Like most hard working people the thought of politicians on the fiddle at tax payers expense is a sickening realisation and ‘something needs to be done’ although few of us have any power to do anything with our vote when it’s such a common event.
Seen in a motoring context, when motorists go to buy a new car some pay much more than others without realising this, depending on how trusting they are.
For obvious reasons (ie they are allowed to) the car manufacturers encourage this and their franchised dealers earn their money from this formula whereas few motorists realise just how little they could have paid otherwise.
Btw I am parking the car scrappage scheme in this debate as it is designed to benefit, by and large, car manufacturers, UK dealers, overseas car buyers, overseas car production workers and British parts suppliers; everyone in truth but the British motorist with a 10 year old car who may wish to upgrade to a younger but can’t afford a new car…
On reflection I see an ethical parallel here between politics and the motor industry. For example, in the same way as so few of us realised that so many politicans (of all persuasions) were fiddling us to top up their salaries, few motorists realise that the same is happening to them when they step into many car dealerships not knowing to negotiate target deals like 28% off a Ford Focus or 26% off a Ford Mondeo…
The industry facts are that very few are 100% honourable about this, or to help the customer negotiate a better deal, because the car salesman would lose out financially if the car was sold for less.
And why would anyone in the showroom explain that the best deals are reserved for meeting sales targets at the end of the month or at the end of a sales quarter ie at the end of March, June, September or December. Arguably these only exist because some motorists were sold cars at higher prices to fund these bin-end deals.
Of course the likes of Mike Rutherford and Jason Dawe tackle these issues in their motoring columns… but few women drivers read either and you don’t find much about motoring-related matters, from an informed female perspective, in the likes of Good Housekeeping magazine or female shopping websites.
Is it coincidental therefore that women are the gender that is more likely than men to be overcharged, undersold and patronised when it comes to buying a new or used car or having it serviced afterwards? I think it’s because women drivers don’t know (or aren’t at all interested in…) the likes of garages and dealerships wherre they feel so ill at ease. To such a degree that many of us eiher delegate the experience or take a friend or partner with us for moral support? Despite our considerable shopping experience and financial independence?
I seriously hope that the recent spotlight on ehtical business standards spreads into the motor trade and SHAMES and ultimately PENALISES the chauvinistic individuals that failing to treat us fairly or put us first. I include in this the manufacturers who seems to think they can dictate our buying behaviour and the dealers who dish out the deals to suit themselves, not the customer.
To succeed, a business must put the customer first and there are very few marketing led businesses in the global automotive industry. In fact I can’t think of any instances in the UK where the customer is king (definitely not queen) in either the new car sales or aftersales markets.
It’s a disgrace. And much as there will be another way to do a better job in politics tomorrow, (involving fewer MPs undoubtedly) there will be a better way to sell new cars without fiddling the consumer in future. Online of course, with fewer dealers, multi-franchise economies of scale and a far less expensive distribution network than we have in place today.
FOXY Steph
“The important thing is not what they think of me, but what I think of them.”
Queen Victoria
PS: Check which businesses have signed the FOXY Promise – this is one way to avoid being overcharged at a female friendly garage, dealer or car dealership…
