Stephen Nicholas
"How will this age old dilemma be fixed???"
The first and major problem is that our trade is not seen in the same light as other professions, which, when you consider the safety reponsibilities we carry, it should be. It is a relatively new profession and has changed so rapidly over the last 100 years that no regulatory mechanism could hope to keep pace.
This is partly the result of perceived (and real) dishonesty and partly due to the way the trade is given a cheap and shoddy image by fast-fits, cheap servicing offers, cheap MOT fees...the list goes on. In short, it is being undersold every day with an eye to a fast buck being the main and misguided motive.
However the dealerships, who should be leading the field in raising the game, are some of the worst offenders it appears and are slowly filling the void of incompetence left by the high-tech-induced demise of the weekend mechanics!
The situation is not helped by the plethora of schemes intended to try and pull it all together but just pulling in all directions. Any chance of us having a coherent voice or serious lobbying power is diluted by this piecemeal approach.
The only answer for me is that my customers don't even know or care about the various schemes; they don't even care that they can get the job (or A job) done cheaper down the road. They care that I stop and talk to them about their car, it's problems, how I can help, what it might cost if I don't find any additional problems etc.
I provide an old-fashioned type of service which a lot of consumers have no concept of in this high-pressure world; but that's how it used to be. My point here is that we need to stick to our principles and continue to maintain the standards in our own small corner of the world.
My own take on it all, and I hope some of it made sense!
Regards,
Steve
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