Welcome Visits and Compliance Checks

Aftermarket Magazine shadowed one of the team from RAC Inspection Services carrying out a Welcome Visit on a newly subscribed garage recently, Rangers Garage in Salisbury. Here's the article - I think it summarises exactly what we intended a Welcome Visit to be, so looks like it's working well then..

There's been quite a bit of interest in our new approach to self regulating garages, and this piece covers the important bits really well. When devising the Code I thought it was important that we offered garages an initial friendly visit, free of charge, to enable the subscribing garage to ensure they have set off in the right direction and understand the requirements of the Code, and if not, then they had the perfect opportunity to ask someone in the know.

How much more in the know can we get when it comes to garages and cars but the RAC Inspection Services. Again, it is really important for me that we carry on our approach of having industry people monitoring the industry, this way we all speak the same language and understand the actual operational elements of running garages and therefore come at it from a solid and logical perspective.

Compliance Checks follow the initial Welcome Visit, this is the unannounced visit required by the Office of Fair Trading. Each garage has to have one within each 24 month period. This along with Consumer Surveys and the Dispute Resolution Services attached to the Code form the compliance structure that gives the Code its teeth and in turn compliant subscribers their competitive advantage.

Code subscribers are the good guys, make no mistake.

They sign up to the Code in full knowledge that we'll be monitoring their performance, and in turn, the OFT monitor our ability to look after the sector - that's self regulation. The Government like it as it allows them to take a back seat in the day to day business of ensuring that a sector is working well for consumers. Garages subscribing to it like it, as it gives them the ability to differentiate from other garage operators within their local competitive area, and consumers like it as they can select a garage reassured that the intentions of the garage are good from the outset, and should something go wrong they have the added security of an independent complaints handling service.

Welcome Visits, Compliance Checking and a fair and accommodating form of regulating the garage sector without the need for heavy handed regulation - a good thing?

I should say so..

All the best
Chris