Where Shall I Deal ?
Page 9
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. —By the Editor,
New readers of this journal, who for the first time made close acquaintance with the satisfactory state of the commercial-motor industry at the recent Olympia Show, are likely to be asking themselves the question—where shall I deal? The choice between manufacturers is a personal matter, in the majority of instances, but the broad question of direct dealing with manufacturers, or of transactions through a local agent, has also to be settled, and it is in this connection that we feel we may, with some advantage to all parties concerned, pass some comment. There are good and bad agents : men who will merely take their commission, if they can get it, and do nothing else, somewhat like the Indian whose caste would allow him to do nothing but draw his wages. There are, on the other hand, painstaking and serious agents, who have much to offer to the new purchaser, both from the standpoints of advisory guidance and helpful following-up. We are, generally speaking, in favour of dealings through the agent, except in cases where it can clearly be shown that the man who professes to act in that capacity renders service to nobody, and, strictly speaking, falls within the category of a blackmailer. No bona-fide agent, who has his capital and his future at stake, can rightfully be classed with the men, of no definite occupation, who seek to turn to account, for their own fleeting benefit, inside and advance information concerning definite intentions of friends who have resolved to purchase. Many such men harass sections of the motor industry, although they do not have quite the same scope on the business side as they do on the private-car side of it, in which branch they are often a veritable curse. A commercial-motor manufacturer has no use for such "parasites "-men who give nothing, yet seek to add to their substance by drawing unearned payments. We have, in this office, quite a file of glaring examples of this nature, of which information has reached us, during the past eight years, from friends in the trade. When and why should a buyer pas his order through an agent? Those are the points which are immediately before us. The shopkeeper or other small user, who cannot for some years to come usefully buy more than one or two vehicles, has very much to gain by dealing through a local agent of repute and standing. We differentiate between the large buyer with several addresses, and with his establishments dotted about the country in the areas of several agents to any particular maker, and the individual trader who has a single shop or small works. The latter is the type of man par excellence, who should deal with an agent, and above all he is the type of man who should be cultivated by the agent. We consider that the agent should come into his own in all cases when the buyer whose interest is to be aroused is located in the agent's own district, and when that buyer's trade ramifications are wholly centred there. That is by way of a beginning, because the agent who can "make good" with that class of buyer will generally, seeing that the small man is usually the hardest to convince, be able quickly to show that he has claims upon his principals for better treatment in the matter of commissions, and wider recognition in the matter of area. The big houses, with many branches, railway companies and other large corporations, have seldom anything to gain by dealing through an agent, but, conversely, they cannot expect the local agent of the maker, in the event of their setting a motor to work in an isolated district, to take much interest in the machine, for the simple reason that the agent will not have had any money paid to him to furnish a quid pro ono for his looking after the vehicle in any way There must, of course, be exceptions, but we find that this lack of interest on the part of the agent, in the absence of any payment to him. is both capable of explanation and universal.
Amongst the principal reasons why the small trader, or the isolated owner, should put his order through a local agent, and be willing to allow this entrepreneur to make his " turn " out of the deal, is that he will have legitimate grounds for appeal to the agent when lie is in trouble of any kind., or when he is in doubt as to the proper course to be followed in respect of any point connected with the running, maintenance, or repair of the van or other vehicle.
The established garage proprietor, or any agent in other classes which will undoubtedly spring up in connection with commercial-motor developments, is clearly. in a position. to understand the economical supervision of even a single motorvan very much better than the grocer, the baker, or the candlestick maker. The nature of his business, for example, enables, him to clean, to supply, and to overlook the vehicle more efficiently and with less inconvenience than the trader can upon his own premises, partly because of the absence of fresh insurance risks, which are already covered in the case of the garage proprietor, and partly because he has the expert knowledge himself, or the trained staff at his disposal, to ensure that these apparently-simple requirements will be fully discharged. The local agent, too, by reason of his direct touch with his principals, and by reason of the facilities which any reasonable maker will afford to a local agent, can either lend or replace particular parts without delay. Again, on. account of his having probably a good aggregate of business with his principals, the local agent can settle any little troubles than may arise, and especially so if they involve allowances or discounts, very much more to the advantage of his local customer than if that owner were trying to effect a settlement on his own account. As often as not, it is to the agent's interest to give a small ex-gratia credit, and so can he, at one and the same time, please the local buyer and serve the maker.
We have several times argued the case in favour of the agent. dating back to our special issue dealing with " Great Openings for the Middleman" of the 12th October, 1905. We regretfully admit that agents, as a class, did not heed that early appeal, and that they preferred the easier and more-immediate attractions of the private-car side. They have, as a consequence, only themselves to thank for the suspicious attitude towards them of some of the principal commercial-motor makers at the present time ; they will have to set themselves, by giving genuine evidence of intention to act differently, to break down the feeling, which now undoubtedly exists, that, as the makers have borne the brunt of the fray, without any real measure of help from the agents, and the agents merely now wish to step in and share in the good things which have come about, scant consideration need be accorded them.
As matters stand, however they may develop in the
next few years, we do feel that the small local buyer will in nearly all cases gain by putting his orders through the nearest local agent of standing. In competition with big customers, he cannot hope to get first-hand and good attention from the factory, without intervention of the kind which we indicate. That will be, in our opinion, stage number one in the agent's ABC on the commercial-motor side of the trade. We strongly urge users to pick agents with care and discretion, and we equally urge .agents. to give value for the commission which they will receive.
To the manufacturers, with many of whom we have discussed this agent question, we would say this: it will be in your interest forthwith to admit the principle of a lower quotation to the bona-fide trader, compared with that to any purchaser who is a consumer of your goods for his own purposes.