Tag Archives: garage

FOXY issues Red Card for Oaks Vehicle Service Centre in Hersden

We are issuing a Red Card via this blog. This means we are blacklisting Oaks Vehicle Service Centre in Hersden, a village just east of Canterbury in Kent. This is because they are not, and never have been, a FOXY Lady Approved garage, despite pretending to be by carrying our logo at their website without our permission.

Earlier this year they signed and completed an order form to subscribe to our female friendly garage network. After we’d checked their IMI credentials we set up their FOXY Page and Club listing before issuing our invoice, payable within 30 days.

After 30 days, we nudged the garage for payment several times, by email and phone, without success. This is a rare instance for FOXY because garages usually pay us promptly to get their Subscriber Pack which includes Female Friendly Approved promotional materials and online gift memberships of FOXY Lady Drivers Club for female customers.

Finally we caught up with their elusive business manager and requested a card payment to speed matters up on both sides. We were given card details but the card failed when the bank declined this later on.

FOXY is blacklisting Oaks Vehicle Service Garage in Kent

Having exhausted every reasonable method to obtain payment for their order or to obtain an explanation for a delayed/failed payment, FOXY’s Area Manager referred this to me.

I then left an ansafone message and emailed the business manager, asking for a final explanation or rectification of the situation.

We are not unreasonable people here but we are professionals. Clearly a business that would pass off membership of our scheme and treat FOXY this badly is not one we’d want to introduce to women in Canterbury even when we are perfectly within our rights to insist on the full subscription payment.

After an email explaining Oaks’ options, including our issuing a Red Card within The Club, the garage’s business manager offered to pay our bank charges (an estimated £20) for the failed card payment and remove the FOXY Lady Approved logo from their website.

I agreed to this so we could all move on. We re-invoiced the garage by return (that’s ten days ago now) and requested this payment and the removal of our logo from their website by 18 April 2017.

A week later this second invoice remains unpaid and our logo is still in place at their website.

This constitutes ‘passing off’ in law and we’ll be reporting this to Trading Standards.

Their business manager is also a member of the IMI (Institute of the Motor Industry) which means he has signed the same ethical business promise as I have.

But he has not honoured his by
1) placing a sales order and failing to pay for this
2) using the FOXY Lady Approved logo without permission/purporting to be a member of this scheme when he is not
3) failing to do what he said he would do ie not paying a revised invoice or removing our logo as requested
so we’ll be reporting him to the IMI accordingly.

Fortunately the issue of a Red Card is a rare occurrence for FOXY but I have no hesitation in issuing one to Oaks Service Centre on this occasion because of their evidently premeditated and cavalier commercial behaviour in their dealings with us.

FOXY Lady Approved garages in Canterbury

To avoid any confusion, our FOXY Lady Approved ie female friendly garages in the Canterbury area are

Protyre Canterbury
Dargate MOT Centre
Six Mile Garage

Female Motoring feedback

If you’d like to tell us about a female friendly UK motoring business that isn’t on our FOXY Lady Approved network yet please do so here.

FOXY

Norwich’s female friendly garage and car dealer choice

Grant Long, NMG’s MD – photo ack: AM -Online.com
The Norfolk Motor Group (NMG) is a family run and FOXY Lady Approved garage and car dealership group in Norwich.

This means it is both a Female Friendly Approved business and employer in Norwich.

To join our approved network requires automotive businesses to demonstrate a minimum package of credentials which NMG has exceeded, for the following reasons.

Ladies Evenings

We first met NMG in the run up to their Ladies Evening in mid-February when more than 120 local women drivers attended this highly social evening covering important motoring-related issues such as driving attitudes & behaviour, DIY car maintenance checks and an entertaining session providing memorable advice and demonstrating self defence techniques.

These events are always fun first.

But they also inform and educate women about their critical personal safety, driving safety and vehicle safety. Everyone comes away with at least one important and timely message, and of course this reflects positively on the perceived ethics of the organiser because only businesses that truly want to give something back to their local community are prepared to invest the time and resource towards a free activity which isn’t actively selling cars.

New Car Sales, Used Car Sales and Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles

Having said that, NMG’s main business is obviously selling and repairing cars.

They hold Kia and Suzuki franchises so if you drive these makes of cars, or would like to, in or near Norwich, this is where to come to buy them, trade them in or to have them serviced and repaired.

NMG also sell other makes and models of approved used family cars as well as Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles (WAVs) so it’s a business that covers the majority of transport needs.

And which women know they can trust.

Signs Of Measurable Quality

We look for all signs of measurable quality before accepting garages or car dealers on to our network. This is because used car sales and car servicing are unregulated areas in the motor industry and too few staff are licensed to do these jobs.

One of the best things about choosing a franchised dealership rather than an independent is the reassurance that they have been approved by the manufacturer they represent.

Another standard FOXY looks for is EITHER that the business (used car dealers and independent garages too) operates to a Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) Approved Code of Practice scheme OR is listed on the IMI Professional Register.

In this case many members of NMG staff are Master Technicians, others are trained in the latest electric and hybrid technologies and the business is a member of the CTSI’s New Car Code, Car Sales Code and Service and Repair Code operated by The Motor Ombudsman.

From a customer service point of view, NMG is open 5 and half days a week for car servicing, MOT, repairs and parts. There’s a courtesy bus, a fleet of courtesy cars and a local collection and delivery vehicle service.

Sales Departments are open 7 days a week, including most Bank Holidays, and only close on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and Easter Sunday.

They also support many local groups, schools, clubs & charities.

Female Feedback

The final yet critical ingredient is for FOXY to monitor female feedback in addition to NMG’s existing and very high customer satisfaction scores. By using our certificates in their business they are actively courting ALL feedback and giving females a gift membership of FOXY Lady Drivers Club as a thank you for their time. The point of this is that whilst we all expect feedback to be positive, if it wasn’t, NMG still wants to know, so they can put it right.

And perhaps that’s the main reason why this business passes our FOXY test with flying colours.

1/ Because their motto is ‘Nobody Tries Harder Than NMG…Nobody‘!
2/ Because they evidently want to do a better job for women drivers, by joining this scheme.
3/ Because they are dedicated to doing this from the top of NMG to the showroom floor – we’re dealing with NMG’s Managing Director who definitely sees this as a long term commitment.

All this is good news for women drivers in and around Norwich. If that’s you, then I invite you to visit their branches in Norwich and put your name down for a future Ladies Evening at 79 Mile Cross Lane.

They may even offer you a gift membership of FOXY Lady Drivers Club for doing this.

FOXY

________________________

For More Information

NMG’s HQ is 79 Mile Cross Lane in Norwich, NR6 6TX
Please read NMG’s business story.
Kia and family car sales tel: 01603 775100
Suzuki new and used cars tel:01603 418700
NMG family car, WAV and SUV centre tel: 01603 401044

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.

MOT and a manicure anyone?

Carterton MOT and treatment-1

Would you buy an MOT and a manicure, or a massage, if they were attractively packaged and priced? I’d certainly consider it.

As you may know, FOXY Lady Drivers Club includes a network of garages that meet our standards in terms of quality, ethics, value for money, cleanliness and customer services.

We do this because few women realise that garages aren’t regulated and mechanics don’t have to be licensed to repair our cars. Which can make for dangerous cars and rip off practices which we know a lot about.

So we check out garage credentials for females and then promote them as FOXY Lady Approved ie female friendly, requiring regular female feedback to keep them on our network and their toes.

To the best of my knowledge one of our FOXY Lady Approved garages in Oxfordshire, called Carterton Auto Repair, is the first in the UK to offer women the combination of manicures and massages included in the cost of their MOT. As you might expect, this is a bit of light-hearted marketing fun but not everyone always sees gender marketing messages in this light.

Just for the record, this sort of initiative isn’t new in the US, France or Australia where women seem more relaxed about this choice of customer services.

What Mumsnetters think of Manicures in Garages

So where best to find out what UK women think about all this than that august barometer of female taste, Mumsnet. Posted under Feminism/Womens Rights this is what NotRealName wanted her fellow Mums to react to, followed by others taking similar and opposed stances.

notrealname

LassWI

Jen

enquiringminge

Mide

vestal

_______________________________________

All this makes for interesting insight for FOXY of course, because motoring services for women are what we do. But it just shows you how different women can be from each other, let alone men. And how unforgiving women can be when it comes to their gender…

Luckily Carterton services are optional and we know why they are doing this and I’m sure it’s a practice that’ll spread, even if you drop your car off and go next door for your manicure.

Men can be arsey too

And if anyone thinks it’s just women that can be arsey here, think again. In a garage in Kent last week the owner told me he’d had to remove his offer of a free Club membership for women drivers leaving feedback because the men wanted to know why they didn’t get one. The owner didn’t know to say ‘Sign your FOXY Lady up, Bill’ and you can likely share her offers and such like.

All this is ironic really. The garage industry has been run by men for men since WWII. Even today only a woeful 2% of staff in the retail motor industry are female. And now that the number of women drivers is about to outnumber that of men, men aren’t prepared to put up with female service levels today, after expecting us to do precisely this for 70 years…

And if men had sorted out the motoring industry during their 70 year reign, it wouldn’t be as dysfunctional as it is and there’d be no need for a motoring support service like ours for women. Which would be an all round good thing.

So let’s all grow up here.

Women are different from each other.

Men and women are different from each other.

Mumsnetters include mouthy and tolerant feminist views alike.

We all need to get on with it and let individual choice prevail.

Let’s celebrate well-intentioned initiatives like Cartertons (and FOXY) that are designed to give us choices that didn’t exist beforehand. It mightn’t be for you and it’s definitely not meant for everyone. But it’s called personal choice and I for one buy it.

FOXY

When the garage inspector calls…

Foxy -under-car-blue-125Did you know I am also a garage inspector in that I visit garages and dealerships as part of my job?

Any that join the FOXY Lady Approved network expect to be visited as part of our compliance scheme. For as long as I can do this myself I like to visit as many personally to make sure they meet my standards, before handing over to others for future visits.

Among other things, I am looking for signs of measurable quality, value for money (not the cheapest, more the best value), cleanliness and customer service. You need to visit a business and ‘feel’ their culture – I say I can tell just walking through the door…

Some businesses want to be seen as female friendly and perhaps they are, but their location lets them down. It’s rare for garages to be in shopping areas but that’s really where we want them to be so we can catch up essentials whilst the car is MOT’d, serviced or repaired.

When I find myself in a dreary industrial estate I have to judge whether this is likely to be a good place for women to visit on a dark wintery day when the location is likely to look even more depressing.

Another bad start is when I drive into a forecourt and there is no parking space or I am expected to reverse out of a tight spot, with staff watching. Signage can also often be improved upon and surely customer parking should take precedence over unattractive cars for sale?

Then of course I’ll assess the garage amenities inside, but a less than favourable start has been made to any customer visit.

Garage cleanliness

An important area that many garages neglect is cleanliness. I can see at a glance if a workshop is clean, neat and tidy by the state of the floor, the state of the overalls the staff wear, whether they wear gloves, have tool cabinets and such like. Whilst this isn’t part of my typical FOXY checklist it always sets the cultural scene for what I expect to find in the customer reception area. As I see it, if a workshop is dirty and disorganised it is likely that this disregard will translate into customer areas.

Having seen immaculate garages, bodyshops and dealerships with gleaming customer facilities I know it can de done. In my book there is no excuse for a grubby waiting room – just a poor cleanliness regime. For example, try the finger test for yourself. Wipe it over the desk counter or any coffee tables in the waiting room. Then check your finger. Could you live with that at home? Should you have to as a paying customer? If it doesn’t matter to you, that’s fine of course.

I’m often told ‘we clean on a Friday’ as if a Thursday customer (or when I call on a different day) will feel any better for knowing this. Business cleanliness needs to be ongoing, not just a weekly chore.

Reading materials are interesting too. If a business is female friendly and women are likely to have to wait for their car to be ready or paperwork completed then it’s a nice touch I feel. I’m not sure if it’s better to provide aspirational-related magazines such as Superstar Homes or Celebrity Holidays (imaginary titles both) but I’d prefer to see these than magazines full of gossip about soap stars I don’t know. But that’s just me. So I realise it can be tricky to get the reading choice right for women but I like to see garages try.

I am often told “we used to get x title but women went off with it…” so I always suggest they provide colour supplements from a recent quality weekend publication. There’s no excuse then.

Needless to say, men are always catered for in this area assuming they want to read about performance cars, motor sports or mechanical/trade matters.

Washrooms ie customer toilets are the ultimate barometer of cleanliness for me. Why some garages feel the need to list one as a customer facility when the mechanics use it as well remains a mystery. Nothing can be more off-putting than the loo seat lifted revealing a stained bowl and just as bad, oily marks on bar soap at the sink and a dirty looking towel for afters.

pinklooThis pink toilet inspection was one of the most memorable for me. The garage owner had asked his staff to walk the extra two yards down the corridor to use the male facilities, urinals and so on, without success. So one weekend he painted the ladies in shocking pink and the mechanics have never used it since. That’s all it took, it’s a bit startling I know but it’s proof of the pride the owner takes in the facilities he provides.

Some men don’t see this need for cleanliness, despite most of them thinking their garage is a female friendly one. If it’s a garage on our network I simply remove this so-called amenity from their listing but wonder what possessed them to think women would want to use this?

As a customer, I’d mark their card as a dirty business (in my mind) and never return.

And if you think these comments are simply about back street garages, think again. Some of the smartest and cleanest facilities have been in small and family run garages whereas some of the scruffiest and unkempt ones have been in dealerships. Where I’ve found lewd calendars too, by the way. So you can’t be sure of getting better facilities by paying more.

As I always say, if a garage has facilities that are better than the rest and they pay everyday attention to maintaining a spick and span workshop and customer area, they should be shouting about this to women because we all know that other varieties exist.

In my experience, women will choose the female friendly garage variety as soon as they realise they have a choice in their area.

That includes females who jump ship after putting up with second rate services for too long, once they discover that things can be better elsewhere. So comments from garages such as ‘we treat all customers the same’ don’t resonate with me. This level of complacency is either a lazy excuse for not trying harder for women or a missed opportunity for not marketing to women as ‘better than the rest’ which is what most of us expect to be treated as.

FOXY