The Face of the Business
As the public face of the company, the recovery driver has been described in these pages as a ‘mobile reception’. So how can businesses ensure they’re getting the most value out of their drivers? Bodyshop magazine speaks to operations managers, bodyshop owners and directors about the role of the recovery driver.
Mac Engledew, director, Recovery World
How important are drivers to a company’s reputation?
The drivers in many cases would be the first/only point of contact for the stranded motorist and quite often the recovery driver is dealing with the customers’ pride and joy or second most expensive item many people buy after there house and therefore how that driver looks, acts, portrays himself and what his vehicle is like gives the customer an impression of how their vehicle will be taken care of.
How often are your drivers directly in front of customers?
Every job they go out to is a customer or potential customer, whether it be a collection from the owners premise or recovered from another companies depot.
Do many businesses overlook the potential for this area of brand promotion?
It’s an area the industry has massively improved in over the past few years and for a lot of companies. We now appreciate image plays a massive part and the need to come across as a professional organisation.
How do you ensure your drivers present the company appropriately?
For us as a company that sells and hires recovery vehicles, we have a customer service team that keeps in contact with customers after they sold or hired a vehicle to make sure they were happy with the service they received and there inquiry was dealt with in a prompt and professional manner.
Has the role of the driver changed in recent years with the widespread use of digital imaging?
Yes, for some the recovery operators utilize smart media to take photos and produce collection and delivery notes which get sent straight to the association they are working for or the vehicle owner. We are also looking to introduce hire agreements and imaging in the new year which each driver will carry and use on delivery and collection of the hire vehicles.
How do your drivers interact with the workshop to ensure they’re prepared for the incoming job and a streamlined process?
Some of the clubs run vehicle familiarization training for roadside technicians. As a manufacturer, we keep up to date with the best way to load vehicles, taking into account weights, dimensions, ground clearance, etc. This is important for our customers and we need to make sure the vehicle we supply will do the job that it’s intended for and we design our vehicle to be as versatile as possible and meet our customers needs.
Do you expect autonomous driving to impact the role of the recovery driver?
In theory it should mean less accidents but certainly in the short time it may mean an increase in work load as the vehicle manufacturers try get the technology to be reliable.
Phil Ewbank, owner/chairman, Fix Auto Rochdale
How important are drivers to a company’s reputation?
Immensely important as on many occasions they are the only face to face contact the customer has. Their appearance, calm approach to the situation on collection/recovery, offering support and reassurance around the repair process is invaluable on that initial contact.
How often are your drivers directly in front of customers?
Every single day and multiple occasions each and every day. They are in many cases our best ambassadors for not only the Fix Auto Rochdale/UK brand but every part of our business.
Do many businesses overlook the potential for this area of brand promotion?
Well, within the Fix Auto UK network we are extremely focused on customer care and attention to detail given the drivers interaction with the customer. That said, I can imagine this could be overlooked by others.
How do you ensure your drivers present the company appropriately?
Clean vehicle, smart appearance, uniform with company name displayed, regular training on dealing with customers – we even provide role play initiatives to remove that nervousness and how to deal with different situations. Most importantly, we share the customer survey feedback with the guys every single time and that is such a motivational part.
Has the role of the driver changed in recent years with the widespread use of digital imaging?
The fundamental role hasn’t changed but the tools in which we equip the guys with have. Like any technology there are people who shy away from adopting it but again, with the correct training, it can also eradicate some historic issues around clarity so we encourage the use of technology to reduce any areas of doubt.
How do your drivers interact with the workshop to ensure they’re prepared for the incoming job and a streamlined process?
Our drivers interact directly with front of house and VDAs on any points they have gained from the customer. Again, being able to communicate with other team members is vital to customer satisfaction on repairs and potential upsells.
Do you expect autonomous driving to impact the role of the recovery driver?
Again, vehicle technology is moving at such a pace I am sure this will form part of our ongoing driver training.
What should businesses do to make sure drivers are best representing them?
Well, hopefully this article will offer them food for thought and look at which points they feel they could adopt to ensure they are offering the best possible customer experience. Personally, I would say businesses need to ensure their drivers feel as important as every member of the team. For years this has not been the case and the importance of the role as gone unnoticed. Treat everyone as a professional and invariably the act like a professional.
Steve Knight, owner, Fix Auto Deepcut
How important are drivers to a company’s reputation?
Greatly. Drivers are predominately the face of the business and a majority of the time the first and only port of call for a customer. How they deal with a customer is vitally important and cannot be understated. I am extremely fortunate that my lead driver, Mark Lee, has worked for me for more than 10 years and I rely on him greatly. Mark is a true professional with an incredible attitude to the role and, specifically, to customer care.
How often are your drivers directly in front of customers?
Daily. There are days when Mark, for instance, will see 12 clients and that is a huge responsibility. I couldn’t have just anyone in that position.
Do many businesses overlook the potential for this area of brand promotion?
Certainly not within the Fix Auto UK network but I am sure there are repairers out there that do.
How do you ensure your drivers present the company appropriately?
As I’ve said, Mark is a true professional driver in every sense of the word (he holds every licence available) so he really leads by example. He’s extremely presentable, polite and courteous. By his own admission he lives and works by the thought that he likes to treat people in the manner in which he likes to be treated which is exemplary. As a business, we provide branded uniforms and the best vehicles we can. Only last year we bought a new lorry – we tend to replace them every four/five years – to ensure that the best image is portrayed. I for one wouldn’t want my pride and joy to be towed away on a rusting hulk so I don’t see why customers should!
Has the role of the driver changed in recent years with the widespread use of digital imaging?
Yes. While the basic role hasn’t changed, we have to be extremely thorough with our paperwork and in photographing a vehicle on collection to ensure a seamless repair.
How do your drivers interact with the workshop to ensure they’re prepared for the incoming job and a streamlined process?
When delivering a vehicle to the workshop Mark will brief the team about the customer, specifically their needs and expectations. He’s also the final element of our QC process – at the end of the day, the last thing he wants is to be challenged by a customer over a repair so he’ll check the vehicle closely and if it is not to his high standards he’ll raise it. Fortunately, that is extremely rare.
What should businesses do to make sure drivers are best representing them?
Ensuring your driver, like every member of the team, is valued. As I’ve said, I am blessed because I have a guy who has worked for me for more than 10 years who takes great pride in his work and in representing the business. He’s someone I can rely on 100% but I also know the likes of him are hard to come by.
Scott Dunnell, operations manager, Fix Auto Dagenham
How important are drivers to a company’s reputation?
We haven’t called our ‘drivers’ drivers for some time. To us, they’re integral to the whole customer experience which is why they, along with the front of house team, help to make up the ‘customer experience team’ and are branded accordingly. They are a vital element to the business – we firmly believe a ‘driver’ is arguably one of the most understated roles within a vehicle repair business but to us, we see them as a vital element of the whole process. In many instances, they are literally the face of the business.
How often are your drivers directly in front of customers?
A day doesn’t go by when a ‘driver’ doesn’t meet or greet a customer. In fact, it’s several times a day which is why we value them so highly.
Do many businesses overlook the potential for this area of brand promotion?
Yes. I know there are repairers that do, but not within the Fix Auto UK family! Thanks to the training we receive, the brand guidelines we follow, along with good old fashioned common sense, we all brand the front-facing guys up correctly.
How do you ensure your drivers present the company appropriately?
Every member of the customer experience team has to undergo a training programme before they come into contact with any customer. They are all signed up to the training portal provided by Fix Auto UK to ensure any ongoing training possibilities are fulfilled. As I’ve said, they are the face of the business and they must be aligned to our company values, be aware of our mission statement along with that of Fix Auto UKs’. Being fully branded, neat, tidy, presentable and courteous at all times is paramount.
Has the role of the driver changed in recent years with the widespread use of digital imaging?
The role hasn’t really changed, the tools which they are using have. As an example, we use the Circle Leasing MyFleet App to record and log a vehicles’ condition which is a million miles away from the days of taking pictures and writing things down.
How do your drivers interact with the workshop to ensure they’re prepared for the incoming job and a streamlined process?
The customer experience team – or drivers – do not really interact with the workshop with regarding to the repair process. They do, however, liaise closely with the VDAs. As I’ve said, they are the normally first port of call between the customer and the business so the information they gather surrounding the repair and the customer is vital. Crucially, though, is the direct/seamless communication between the two teams to ensure the repair is carried out as quickly as possible.
What should businesses do to make sure drivers are best representing them?
As I’ve explained, training and communicating with the team are the best ways to ensure they are representing the business. They are a vital element of the process and have to be respected for the role they do. Our customer experience team – or drivers – are very much the face of the whole operation. They are Fix Auto Dagenham.
Andy Pennell, group operations manager, Balgores Motor Group
How important are drivers to a company’s reputation?
They are major, a lot of the time they are the only face a customer sees. They need to be smart and presentable. One of the challenges we have is on the M25, they need to be multilingual as well. We get a lot of customers who English is not their native language. We have a few drivers who speak multiple languages, so we will give them that job. Customers feel more comfortable when they have a driver who speaks their native language, however being presentable and trustworthy are the main things.
How often are your drivers directly in front of customers?
All the time. Recovery drivers go to a customer’s house, pick the car up, and do all the paperwork with them. So they do need to be smart, presentable, and polite. Quite often the drivers will be the only people the customer will see and meet from Balgores. They are brand representing. They all wear ID badges with the Balgores logo with their names and photo to help with brand representation.
Do many businesses overlook the potential for this area of brand promotion?
Definitely. All the drivers give our customers a welcome pack, and that is the first contact we have. It tells our customers all about the company, what we do, the website link, etc. Also, we include the account manager details of their insurance company with direct contact details in case they are not able to get a hold of anyone.
How do you ensure your drivers present the company appropriately?
Badges, coats, shirts, fleeces, we are all branded up. Part of the induction we do is we go through the history of the business, so if customers do ask questions they can help and answer accurately.
Has the role of the driver changed in recent years with the widespread use of digital imaging?
Massively. We are now converting over so that everything will be paperless. All the courtesy car paperwork will all be done on a tablet. Then we will email all the vehicle health checks and additional information. It’s so important that everything is done digitally because then it is time and date stamped, and easily accessible to customers through email. Photographs and the digital accuracy protect our customers and our business. We can see where the scuffs and damages were before we arrived. It protects everyone.
How do your drivers interact with the workshop to ensure they’re prepared for the incoming job and a streamlined process?
It’s all on the tablets. Drivers don’t do estimates, but they speak to the customers and put notes on the system and that allows for the estimator to see any notes that have been made. This helps everyone massively. It keeps details of all communications. Just keep is simple, that’s all you need, and everyone knows what’s going on.
Do you expect autonomous driving to impact the role of the recovery driver?
Eventually. If you have completely autonomous vehicles then you could just programme them to go anywhere. So as long as the car is driveable, it can be programmed to go to the repair shop and then back to the customer. I think we are a few years away from that. But, eventually, anything that is not road worthy will still need recovered. Our drivers will have to be knowledgeable in different ways, for example knowing how to handle the electrics on a fully electric vehicle. It is getting more and more complex.
