The following is an open letter to those at head office at Volkswagen. We do not expect a reply but we felt so strongly about this issue that it needed to be said. We hope for those reading this you will see our perspective and we encourage constructive opinions to be shared in our comment box below. This letter is not intended to offend any party, but instead make light of various issues which have arisen from a recent radio advertising campaign headed by Volkswagen. We thank all those in advance for taking the time to read this.
Dear Volkswagen,
Firstly please acknowledge our congratulations on commissioning such a captivating radio advertisement, it has to be said it certainly got our attention.
You may be asking which radio advertisement we are referring too? It would be your very tempting deal of “fixed price servicing”. Business must be good for you if you can offer to match prices of independent retailers within a 5 mile radius and offer customers your quality Volkswagen parts also, (we dread to think what kind of parts independent retailers must be using). Business must also be good if you can go out of your way to undermine the service local independent retailers offer customers. However we sympathize with you, obviously it is a given that independent retailers cannot match your levels of exceptional service and maintain cheap prices too? We would however be interested to know how you can be so certain that their service cannot match up to yours, and how you can simply assume every single independent retailer (within a 5 mile radius of one of your garages) cannot match your service.
Now, we cannot blame anyone for wanting to gain any extra custom in such difficult trading conditions, however we do object to the way in which you are doing it. Kudos must be given though for the script you wrote during the campaign, it is very well worded. We particularly liked the phrase “It’s our service, their price. Volkswagen”. That’s some good advertising right there. It allows customers to envisage all kinds of things, primarily that because they provide cheap prices their service must be not up to standards.
What is interesting is that for a price match to be guaranteed a quote must be obtained specifying that the independent retailer must use Volkswagen parts. So why is it that independent retailers can use Volkswagen parts and quote a competitive price, and now you feel that you must shout to the world that you can match these prices. Dare we ask what prices you were charging beforehand, or what your profit margins were? But then again, you have to raise your prices to have that extra cash to spend on advertising campaigns so you can crush any perspective competition.
Well, we admire your guts. But we do wonder how the small independent retailers feel in all of this? Does it even affect them? Sadly it does. Did you know in the UK every month 30 garages close because they cannot compete on your scale? Take a moment to think about how many families that leaves every month struggling to pay their mortgage or wonder when they will get another job? You may answer they can simply apply elsewhere. For many though, the answer is not that simple. Many of these independent retailers service rural areas or small towns, but with customers being ever price savvier, they are now willing to travel further to get the price they want. In reality the price they wanted was always on their doorstep.
It must be nice in such a difficult economic climate to have money in the kitty to spend on advertising, we have to say your advert was very clever indeed. Not only did it undermine the hard work of independent retailers who continue to struggle in such difficult trading conditions, you also managed to lure customers away. We hope however customers have the ability to see beyond a tempting deal and instead support local dealers who continue to fight fairly to gain new business, not through expensive advertising campaigns but instead through good old-fashioned service and a great price.
If we had to choose between Bobs Autos in the advert, and Bob from Volkswagen, we would stick by Bobs Autos; we support the small guy in all of this and give him a voice.
We look forward to hearing your next radio advertising campaign,
Yours Sincerely,
TyreQuote