Another dealer needlessly dropped

VolvoMan

http://www.autotrade.ie/10auto-news/1837.html

From what I know, Phoenix Motors were one of the top sellers of Skoda in Ireland and apparently had an unrivalled reputation in customer service. Because of this arrogant attitude previously seen by BMW and now the VW Group, many people will be out of a job in what is already a tough economic environment.

RedorDead

VolvoMan wrote: »

http://www.autotrade.ie/10auto-news/1837.html

From what I know, Phoenix Motors were one of the top sellers of Skoda in Ireland and apparently had an unrivalled reputation in customer service. Because of this arrogant attitude previously seen by BMW and now the VW Group, many people will be out of a job in what is already a tough economic environment.

Im sure there was valid reasons for cancelling their contract. If they were liquid with high sales and excellent customer service i am sure there would be no issue.

Captain Slow IRL

What do you mean about the arrogant attitudes?

VolvoMan

Captain Slow IRL wrote: »

What do you mean about the arrogant attitudes?

Some of the requirements they implement for their dealers such as distance between cars in showrooms and dropping them if their showrooms are not multi-million glass pavillions that 'reflect their brand identity' or such rubbish.

Fiskar

TMC here in Navan are similar to Phoenix in terms of showroom type and location as well as sales. Same will probably happen to them so?

RedorDead

VolvoMan wrote: »

Some of the requirements they implement for their dealers such as distance between cars in showrooms and dropping them if their showrooms are not multi-million glass pavillions that 'reflect their brand identity' or such rubbish.

The fact the bank got involved would lead me to believe it had nothing to do with showroom standards.

ThisRegard

I was wondering whey they lost the franchise and the only reason I could think of was their showrooms were not particularly large or flashy. Apart from that they were always pleasant to deal with, particularly the service department and as they were one of what, 2 or 3 Skoda dealers in Dublin, I find it hard to see how they could be in financial trouble, the cars sell themselves.

robtri

VolvoMan wrote: »

Some of the requirements they implement for their dealers such as distance between cars in showrooms and dropping them if their showrooms are not multi-million glass pavillions that 'reflect their brand identity' or such rubbish.

no different really than any other major franchise around the world... The Owner sets out rules for use their brand, whether it be Skoda or mc donalds

munchkin_utd

VolvoMan wrote: »

Some of the requirements they implement for their dealers such as distance between cars in showrooms and dropping them if their showrooms are not multi-million glass pavillions that 'reflect their brand identity' or such rubbish.

thats not arrogance.
Thats business.
The identity of BMW as a brand is very important in the process of selling very expensive cars to people.

now......
whether the bar is set too high for a private operator to ever hope to achieve is another question.

the oldest BMW dealership in the world went bankrupt in Munich in March 2009 *. Was going since 1929. It was also the last remaining independent BMW dealership in the Munich area.

They spent 25million on new showrooms and despite good sales were not able to meet repayments. BMW were relentless and wouldnt give an inch.
In June 2009 BMW took over the remains of the bankrupt dealership **

Was it a strategic move to eliminate a dealer through setting super high showroom standards? A backdoor way of eliminating the middleman?
I amnt sure.
But even if it were, its not arrogance. Its business.

Same as apple deciding who can sell the iPhone. Its their product so they can decide how it is sold.

* http://www.kfz-betrieb.vogel.de/wirtschaft/articles/173100/
** http://www.kfz-betrieb.vogel.de/neuwagen/handel/articles/191585/
(if youre using chrome internet browser you should get it automatically translated)

unkel

But Skoda <> BMW. The last thing Skoda needs is a flashy showroom. We are talking budget value for money cars here, aren't we, VAG? :rolleyes:

The Phoenix motors showrooms in Bluebell were adequate, and didn't they move into the larger vacated dealership next door some time last year?

Shocking they lost the franchise tbh. They seem to do very well and I can personally vouch for their good service at reasonable prices.

alias no.9

Seen some promos for a new Skoda dealer in Ballymount, just down the road from Phoenix, so it can't be concentration of dealerships. I haven't seen the showrooms for the new dealer so can't comment on them. IIRC the Skoda head office in Ireland is in Ballymount, I wonder if they're operating the new dealership directly, cutting out the middle man.

munchkin_utd

phoenix has mazda AND skoda

i dont know whats going on behind the scenes, but Bradys of Arva in Cavan also had mazda + VW products and Mazda got the chop there, VW/ Audi staying on.

They had both companies product lines since the 70s there.

are those two companies allergic to each other recently or whats the story?

Fey!

Òn that logic, Monaghans in Galway have Skoda, Mazda, Fiat and Alfa. I think that they also still have a hand in Hyundai, but they lost Honda last year.

Motorpark in Galway have Ford and Mitsubishi, but lost BMW and Mini last year. They are also a recognised Toyota service centre now, too, even though another garage has the Toyota dealership a couple of miles away.

Piri

BMW is auditing the dealers every year
They checking everything : distance of cars is showroom (min 60cm), temperature and light intensity! in showroom , colour of tiles (anthracite only)
If you loosing points on this your end of year bonus is gone
Not enough to sell 2000 cars/month , showroom and service must be BMW standard as well

R.O.R

munchkin_utd wrote: »

phoenix has mazda AND skoda

i dont know whats going on behind the scenes, but Bradys of Arva in Cavan also had mazda + VW products and Mazda got the chop there, VW/ Audi staying on.

They had both companies product lines since the 70s there.

are those two companies allergic to each other recently or whats the story?

Mazda used to be imported by MDL along with Volkswagen, Audi and Mercedes, so that's why you'd see VW & Mazda.

Mazda bought temsleves out of MDL in 2007, so that's why a lot of MDL dealers lost or got rid of the Mazda franchises.

VolvoMan

munchkin_utd wrote: »

thats not arrogance.
Thats business.

That's pretty bad business if you ask me. I would rather have a good dealer with an adequate showroom than some glass palace that I would be paying for every time I left the car in to be serviced. Customer service and value are of far more importance to me than the building the cars are sold out of or even the distance between the cars in the showroom.

Piri wrote: »

BMW is auditing the dealers every year
They checking everything : distance of cars is showroom (min 60cm), temperature and light intensity! in showroom , colour of tiles (anthracite only)
If you loosing points on this your end of year bonus is gone
Not enough to sell 2000 cars/month , showroom and service must be BMW standard as well

You see, I just call that anal. BMW obviously have no idea of what actual customer service is. It is certainly not the colour of the tiles in the showroom anyway. People blabber on about how brilliant the likes of M&G in Milltown are. So they bloody should be when they're charinging 150 an hour for labour alone. I also know for a fact that they have mostly apprentices working on the cars as well.

Piri

1 hour of work in London at BMW dealership is 200 pounds
As far as I remember there should be minimum 55 lux at 1.5 meter from floor.
My task was pre-audit the dealership where I was working.

Big Nasty

Piri wrote: »

1 hour of work in London at BMW dealership is 200 pounds
As far as I remember there should be minimum 55 lux at 1.5 meter from floor.
My task was pre-audit the dealership where I was working.

£200 an hour labour!?!:eek:

And we think we're being ripped of here? Ouch!

Piri

90% of the dealerships within M25 using 200 pounds per hour.

rev2.0

VolvoMan wrote: »

M&G in Milltown are. So they bloody should be when they're charinging 150 an hour for labour alone. I also know for a fact that they have mostly apprentices working on the cars as well.

How can a garage with 2 apprentices(one not far off being qualified) have them working on most cars?

VolvoMan

rev2.0 wrote: »

How can a garage with 2 apprentices(one not far off being qualified) have them working on most cars?

That's still two apprentices though. I wouldn't want any inexperienced workshop staff near my car at the rates you charge.

Big Nasty

VolvoMan wrote: »

That's still two apprentices though. I wouldn't want any inexperienced workshop staff near my car at the rates you charge.

And the same feckers are on minimum wage for plugging in diagnostics and replacing rather than fixing.

Actually if BMW, or any other distributors systems are so good these days why should we pay more than minimum wage for labour when all they do is diagnose and replace?