Earlier this week, PMM Online published a story relating to a query the IAAF had received regarding a ‘standard’ road test distance across the industry, following a consumer complaint against an independent garage. The story has led to plenty of responses within the trade and PMM received a letter this week from Brian Squires of Petroc in Devon which, in our opinion, offers a common sense blueprint for garages to adopt in the future. He stated:
‘In my opinion it doesn’t matter how long or short the road test distance is as long as the customer knows beforehand what the garage policy is regarding road testing.
I’m afraid it goes back to that age old problem, the hardest to tackle, the one we all try to avoid – talking to the customer or at least giving them the information to make an informed decision.’
What do you think? Is Brian right, or should the vehicle owner accept that road-testing is a likely part of any service/repair work that their vehicle has been subject to and the distance of this is at the garage’s descretion? Is this just another classic case of the independent not communicating sufficiently with their customers? We’d love to hear your views – email us at pmm@hamerville.co.uk
