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As the recession began to bite and dealerships started to cut their opening hours, Harwoods decided to buck the trend by continuing its 24-hour opening. It’s a decision that has paid off
Words / Images: Will Shiers
As the recession tightened its grip on the UK economy in late 2008 and the number of trucks requiring servicing and repairs dwindled, some dealerships reacted by laying-off technicians and reducing their opening hours. But that wasn’t the case at Southampton-based Harwoods, which retained all 20 of its technicians and remained open from 6am Monday to 6pm Saturday and 6am-4pm Sunday.
“I could’ve made more proit in the short term by reducing our opening hours, but only at the cost of customer service,” says dealer principal Richard Skudder.
The local Volvo, Scania and DAF dealers all stopped their 24-hour opening, and have yet to reinstate it.
Not only was Skudder’s decision welcomed by existing customers, it also helped win new ones. Skudder gives container irm Eldapoint as an example. It cited Harwoods’ opening hours as a key reason for it placing an order for 19 new MANs.
Skudder explains that many local hauliers take advantage of the 24-hour service. Drivers drop off the trucks in the afternoon, and go home in one of the irm’s nine courtesy cars. Many then return at 3am or 4am to collect the repaired/serviced truck and start their day. “We’ve been offering the service for years, and we are really proud of it,” he says.
Although MAN employs the sales staff directly, Skudder believes it’s vital they receive 100% support from the aftersales team. Meetings involving both teams are held every Monday morning, and service marketing and business development manager Lindsay Jones often visits existing and potential future customers with the salesmen.
This close co-operation is paying off, and in 2010 the company struck a number of deals with new high-proile customers, including AFS Haulage, Boarhunt Recovery, Wessex Petroleum and PVC Building Supplies. Harwoods has also secured a deal with Saint-Gobain/Jewsons. It is one of the largest single orders ever placed with MAN, and will see the dealer supply as many as 500 vehicles on a seven-year maintenance contract.
Harwoods’ order book is looking incredibly healthy at the moment. In fact, according to Skudder, it’s the best it’s looked in the company’s 25-year history. This is relected in the strong market share it commands in its postcode district. Even with pump-outs removed from the data, it has a 13.4% market share, second only to DAF (24.3%).
Used truck sales are holding up well, and MAN has recently awarded Harwoods the status of regional used vehicle centre covering Dorset, Wiltshire and Hampshire. Used truck sales consultant Lea Murrell believes that Harwoods winning the coveted Dealer of the Year award at this year’s Motor Transport Awards has helped him gain conquest orders. Skudder is proud of Harwoods’ irst-time MoT pass rate, which in 2010 was 91% compared with a national average of 77%. “I’ll be surprised if we don’t get 93% this year,” he says. Of course, for some customers the igure is even higher, and last year Suckling Transport’s leet achieved a 100% irst-time success rate. In a testimonial submitted with the Motor Transport Awards entry, Suckling leet engineer Daniel Bauckham said: “Our in-depth VOR [vehicle off-road] data shows that the Southampton-based vehicles achieved the highest levels of utilisation, due to low levels of VOR compared to other locations that operate the same make of vehicle. This indicates to me the high quality of the preventive maintenance inspections carried out by Harwoods Truck Centre.” He goes on to describe Harwoods as the best dealership it uses in the UK.
Over the past few years, the irm has invested heavily in tachograph maintenance, opened a 24-hour tacho bay with slow-speed calibration rollers, and spent £1,000 per technician on training. It’s another initiative that has paid dividends – Harwoods has negotiated a contract to look after all of TNT’s local tacho work. “The tacho business has another deinite beneit,” says Skudder. “It has given us exposure to non-MAN customers.” The pet-reg industry is suffering due to a fall in demand. Skudder says the latest igures suggest that 25% less fuel is being moved around the UK, but this hasn’t prevented the dealership from investing in pet-reg training for its technicians, and opening a new lame-resistant safe bay.
Harwoods has been able to take advantage of MAN’s massive MoD contract. Not only is it located close to Marchwood Military Port – where all vehicles returning from Afghanistan pass through – there are also a number of military bases nearby. The work it carries out varies from routine servicing to accident repairs. Skudder gives the example of a couple of trucks that recently required a complete rewire after a rope got caught around their propshafts, ripping the wiring looms off the chassis.
“As a franchise, we are lucky to have the military work – it has certainly helped,” he says. “Sometimes you just have to ride your luck, don’t you?”
To win the Motor Transport Dealer of the Year award, you need a lot more than luck! You need commitment to service, highly trained technicians, business acumen and top-notch customer service levels – all of which Harwoods has in abundance. But most of all you need happy customers, which Harwoods deinitely has. ■