Traders

[MColes]

Well now... that JLH lot............. joking

[jonathon]

you must be , there's only two of us !!!

[PSL184]

you must be , there's only two of us !!!

I've only ever seen one working

[jonathon]

You can go off some people !!!

[charlie_morris_minor]

You can go off some people !!!

he did not say which one he saw working.. i think you might have implicated your self

[jonathon]

Yes, but I know he's right !, dohh!!!

[PSL184]

Not true mate - I saw you with a screwdriver in your hand

[new_adventures_of_arthur]

Tried what? If you wish to try to indemnify the MMOC against expensive legal action taken by a disgruntled trader by pledging a huge sum of your money to the club for legal expenses then perhaps the policy will change? If not, ask yourself why you would expect a group of people, running the club in their own time (for no payment) to face that kind of threat on your behalf?

Whoa whoa, relax. For a moderator you're tone is a little, umm, angry?

I am a little disappointed that the poll was locked, but I appreciate and agree with the reasons. I also fully understand why the club cant be seen to endorse slander etc, which is why I asked which suppliers were the best. OK in hindsight (I was in a hurry on my lunch break) that it probably wasnt wise to say "the worst will go out of business or at least raise their game", but my point (perhaps made poorly) is still a valid one I think.

We all share a common interest which is (to quote the motto again) "Promoting the preservation and use" which can be achieved best with the best quality parts, and or with the best quality garages. Poor parts/repairs will lead to a shorter life, more MOT failures, and more cars going to scrap.

Just from my ill-fated poll (which was started out of genuine interest as novice) it seems to have touched a nerve with members that they have good/bad experiences without the means to share this information with other owners.

Ok, so I appreciate we cant say who is bad, but what if there was some way that the MMOC (not limited to the forum) could endorse some suppliers/specalists that owners genuinely felt were good, and reliable, etc? Like some sort of voting system? Suppliers/specialists could register to be included in the vote, then members invited to vote, and the winners votes could be posted, and the winners announced at the annual rally? A bit like the good pub guide???

...or something. It's just a suggestion.

What's people's thoughts?

[new_adventures_of_arthur]

I think if all the compaints were collected a pattern would soon appear!

I agree. Just because one person has a problem with a company, doesnt mean they are bad. Repetitve poor service/quality makes a company bad.

[new_adventures_of_arthur]

As I have already suggested, if anyone new to the forum wishes to seek opinions on traders / specialists etc they are welcome to post here and ask. Positive responses can be posted. Other opinion and comments can be sent via pm. I don't know why some people seem to not want to do this as it takes no more time to type a pm then it does to post a message.

I tried this once before and it generated a poor response. Besides, we are a club, and this is the ideal service for a club to provide.

For example, if the club had a gold, silver, bronze award etc for suppliers (based on members votes) owners would see that the club cared about the quality and service for its owners, raising the qualty of the club as a whole, and raising the standard of specialists.

This is only my first thoughts, but awards are common throughout many industries (secretaries, hair gel's, apprencticeships, the list goes on) and designed to improve standards.

[charlie_morris_minor]

Tried what? If you wish to try to indemnify the MMOC against expensive legal action taken by a disgruntled trader by pledging a huge sum of your money to the club for legal expenses then perhaps the policy will change? If not, ask yourself why you would expect a group of people, running the club in their own time (for no payment) to face that kind of threat on your behalf?

Whoa whoa, relax. For a moderator you're tone is a little, umm, angry?

I can more than understand the concern / attitude of the moderator, last night a new thread seemed to be popping up every few minutes each of which was trying to do the same as the previous thread i.e. get users to rate dealers. This was despite the continued statements of the moderators of the dangers to this site and hence the mmoc of what was being asked every time they "locked" down a thread.

[Judge]

http://www.mgownersclub.co.uk/recommend ... liers.html

Edit - Please note that my reason for posting this link is as a positive suggestion to assist members rather than any criticism of the club.

[jonathon]

Two points to remember, most traders are not members of the MMOC nor wish to be involved with them. This was highlighted during my research for the 'Traders group'
The other is that about half of the Minor owners are not members of the MMOC.
The problem with a rating system is that complaints need to be proven, or at least researched to prove that they are genuine.
Praise for companies is difficult to judge too as many satisfied customers do not see the reason to inform the MMOC let alone the trader involved. What we might end up with is an unbalanced ,unsustantiated list of good and bad companies of little use to the public.
There is also an issue of satisfaction/dissatisfaction with parts or service. A complaint over a faulty spare part is a totally different propostion to a specialist who's respray peels off after a week or a mechanic who has failed to tighten up a brake caliper or wheel nuts.
Another thing to bear in mind is that more folk are inclined to complain than to praise, ohh ,and lastly some customers will never be satisfied no matter how good a trader is.
Please don't get me wrong here, I'm all in favour of a representative method of compiling feedback, but it just is not that simple.
What would be the responce from the MMOC if say C.Ware, MMC Bham, ESM and Bully had high numbers of complaints, somehow I do not see them being expelled from magazine advertising and the like.

[d_harris]

IMHO in most instances the biggest problem (with parts especially) lies not with the traders but with US - the buyers.

For too long we have been motivated by price, not by quality - its therefore in the traders interest to produce cheaper, lower quality items in order to placate the publics want for cheap cheap cheap. If we all voted with our wallets and bought the "high quality" alternatives where available and voiced it to the traders that we want top quality and are prepared to pay for it (rather than wanting the world, and not being prepared to pay!) then things will surely start moving forwards.

In terms of workmanship theres such a disparity between how companies do things - I've seen examples of most of the major traders work and as a consequence in most instances I would find a very very very very long bargepole and then refuse to touch them with it. Theres only one trader who I would entrust my car to and he's posted on this thread!

I believe that the best way of complying with the T&Cs and making it public is something along the lines of "I've dealt with xyz and as we are not allowed to make negative comment, I'll say no more"

[jonathon]

My thoughts exactly Dan.

[Ondergard]

I think if all the compaints were collected a pattern would soon appear! Whats more annoying is everyone knows who I am on about!

I don't! Truly, I don't!

[d_harris]

One of the specialists who started off near bath is my guess..........

[new_adventures_of_arthur]

Ok, I take on board what everyone is saying, and appreciate the difficult position that the club is in. It was never my intention to cause any trouble, or get the club into any bother. I cant stress this point enough!!

It's just a little frustrating that many of us as owners would like to be able to recognise who is good, for the sake of other members, but can't due to the legals of it all.

Is there anyone else who see's that this is worth spending time on, to discuss a way of recogising the best in specialists/suppliers (I dunno, like creating "the MMOC Trader of the year" or something), or is it something that people arent really bothered about?

Just seeking general opinion.

[LouiseM]

The club already has a "Trader of the year" award. This year it was awarded to Tom Roy.

[new_adventures_of_arthur]

Wow, really showing my ignorance now!

Well this is great news - I never knew!!!! Is it voted for by members? and is there a list of past winners (to see who are reputable compaines)?