word in any question would be "why".

I would ask you what specifications your engine requires, and then tell you which products meet those required specifications. I think that's pretty much what ExxonMobil does.

Conversely those formulators that constantly harp on base stock are often the weakest on specs.

I am asked this question pretty frequently and I have no problem telling people what is in our products. Most customers really appreciate the honesty and it usually lets them know that they are actually getting what they are paying for.

I try to make sure the customer understands exactly what I am telling them too so I try not to throw out buzzwords and jargon that would go over anyone's head on the phone.

 

[kschachn]

Originally Posted By: salcuta88
I called M1 today to ask about the AP oil. Specifically, I wanted to know what group it classifies under, 3, 4, 5?

The rep claimed that they have no authorization to disclose that information. She stated that the oil was tested for about a year and that it is worth the price....

I couldn't get much out of her as she seemed uninterested in discussing much about it.

Poor customer service from their part. A shame!


I'll ask you the same question. You seem upset they didn't tell you what Group it is, if they answered that it was a pure Group IV would you buy it? Would you pay the price differential based on that information alone? Because that's all you're asking.

 

[kschachn]

Originally Posted By: MotoTribologist
I am asked this question pretty frequently and I have no problem telling people what is in our products. Most customers really appreciate the honesty and it usually lets them know that they are actually getting what they are paying for.

I try to make sure the customer understands exactly what I am telling them too so I try not to throw out buzzwords and jargon that would go over anyone's head on the phone.


I don't want buzzwords and jargon either. I want proven specifications. Focus on base stock is also buzzwords and jargon.

What are your products?

 

[kschachn]

Originally Posted By: MotoTribologist
I am asked this question pretty frequently and I have no problem telling people what is in our products. Most customers really appreciate the honesty and it usually lets them know that they are actually getting what they are paying for.


This is a very important point. There are certain smaller oil formulators that make a point of saying their oils are majority/fully PAO. How many of those oils carry Longlife-01? How about Mercedes Benz 229.5? Or VW 505.00?

The thing is, these specifications are really what tell me as a customer what is "in" the product. It is that kind of honesty (as opposed to "recommended for" or nothing at all) that lets me know what I'm actually getting and what I'm paying for. Those are real-world specifications and requirements that demonstrate the performance of a finished motor oil, not some notion I might have as to what is "better".

 

[CT8]

Seems like if a company wants me to buy their product at twice the price of others on the shelf they would be happy to tell me all the fancy stuff in their product. I guess they know the consumers are mostly idiots.

 

[DBMaster]

Originally Posted By: CT8
I guess they know the consumers are mostly idiots.


The only idiots I can bring to mind are the ones who will buy this product and still use 5,000 mile OCI's.

 

[kohnen]

Originally Posted By: kschachn
But it's marginally better due to the marginally better warranty and not much else.

If you knew it was "100% PAO" would you buy it? Would it be $25 a jug better then?

Nah. Don't care if it's 100% PAO.

Don't really care that I get 5,000 more miles at twice the price. I might bite if they show that it is significantly better than the rest of the oil market at wear reduction, or sludge minimization, or friction reduction, or cleanliness.

Don't just say it lasts 5,000 more miles. Convince me that my engine will run better and/or last longer than it would have if I used M1EP changed at 15,000 mile intervals. If they can't do that, then, to me anyway, it's not worth the extra expense.

Now, if it comes down in price, I'm more than willing to try it for giggles and grins.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: salcuta88
I called M1 today to ask about the AP oil. Specifically, I wanted to know what group it classifies under, 3, 4, 5?

The rep claimed that they have no authorization to disclose that information. She stated that the oil was tested for about a year and that it is worth the price....

I couldn't get much out of her as she seemed uninterested in discussing much about it.

Poor customer service from their part. A shame!


Group number has very little to do with the final quality of a product.

It is highly likely that any optimized product would have blends of multi-group basestocks, in order to take best advantage of each (including price point).

The additives and finished package is what it's all about...

I think its folly to expect some incredible revelation by calling Mobil customer service... or falling for the "fake synthetic" wife's tale regarding group III.

 

[Vuflanovsky]

I understand why the OP isn't happy simply because you'd expect someone on the other end to at least be excited or build up some salient points about the oil. Being transferred to the tech department might be a big part of it but I can read between the lines that there was a reasonable expectation of having at least some information that describes it versus some **** about proprietary information. Maybe the questions weren't asked in the right way or a dolt picked up the line, but I'm assuming they'd take the opportunity to promote the product....independent about what group oil it is or it having leprechaun turd instead of molybdenum.

Someone can burn a calorie and have a prepared bullet point sheet to read to consumers. Product roll outs where I used to work required this kind of interfacing information that describes it to the end user. I don't think it's that different here. If the sum of the call was "It's proprietary information and it's worth the price" for a product that's been officially released...my response would be that it better [censored] levitate my car at that price and level of information.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

I can't wait to see the parts stores' regular price on this stuff

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted By: salcuta88
I called M1 today to ask about the AP oil. Specifically, I wanted to know what group it classifies under, 3, 4, 5?

The rep claimed that they have no authorization to disclose that information. She stated that the oil was tested for about a year and that it is worth the price....

I couldn't get much out of her as she seemed uninterested in discussing much about it.

Poor customer service from their part. A shame!


When an oil company says their base oil is "proprietary" information.it just means they're embarrassed to tell the truth. I'm 99.9 3/4% sure it's a grp III like all the rest of their oils. Nothing wrong with grp III as I use faux synth myself Redline,Royal Purple,Valvoline,and Pennzoil will tell you straight up what their base oils are,and that really shows how honest and good their integrity is.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted By: MotoTribologist
I am asked this question pretty frequently and I have no problem telling people what is in our products. Most customers really appreciate the honesty and it usually lets them know that they are actually getting what they are paying for.

I try to make sure the customer understands exactly what I am telling them too so I try not to throw out buzzwords and jargon that would go over anyone's head on the phone.


^^This. Honestly goes a long way and it is very much appreciated,thank you!!

 

[Matagonka]

Ok, they didn't tell me the group #, but I expected that they'd be happy to tell me more information about the oil, why I should buy it, how does it compare to other competitors....I was given a monotone response. Again, I'm not upset about not getting the group #, but about their lack of willingness to discuss and tell me about their new oil. This isn't how you advertise a product, even if she was from the tech department, you could at least point me in the right direction.