WINDS OF CHANGE
Final outdoor LAMMA proved dramatic
by Service Dealer Editor, Steve Gibbs
 
Steve Gibbs

I hope not too many of you got badly caught up in the events surrounding the cancellation of the second day of the LAMMA show yesterday.

 

The roads to and from Peterborough's East Of England Showground are never the most pleasant at the best of times during LAMMA - and from what I could gather from reading through social media coverage yesterday, it sounds like many had a frustrating time of it.

 

However as most people are now saying, the right decision was made yesterday. The LAMMA organisers had to do right by health and safety what with all the talk lately of farming being such a dangerous business. As I saw IAgrE say in a Tweet, LAMMA has to lead by example in promoting best practice.

 

It's natural that some people took to social media to voice their frustrations yesterday morning when they were stuck in interminable traffic jams or trying to get out of a car park. However, now having taken a step back and a deep breath, I would imagine most would agree there was little else the organisers could have done. Especially when the extent of the damage wouldn't have been clear until the grounds were fully inspected.

 

It's better to have headlines this morning of cancellations and disappointment rather than ones of accidents and injuries.

 

Certainly the decision taken to move the show to the NEC next January will be easier to justify for the organisers now.

 

Anyway, moving on from the excitement of yesterday, I want to thank everyone who contributed to the debate on this Update last week surrounding the servicing or otherwise of cheap Chinese-built machinery.

 

We had some fascinating responses to the situation which a fellow dealer had raised - with some strong opinions being voiced. Which is exactly what we want to hear from our readers.

 

So much so, that we at Service Dealer would very much like to encourage any dealer who has a subject which is affecting their business and which they'd like to hear other dealer's thoughts on, to always contact us. Please email myself explaining the situation and we can see if other dealers have similar experiences - and what they do under the circumstances.

 

We'd also appreciate your input again today please. We are running our annual Winter Servicing Survey, as we have at a similar time the past couple of years. If you could let us know how your workshop is faring this winter, that would be great.

 

Last year we heard some quite positive results with 54% of respondents saying that servicing work had been up or well up on the levels it had been the previous year. But how has this winter been for you?

 

We also saw last year an increase in dealers telling us that marketing their service offerings had helped increase their levels. It'll be interesting to hear whether this trend has continued.

 

So please, if you could take a few moments to answer the quick questions and to leave any comments you have about issues currently affecting your service departments that would be much appreciated.

 

As ever we'll publish the results in the next issue of Service Dealer magazine along with a selection of your thoughts.

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

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In this issue
EDITOR'S BLOG
WINDS OF CHANGE
WINTER SERVICING SURVEY
NEWS
LAMMA SHOW FORCED TO CANCEL SECOND DAY
BTME MAKE CHANGES FOR 2019
STIHL ANNOUNCED AS PLATINUM SPONSOR
AEA CONFIRM SPEAKER LINEUP
DOUBLE A BECOME PELLENC DEALER
ISEKI UK TO BE LEAD SPONSOR FOR GOLFBIC
CHARTERHOUSE TM APPOINT
WALKER MOWERS TO INCREASE STAND SPACE
MASSEY FERGUSON SUPPORT YOUNG FARMERS
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