Richard Yarrow’s opinion for www.startrescue.co.uk, providing low cost Breakdown Cover.
You may have noticed that GB plc is a bit strapped for cash at the moment. Competition among businesses to secure what little money Joe Public has to spend is fiercer than ever, and everywhere there are deals. It could be 2-for-1 on tins of cat food at the supermarket, or free car breakdown cover when you renew your insurance.
Ignoring the fact that the cost of living is going up, all this is good news for the canny consumer. But there’s an interesting side effect I’ve noticed and it means another often-overlooked issue has become top priority – ladies and gents, please give a warm welcome back to Customer Service!
My wife’s car is six years old and wasn’t likely to visit a main dealer again for regular maintenance because the hourly labour rate is so high. But when I got wind of a deal – £99 including VAT for a 62,000-mile service – I was there like a shot. The independent guy would be no cheaper, and I could expect the main dealer to bend over backwards. Sure enough, the car came back clean inside and out (always a bonus) and the next day I got a follow-up email asking very politely if I was happy with how things had turned out. The incentive to tick a few boxes was the chance to win a bottle of bubbly. None of these things would have happened at my independent.
Today I hear of another excellent customer service initiative designed to get people through the main dealers’ doors. Nissan has got a bit of a backlog on selected new cars, so it’s giving anyone with a three-month wait or longer a courtesy car until theirs gets built at the factory (pictured). There’s no cost to the customer bar the fuel because even the insurance is covered.
Nissan is first to try this. The smart money says it won’t be the last.