Professional Recovery 329

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OPINION Fred Henderson 30 minutes eta - try 30 days Derek Firminger never said a truer word when he said something like the 30 minute eta is irrelevant in most circumstances and there is no doubt about it that society is becoming hopeless and less punctual in every element of life. I have just had to endure a pointless and ridiculous experience, courtesy of our local Ford dealer who I shall forget to name and shame who claim on their adverts to promise the earth but most people are still waiting for the first shovelful. The story starts with a six monthold Transit Custom. During routine maintenance it was plugged into and found to have a slightly leaking injector. As we know these can have severe consequences if left unattended over a period of time. I therefore thought, ever so simple, book it in, get it changed, and away we go. How mistaken can a person be? I firstly rang the dealer, who is just a couple of miles up the road, to find that incoming calls were transferred to a call centre 30 miles away, but might as well have been in India. I was interrogated for the next 10 minutes and asked many leading questions, none of which was about the number two injector on our van. I was eventually given a booked date of 25 days ahead, claiming that was the soonest it could possibly be done but if I took it in at 10 o’clock that day it would be looked after. Roll on 25 days and I turn up at 9 o’clock prepared to leave the vehicle. I took the trouble of presenting all of the information we had gathered, including the fault code and so forth but this didn’t seem to appeal to anyone’s better nature and I was able to just leave the key and they would contact me. On this action I wasn’t too bothered and, being fairly patient, after three days (yes three days) I decided to ring up and find out. Now, this is not simple either because the phone is diverted to our 30-mile Call Centre. Finally, giving up, I was transported to the dealership to have a face to face conversation, only to be told “sorry mate, we have been too busy and we are going to try and look at it tomorrow”. I had only three words to say to him –“Give me keys’, and I left. We then rang our Ford suppliers, bought an injector for £78 and dialed it in off our own software and away we went, after a total downtime of approximately 28 days and six hours, all for a few pounds. It appears that the dealership, apart from needing a course in customer relations, is a bit short staffed, but they are not too short staffed to sell someone a new vehicle with a three-year warranty which will be honoured immediately, apparently. Whilst this was a Ford dealer, in many cases it could have been any of the larger dealer groups. I know someone who went to a Vauxhall dealer with an engine management light on and told it would be £97 plus VAT just to plug-in. Suffering from ‘stage fright’ and high blood pressure she returned and called her breakdown company who, I guess, would turn up in 30-odd minutes, having been paid just over £40. They then plugged in and told her it was an oxygen sensor. There is a real message hidden in there about the way the breakdown system is abused but, on the other hand, £97 is a bit rich for two or three minutes. It is easy to be critical but these people give you enough material to work with; staffing and workload are becoming a serious problem within the motor trade. It might be hard work to get a plumber but I think it is becoming harder to get a motor mechanic. More on this next time. Fred Henderson Breakdown Doctor 20 PROFESSIONAL RECOVERY MAGAZINE 20 Fred.indd 1 25/08/2020 11:34
NEWSDESK Fourwinds look to J&J for their latest slide bed The Cornish tourist season is definitely gathering pace now in the UK despite the obvious global challenges and the odd protester with a can of spray paint and a desire to claim his 15 minutes of fame. Fourwinds Garage in Mitchell (Newquay) has provided 24 hour rescue and recovery services on behalf of many of the major clubs for over 30 years and not much fazes Dave Henwood. Fourwinds Garage offer diagnostics and repairs, tyre fitting, air conditioning and MOT’s. They are a family run business and are the largest employer in Mitchel with multi skilled technicians in their workshops and a fleet of around 40 vehicles. Dave’s latest truck built by J&J Conversions Ltd is an MAN Day cab with a steel slide bed and second car lift. It joins their fleet to work predominantly on their large Police contract - so although it couldn’t technically be described as ‘bullet proof’, it was designed for no frills function, built to be tough, robust and durable. Fourwinds have a further two new vehicles in build with J&J which will be operational for the autumn. For more information contact J&J Conversions Ltd, www.jjconversions.co.uk/ or email helen.majeed@j-jconversions.co.uk READY TO REGISTER FOR SEPTEMBER 70 PLATE NEW IVECO CREW CAB WITH 180BHP EURO 6 • 6 Speed manual gear box • Rear air suspension with ECAS • Factory fit PTO with electric controls and automatic throttle to increase revs • Business Premium pack • Air conditioning • Cruise control • Fog lights • Suspended drivers seat • Electric & Heated mirrors • Heated wind screen • Fitted with Predator aluminium slide bed • Stainless steel gantry with red running lights • Vision Alert 12 Series LED light bar • 3500kg winch with Lodar radio remote • 2 lockers • Work lamps • Straps and fully tested tow assembly For a full specification email: Helen.majeed@j-jconversions.co.uk Call us on: 01264 3<strong>329</strong>19 PROFESSIONAL RECOVERY MAGAZINE 21 21 J&J FourWinds.indd 1 24/08/2020 13:36
Page 1 and 2: Professional Issue 329 August 2020
Page 3 and 4: Inside Welcome to The Professional
Page 5 and 6: Call 01625 577 753 or visit Bolling
Page 7 and 8: www.VisionVehicles.co.uk REPLACEMEN
Page 9 and 10: Striving to make the industry more
Page 11 and 12: RECOVERYINSIDER If we allow standar
Page 13 and 14: RECOVERYINSIDER and it’ll help yo
Page 15 and 16: AVROUPDATE AVRO updates the industr
Page 17 and 18: emovable low profile wheel bars and
Page 19: The Tow Show team would like to say
Page 23 and 24: ivrupdate PROFESSIONAL RECOVERY MAG
Page 25 and 26: NEWSDESK MESSAGE OF CONDOLENCE Wend
Page 27 and 28: BONIFACE DPS.indd 2 19/08/2020 09:4
Page 29 and 30: The Rapid Deployment Transporter (R
Page 31 and 32: HAZCHEMRECOVERY following successfu
Page 33 and 34: IRISHOPERATORS RECOVERY ON THE EMER
Page 35 and 36: IRISHOPERATORS CCRS CCRS is a famil
Page 37 and 38: Speaking with training providers, t
Page 39 and 40: do their research and check that th
Page 41 and 42: WORKSHOP DESTROY VIRUSES AND BACTER
Page 43 and 44: 2 5 1 7 6 4 3 8 1. Autorite (Willen
Page 45 and 46: MeettheProfessionals Cumbria FURNES
Page 47 and 48: MeettheProfessionals TYREMEN UK LTD
Page 49 and 50: CMG 24 Hr Vehicle Assistance, Car &
Page 51 and 52: Service Line Contact Marie Dobson o

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