Well it’s happened, and why would we think it couldn’t? Our band of merry men (the insiders) who spread good advice, news from the “inside” and expose bad practices in the trade find themselves a man light. One of our contributors, after more than 25 years of service to the motor trade from eager trainee parts man to group after-sales director and much more in between, has been made redundant. He’s found himself a victim of some dodgy lending decisions by some Mickey Mouse banks in the land of the free which has impacted so badly on this country that a hard working, wise and experienced professional has been relieved of his duties.
All I can say is that the company he leaves must have some real problems if they can afford to lose him. Thankfully as he has been cautious over the years and has known to treat the motor trade’s ups and downs the same as Kipling advises us to treat triumph and disaster, he has made provisions and was able to fix the roof while the sun was shining. But so far this month the casualty list has raised to such an extent that no-one is safe from the threat of job loss.
How does it affect the customer? Well, hopefully whilst dealers both franchised and independents streamline their operations the staff that are left will relish the fact that they are employed and will re-double their efforts in customer service and value for money. Couple this with the fact that factories around the world will be cutting production and new car sales will continue to spiral downwards we must wait for everything to bottom out and hope that in the next year to 18 months prices will still remain competitive. We have to hope that consumers will be happy to sponsor their local dealer and profitability will not be taken for granted. But perhaps most importantly good quality staff will be attracted and encouraged back to work for motor dealers which by then will be much smaller in number. This means people will probably have to travel further for their motoring needs as fewer companies will own more businesses and only well funded larger companies will survive to offer the service customers deserve.
Unfortunately for our Insider he now, of course, will have a lot more time on his hands but ironically, unless he gets back in the trade, won’t be able to contribute further to our site as he is no longer on the “inside”. He will, however remain an RSS subscriber and, typically he was putting a brave face on things;
“With regard to the US I just assumed I’d be horribly maimed as a knock-on effect from one of their insane, catastrophic wars, but instead they have, in an almost beautifully coordinated fashion, demolished the system that provides me with a job, a home and the vague hope that life may not be an elaborate waste of time. The bankers? Well I’d applaud them, if only I wasn’t so weak from all the nauseating terror.”
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