F&I Management & Training

Motor Codes, the government-backed, self-regulatory body for the automotive industry, is set to raise the bar for customer satisfaction in 2011 and increase credibility for subscribing garages, through top-level links to government.

2011 sees the beginning of a new 'tough but fair' era for Motor Codes under the watchful eye of the newly appointed Chairman of the Motor Codes advisory body, ICAP (Independent Compliance and Assessment Panel). As Chairman, Ron Gainsford, Chief Executive of the Trading Standards Institute, will intensify the monitoring of each Code, concentrating efforts on the growth of the Service and Repair Code. His role will become increasingly vital to ensure subscriber standards continue to be met and maintained, while only the best garages are promoted to motorists.

Internally, Motor Codes has announced the appointment of Chris Mason to Managing Director and he points out that the increasing support of Motor Codes is good news for motorists, "There is now a Motor Codes garage in every major town and city of the UK, which means greater peace of mind for motorists. We have expanded our motorist advice team, providing a free, independent advice and conciliation service, maintaining customer satisfaction levels and greatly reducing potential disputes for subscribers."

An important part of the 2011 activity is the annual Golden Garages competition. Launching on 10 January, it will profile the UK's top 50 service and repair centres, identifying examples of best practice locally and nationally. The competition will conclude in April when the UK's Golden Garage will be revealed.