Warranty First joins Motor Industry Code of Practice
Published: 01 August, 2023
Warranty First has signed up to The Motor Industry Code of Practice for Vehicle Warranty Products, becoming the 18th organisation to join the Code.
Bill Fennell, Chief Ombudsman and Managing Director of the Motor Ombudsman, said: “We are delighted to welcome Warranty First to our largest ever Vehicle Warranty Products Code portfolio, which has continued to go from strength to strength, as we have gone through the year. Warranty First is a highly regarded business by consumers, and carries a positive industry reputation. We are therefore very pleased to have them on board, and look forward to working closely with them as a valued addition to our Code of Practice.”
Charlie Whiston, Director at Warranty First, added: “Accreditation to The Motor Ombudsman reflects our core philosophy of putting the customer at the heart of everything that we do, and that we strive to ensure complete satisfaction at every touchpoint in their journey with us. Being a part of such a respected automotive authority, such as The Motor Ombudsman, puts our business in the spotlight as being a beacon of best practice, and one that gives customers peace of mind that they have free-of-charge access to an impartial and fair channel to support the resolution of any concerns that we cannot bring to a swift and mutually-agreeable conclusion in-house.”
For more information , visit: www.TheMotorOmbudsman.org
- Going mobile: The Motor Ombudsman expands Code coverage
Mobile mechanics, tyre fitters, and smart repairers will now be covered by The Motor Ombudsman’s Motor Industry Code of Practice for Service and Repair, as a result of an expansion timed to coincide with the 15th anniversary of the launch of the code on 23 May 2008.
- New Business Development Executive for Autoelectro
John Cosgrove has joined Autoelectro as its new Business Development Executive.
Earluer in his career, he was Purchasing Manager at AMK Automotive Components, before taking on roles beyond the aftermarket.
- The good, the bad and the ugly: Third party work providers
A hot topic within the industry, and one that I cover in my business courses, is online service providers; third-party booking sites or aggregators – or whatever you happen to call them. Let’s recognise what they are, and examine why these aggregators exist in the first place.
Think from a consumer’s perspective. Chances are that when you go on holiday, you reserve a hotel through a third-party booking site, for example, Expedia or Hotels.com. My guess is that this is exactly what you do because in today’s fast-paced, tech-savvy world, third-party booking sites have become the norm. Consumers are driven by price point and ease, both of which are met through a wide variety of online service providers.
While this seems like a win-win situation, there is the obvious downside of enabling consumers to be disloyal. In the age of e-shots and social media, deals fall into consumers’ laps, and it’s only natural to take the better deal over brand loyalty.
Most garages don’t have the necessary skills to create such platforms, and thus create the resulting footfall. Fortunately for us, these online service providers have identified our repair sector as another service industry that could become part of the digital revolution.
Digitally minded
The digital world is here to stay and we have to accept that. It’s a good idea to take a step back and examine who our future customers will be in this world.
When I look at my children, 18, 21 and 23 years old, I see the next generation of customers, not the 45 to 55-plus who have been visiting our garages over the last couple of decades. My daughters purchase at least 90% of their clothes online, which is astonishing to me. We in the garage sector have to engage with these digitally-minded youngsters.
Like all other service businesses, there is the good, the bad and the ugly. I was extremely critical of these aggregators when they first appeared in our sector. To be honest, I still am. I don’t agree with many of the practices currently used by these sites. That being said, there are advantages to partnering up with one. The main one being access to new customers.
For a consumer, the first and most obvious advantage is price, and this is where a major problem exists for me. Prices found on third-party sites are often less expensive than the listed prices a garage may advertise. For those who have attended my courses, you would have heard me say on many occasions, these ‘come and get me’ prices do very little to aid our bottom line in an already highly competitive market. However, us garage owners aren’t always squeaky clean when it comes to pricing, are we?
Pricing
For example, I often see adverts for a ‘Service & MOT - £99.00’ or something very similar. How many of you have seen a MOT price go up? I certainly haven’t. Most prices advertised are anything from £19.99 to £24.99. This comes down to what we include within a service. If I asked 10 garages owners what they would include, they would give me at least five different versions. So, if we can’t decide what a service consists of, how do we expect the public to do so? Can we really blame online service providers for taking advantage of this inconsistency?
These websites are here to stay. Let’s stop criticising them all and try to work with the better ones to make them understand our businesses a little better. That way everyone can benefit.
If I were to open up a garage again, there would be a couple of areas which would have to be certainties in order for me to consider signing up to a third-party booking provider. Firstly, I would need control of the customer from start to finish. Secondly, I would have to be in control of the parts buying. As a compromise, I would accept a small fee to get access to a new customer.
At the end of the day, however, I would prefer to focus on the overall service levels provided at my garage, providing a customer experience that is unmatched in the local area. I would put more resource and energy into a social media presence and website offering, as this is an area that garages regularly struggle with. There are many decent, better qualified companies around that can provide specific digital services, so make use of them.
Direct route
It has become more important than ever that your website is responsive, has simple and intuitive navigation, and enables customers to book quickly and securely. A good website will increase enquires and bookings. It will direct users to the information they want to find and guide them through a simple conversion process. Social media should also be taken into consideration, as it is one of the easiest and most direct routes to engage with customers. You must ensure your brand is active within the channels your customers are using.
In the end, what I am trying to get across is that before we look to attack these online service providers, we need to realise that these platforms exist because we have not kept up with the digital revolution. These aggregators have simply taken advantage of our industry, and given that they are unlikely to be going anywhere, should we really shun them before truly understanding why they are here in the first place?
- The good, the bad and the ugly: Third party work providers
A hot topic within the industry, and one that I cover in my business courses, is online service providers; third-party booking sites or aggregators – or whatever you happen to call them. Let’s recognise what they are, and examine why these aggregators exist in the first place.
Think from a consumer’s perspective. Chances are that when you go on holiday, you reserve a hotel through a third-party booking site, for example, Expedia or Hotels.com. My guess is that this is exactly what you do because in today’s fast-paced, tech-savvy world, third-party booking sites have become the norm. Consumers are driven by price point and ease, both of which are met through a wide variety of online service providers.
While this seems like a win-win situation, there is the obvious downside of enabling consumers to be disloyal. In the age of e-shots and social media, deals fall into consumers’ laps, and it’s only natural to take the better deal over brand loyalty.
Most garages don’t have the necessary skills to create such platforms, and thus create the resulting footfall. Fortunately for us, these online service providers have identified our repair sector as another service industry that could become part of the digital revolution.
Digitally minded
The digital world is here to stay and we have to accept that. It’s a good idea to take a step back and examine who our future customers will be in this world.
When I look at my children, 18, 21 and 23 years old, I see the next generation of customers, not the 45 to 55-plus who have been visiting our garages over the last couple of decades. My daughters purchase at least 90% of their clothes online, which is astonishing to me. We in the garage sector have to engage with these digitally-minded youngsters.
Like all other service businesses, there is the good, the bad and the ugly. I was extremely critical of these aggregators when they first appeared in our sector. To be honest, I still am. I don’t agree with many of the practices currently used by these sites. That being said, there are advantages to partnering up with one. The main one being access to new customers.
For a consumer, the first and most obvious advantage is price, and this is where a major problem exists for me. Prices found on third-party sites are often less expensive than the listed prices a garage may advertise. For those who have attended my courses, you would have heard me say on many occasions, these ‘come and get me’ prices do very little to aid our bottom line in an already highly competitive market. However, us garage owners aren’t always squeaky clean when it comes to pricing, are we?
Pricing
For example, I often see adverts for a ‘Service & MOT - £99.00’ or something very similar. How many of you have seen a MOT price go up? I certainly haven’t. Most prices advertised are anything from £19.99 to £24.99. This comes down to what we include within a service. If I asked 10 garages owners what they would include, they would give me at least five different versions. So, if we can’t decide what a service consists of, how do we expect the public to do so? Can we really blame online service providers for taking advantage of this inconsistency?
These websites are here to stay. Let’s stop criticising them all and try to work with the better ones to make them understand our businesses a little better. That way everyone can benefit.
If I were to open up a garage again, there would be a couple of areas which would have to be certainties in order for me to consider signing up to a third-party booking provider. Firstly, I would need control of the customer from start to finish. Secondly, I would have to be in control of the parts buying. As a compromise, I would accept a small fee to get access to a new customer.
At the end of the day, however, I would prefer to focus on the overall service levels provided at my garage, providing a customer experience that is unmatched in the local area. I would put more resource and energy into a social media presence and website offering, as this is an area that garages regularly struggle with. There are many decent, better qualified companies around that can provide specific digital services, so make use of them.
Direct route
It has become more important than ever that your website is responsive, has simple and intuitive navigation, and enables customers to book quickly and securely. A good website will increase enquires and bookings. It will direct users to the information they want to find and guide them through a simple conversion process. Social media should also be taken into consideration, as it is one of the easiest and most direct routes to engage with customers. You must ensure your brand is active within the channels your customers are using.
In the end, what I am trying to get across is that before we look to attack these online service providers, we need to realise that these platforms exist because we have not kept up with the digital revolution. These aggregators have simply taken advantage of our industry, and given that they are unlikely to be going anywhere, should we really shun them before truly understanding why they are here in the first place?
- Skills, bills and jaw-aches
I knew starting a business would never prove easy but we don’t get anywhere in life without taking a risk or two. Having been in the industry for a few years now I have learnt that the two main attributes a successful car repair workshop needs is the skill to diagnose and repair and the ability to communicate with their customers.
Modern car repair facilities have seen a dramatic change in recent years with the huge advancements in computer-related faults. The main tool of repair has seen the demise of the hammer and the growth of the diagnostics fault reader. I am a hands-on mechanic and much prefer older vehicles where I don’t need to locate the OBD port before the bonnet release, but I have to move with the times if I am to succeed as a business and that is why I am looking at hybrid servicing and trying to tap into that market. It is tough for me to admit that as I love working on classics and I will still have a part of the workshop for the golden oldies but it is hard to ignore the impact hybrid and electric vehicles are starting to have on the repair market.
Communication
The car repair industry has a pretty bad reputation – lets be honest. My female friends and family dread having to buy a car or go to a garage. Communication for me is so important, as with any business it is crucial that you are able to talk to customers and listen to their concerns without belittling them. The issue with car repairs is that it is a complicated process that is difficult to explain in layman’s terms and which can alienate an individual if they don’t understand. There is also the problem of distrust. If a customer doesn’t understand the problem and how you are able to fix it you risk confusion and doubt. There are so many horror stories of people being fleeced and conned as they don’t understand how a car works that every customer feels like you are going to do the same, it takes a long time to earn a good reputation and just one bad experience to send your business crashing down.
I always like to explain as simply as possible with the work I am doing, I keep the broken part so that I can show the customer what I have replaced and what their hard earned cash has been spent on, I also take pictures and probably over explain everything. It is important for my business that I gain a good reputation as word of mouth is my main advertisement. As busy as a car workshop is always make time to have a friendly chat with your customers, especially if they have a trade, you never know when you might need a plumber!
So, this month has been busy, productive, stressful and hot (I am writing this in July) but the world of car repair stands still for no-one.
