I have just caught up with some TV programmes including a recent episode of Dragons’ Den with a new garage network called Servicing Stop run by two brothers who asked for £100k in exchange for 12.5% equity.
Peter Jones wanted in but just missed out by trying to close a deal too fast. One of the other male dragons offered the same terms (35% equity) but in the end they said yes to Deborah Meaden who came in at the end and offered the deal they wanted for 30% equity. Very foxy.
How interesting that the brothers would choose instantly (without having to speak to each other even…) on the basis of the cheapest money to service, rather than the one who might have the most relevant experience or opportunities to offer.
However I have a lot of time for Deborah and know she will bring commonsense marketing expertise to the garage debate. She has considerable business, tourism and leisure experience but has she been involved in the UK motor industry before? If not she might be surprised by what she finds; I certainly hope she finds it a more female friendly experience than a lot of women drivers do!
I was surprised that no Dragon asked about the garage competition or the target audience here as this is an extremely competitive sector. There are at least a couple of dead ringers here already and they are actively courting business women drivers, although more in a Fleet proposition where they drive BMWs and Mercedes not elderly Kia’s or Vauxhall’s.
It’ll be interesting to see how NSN and Prestige Car Servicing react – as well as Nationwide Autocentres when they spot the ubiquitous use of the nationwide keyword when offering the same services.
I also note that when asked how many garages they had on their books, one of the brothers said 600 but their website says 750+. Is that the power of the programme? In which case this and the customer exposure has probably paid for itself regardless of whether or not the deal goes ahead with Deborah.
I do have some reservations however in that whilst it’s a simple broker model, I worry about attempts to tighten the financial screw again and again and again in an industry without regulatory safeguards in terms of minimum safety standards. This industry has a well earned reputation for shoddy garage services and few garages are pro-actively female friendly with women drivers frequently singled out for patronising behaviour and higher bills
This broker model means that male and female motorists alike are being encouraged to choose independent garages over franchised dealerships (when some franchised dealers can compete with these prices by the way, depends on the make of car) and shop by price. The garage is expected to prune their operating costs to get to the low fixed rates, pay an entry fee to the scheme I’m sure, provide a car collection service (this can be expensive to offer in terms of time and opportunity cost) and pay the garage broker a hefty commission for his marketing.
I hope the garages willing to do all this have been hand-picked through recommendation, are genuinely good enough to maintain safety standards and can make a profit from doing the job properly.
Undoubtedly the network that will do best is the one of the three that markets itself better than the others, hence the high cost of marketing mentioned (and where Deborah can help).
From the female motorist’s point of view (as often discussed here) the garage must deliver genuine value for money in that it must stick to the advertised price (no surprise extras on the bill), provide quality workmanship that is measurable (although many women wrongly assume this to be the case..), superior customer service and a reliable car collection/delivery service that doesn’t let them down.
I look forward to hearing all about this at the business networks I go to by dropping the words ‘car servicing’ and ‘garages’ into the conversation… I’ll also hear about this from FOXY’s female friendly garages, dealers and dealerships who will know more about this service than me I feel sure.
FOXY Steph
“Don’t be afraid to give up the good for the great”
Kenny Rogers
