We place emphasis on the quality of our customer service and in 2007 launched the Customer 1st initiative as part of the Inchcape Advantage programme to deliver outstanding customer service ‘every time, every day, everywhere’
Following extensive consumer research, we developed and implemented Customer 1st processes, training and systems throughout our retail centres. This has allowed local management to set targets for each centre based on customer satisfaction.
Our customer understanding is facilitated both by the monthly mystery shop of each of our retail centres and by quantitative analysis of NPS results. Here, on a monthly basis, each retail centre submits feedback from buyers and non-buyers about their experience at the centre.
We use our Inchcape Advantage programme to monitor both our own performance as the retailer for our brand partners and the performance of third-party retailers where we manage the retail network as the distributor.
We believe that this focus on customer service and sales technology will help us deliver a superior retail experience to our customers. Further, an improved customer experience sets us apart from our competitors and builds loyalty, resulting in stronger relationships with our brand partners and leaving the Group better positioned to grow market share.
We are committed to providing clear information to our customers to help support them in their vehicle purchase choices.
As part of providing a customer focused aftersales service, we offer our customers an environmental vehicle health check which includes:
- Tyre pressure test
- CO2 test and emissions test
- Air condition check
- Engine lubricant test
- Emissions test
In some of our retail centres, customers are offered a free ‘green test drive’ during which we share tips with the customer on how to drive more efficiently, how to improve their environmental impact and ultimately how to reduce their vehicle running costs.
We also have accessories available that help our customers manage their environmental footprint, including low rolling resistance tyres and lower engine friction lubricants, which can reduce CO2 emissions.
Our brand partners
We carefully select the brand partners that we represent in each market. The automotive industry has made significant progress in reducing vehicle emissions and we fully support the investment that is being made by our brand partners in this area. In the UK, average new car emissions have fallen by over 13% in the last 10 years. The biggest impact that motorists could have on the environment is replacing older high emission vehicles and having their cars regularly serviced. Improvements in CO2 emissions have been achieved in all product segments. As an industry leader, Inchcape stays close to CO2 technological developments.
Read more in the 2009 Annual Report and Accounts
