Get your Garage Rating

The new Motor Codes Garage Rating has really caught on with subscribing garages ensuring their customers complete the Motor Codes Consumer Survey following completion of a service or repair job.

This then combines with all their previous customer feedback and generates a Garage Rating that the business then use to demonstrate how good their previous customers think they are. This is all happening at http://www.motorindustrycodes.co.uk/

They do need to have had 25 completed before it goes live on their dedicated web page, to ensure a decent sample size of opinion - have a look at a couple of examples:

http://tinyurl.com/yct8e8a
http://tinyurl.com/ybobdpt

If you are a garage operator, you should get your garage rating now it can only reflect positively on your business, use this flyer within your invoicing literature http://tinyurl.com/y95fpcf

Consumers - add your weight to the initiative, ask your garage whether they subscribe to the Code, if not tell them to get on board and get their Garage Rating!

All the best
Chris

Industry and government collaberation

The Motor industry Code of Practice for Service and Reapir was developed at the request of government, to provide consumers with consistent levels of service and appropriate advisory and dispute resolution services under the Office of Fair Trading Consumer Codes Approval Scheme.

This has broadly been delivered in a very short space of time, OFT approval pending and in my evaluation imminent.

Motor Codes has been in discussion with government officials for some time regarding what can only be described as a 'win win' scenario that would go a long way in completing the initial work of this exercise very quickly.

The Department for Transport is responsible for the operation of nearly 20,000 MOT testing stations via their executive agency the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA). Government has told Motor Codes we need to sign up garage groups and chains, and specifically recruit more independent garages.

Is it just me or is government able to deliver their own requirement if they want?

It seems clear to me that MOT testing stations are the type of garages we want signed up to the Code, as they already comply to set standards of operation and are open to continual monitoring. They are the good guys, delivering day in day out.

What isn't clear is why a car can be on the MOT ramp and the process be subject to strict regulation, only to be driven on to the ramp in the next bay to have repair work carried out with no requirement to meet any standards of operation and/or customer service.

I'm not suggesting that all MOT testing stations are carrying out shoddy repairs, far from it. I'm clear that MOT testing stations are the responsible business operators and collectively we should be acknowledging this and providing further benefits of increased reputation and bottom line through introducing subscription to the industry Code to compliment the business they carry out on behalf of VOSA.

We could get the job done once and for all and provide consumer confidence in choice of garage, while further bolstering the reputational offer of MOT testing stations. Isn't it only right that the best garages should be able to make claims about their status which are supported, backed and ultimately approved by the industry, regulator and government?

Essentially, we need to ensure that when a garage claims to be a good guy - they actually are, and are being monitored appropriately to ensure this is the case.

Sounds like the way forward to me - what do you think?

Email me at cmason@motorcodes.co.uk

All the best
Chris

5 years OFT Approval for New Car Code

The Motor Industry Code of Practice for New Cars celebrates five years as an Office of Fair Trading approved code of practice today.

Following the submission of the initial application for approval in 2003 and stage one of the two stage process being completed in June 2004, full approval status meant that the new car sector had completed the process and 99% of all new cars registered ever since have done so under the terms of the Code.

In 2009, 37 brands subscribed and opened themselves up to continual monitoring and transparent customer service operations, including a free advisory and dispute resolution service and low cost, independent and legally binding arbitration.

The Code has delivered benefits to consumers and the new car sector year on year and demonstrated to government that self regulation has a place and is very efficient when applied correctly and with the support of the sector.


Does five years feel like a long time ago now?

Not really, we were asked to develop the Service and Repair Code in 2005 - that's kept us quite busy!

http://tinyurl.com/yfkkxaw

All the best
Chris