How's everyone holding up? As best as they can be I hope. I realise that this is bit unusual being with you on a Thursday, but this is due to tomorrow's bank holiday commemorating VE Day.

Service Dealer held another call with a panel of dealers from across the UK again this week to take the temperature of how business had been these past 10 days or so.

Also on the call, we were pleased to be joined by representatives BAGMA and the AEA once again - plus this time we also welcomed management of the two main trade bodies for the professional turf care sectors. Speaking to these guys gave some fascinating details into how life has been for their commercial end-user members - which should give dealers of commercial groundscare machinery some useful insight.

Service Dealer owner, Duncan Murray-Clarke, said after the call, "I would particularly like to thank Jim from BIGGA and Geoff from the GMA for taking the time to join our call this week. This area of professional and amateur sport facilities seem to have been hit the hardest and even with restrictions being lifted it is going to be a long road ahead for dealers and manufacturers of commercial grasscare machinery.

"What is key for the dealer network is to be ready if Sunday’s announcement provides more trading flexibility."

Before we get to the complications around the sporting sector though, let's start with some positive news that we heard from dealers.

Firstly, nothing too dramatic appears to have changed since we last spoke. Dealers who have settled into safe trading methods which are working for their company, reported business carrying on fairly well.

New ways of working are having to be embraced. We heard how dealers who might have dabbled a bit in online trading before all this kicked off, would have perhaps preferred to have eased their way into this form of commerce - however circumstances have dictated a leap in at the deep end!

Those who are offering click & collect or delivery options, obeying the distancing measures, have been busy on the domestic front. We heard everything from battery products to ride-ons are selling to the home user market. And keeping in touch with these customers via all the social media channels which are available to dealers, has been helping matters greatly.

One dealer told us they had been so busy and their staff working so hard they are making sure they reward those individuals in their business who are going above and beyond.

Thoughts are obviously turning to what happens when lockdown measures begin to be eased. One of the larger dealer groups we spoke to told us about how they are starting to implement the practical changes which will need to be in place for any form of reopening of the showrooms. Items like signage, protective screens, 2-metre markings on the floor - that kind of thing. Protective measures like these will need to be in place for the safety of customers and staff alike, so it makes sense to start getting prepared now.

An area of concern which had cropped up for a dealer in the ag sector who we heard from, was regarding customers starting to query what they were being charged for service work. It seemed because those who work in agriculture are finding circumstances challenging at the moment (similar to everyone), they were trying to put pressure on their dealer to drop their charge-out per-hour rates. 

Through discussion it was felt that bowing to pressure and dropping prices wouldn't be an ideal course of action as raising them again would prove problematic. With the national UK average rate apparently being in the £65-£70 per hour vicinity, this particular dealer found themselves well under the national average anyway and was advised to stand their ground. We'd be interested to know if this has also been an issue which other readers have faced? Are your customers using the current situation to dispute over pricing? Let us know in the comments below.

One other word of advice which was given by a couple of dealers was it might be worth the while of others around the country looking into the small business grants being offered via local councils. Some on the call this week had been pleasantly surprised how easy the application process was and how speedily the grant money had arrived in their bank accounts. It was felt there is an allocation of budget which the government wants to distribute - so it makes sense for dealers to make enquiries.

Moving on to the commercial groundscare sector, we were joined on the call by Geoff Webb, CEO of the newly renamed Grounds Management Association, formally the IOG, and Jim Croxton, CEO of the British and International Golf Greenkeeping Association. From these guys we heard of the complicated picture which both the professional and grassroots sporting sectors are facing currently.

And I'm afraid it won't really come as much of a surprise for dealers of commercial grasscare machinery that the assumption this year is sales of new machinery will be few and far between. There will of course be work from maintenance and spare parts for existing kit when sport does get up and running again - but the budgets just will not be there for much new investment.

Both golf and the wider sporting sector's grassed surfaces have been kept maintained during this lockdown period by an absolute skeleton staff of turf professionals. There's a mixed picture with some facilities having chosen to furlough more staff than others. Once the industry does get moving again, in whatever format is allowed, even then a full roster of staff might not return.

For golf clubs and sporting facilities, as with every business, working leaner will be the order of the day for the rest of 2020 and beyond.

There is speculation ongoing as to when exactly the different sports will recommence - and indeed under what provisos. Until an official announcement is made by government it's fairly moot taking a guess at dates. It does seem fair to say though that certain activities will be easier to restart than others. Golf for example, would be way ahead of rugby in the list of openings.

Both Geoff and Jim had nothing but praise for their professional members out in the field. Turf professionals, similar to specialist dealers, have been trying to find safe, effective means of working, with much reduced staffing and less than crystal clear guidelines from government regarding what is permissible and essential. Sound familiar?!

It was felt that sadly, some golf clubs who may have been on a knife-edge financially before all of this kicked off, may not emerge on the other side. Or perhaps they may be able to get through whatever good playing months of the summer are left, but then due to lack of any ancillary income from clubhouses and bars, may not be able to continue in the long term. Not good news for those clubs and their members - or indeed the dealerships that serve them.

I wish there was some more positive news to report for dealers whose customer base is these professional and grassroots sporting facilities - but this is the reality we're faced with.

Of course sport will start up again and the grass will need cutting. The pro users will require their machinery to be maintained and serviced - probably more so than ever before.

It is however likely to be a tough road ahead for sales of new professional equipment.