The franchise has produced an MOT processing and printing solution for car garages to use.
Noting that MOT (Ministry of Transport) tests – which every UK car must pass to be road-legal – are administered by garages across the country, the franchise notes that “next year […] garages in the UK are facing a major headache” because the UK government is “removing all their MOT processing and printing equipment”, in turn “leaving the garages to buy and support their own IT and printing infrastructure”.
The government service, VOSA, has “supplied and supported” the equipment for 15 years in every garage, with each location paying “a small charge levied on each MOT they successfully process through the system”, but in 2015 VOSA will “remove all their legacy” equipment and replace it with a “cloud-based application accessed through a browser”, requiring garages to “buy and support their own IT devices to access the application, process the MOT and print off the relevant documentation”.
While “for some this will not be a problem”, the franchise points out that “for many, the thought of having to buy, install and support” their own equipment “is terrifying”, as in addition to “eating into their initial cash flow”, the “biggest worry is the complexity and reliability”, with garages focused on “making their customers happy” and not “messing around and fixing IT and printing-related issues”, with unprocessed MOTs having a “major impact” through loss of a customer or failed repairs.
Cartridge World East Lancashire’s Owner Darren Turner “decided to do something” after “discussing this issue with a number of garage owners” in the UK county of Lancashire, and has developed a processing and printing solution (www.motprintingsolutions.com) for garage owners that provides them “with all the equipment they need together with a guaranteed four-hour fix time”, meaning that the garages can “concentrate on keeping their customers’ engines running”.
Turner stated: “After listening to and understanding the problems, we have come up with a solution that solves all of the main issues: cash flow, complexity and reliability. The garage can choose what they require from three packages, each of which is paid for in a low fixed monthly fee, which includes the IT equipment, unlimited printing, installation, and training, and all wrapped up in a guaranteed four-hour fix support contract.
“Our aim was to keep it simple, affordable and to take all the hassle away from the garages, so they can concentrate on providing a great service to their customers”.
Nick Wright, Managing Director of West Riding Hyundai, discussed the issues with Turner, and added that “we have used Darren and his team for many years for all our printing solutions and office supplies – they save us loads of money, always provide a top class service and are very reliable. This new service is brilliant and will be very valuable to many MOT operators – they have even built a very simple, information and ordering website for the service […] it’s fantastic and provides all the information you need”.
The Recycler has reported on the development of the franchise’s ink supply service, known as “Infinity”, which now serves schools, businesses and consumers, and West Riding Hyundai was also named one of the winners of the franchise’s ‘Golden Ticket’ prize, which rewards business customers by entering raffle tickets into the draw based on how many orders a customer places – a system based on that seen in Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
The franchise also offers other services including online computer support, a print management system, an office bureau solution, and a water cooler service.