Pickle Pot Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 One of the dealers I've spoken to recently mentioned their excellent showing in some recent dealership satisfaction survey. It was an aside to another conversation and I meant to go back and ask more but promptly forgot. Does anyone know what they may have been referring to, how other dealers fared and how independent these surveys are? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brock Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 Motorhome magazines run dealer satisfaction surveys. MMM and Practical Motorhome are two I've looked at although MMM is probably a better guide simply because it has the greater readership. As to how independent they are, this will depend on how confident you are in the publisher. They all invite comments from readers on forms in their mags. Results do vary between the two magazines and you have to watch how the 'winners' advertise. For example, one dealer advertised an award for one of its outlets under the group banner and mentioned the actual branch in the small print. Search the net or buy the mags and you'll find the results. Subscribers to Motorhome Facts Forum get information on dealers although this tends to be customer dissatisfaction and is adhoc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 In the past, MMM magazine (in association with the Caravan Club) has presented awards annually in various motorcaravan-related categories including motorhome dealerships. 2010 MMM awards (published in the 02/2010 issue) seem to have been abbreviated to cover just motorhome models, the 2010 MMM "Motorhome of the Year" being the Autocruise Jazz. As far as I'm aware the last set of MMM dealership awards were the 2009 ones published in MMM issue 02/2009. 2009 dealership awards were split into five geographical area and Gold, Silver and Bronze 'medals'. This is a sample: http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/open/?page=mmmawards09easterndealer However, a GOOGLE-search indicates that Practical Motorhome magazine recently published their own awards in the September 2010 issue (see link below) and I guess these were the ones being referred to in the conversation you overheard. http://www.practicalmotorhome.com/ I've no idea which dealers got what or exactly how the results were arrived at. Best to get hold of a copy of the magazine if you can. Realistically, even if the sample size may be relatively small, a survey of of motorhome dealerships that produces a listing by customer satisfaction should have some value for a potential buyer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickle Pot Posted August 20, 2010 Author Share Posted August 20, 2010 Aha, I have MMM and Practical Motorhome for August but not for September - wonder whether I can still track a copy down ... Thank you both for that. Although if I look at http://www.practicalmotorhome.com/current/nextmonth.html, that seems to suggest that it's the next issue that's the awards one (ie the October one that's out on September 1st), so perhaps I should hang on a while - does anyone have a copy of the September one to confirm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazooka Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 Dealer awards not in september issue (practical motorhome. Baz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 Pickle Pot - 2010-08-20 11:14 AM Aha, I have MMM and Practical Motorhome for August but not for September - wonder whether I can still track a copy down ... Thank you both for that. Although if I look at http://www.practicalmotorhome.com/current/nextmonth.html, that seems to suggest that it's the next issue that's the awards one (ie the October one that's out on September 1st), so perhaps I should hang on a while - does anyone have a copy of the September one to confirm? The Practical M/Home with the 'awards' is issue no.100, and as far as I can see is not dated, and is already out ( I've had mine for a couple of weeks ). It's says " Awards Special" on the front. They are described as 'owner satisfaction awards' Inside it says their next issue comes out on Sept first. (This may well be their Xmas edition because of their bizarre idea of issuing mags with dates that are two months in advance). I suspect that the fact that the latest edition ( No.100) has not got a date on it, means they may be resorting to the dating system used by all the other mags on the planet ! ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 bazooka - 2010-08-20 11:37 AM Dealer awards not in september issue (practical motorhome. Baz Issue number 99 was the September issue ( came out in July!) Issue number 100 does not appear to have a date on it but I suspect it is a second September issue. All very confusing for us old folk. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickle Pot Posted August 20, 2010 Author Share Posted August 20, 2010 Where's that head scratching smiley when I need it (^) So it's not the August issue, not the September issue, and probably not the October one either! On the plus side, I guess if it's a special issue, I stand more chance of still being able to find it - perhaps in one of the dealerships that have a special mention ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 Pickle Pot - 2010-08-20 11:54 AM Where's that head scratching smiley when I need it (^) So it's not the August issue, not the September issue, and probably not the October one either! On the plus side, I guess if it's a special issue, I stand more chance of still being able to find it - perhaps in one of the dealerships that have a special mention ... You're absolutely right. Look for issue number 100. Might even still be around in the shops ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnsCrossMotorHomes Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 Don't know how we were selected, I thinks its readers who vote, any way pleased we were awarded a Silver Medal or Award. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 Number of sales devided by number of grouses. Or is that too simple? Dunno, just a thought. C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred grant Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 no clive my biddy, its the number of grouses divided by sales. given that grouses will total more than sales. f Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickle Pot Posted August 20, 2010 Author Share Posted August 20, 2010 fred grant - 2010-08-20 7:36 PM no clive my biddy, its the number of grouses divided by sales. given that grouses will total more than sales. f Sometimes the line between cynic and realist is so fine as to be invisible ;-) Actually, that mirrors something I said to Mr PP earlier - I assume that generally people will be more inclined to fill out a survey like that if they are moderately p-ed off than if they are moderately happy, so to do well in them must mean a company is not p-ing many people off ...! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted August 20, 2010 Share Posted August 20, 2010 So what we need is a nationwide SPG (sales per grouse) register, with an automatic black mark for anyone whose grouse ratio exceed a gross! :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 You could always ask "Diamond Dave" Newell, who writes for Practical Motorhome, if he knows, or can find out, how the magazine obtained the data on which their awards were based and what the 'satisfaction criteria' were (though I would have thought there should be something about this in the awards article). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 Derek Uzzell - 2010-08-21 7:53 AM You could always ask "Diamond Dave" Newell, who writes for Practical Motorhome, if he knows, or can find out, how the magazine obtained the data on which their awards were based and what the 'satisfaction criteria' were (though I would have thought there should be something about this in the awards article). No need to bother Dave with it. I've not read any of the detail of results but the headings say: " 50 most van friendly sites as voted for by readers " " 25 top certified sites and locations as voted for by you " (the readers) " Owner Satisfaction Awards , which recognises good service from manufacturers and dealers across the industry" based on feedback from readers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 malc d - 2010-08-21 9:35 AM ..."Owner Satisfaction Awards , which recognises good service from manufacturers and dealers across the industry" based on feedback from readers." Yes, but was that reader feedback proactive or reactive (or both)? Did Practical Motorhome readers proactively contact the magazine to say how satisfied they were with their favourite dealerships, or did the magazine publish a questionnaire for readers to return, or was some other sort of data-gathering method employed? If a questionnaire was involved, what were the questions and how were they framed? How many readers fed back information to the magazine? What were the 'scores' for each award-winning dealership? As I suggested earlier, these award-giving exercises should be better than nothing, but, to assess their value with any confidence, you need to know how the results were arrived at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 Derek Uzzell - 2010-08-21 10:09 AM malc d - 2010-08-21 9:35 AM ..."Owner Satisfaction Awards , which recognises good service from manufacturers and dealers across the industry" based on feedback from readers." Yes, but was that reader feedback proactive or reactive (or both)? Did Practical Motorhome readers proactively contact the magazine to say how satisfied they were with their favourite dealerships, or did the magazine publish a questionnaire for readers to return, or was some other sort of data-gathering method employed? If a questionnaire was involved, what were the questions and how were they framed? How many readers fed back information to the magazine? What were the 'scores' for each award-winning dealership? As I suggested earlier, these award-giving exercises should be better than nothing, but, to assess their value with any confidence, you need to know how the results were arrived at. How they did appears to be explained in the mag. As I said before, I have not read it in detail, and I certainly don't intend to reproduce it all here. :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted August 22, 2010 Share Posted August 22, 2010 malc d - 2010-08-21 10:52 AM ...How they did appears to be explained in the mag... If you had mentioned that earlier, I wouldn't have wasted my time suggesting Dave Newell be contacted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted August 22, 2010 Share Posted August 22, 2010 Derek Uzzell - 2010-08-22 7:36 AM malc d - 2010-08-21 10:52 AM ...How they did appears to be explained in the mag... If you had mentioned that earlier, I wouldn't have wasted my time suggesting Dave Newell be contacted. I hadn't read it earlier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickle Pot Posted August 22, 2010 Author Share Posted August 22, 2010 Derek Uzzell - 2010-08-22 7:36 AM malc d - 2010-08-21 10:52 AM ...How they did appears to be explained in the mag... If you had mentioned that earlier, I wouldn't have wasted my time suggesting Dave Newell be contacted. Yes, but to me that's kind of the point with threads like this. The shiny nice certificate has gone up in the dealership, but already I can't find a copy of the magazine in the shop. That certificate will be there for a very long time, well after the magazine has passed into pulp, so this thread - and the answer to Derek's question (which appeared to be a good un) - might just be of use to people who come along in three months time , are impressed by the shiny certificate and want the same info .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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