Synter knife cuts at Wolverhampton Motorrad.

[G&T]

Heads up for those that use this dealership, Drew Sutton - Manager and Andy Scott - Service Manager have gone.

Previously under Benham and Ryebrook, BMW, Mini and Motorrad were run as separate businesses each having their own management and autonomy. It appears Synter have gone for a centralised model and the restructure has removed the site management layer.

What does that mean for us?

Time will tell as the shakedown is obvious to see but there will definitely be less empowerment for staff to do the ‘right thing’ for customers. In other words it’s all about the business numbers and goodwill may be in short supply.

Drew and Andy grew the Wolves branch significantly and created a family feel with a personal touch. There is a definite vacuum there as I write this, but let’s hope just teething problems during the changes.

 

[brut33]

At the end of day people will vote with their feet.
That's of course, if the customer can resist the latest and most expensive behemoth with the right badge, then they'll put up with anything.

 

[wessie]

I used the former Rybrook, now Sytner, workshop in Shrewsbury recently. They were fine and did everything requested for a major service and fitted a new shaft under the "not a warranty repair" scheme.
As posted in another thread, I have since learnt that their labour rate is significantly higher than the new dealer in Chester. Not sure if the Wolverhampton branch charges the same but maybe people should get quotes for work before making a booking.

 

[G&T]

I used the former Rybrook, now Sytner, workshop in Shrewsbury recently. They were fine and did everything requested for a major service and fitted a new shaft under the "not a warranty repair" scheme.
As posted in another thread, I have since learnt that their labour rate is significantly higher than the new dealer in Chester. Not sure if the Wolverhampton branch charges the same but maybe people should get quotes for work before making a booking.

Wessie, for your info I called Halliwell Jones Chester who quoted the same price as Wolves for a 6k service. I will pop in to Shrewsbury at some point to see how things are going there.

 

[Santa-2512]

All going to change across the board soon,

For dealers and customers

 

[Nice 'n' Fat]

There were staff changes made at NOG after a major refurb of the building

Now if you want to purchase parts the Motorrad side phone up the car side and a 'Parts Specialist' eventually walks through, listens to your request, then asks you for a V.I.N. because they can't do anything without a V.I.N.

 

[Pukmeister]

All going to change across the board soon,

For dealers and customers

Direct sales between manufacturer and customer without a middle man ????

I can see it now...."BMW Direct" complete with glossy TV ads showing aspiring young barbie people buying a top spec model with ease from their laptop PC or tablet, then driving off through an empty city to a glorious sunset horizon.

 

[littleade]

Wifey has just come back from Synter Oldbury after getting a engine/transmission warning on her dash and reduced power output yesterday on her 2016 2 series coupe which she bought from them new and has always had it serviced there. They changed the EGR valve (which is subject to a recall which she has had a software udate to monitor it while they sorted a permanent fix) did a free health check on the car and gave her an umbrella (£65) , nice M drinks bottle (£23) and lego kit (45) all FOC. Nothing to pay, back on the road in under 3 hours. If that's the sort of service the car owners get bring it on!

 

[Santa-2512]

Direct sales between manufacturer and customer without a middle man ????

I can see it now...."BMW Direct" complete with glossy TV ads showing aspiring young barbie people buying a top spec model with ease from their laptop PC or tablet, then driving off through an empty city to a glorious sunset horizon.

Almost,

The dealer will still do sales , servicing etc , they are moving to a fixed commision basis - pricing will become static & transparent

so no playing one dealer off against the other & buying at month / quarter end

 

[MikeS]

As I am not a pedant I am not going to mention that the company name is actually Sytner and not Synter

 

[wessie]

As I am not a pedant I am not going to mention that the company name is actually Sytner and not Synter

as already mentioned in post #3

 

[BlackCountryBiker]

Heads up for those that use this dealership, Drew Sutton - Manager and Andy Scott - Service Manager have gone.

Previously under Benham and Ryebrook, BMW, Mini and Motorrad were run as separate businesses each having their own management and autonomy. It appears Synter have gone for a centralised model and the restructure has removed the site management layer.

What does that mean for us?

Time will tell as the shakedown is obvious to see but there will definitely be less empowerment for staff to do the ‘right thing’ for customers. In other words it’s all about the business numbers and goodwill may be in short supply.

Drew and Andy grew the Wolves branch significantly and created a family feel with a personal touch. There is a definite vacuum there as I write this, but let’s hope just teething problems during the changes.

Drew is no loss whatsoever. He’s tighter than a mouse’s waistcoat. Purchased my last two bikes from Bristol saving about 4k-5k in the process because Drew refused to budge on his pricing. The sales team will be glad he’s gone but it depends who replaces him to make the decisions.
Is he still manager at Shrewsbury? because I think he covered both.

 

[G&T]

Drew is no loss whatsoever. He’s tighter than a mouse’s waistcoat. Purchased my last two bikes from Bristol saving about 4k-5k in the process because Drew refused to budge on his pricing. The sales team will be glad he’s gone but it depends who replaces him to make the decisions.
Is he still manager at Shrewsbury? because I think he covered both.

No, he and Andy were tasked with setting up and managing Shrewsbury Motorrad, Warwick and Wolves. About a year or so ago each dealership went on to manage themselves. So Drew...’has left the building’.

 

[bobsnew]

No, he and Andy were tasked with setting up and managing Shrewsbury Motorrad, Warwick and Wolves. About a year or so ago each dealership went on to manage themselves. So Drew...’has left the building’.

I have been using Wolverhampton under whatever ownership for about 15 years, I have only bought one bike from them in that time, it used to be a regular place to meet others, peruse the stock, have coffee, bit of banter. It was convenient for service and parts, I only now go as a necessity to comply with my warranty . Sales team are always staring into a screen, disinterested. Maybe a good time for change.

 

[JoeBiff]

Direct sales between manufacturer and customer without a middle man ????

I can see it now...."BMW Direct" complete with glossy TV ads showing aspiring young barbie people buying a top spec model with ease from their laptop PC or tablet, then driving off through an empty city to a glorious sunset horizon.

You may well laugh, but isn’t that the “sales model” Jaguar are aiming at?
IIUC their dealerships are going through a bit of a cull ATM, or will be soon; it was hot gossip across the media less than a year ago.
And their advertising took on a distinct blue hue, so regardless of the colour of car you might have chosen, it would come out a shade of dark blue

 

[BlackCountryBiker]

No, he and Andy were tasked with setting up and managing Shrewsbury Motorrad, Warwick and Wolves. About a year or so ago each dealership went on to manage themselves. So Drew...’has left the building’.

and Good riddance to him.

 

[GSite]

Direct sales will the norm in the motor industry, may brands are already there.
Dealer receives a fee on the sale, the manufactuer owns the demo vehicles and controls the process.
Prices are fixed and any incentives are manufacturer backed, so everyone pays the same.
Bet it won't work that way with oart exchange valuations though !
Look at Tesla for a good idea of how it works.

I simply hate the centralised control of bike dealerships which I feel breaks away from the sense that they value you as a customer with good will and freedom to make decisions restricted, often at the expense of customer retention.

As a foot note, try to phone a Vertu dealership direct, they have a centralised call reception based in the north east, meaning it is increasingly difficult to get through tomthe person you want directly.

Rant over, for now, well until next time.

 

[KevW]

It’s a real shame Andy has gone. A top guy and always a pleasure to deal with.

 

[stonehenge]

Wifey has just come back from Synter Oldbury after getting a engine/transmission warning on her dash and reduced power output yesterday on her 2016 2 series coupe which she bought from them new and has always had it serviced there. They changed the EGR valve (which is subject to a recall which she has had a software udate to monitor it while they sorted a permanent fix) did a free health check on the car and gave her an umbrella (£65) , nice M drinks bottle (£23) and lego kit (45) all FOC. Nothing to pay, back on the road in under 3 hours. If that's the sort of service the car owners get bring it on!

The software monitor and recall is for the EGR valve cooler. Did they change both the EGR and the cooler?

 

[littleade]

The software monitor and recall is for the EGR valve cooler. Did they change both the EGR and the cooler?

I've no idea as SWMBO took it to the dealers. I have a couple of photos but can't post them on.thisvthread for some reason. Sorry