TMO Talks To Kamran Saleem, Managing Director  

Established in 2006, and accredited to The Motor Ombudsman’s Vehicle Sales and Service and Repair Codes, MotorServ UK is a family-owned independent dealership and premium MOT and Service Centre based in Solihull. The business was also the recipient of a highly commended honour in the Midlands region of The Motor Ombudsman’s 2020 Garage Star Awards.

We caught up with Kamran Saleem after winning The Motor Ombudsman-sponsored Customer Service award at this year’s Servicesure ‘Autocentre of the Year’ ceremony, to discuss today’s keys to success, and what the future holds for 2023.

 

TMO: Congratulations on winning the Customer Service award at the recent Servicesure ceremony. You and your team must be very proud of this fantastic achievement? 

KS: This was a very unexpected award, and we didn’t think we were going to receive this at all! Competition was tough, and it was an honour to be shortlisted. However, to win the trophy on the night was a massive accolade for us, and reflects the dedication and hard work the whole team puts in to enhance and exceed customer expectations on a regular basis. 

 

 

TMO: How does MotorServ UK differentiate itself from the competition? 

KS: My background is in business and finance, and I entered the motor trade almost by accident. My car finance brokerage business, which later evolved into today’s MotorServ UK service, repair and sales business in 2013, took off faster than I expected!

As I am not a technician by background, I entered into a market which I naively thought was going to be a piece of cake. Build Rome, and the Romans will come, right? Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case, and we spent around two years in a very empty workshop, and business was tough.

MotorServ UK has developed into a brand with a customer-centric approach at its core, providing a dealer-standard level of service and delivery, and backed by a comprehensive and complete blanket digital marketing strategy, to not only attract, but also to retain customers for the longer term.

I view every customer as a long-term relationship, and it’s all about adding value, and giving the customer offers and incentives to bring them in. This means that we can offer our highest level of customer service, and increase retention. Business has therefore doubled, tripled, and quadrupled over the past six years, with extended products and services being offered to keep customers coming back to MotorServ UK.

 

TMO: In your role as Managing Director, what does a typical day look like?

KS: I am based mostly at our Solihull Service Centre in the management offices, and I have teams in place in the service office, the sales office, as well as in workshop control. Nowadays, I am not involved very much in the day-to-day trade and transactions, as I have managers for each area.

I have three young sons, so my day always starts with their school drop off. When I get into the office, I deal with any post and emails that have come in, and look through end-of-day reports for both departments in our business. I usually hold calls and any meetings I need to have with external parties between 11am and 2pm, and then after that, I have a meeting with each of my department heads on a daily basis, namely the Service Manager, the Sales Manager, the Finance Manager, as well as my Marketing Manager. We run through current trade items and any issues that need addressing, and then look at future projects and events coming up, as well as any new leads and opportunities.

A lot of my job nowadays is to keep the ship steady and lead the business forward into new growth opportunities, develop staff, and look at the numbers. However, my love lies in marketing and PR, and we have a strong department and representatives in both areas, and I have a decent involvement in the running of both.

I receive weekly feedback on our business via an external company, and all the reports come in to myself. I then direct the necessary action points to the relevant managers – positive feedback is rewarded and celebrated on a daily basis, and we are constantly reworking processes and initiatives in-house to improve our service and efficiencies.

TMO: What sparked your interest in the motor industry?

KS: Since I was a young lad (this makes me sound very old!), cars were always a passion of mine. My mother tells me that I used to draw car wheels and shapes onto the shopping boxes they brought home from the supermarket. I was always egging my father on to buy the next car by saying “look at this, look at that”, and he always involved me in the process. I remember visiting dealerships, and it was an exciting day when he got a new car.

I got my driving licence a few weeks after my 17th birthday, and the rest is history. I learnt most things about car finance, as I was always looking at better cars, and trying to see how I could afford them. In fact, I remember I was taught all about PCPs and HPs at a BMW dealership in Birmingham, when I bought my first BMW at the age of 19 (which I could no way afford as a student) – and then had to keep changing it, as I couldn’t actually afford to maintain and run the things long term!

As a youngster I was surrounded by my father’s clients who were in business and had the latest BMWs and Mercedes cars, and I hankered to have my own as quickly as possible. It was this background that helped me commercialise my knowledge and gain my first clients as a car finance broker – firstly with informal introductions, then into formal commission-paid finance proposals to the likes of Lombard and Fortis bank, who took me on as a broker as a one-man band. The business just grew, developed and evolved into MotorServ UK, and we now sell up to 1,000 cars a year, and service upwards of 5,000 vehicles per annum from our single super site in Solihull (West Midlands), thanks to our 34-strong team.

TMO: Are you seeing more electric vehicles and hybrids coming in for MOTs and servicing, and similarly, are you selling more used EVs and hybrids compared to last year? 

KS: The market is changing, and that shift will come faster and accelerate more over the coming years. Our MOT rate is one of the cheapest in the UK at £15 (with a no pass, no fee arrangement), so yes, we see a high number of every type of car coming through our doors. A greater number of hybrid and electric vehicles have certainly been in our workshop compared to last year. In our sales department, we are still selling mainly petrol and diesel models, but we haven’t seen a large spike as of yet in EVs, as we mainly concentrate on used examples, which are between two to eight years old on average. 

 

TMO: What do you think are the key ingredients to a high level of customer retention, and how does your business go above and beyond to assist motorists? 

KS: This is a very deep and open question, as there is so much to consider. Firstly, it’s the physical convenience items. This includes a nicely presented reception and waiting space (with free drinks and snacks!) with visibility to the workshop that must be kept in good order. We also have dedicated service consultants for each customer, a large mix of parts availability, as well as other physical factors, such as high-quality automatic and manual courtesy cars, a collection and delivery service, and a mini-valet for every booked service and repair job. Our service consultants maintain a high level of customer service and friendliness, and we operate a fully transparent service, with video health checks, and every MOT fail being recorded for quality checks internally.

We have initiated our Motor-Club, which allows a customer to pay monthly as a subscription, and have up to £500 worth of service items per annum included. We have had a large take-up of this product, and we offer other conventional items, such as Pads for Life, Cambelts for Life, and all are backed by our 12-month parts and labour guarantee.

We have a super speedy turnaround of parts, meaning that jobs can be completed on time, with many additionally identified items being authorised on the same day. It’s our business to make our clients’ lives as easy as possible, and to offer scale and value which cannot be replicated by any other independent competitors within our locality. To add to this, we are able to spread customer bills for up to 12 months completely interest free, which has helped many customers over the last few years. I feel that this will only increase over the coming period given the economic challenges we are all facing.

TMO: What have been some of the main challenges that you have had to overcome this year? Has the squeeze on household budgets affected demand? 

KS: This year has actually been a refreshing change, as we have had a whole year so far, of uninterrupted trade, without any lockdowns, no business closures, and thankfully no COVID-19 or other illnesses to combat. However the market has changed, parts prices and availability have become less favorable – we have seen a drop in our growth, both in terms of sales and service, but have still grown by over 20% in service, and 35% in sales, compared to the previous year. Utility bills going up have been quite a challenge, and we have found that customers are keeping their cars longer, so there has been less demand from those looking to change their cars, and opting to buy a newer one via our sales department.

Staff has had to be the main issue we have faced. We have a strong team with a lot of long serving employees, so we have a strong core team. However, rising salaries elsewhere and the pinch from the cost of living crisis, has meant that there has been more pressure for us to increase salaries and improve packages, to retain and attract new staff. There seems to have been a drop in apprentices applying for motor-related jobs, so this means the future flow of technical staff in the automotive industry could be affected into the medium and long-term future.

TMO: How do you promote MotorServ UK to continue driving new business in these more challenging times? 

KS: A lot of businesses when facing financial hardship decrease their marketing spend and activities, saying they “can’t afford it”. However, I take the view, due to mentors and business advisors that, “how can we afford not to?”. Most problems in business are solved with money, and money comes from sales, and sales comes from marketing. So, when a downturn arrives, we up our marketing activity and spend, as you must work harder to attract the lower number of paying customers out there.

When COVID-19 struck, and the first lockdown was announced, that very evening, we decided to remain open for as long as possible (not closing for a single day in the end, over the period 2020 to 2021), and switched all our marketing to essential workers, health care professionals, and emergency service workers.

We therefore only saw a small decline in our revenue for the first two months, but kept ALL of our service team engaged and safe here on site, and only furloughed a handful of sales staff, as that department did have to close. As one of the only remaining garages open in Solihull and the wider Birmingham area, we got a lot of demand from customers who would have gone to other garages, and we increased our COVID-safe collection and deliveries, and opened an express check in-out window on the front of our premises to keep our clients and employees safe. As we were the only garage that was open, we were featured on Channel 4 News and ITV News, and had a lot of calls from NHS agencies and charities to provide help and support to which we obliged and provided resources and vehicles where they were required the most! It is this willingness and ability to adapt and change, and moving quickly with swift marketing changes, that I feel keeps us ahead even during challenging times, and helps us increase our reach and audience.

TMO: What benefits does Motor Ombudsman accreditation offer your business? 

KS: MotorServ UK’s accreditation to The Motor Ombudsman helps build trust and integrity with our customers. We follow the advice and best practice, and therefore must operate at a certain level. Receiving a Garage Star highly commended honour from The Motor Ombudsman in 2020, helps us stand out from the crowd, and our recent Customer Service award at the Servicesure ceremony, handed to us by their Managing Director and Chief Ombudsman, really meant a lot. It boosts our own brand and gives customers reassurance that we are a bonafide and a ‘proper’ outfit and will look after them properly.

However, we must also face the realistic elements of the motor trade. Not every customer is happy, and sometimes things don’t go to plan, and don’t go as expected. Normally we get the blame, and the customer must be put through our complaints procedure for a resolution. We are mostly able to resolve all issues for a customer, and look to retain their goodwill and business going forward. Where a resolution cannot be reached, we know that we can refer the customer to The Motor Ombudsman, who will help us reach a binding resolution with the customer, and that will satisfy all parties.

This support and backup from The Motor Ombudsman really helps, and even though we haven’t had to use them much in the past years, it’s good for us and the customer to know that here is a higher level of authority there, which can be referred to in the event of total deadlock.

TMO: What does 2023 look like for MotorServ UK, and are there any changes that you are planning to make to your business next year? 

KS: 2023 looks very exciting for MotorServ UK, and I am really happy with where we are heading. Our sales Centre opened during 2022, and is now seeing a real momentum, so the expansion and growth of that department will be significant – hopefully helping us achieve our next financial goal of a £15 million annual turnover.

The service department has had room to grow with the acquisition of the Sales Centre during 2022, so there’s room for more service staff, more ramps, increased output and customer coverage. A total of 37% additional capacity is being produced right now for the service department, which will help the team to speed up bookings, cover more jobs, and increase profitability and trade in our existing premises. Once this is achieved, we are really coming to a crossroads in the business, and a second site may be on the agenda for us. Alternatively, we may look to stay as we are, and look to develop other product and service lines to help us grow further as a business and brand.

 

TMO: Is there anything else you would like to add?

KS: Business is always tough, and different challenges always exist. I seem to live in a business environment where a wheel or two on our trolley are always getting wonky. So, it’s the ability to manage conflict and face challenges and having the stamina to do so, which keeps a business going and growing. It has not been an easy ride for us, and at some points, I have felt like packing it in and giving it up, but I have always persevered.

For every problem there is always a solution, or another way of looking at things. I was advised not to try and re-invent the wheel, but to look at what others are doing, take the good bits and make them better. i.e. to add your own spin to an existing business area, and make it your own. Brand is so important, and often people who look at our business are amazed by our KPIs. By being completely figures obsessed and analysing everything delivers results, as often anything measured or monitored improves in performance over time. Marketing should never be overlooked and should be systemised, and process-driven to maintain consistency.

TMO: Thank you for your time Kamran, and it has been a pleasure speaking to you. Interview conducted in November 2022. 

 

Images courtesy of MotorServ UK.

 

Interview conducted in November 2022.