The biggest problems that UK motorists have with car dealerships and garages have been revealed in new research.
The results of the Driver Power 2014 survey found that the most annoying behaviour of car dealers was when they failed to identify faults on the cars, which was picked out by 32 per cent of drivers, four per cent more than last year. The next most common complaint was that garages and dealerships did not answer phone calls, something that bothered 28 per cent of people.
Having to deal with disgruntled customers is part and parcel of running a customer-facing business, as car dealerships or repair shops are. And because they have customers on site, happy or unhappy, it is a legal requirement that these companies have public liability cover as part of their combined motor trade insurance package – this will protect members of the public should they suffer an injury while on the business premises.
Another trait that was found to grind the gears of UK motorists was that car dealers fail to explain problems with vehicles – this was the third most common complaint, with 15 per cent citing it as an issue. Discourteous staff (12 per cent), leaving the car dirty (eight per cent) and unexplained bills (six per cent) were the next biggest problems.
The Driver Power study also showed that franchised dealers were still the main port of call for servicing, with 69 per cent of people choosing this option compared with only 20 per cent using local independent garages.
