News

OFT Franchised Dealers vs Independents. Survey results...

The Office of Fair Trading found that franchised dealers were servicing around 90% of cars up to 3 years old. These services were on average 70% more expensive than an independent equivalent without any apparent difference in quality. The average price difference was £199 (franchise) compared to £116 (independent).

The 'cowboy' factor

It is a well known fact that our trade has a poor reputation for the way it treats its customers. Acorn have always looked to capitalize on this by demonstrating very clearly that we operate in exactly the opposite way. We have built our business on being honest and genuine with our customers and in fulfilling the promises we make. Our customers appreciate this and we enjoy a very high level of repeat business, we have found loyalty does truly work both ways.

Customer recommendation  - 'reaping the benefits of good customer service'

It is without doubt that the greatest compliment to any business is a customer who comes back and also tells their friends and colleagues how good you are. We at Acorn Garage are extremely proud of the fact that an incredible 75% of our business comes from repeat customers and referrals. We don't want to make you a customer for a day; we want to make you a customer for life.

Customer feedback:

Oh no! Front right hand brake failed - leaving quite scary handling as Sally pulled hard to one side under braking! A quick look at the side of the road revealed that the pad was heavily contaminated - with LHM. Whoops... sadly a week working in Austria meant that I couldn't try to fix it myself, but left the car in the capable hands of the Acorn Garage, Canterbury  (01227 456303) who found that the calliper hadn't been properly replaced at some point and had simply fallen off. They replaced it at a cost of £59.93.


A little while ago Sally went into the Acorn Garage (01227 456303) with a nasty knocking noise over bumps and I got her back today. They've done a lot of work and presented me with a big bill, but she's been transformed. All the drive train knock's gone so you can change gear with total smoothness, she brakes in a straight line, she's quiet and they've even fixed that annoying rattle from the back door. Fantastic stuff - deep joy.