Jeremy Hall wonders
who is driving customer service in the world of SME business car
finance

Jeremy HallThe demise of
our original company car scheme eight years ago came on the back of
a massive AA bill, two engine replacements in a month, three years
of flushing out drivers, £30,000 annual insurance bills and
countless car leases.

Now, however, I’m going
back to a company car scheme, because of the concerns I have about
employees using their own cars for company business if those
vehicles are not being correctly maintained, and a wish to offer
incentives for recruitment and retention.

So we’re dealing with the
motor trade again and it’s been… interesting. Contrary to what we
might read, I can only believe dealers are doing extremely well,
with monthly quotas hit and salespeople out on the golf course.
Otherwise, why on earth does nobody call us back?

Before I continue, bear
in mind that I embarked on this process as a serious buyer of four
cars, not some ‘tyre kicker’ who has nothing better to do on a
Saturday afternoon.

Is there anybody
out there?

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I began my quest for
customer service with a call to Amersham Audi looking for three
A4s. I phoned three times and never received a call back – I can
only hope the dealership’s MD is reading this.

Next was an Audi showroom
in Manchester. My call was taken by someone on the retail side who,
to be fair, did pass the message to fleet sales where I talked to
someone “experienced in dealing with company cars”. You know who
you are! Why did you never call me back? Another “highly
experienced” broker that I managed to track down recommended a
Mercedes or BMW solution, but again, we never received a call
back.

Frustrated, I passed the
onerous task of placing an order to Andy McCready, our sales
director. He telephoned a Ford, a Vauxhall and a BMW
dealership.

First in to bat was Ford.
Andy made two phone calls and one visit to Perry’s High Wycombe
branch. It was a poor showing indeed – they recorded our company
details incorrectly and made no follow up call to see if we
received their email. The quote only arrived after Andy visited in
person, even though he specifically told them we were looking to
buy two cars right away!

Next up was Burnham
Vauxhall (High Wycombe branch). Three phone calls, no response.
When we tracked down the so-called ‘sales manager’ to make a
complaint he dodged the call, getting a sales executive to call us
back instead. Even though the latter did a good job, he was not
able to redeem the situation.

Sixth time
lucky

On a final positive note,
Sytner BWW High Wycome – congratulations, you called us back, came
to visit us, provided quotes in the agreed time scales and won the
order. Proof at last that good customer service isn’t really that
hard!

There are many other
companies like us looking to reinstate a company car scheme, who
may be standardising on one or two vehicle types and will buying
more cars over the next few years. Dealers, please – there are
buyers out there, and all they need is some form of basic customer
service.

Jeremy Hall is CEO of
WestWon Limited