Consumer Direct complaint stats

Consumer Direct statistics time again - 'complaints' about used car sales from independent dealers made top of the pile once more. The Office of Fair Trading are a year into their market study of the sector and will be making final recommendations in the spring.

They have options from increasing consumer awareness and education through to self or enforced regulation open for consideration. OFT should ensure any move to change working practices centres around positive promotion of the reputable operators and negatively highlighting the rogue traders. This will then provide the mechanism by which consumers can be educated regarding where to go to make their used car purchase. Strong competition within a protected environment is what's required for a healthy and active used car sales market not further layers of burdensome regulation.

It doesn't have to be an all consuming change in the sector, more a clear method by which consumers are empowered to make a decision on who to do business with, within a protected environment. Lower levels of consumer detriment will follow thereafter.

Interestingly, CD complaints stats regarding the independent garage service and repair sector have plateaued, halting a year on year upward trend previously reported by CD.

With the National Consumer Council reporting some 43,000,000 million individual service and repair transactions per year ('at a crossroads' report 2005) - and around 30,000,000 vehicles in use on the roads of the UK, I would suggest that while 16,387 is a figure that can and should be improved upon, the question should be what was done to resolve the consumer concern.

This is where things start to get a little hazy as CD don't provide a dispute resolution service, they advise the consumer on what options may be available to them. Recently we have agreed with CD that they will start to provide Motor Codes information on their website.

Once through to the Motor Industry Codes Advisory and Dispute Resolution Service consumers receive advice from specialist advisors and where appropriate dispute resolution through our Fast Track, Conciliation and Arbitration services.

The Motor Codes results are interesting in comparison to CD's. During 2009 the team received 2,786 enquiries from consumers regarding service and repair which generated 74 Fast Track cases, 40 conciliation cases and 2 arbitration cases. So 96% of contacts to the service received the advice they were looking for regarding their enquiry, no compliant or dispute, just the provision of sector specific advice. 4% were verified as valid complaints and resolved via the appropriate channels.

I think the figures speak for themselves - The Motor Industry Code of Practice for Service and Repair is making significant progress in establishing which garages consumers should be looking to do business with - 6,200 to date and rising every day.

If you are a motorist looking for a reliable garage to look after your car, find one using the Motor Codes Garage Finder facility at www.motorcodes.co.uk

If you are a garage owner that wants to differentiate your operation from your local competitors and demonstrate your commitment to an OFT agreed, government backed approach to customer service, sign up here www.motorcodes.co.uk

All the best
Chris

ABP Motorsport - CAT magazine Garage of the Year

Here's the proud winners of the 2010 CAT mag Garage of the Year award, ABP Motorsport in Crewe. A great achievement and one I am delighted to acknowledge as ABP have been keen and committed subscribers to the Service and Repair Code since March 2009.

ABP managing director, Chris Meredith shared his thoughts with me earlier today, he said 'an amazing result that means so much to all of us at ABP. Not only is it great to receive a national award but to receive one on the back of votes placed by our suppliers and customers means so much more. We are so proud to be named Garage of the Year 2010 but we won't rest on our laurels and we'll be trying hard to repeat it next year!'

Excellent work, well done to you all -you should see their Motor Codes Garage Rating!

Another picture of the team celebrating? Go on then...

You can trust a Motor Codes garage!

All the best
Chris

Let the team do the talking - Kingshurst Automotive

Sometimes it's best to let those using the service do the talking, so here's what Colin Trippas, MD of Kingshurst Automotive in Birmingham has to say about the Motor Industry Code of Practice for Service and Repair.

Here's a shot of the Kingshurst website.


A tidy, informative and easy to use site that reflects on the business Colin and his team run. These are the kind of people and businesses that are signing up to the Code in their thousands, because they care about their operation and the perception of the business they run - not least because subscription to the Code sends a very clear message to all their customer and those that are considering becoming their customers.

Thanks Colin and team and keep up the good work!

All the best
Chris

2009 Motor Codes Customer Satisfaction

Having launched the on-line Garage Rating system in the summer, we are now able to combine all customer satisfaction information received by motorists having used a Motor Codes subscribing garage and here's the overall position for 2009.

91% satisfaction is a terrific start to this new approach to promoting the real good garage operators. Each subscriber to the Code has their own rating and once they pass an initial threshold of Motor Codes Customer Survey returns, the above gauge goes live on their dedicated web page at www.motorcodes.co.uk

This overall position is such good news because it allows me and the Motor Codes team to promote the good guys - not only to potential customers but also to government, Office of Fair Trading and the consumer organisations that accuse the industry of poor working practices.

We are building a community of garage operators who acknowledge that subscription to the Code is the right thing to do because it allows them to demonstrate that they are one of the responsible business operators in their area and can prove this by displaying their Garage Rating to any customer looking for a local garage to use - plus it gives them a commercial advantage over those that are yet to wake up and realise that this Code is the industry benchmark of good service and reliable businesses.

With an overall rating of 91% we are able to see where we now need to work with our subscribers on improving customer satisfaction, which we will now do and complete the cycle of maintaining and improving customer service through listening to what we are being told and acting upon it - just what we said we'd do when the government asked us to deliver this Code back in 2005.

All the best
Chris

Weber Shandwick appointed as Motor Codes PR agency

I'm delighted to be able to announce this key strategic appointment to the Motor Codes stakeholder team. The award winning Weber Shandwick team will work with Motor Codes over the coming year to establish and build the Motor Codes brand and specifically consumer awareness of the Motor Industry Code of Practice for Service and Repair.

Their expertise in PR and marketing, coupled with their enthusiasm to work with Motor Codes on this most important of industry initiatives won them the contract and I'm looking forward to building the relationship and having them on board.

Here's their press release http://tinyurl.com/ybctcwp

All the best
Chris

2010 - much to deliver and achieve

Happy New Year and I'd like to wish you a prosperous 2010.

With the new year comes new challenges and initiatives for the Motor Codes team and the operation of the Motor Industry Code of Practice for Service and Repair. I thought it'd be a good idea to share some with you.

• OFT Approval

Gaining full approval status from the Office of Fair Trading is a priority for the team. Only Consumer Survey feedback stands in our way now - so we're working hard with our subscribers to demonstrate that Motor Codes garages are generating sufficient levels of consumer feedback through the Surveys.

I appreciate this is sometimes easier said than done, so we are using this flyer to encourage customers to get involved http://tinyurl.com/y95fpcf

I'm told by those that are already using it that it's working well!

• Consumer Surveys

Customer completion of the Survey not only satisfies the OFT and gets us approved but also generates the unique Garage Rating which subscribing garages can use to demonstrate to all how good customers think they are (the Survey is available either online at http://www.motorindustrycodes.co.uk/ or by hard copy, free post via the Brief Guide leaflet).

A subscribing garage requires 10 Survey returns for the Garage Rating to appear on their dedicated web page that potential customers are viewing when looking for a trustworthy local garage to use, have a look at the following link for a good example http://tinyurl.com/yazzw29

Even better, garages can add to the standard information and make good use of their web page as an online advert for their business - have a look at what can be done by adding some supporting text and a photo http://tinyurl.com/ycaw42l

• Weber Shandwick

Following discussions with a few PR agencies towards the end of 2009, we have now appointed Weber Shandwick to run a number of national campaigns throughout 2010 aimed at raising awareness of the Code and influencing consumer choice in garage. These campaigns will focus on directing motorists to the Motor Codes website to gain information on the Code, Code subscribers and ultimately searching for a local garage to use through the Garage Finder facility.

In addition there is much work going on behind the scenes to ensure we continue to drive the Code initiative forward and I'll keep you posted on significant developments as they happen, have a look at this summary paper which provides a little more detail http://tinyurl.com/y9hanxm

All the best

Chris