Category Archives: garage services

garage services like car servicing and accident repairs should be female friendly experiences

garage services

Is your garage good enough?

The UK garage industry isn’t regulated which means that anyone can open a garage, set up a used car showroom and service or repair our cars without the latest know-how.

I have a statistic on my wall to remind me why this matters. It is that 93000 of us complain to Citizens Advice centres each year, about a combination of used cars and garage services. That’s a lot, bearing in mind that many of us never take it any further than the garage.

When I first uncovered this unsavoury fact, some 15 years ago now, I was quite shocked. Like most motorists I expected anyone who carried out repairs that could affect my personal safety to be licensed to do their job. As gas fitters and electricians are for example.

Types of Garages

Businesses and individuals who do garage work fit into several different categories in my experience. There are very good ones, ones who hide their light under a bushel, those that can do better and those that’ll never be good enough.

Fortunately the best ones are usually licensed to do their job and do it well or at least adequately. Sadly this doesn’t always make them best at customer service but at least your car should be safe.

Then there are others who are good enough and caring enough to be licensed, but aren’t because they don’t have to be and can’t see the cost benefit. Some of these businesses are among the most friendly I’ve spoken to on the phone and often have excellent customer feedback. But without evidently-qualified ie licensed ie ethical staff in their workshop I couldn’t sleep at night recommending them to female motorists. Just in case their work wasn’t good enough.

But the ones that aren’t good enough to be licensed and couldn’t care less about being so are the ones that really wind me up. This is because they can earn a decent living doing a mediocre or worse job, getting off scot-free because too many poorly informed motorists think it’s a good idea to buy cheap MOTs, car parts, servicing and repairs – not realising what good garages need to pay for licensed staff, the latest diagnostic equipment, car parts and the cost of premises and customer services.

It’s just commonsense that the cheapest prices are unlikely to be the best value for money in today’s unlicensed garage industry.

Minimum Garage Standards

So how do you find out who your best local garages are based on signs of measurable quality. Here are a few clues.

Franchised dealers

To begin with, if you use a franchised dealer you can be sure that their technicians have been trained to provide repair services that are approved by the car manufacturer. And whilst you might pay a tad over the odds compared to a good independent garage, you need to decide if their (typically superior) facilities, customer services and specialist training justifies this. Certainly most motorists driving new cars within their warranty period favour franchised dealers, in case they need to make a claim.

Independent garages

There are two main schemes to check if your local garage is as good as it gets. The first one is the IMI Professional Register where you can check for a licensed garage and/or mechanic near you.

The second is to see if the garage is a subscriber to a Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) Approved Code of Practice scheme.

Incidentally if you have a run in with a Motor Codes approved subscriber you can apply to the new Motor Ombudsman to review your case. With that name you might expect them to look after all motor industry complaints but they don’t. Perhaps that’s what they’re hoping to do in time?

It’s a shame that the motor industry feels the need to brag about complaints handling processes but with 93,000 complaints on the horizon and dysfunctional businesses allowed to trade, maybe it’s better to be prepared than let it happen to you.

We hope it’s not you, but if you do get fleeced at any stage, we help Club members sort things out. And if need be (this rarely arises because this is a genuine deterrent), we share the experience with local Club members.

If you’d like to contact me about any of this please email info@foxyladydrivers.com or get in touch via the Club’s Twitter account @FOXYtweets.

FOXY

female friendly, garage services

A female friendly MOT centre with a difference

Granted The Test Centre in Deptford is a FOXY Lady Approved ie female friendly MOT centre and this may make me a tad biased but this review from Stacey is precisely why they are on our network.

Hot off the press today, this female feedback illustrates the need for a network of garages that over deliver in terms of customer service, as The Test Centre definitely does.
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Here’s what Stacey has to say about Deptford’s Test Centre

testventre_drinksmachine400“This was the first time I’ve taken my car for an MOT so I was really nervous & didn’t know what to expect. I was shocked that I could get a booking for 6am – this was the first thing I thought was amazing about the garage.

“When I got there I was pleasantly surprised at how clean the work space looked as well as being brand new looking – this helped ease my nerves a little.

“I went into the reception which was really warm & cosy. The receptionist was a really lovely lady with a smile on her face so early in the morning – straight away she had someone take my keys. I explained my nervousness & she took the time to explain the process to me; my nerves disappeared straight away.

“I waited for my car in a warm office with a TV & a friendly receptionist to talk to. Once the MOT was completed the service did not stop there, the receptionist was very good & friendly in suggesting more places & female friendly garages I can use if I ever need work doing.

“I normally send my brother with my car as I am always worried garages with men treat women like they’re stupid.

“I am very happy with The Test Centre’s service. warmth & friendliness. So much so, I have already suggested them to so many friends & family.”

FOXY says – Stacey is now a member of FOXY Lady Drivers Club having been given a free subscription by The Test Centre. As such she will soon be sharing other great and female friendly services that we approve so she can trust. And we’ll be spreading the word that there is such a thing as a female choice of motoring services when you know what to look for, where to go and who to trust.
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Check here for your choice of female friendly garages across the UK.

And if you’d like a hand with motoring arrangements and services in future, why not join FOXY Lady Drivers Club now?

garage services

Is it MOT time?

The MOT Test Centre in Deptford - FOXY Lady Approved of course
The MOT Test Centre in Deptford – FOXY Lady Approved of course

September is a busy MOT month so here’s some timely information to help you prepare for it, if this affects you. Here are three useful tips for starters.

1/ Did you know that your motor insurance could be invalid if you make a claim whilst your car is without a valid MOT?

2/ Your MOT can be carried out up to a month before its expiry date – potentially making it valid for 13 months.

3/ Be wary of cheap MOTs (the full price is £54.85) at garages you don’t know. But do be prepared to negotiate with a garage you know and trust when you have a car service done at the same time. Most garages will agree to discount the MOT fee, hopefully reducing this to 50%.

MOT advice

If your car is older than 3 years then it needs an MOT. The MOT is your friend – it’s a safety snapshot of the car’s roadworthiness but only on the day. Areas that are likely to become a safety-related problem during the short term are flagged up as ‘advisories’ and need to be read and acted on.

A good garage will predict when safety-related areas like brake pads and tyres will likely need changing based on mileage. And don’t think you need to have everything done immediately. Best to stagger non brake or tyre-related work to fit in with your finances.

Needless to say, your tyres are THE most important road safety related component as they are the means of your car staying on the road and/or stopping quickly in an emergency. Tyre safety is a combination of checking the condition of your tyres, their pressure and their tread.

Here’s some advice re tyre safety to help you in this area through the year.

A worrying number of motorists assume that a new car doesn’t need maintenance or tyres checking during their first three years of ownership. That is clearly untrue so please make sure that any members of your family and friends aren’t of that mindset.

Don’t forget your MOT

The busiest months for MOT tests are March and September to reflect new car registration months when car sales are at their most buoyant.

A worrying number of motorists forget their MOT date and, speaking from personal experience, that nearly included me after we acquired a nearly new family car and forgot to add that MOT to our family calendar.

Useful MOT resources

Here’s where to find out the MOT status of your car and when yours is due.

This is what the MOT test includes and how to prepare your car for it.

FOXY

You can choose a FOXY Lady Approved ie female friendly garage here.

garage services

Why are women rip off targets by some garages?

woman_ventingIt’s never good news when you read what seems to be a case of a garage attempting to rip-off a female.

And tackling a female that knew more about tyres than the Kwik-Fit fitter in this instance.

Being charitable, perhaps he was a new member of staff, doing his best?

Not realising that £360 to fix a puncture was a tad outside the customer’s expectation .

But at worst this was a cynical ploy to exploit a motorist who just happened to be female and motoring savvy.

And therein lies the difficulty because female motorist perceptions are such that we imagine this sort of thing happens more often than it does. Although this IS an industry where it does…

The Ripple Effect

When I set up FOXY 11 years ago I did so because I was horrified to think that any Tom, Dick or Joanna could set up a garage and profess to know what they were doing when my brakes needed sorting. Or that I’d be sold expensive tyres when I didn’t need them. My stepdaughter had been well and truly ripped off by a garage rogue and showed no remorse when we tackled him together…

So I wanted to identify the genuinely good garages from the mediocre and worse, requiring the ones we promoted to women to sign the FOXY Promise to ‘never overcharge, patronise or sell motoring services they don’t need.’

The majority of UK garages would never do this I feel sure but that isn’t the point. The point is that too many women think they WILL be ripped off and, despite their independence, numbers and wealth, feel very uncomfortable in macho garage environments. This results in too many women not getting their tyres checked as often as they should and not going to garages to get their cars serviced as often as they should.

So their cars aren’t as well maintained or as safe as they should be – and could be dangerous as a consequence.

And many good garages are missing out on this business, because local ladies don’t realise they have a FEMALE CHOICE.

Sadly some fast-fit businesses cannot sign the FOXY Promise because they pay their staff minimum wages, knowing they will respond to a sales campaign to sell specific services and products to earn commission. So, in a nutshell, some motor industry businesses WILL sell motorists services they don’t need. Female and male customers alike. I do not like this…

FOXY Lady Approved standards

Any FOXY Lady Approved garage joins our network on the basis of FOXY’s pre-determined minimum standards. This could be one of the following – a listing on the IMI Professional Register, a Chartered Trading Standards Institute Code of Practice scheme and other evidence of being better than the rest.

Our standards are based on quality, value for money, cleanliness and customer service although some are more modest than others, to keep prices down. Otherwise this wouldn’t be a FOXY Choice. In addition to an initial compliance visit, we expect all garages to provide a minimum level of good female feedback each year to secure their network place. Most do this easily.

I would rather not comment further about Kwik-Fit other than to say that I honestly think they are working hard to up their game. There will always be weak links in a massive organisation and, providing Kwik-Fit acts upon this negative feedback then that will surely strengthen their internal culture?

But will they be given time to change their spots without changing their brand name? The minute there is a bad story (and where do sensationalist headline hunters head for to get one?) the same old bile is unleashed again from motorists and trade professionals alike. And bad news reflects on us all.

Buying cheap garage services is a risky option

Another risky area in the motor industry is to do with comparison websites and garage brokers who market what they do on the basis of price. We are all conditioned to compare prices and buy the cheapest insurance, and or goods on supermarket shelves. But in an unregulated motor industry where servicing check-lists can easily be ticked (without the check-list ticks being checked ie sometimes the ticked jobs haven’t been done) how can it make sense to buy cheap? When you could be up-sold expensive services (like £360 for a puncture perhaps?) or not realise when safety corners have been cut.

A lady I spoke to yesterday thought she was being ripped off because her MOT garage tried to sell her a car service after 3 years of not having one. I was able to explain that the MOT doesn’t look after her potentially expensive and neglected engine – she then realised that these are complementary nor competing checks and her garage was simply being honest and transparent. But she didn’t know enough to realise this at the outset…

Finally, another area we should all be wary of is when you buy via a garage broker ie you pay a central organisation without knowing which garage (or their credentials) will eventually repair your car. Obviously a broker has negotiated a cheap price to add his cut on top, before selling to you. Yes, you might get your car collected and returned to your doorstep after car servicing, but you mightn’t know how to check the work they have – or haven’t done.

I could write a lot more because this is my subject but I think I’ve probably said enough. So perhaps it’s sufficient to round up by saying…

Here’s how to steer clear of bad garages (and help other motorists)

1) Join the Club and see what else we do here.

2) Help us do a better job in future by posting recent garage feedback here, good, bad or indifferent, for us to share. If you are female and the business is a FOXY Lady Approved one you’ll get a free Club membership (online lifetime one) as a thank you from the business, for your time and comments.

3) If you want to see where your nearest FOXY Lady Approved business is, follow these links.

To see your nearest FOXY Lady Approved tyre service (tyres, wheels, that sort of thing)

To see your nearest FOXY Lady Approved garage/repairer/car dealer for any MOT, servicing and/or repair work.

And by all means call the office on 01903 879988 for more details if we can help you.

FOXY

PS: Here’s the link to the offending Kwik-Fit story if you’ve read this far.

garage services

Farmer Autocare – a female first in Scotland

Farmer Autocare is the first Auto Repair Group in Scotland to join our female friendly business network.

By joining forces with FOXY Lady Drivers Club, Farmer Autocare is actively helping women drivers in Scotland run safer and more reliable cars for less money.

Who is Farmer Autocare?

There are 17 Farmer Autocare centres operating in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Paisley, East Kilbride, Lothian, Falkirk, Fife and Perthshire. The business model encourages co-ownership allowing individuals to invest in their own business in the automotive repair industry.

Sir Tom Farmer 400Conceived by Scottish entrepreneur Sir Tom Farmer, who set up the original Kwik Fit business, the whole team is committed to delivering that extra personal touch that makes a difference.

Members of Farmer Autocare share in the success of their centres.

Their repair services include leading tyre brands at the lowest prices; online MOT’s from £27; brakes, exhausts, catalytic converters; fitted guaranteed batteries from £29.50; and car servicing options from £89.

Why Farmer Autocare wants to be FOXY Lady Approved

Here’s why Sir Tom knows it makes good business sense to get car repair services right for busy women in Scotland.

farmerautocare_400Sir Tom said,

“Whilst the number of women drivers has increased dramatically since I started my first Auto Repair Service in 1964, they are increasingly the ones shopping for everyday garage services, within a tight family budget.

Farmer Autocare does particularly well here because we offer the personal service women appreciate as well as gimmick-free low prices for car tyres, MOT’s, servicing, brakes and exhaust work.

By being part of the FOXY scheme women know they can trust us to help them run safer cars, not just save money.”

To become FOXY Lady Approved Farmer Autocare centres have all signed a promise to ‘never overcharge, patronise or sell women anything they don’t need.’ To maintain their place on the FOXY network their customers are required to provide feedback as part of this scheme’s monitoring process.

Women get a free motoring gift for their feedback

To encourage female feedback about Farmer Autocare services, all women receive a lifetime subscription to FOXY Lady Drivers Club as a thank you gift afterwards, with Sir Tom’s compliments.

In case readers of this blog don’t know this already, The Club is an online service exclusively for women drivers, including a preferential car insurance scheme, car buying discounts and money-saving offers in addition to a range of 1:1 advice, information and friendly support services, all updated in a monthly e-newsletter.

Tyre safety in Scotland

FOXY Steph Savill said “Sir Tom is famous for his ethical business acumen so we’re delighted to work with him and Farmer Autocare centres in Scotland. Together we can make a big difference to safety standards by encouraging women to go to reputable garages and get their tyres checked more often. If they can also enjoy a free motoring gift that’s going to save them lots of money in future, that’s another really good reason for women to spread the word about Farmer Autocare to their friends.”