Analysis of Douglas Stafford’s Showroom Appointment Initiative shows that the company is generating one car sale for every four appointments made by its contact centre.

The Initiative was redeveloped at the beginning of 2011 and has consistently provided clients with a substantial number of appointments for customers to visit their showrooms.

A recent article in Car Dealer Magazine reported how the scheme was proving invaluable for clients. “In the first two weeks that we were up and running with Douglas Stafford their team got us 20 appointments in our diary,” said Guy Penfold, Renault and Nissan Brand Manager at Crawley Down, in the article. “14 of those customers came in for their appointments and of those we sold five cars and we bought two for part exchange. The scheme is working really well for us and it has more than paid for itself.”

Whilst the Showroom Appointment Initiative is currently helping to increase sales in the automotive sector, industry-leader Douglas Stafford is able to vary the scheme to benefit other businesses. Each of the company’s services is tailored specifically to the client, taking into account market data and industry insight.

Combined Insurance’s Research and Development Manager Tim Thirlway says: “The Douglas Stafford team are both professional and friendly to work with and their service has provided a performance management tool that allows us to coach and train our team.”

For more information on the Showroom Appointment Initiative or other services, visit www.douglasstafford.co.uk.  

To view the full article on how Douglas Stafford’s sales scheme is producing great results visit Car Dealer Magazine.

With retail expert Mary Portas’ Channel 4 television series ‘Secret Shopper’ attracting almost 2.8 million viewers according to recent figures, people are beginning to understand just how important mystery shopping is to succeed in business.

Douglas Stafford, with its 21 years experience, provides mystery shopping services for a large number of industries including retail, travel and property and is contracted by a large number of companies in the automotive industry to improve their business performance.

“Mystery shopping provides a unique ability for managers to evaluate the service their customers receive,” says Ben Sargeant, Douglas Stafford’s Operations Director. “The way we report back to managers allows them to not just ask the question of how good their service is, but also answer it.”

Mystery shopping services carry a large benefit for retail companies in an era where physical stores are decreasing in popularity. For this reason, it is imperative that customer service and selling efficiency levels are at their highest to maximise profits. French Connection, Claire’s, Taylor Wimpey and Miller Homes all benefit from Douglas Stafford’s services.

“Douglas Stafford were very quick to adapt to our needs and understand our business requirements. They turned our project around in an extremely short timescale,” says Dani Masters, Claire’s Accessories Retail Manager. “I have no hesitation in recommending Douglas Stafford for their professional and efficient service.”

“Mystery shopping provides an unequivocal answer to the important question – was the service that you received good enough,” says Helen Bridgett for Marketing Week.

Mystery shopping expert Douglas Stafford stands out from other mystery shopping companies, providing a great array of performance improvement services, working hard to ensure the results they provide are cost effective, measurable and are a useful tool for continuous improvement. It is for this reason that Douglas Stafford is contracted by 46% of the UK’s automotive industry.

The recent publicity surrounding mystery shopping, such as Mary Portas’ programme, is a promising sign that more people are beginning to understand how important high quality customer service is to secure sales in a less than desirable economic climate. 

To find out how Douglas Stafford can increase your sales, visit www.douglasstafford.co.uk

Douglas Stafford employee Ben White and his friend Nick Jobe are in the final stages of preparation for what is often described as the ultimate Great British cycling challenge on the 1^st June. The reason for putting themselves through such a physical challenge? To raise as much money as possible for a charity close to their hearts.

The pair will cover a gruelling 90 miles a day cycling from Lands End to John O’ Groats to raise money for Smile4Wessex, a charity which supports the work of the Wessex Neurological Centre (WNC). The WNC treats over 4,000 inpatients and 13,000 outpatients each year suffering with brain illnesses or injuries.

“The Smile4Wessex Appeal aims to improve the range and quality of patient care at the WNC,” says Gemma Town, Smile4Wessex Fundraising Assistant. “We do this by raising funds to provide new equipment and facilities that would not otherwise be available and by sponsoring pioneering research into new treatments for a variety of neurological conditions.”

“In 2010 a good friend of mine suffered a massive head trauma in a cycling accident,” says Ben White, Douglas Stafford employee and cyclist. “He was taken to the Wessex Neurological Centre where he underwent life-saving surgery. It was very touch and go but with the help of the incredible team at WNC he defied belief and was able to be moved to a different ward after just three weeks, before finally spending six months in a rehabilitation ward.

“His survival is incredible and if it wasn’t for the staff and facilities at WNC, the chance of him surviving would have been very slim. Nick and I are doing this challenge as an acknowledgement of this and to raise as much money as possible for Smile4Wessex.”

Passing through three countries, the pair will put in around 1,000 miles of saddle time aiming to complete the journey unassisted, carrying their own luggage, in just 11 days. The starting point, Lands End, is the extreme south-westward point of Great Britain in Cornwall and after traversing the whole length of Great Britain they will finish up at the extreme northern point of Scotland.

To show your support and help raise as much money as possible for Smile4Wessex, please go to the donations page: Virgin Money Giving.

Snows Mini is a well established dealer group, who recently worked with performance improvement company Douglas Stafford to maximise its selling potential.

Well known for entering into the true ‘Mini spirit’ holding Mini treasure hunts and a number of other events for its customers to enjoy, Snows Mini has always been known for its excellent customer service levels.

The company understands how important it is to constantly improve its levels of customer care and sales figures and, as a result, recently took advantage of Douglas Stafford’s Showroom Appointment Initiative.

“Snows Mini understands how to attract and interact with its customers effectively,” says Kathleen Field, Douglas Stafford Project Manager. “The company is dedicated to improving customer relationships as well as its sales figures and the work we have done for them has helped achieve this.”

Douglas Stafford’s Showroom Appointment Initiative generated one car sale from every two customers who entered the Snows Mini showroom for an appointment.

Celebrating more than 100 years in the automotive industry, Perrys Motor Group is one of the most established dealer groups in the UK. In 2006 the company commissioned Douglas Stafford to help improve its levels of customer service.  

Representing 13 leading motor brands across 40 dealerships around the UK, Perrys employs more than 1500 people, and recognises how vital it is to ensure its employees are providing high levels of customer service.

Since 2006, leading mystery shopping company Douglas Stafford has conducted video mystery shops for Perrys, providing the company with a vital analysis of its business performance. Five years of partnership has seen an increase in customer service quality, and Douglas Stafford now provides a range of extra services to the company.

A successful pilot trial took place in 2010, and since then telephone mystery shops in Perrys aftersales departments are now conducted on a quarterly basis. The mystery shopping programme has been carefully designed to assess the service selling skills and customer call handling abilities of the Perrys team.

“Results of the mystery shops, both the recorded telephone audit itself and the statistics produced, have helped Perrys assess, analyse and improve their customer service levels,” says Rohan Tailor, Douglas Stafford’s Electronic & Audio Production Manager.

“We use a sophisticated piece of software, DSInsight, created by our own development team to provide our clients with a flexible and easy to use facility to analyse their results.”

In its 21 years in operation, Douglas Stafford’s processes have been refined to provide clients with valuable, quality-checked telephone mystery shopping results within 48 hours of completion.

For more information on how conducting telephone mystery shops in your after sales department can improve your customer satisfaction levels, call us on 0800 783 1913.

Former automotive general manager Nigel Cook founded performance improvement company Douglas Stafford nearly 22 years ago; a company that is now the largest of all automotive mystery shopping providers in the UK.

Having spotted a gap in the market for a reliable, quality service, providing mystery shopping and performance analysis, Mr Cook set up a company to fulfil this need. His company now conducts more than 53,000 mystery shops per year, carried out by mystery shoppers located across the UK, coordinated by its 100 strong team at its headquarters.

Douglas Stafford now conducts mystery shopping services for 48% of the automotive industry and is expert at increasing performance and sales figures within dealerships. The company has a high profile client base including Honda, Toyota and Lexus, Volkswagen and Autoglass, to name but a few.

The team at Douglas Stafford’s head office are constantly developing new services and improving existing ones. The latest innovation from Mr Cook, Douglas Stafford’s Chief Executive, came when he spotted the potential being missed by dealerships in reconnecting with past customers – the Showroom Appointment Initiative has provided significant and measurable results to its clients; currently returning one car sale for every four appointments the contact centre team make.

Many of the automotive manufacturers currently in Douglas Stafford’s portfolio have been working with the company for a number of years, renewing contracts with the firm and expanding the size of their programme as results prove unbeatable. Renault UK has a large programme running with Douglas Stafford and the two companies have been working in partnership, increasing dealership performance, for more than seven years.

“Over the years, we have not only provided our clients with the highest level of service, but we have developed an excellent team which has grown with the business. The Douglas Stafford team provide a high degree of knowledge and expertise and are invaluable to the company,” says Nigel Cook. “Our team assist clients to develop performance improvement initiatives through our mystery shopping services, which has enabled the company to grow into the market leader it is today.”