Unsurprisingly, there's one topic in town today which needs to be discussed - Honda and the manner in which they have chosen to treat the dealers they have de-listed.

Last week's incisively written Viewpoint from Service Dealer founder Chris Biddle, really hit a nerve amongst our dealer readers. The piece had a unprecedented number of opens and created a huge level of dealer feedback. Not only were there many below-the-line comments on this Update, but we've discussed it with dealers on calls this week and there has been much chatter in online forums.

When there is this level of dealer interest in a story it's clearly our duty at Service Dealer to look for a response from those involved. Before we get into it though, I do just want to make it perfectly clear that it is any manufacturers' right to run their company as they see fit.

Dealers are grown-ups and understand that the business world ebbs and flows. Manufacturers sack dealers. Dealers sack manufacturers. There is a constant dealer shuffle which has been going on forever. However, I think it's fair to argue that there are good and less good ways of handling this.

This week we submitted a few key questions to Honda UK, all reflecting the views of dealers that we had picked up from conversations we'd held and had read online. We didn't bombard them, this wasn't Frost/Nixon, we simply asked:

• Can the de-listed dealers display and market their remaining Honda stock without infringing the terms of your Agreement?
• Why did you not contact the dealers to be de-listed personally?  Especially those with decades of Honda history?
• Why undermine consumer confidence in the de-listed dealerships by writing directly to their customers?
• Why would you NOT add an expression of thanks for the years of service and support given to your products by dealers in the letter?
• Do you see the UK dealer network as becoming less important to Honda?

Until yesterday afternoon we were expecting to at least receive a statement from Honda addressing these dealer concerns, even if they didn't engage with each query specifically.

However, during the course of the day we were informed instead that Honda had chosen not to respond. Apparently it was a decision taken at the highest level.

It is, of course, entirely Honda's prerogative whether they decide to enter into correspondence with us. They are under no obligation at all to speak to a trade journal. It might be said though, that they do owe their dealers who had given them years of loyal service something?

Sabotaging customer confidence 

Amongst the various ways that Honda can be argued to have mishandled this situation, the one aspect that seems to have caused the greatest consternation, is the manufacturer choosing to write to the de-listed dealers' own customers - encouraging them to find a new dealer.

Who knows how much damage this act of sabotage could cause years of building up strong, local relationships?

It is an utterly extraordinary situation we find ourselves in, that this week I have seen dealers who have been forced to place disclaimers front and centre on their websites, explaining to customers that no, they are not going bust and yes, they are still running a functioning service facility.

I've heard of other dealers having to write their own letters to their customer base, explaining the situation and reassuring them that they do still exist. Others have spent time on the phone fielding concerned calls - and I even heard of one dealer who was pointing customers in the direction of Chris's article from last week to prove that it wasn't just happening to them.

As if dealers don't have enough to contend with right now?!

As I said before, a company such as Honda can choose to employ who they like and sack who they like. Business is business. It is the manner in which this situation specifically has been handled which really disappoints - both with the initial termination and with this follow up letter. It feels all very weird coming from a brand with such pedigree and history in the UK market.

What needs to happen now? I guess these de-listed dealers could use some help, either from legal sources or from BAGMA perhaps, to determine if any infringements have taken place?

For other dealers looking at this situation and thinking ahead, it must highlight the importance of not placing all your eggs in one basket? Having a spread of quality brands in the showroom is vital. If something like this happened to a solus dealer, the results could be catastrophic. 

Also what all this most definitely highlights is that civility and openness costs nothing and both go a long way to making fellow humans feel valued.