AT THE HEART OF THE ROAD TRANSPORT INDUSTRY.

Call our Sales Team on 0208 912 2120

COMBINING AN AGENCY WITH MAINTENANCE.

13th April 1920, Page 18
13th April 1920
Page 18
Page 18, 13th April 1920 — COMBINING AN AGENCY WITH MAINTENANCE.
Close
Noticed an error?
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.

Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

The " Live " Garage Proprietor Who Intends to Undertake Repairs by Contract will Seek a .Good Vehicle Agency.

By "Vim."

MONEY IS to be made out of contracts for maintaining commercial vehicles used by local tradesmen. I put it in this way because I want to make plain my belief that such contracts can be, in themselves, paying propositions, irrespective of sales of vans and lorries. Maintenance business should stand on it's awn legs, for it is economically unsound—looking at it from the standpoint of garage proprietor or user—that it should be a " givenaaAwa.yawith-a-pound-of-tea" service, designed to promote vehicle sales. The willingness of an agent to undertake, for pre-determined sums, the upkeep of the cars he sells, indisputably must be a big inducement to tradesmen to place thenorders with him; but that is no reason at all why he should be content to make nothing out of it. If the commissions to be earned-from selling,commercial vehicles were so great as to render it worth the agent's while to run a non-paying scheme of maintenance (which they most certainly a.re not), then I should Ague,

iii n the interests of both parties, that those commissions were much too high, and shouldthe reduced.

As the selling of commercial vehicles stands to-day, the profits derivable therefrom are' by no Means ex-• cessive, especially when the ever-soaring condition of overhead expenses is taken into acccaint. The agent who, out of his anxiety to increase the. turnoveraof his sales department, is prepared to run:a, maintenance department without remuneration, or, nor,sibly, at a loss, is acting like a foola=if I may 1;6 pardoned the use of that word, the onlYOne that seems

to s nit the though it.cou ld: be improved by an adjective. Nobody really Wants his charity; but he, very likely, will wantother ,people's before long!

I am, in fact, ,inclined 'to. think that 'sales should be regarded as an adjunct to niaintenance, not viceversa. All ,sorts' of 'influences beyond a garage pr-O-, prieter's, control may affect the number of cars he gets rid of from month to month, but, igis-en good management and adequate advertisement, ;the repairs and, upkeep side of his:: trade should show a steady improvement, and be a constantly reliable source of revenue. Evenness of income is of vital importance to the well-being of asabusiness. concern. Perhaps " evenness" is not exactly the right term, for it rather inifilies lack of progress; and that, I am far from wishing any firm. What Lalesire. to toonvey is, that irregular fluctuations in turnover are to be avoided, as throwing ,sudden eveenpressure of work on one's staff at one momens, and then.leaving it high and dry the next, The motor trade.has, up to now, been disposed to look on repair work as an unpleasant duty, to be accepted with as much pleasantness as possible, but for duty's sake only—asta kind of disagreeable anti-dyspepsia medicine which must necessarily be swallowed with sales to enable the latter to be assimilated with comfort. Of course, that idea. has been wrong altogether. Repairing. is not medicine ; it is the bread and butter of the motor trade—and very nice bread and i

butter it is, too. Too much cake, n the shape of sales, is unwholesome; it fills, while it does not build up the muscle and bone of a garage. The garage that relies on sales as its chief item of diet may look healthy enough, but it is frightfully susceptible to draughts. Local trade depressions, inability to procure deliveries of new vehicles, and so on, quickly give it "the shivers." It is, to stretch the simile, all pink cheeks and bright eyes (a condition not unknown to drug takers), but without much stamina. On the contrary, the motor trader yvha has & 032

veloped this repairs department, until the income from it has become the mainstay of hisconcern, is in.: a very different state. Directly a motor vehicle has passed out of a showroom into active existence, it begink to create work for ',somebody. ;Rarely is a car, least of all a commercial car, put out .of action for an indefinite period. The capital it represents is more than any owner cares to see standing. idle, and if he cannot employ it himself he turns it into cash, whereupon its new owner starts to spend-money on it. Hence, there is a steadily-increasing amount of money being spent eyery day on keeping cars, and, more particularly, those used for industrial purposes, in good going order. If war, strikes, lockouts, or any similar national calamity were to put an end to sales of new vehicles to-morrow, the venicles in use would still be contributing their quota of income to. automobile repairers. Pink cheeks might not be so .much in evidence, but the strength to carry on would be . yteree., having assuredshinaself. of a sufficiency of bread and .butter, the "live," garage ptoprietor should not neglect the faet. that cake tastes well, and is even beneficial as a dietary variation. The building up of a business based on .m.aintaining tradesmen's vehicles wider contract can be combined, advantageously with the handling of an agency for a goad make of motor vehicle. The fact that a trailer has already assubstantial connection amongst users • will be apowerful recommendation in the eyes of any, manufacturer who understand the value of proper* local representation.

As' soon'as he becomes widely known in his district as a Maar trader who is prepared to undertake the „maintenance of vans and lorries by contract, a garage proprietor is sure to be consulted by many tradesmen who have not yet purchased their vehicles. He will,, thus, have numerous opportunities -of making sales while fixing up contracts ; and, conversely, he will be able to obtain contracts while effecting sales: In fine, the two sides of his business will react on. each other all through. It may be said that thisre. action would also take place if his eales department predominated, and that is true, but there is this distinction between the two states of affairs, that not -only will the predominance of his, repairs over his sales department enhance the worth of his advice, but it will make fluctuations of his sales turnover practically.ianmaterial to aim.

Conformably with my argument that maintenanee service should stand on its own legs and in no eircumsta.nces be considered a rnakeaveight to sell -a vehicle, there should never .be any question of offera mg a, prospective purchaser a contract to look after the upkeep ,of his purchase, ata a rate bearing no profit. But, granted the possession of an agency for a standardized chassis, it should generally be possible to give their owners more favourable terms than the owners of other makes of vans or lorries. The agent's mechanics will be—or should be, after a little time—experts in repairing the make he handles, and in understanding its peculiar characteristics. This specialized knowledge will, naturally, reduce the cost of-labour involved in their upkeep. And 'there is a saving in another direction, for the stocking of replacement parts is simplified, and will require less capital per: vehicle as the number of the same make and type under contract grows. Decidedly, a firstrate agency is a priceless asset to the enterprising garage proprietor who is tackling maintenance business.

Tags

Organisations: Good Vehicle Agency

comments powered by Disqus