The Ash Cloud is looming again, with a different name but it's still doing it's best to ruin our cars and holidays!

Motorists across Scotland and Ireland are being warned that the volcanic ash from an Icelandic eruption could damage vehicle paintwork.

The ash particles are reported to be larger than those which fell across the UK in April 2010, and car care experts at Autoglym are warning that the potential damage caused to car exterior surfaces is consequently even greater.

The Met Office is forecasting that the highly abrasive acidic particles will fall to ground in Scotland and Ireland tonight (Tuesday 24 May). However, the weather conditions are currently unstable, and the cloud could also blow over England and Wales. Paul Caller, Autoglym CEO said "We saw a massive increase in calls to our customer support team after the volcanic eruption last year.Motorists saw heavy swirls on paintwork after they failed to take sufficient precautions when washing ash off their cars. This latest ash cloud contains larger particles, which could be even more damaging, so we’re again warning motorists to be especially vigilant and take extra precautions when cleaning their cars.”
Autoglym’s advice on dealing with volcanic ash deposits:

1.Thoroughly soak car bodywork with water to loosen surface deposits
2.Use a pH-neutral car bodywork shampoo solution to neutralise acidic fallout
3.Use a number of smaller buckets rather than a single larger bucket to minimise the risk of ash particles being reapplied to bodywork on the sponge from contaminated water
4.Keep the car wet with clean water while washing with a sponge – this keeps the surface of the paint lubricated to reduce the risk of scratching from any ash that remains on the bodywork
5.Pay special attention to wiper blades – which may scratch the windscreen when sweeping ash across the glass surface – and side window seals – which may harbour dust that scratches windows as they are wound up and down
6.Rinse thoroughly with clean water to remove all shampoo from the car
7.Dry the car using a high quality microfibre drying towel or synthetic chamois
8.Apply a quality polish or high definition wax in order to provide a durable, long-lasting layer of protection, preventing further contaminants adhering to paintwork, and forming a barrier against acidic deposits
9.Use a specialist automotive rubber treatment to cleanse and protect rubber seals, wiper blades and tyre sidewalls
10.Wash frequently until the volcanic eruptions cease to minimise the risk of potential future damage

Well done Jim!



Jim Middlemass

Jim Middlemass has been invited by Honda (UK) as one of a select few technicians in the UK to participate in their exclusive Master Technician Programme!

Jim will spend 13 days in total at the Honda Institute in Colnbrook completing an intensive hands-on training programme.

The Honda Institute, Colnbrook

The Honda Institute provides world-class training around not just the UK, but also other European countries, the Middle East, Africa and Russia. It is available to more than 10,000 people in the Honda (UK) dealer network alone.

Jim will become our 4th certified Master Technician joining Shaun Down (Mitsubishi Master), Matthew Redmore (Mitsubishi Master) and Phil Wells (BMW Master).

Well done Jim!

Customers and Customer Service

We are very lucky to have such loyal and friendly customers. This goes equally for our staff, who are also loyal, friendly people and genuinely care about what they do and the service they provide.

Considering that we are in a very challenging retail environment people can make or break any single day and it's interesting to note how one persons behaviour can have an effect on the way we all feel. Good feedback and comments really do make people feel good about what they do and for a long time now we have been aware of how lucky we are to have a really good customer base who are extremely generous with their feedback.

Having always structured our business around good customer service we are becoming increasingly concerned with the effects that some manufacturers customer satisfaction programmes are having on dealerships and the industry in general. It's almost as if somewhere along the line direction has been lost and this is ultimately leading dealers further away from looking after their customers individual needs by adopting a 'one size fits all' approach.

The trend for manufacturers to hold back dealer payments and to structure their customer contact programmes in a way that places more emphasis on certain big-name manufacturer surveys than genuine, honest and professional customer service will ultimately have nothing more than an erosive effect.

In an innovative move to counteract this Mitsubishi have taken a completely blank sheet of paper and totally redesigned their customer satisfaction programme to bring focus back to what really matters. Let's hope this refreshing approach doesn't go un-noticed in the industry and other manufacturers recognise the significance of Mitsubishi's move to bring focus back to the customer.

We must be careful to always remember what constitutes good customer service and listen to what our customers want. It shouldn't be about a number, a score, or a financial reward. Did we start out with the idea of running a retail business by providing bad customer service? Of course we didn't! .. As is often the case, a return to basics and a step back is all that's required.

We appreciate our customers and their many kind comments and feedback, some of which can be found here http://www.devonshire-motors.co.uk/testimonials

Motor Trader Awards 2011

Can you believe it? We've been shortlisted for this years Motor Trader Awards!

The Motor Trader Awards 2011 celebrate the 21st anniversary of the biggest night in the retail motor industry calendar and are held at the Grosvenor House Hotel on 13 July.

We are so excited to have made it through to the final and will be sure to let you know how we get on ..

More information can be found here http://www.motortraderawards.com/