Are you going on summer vacation soon and would you like to have your car checked? Chances are that’s not possible. It is very busy at the garages. Also in Vries at car company Hazenberg they can hardly keep up with the demand.
“I used to work with a three-week planning, now there are already six,” says workshop chief Mark Stiekema. “And if a mechanic gets sick then I have a problem. Then people have to wait nine weeks until I have a place again.” For loyal customers who have something broken with the car, he tries to find a hole in between. But that doesn’t always work out.
Good for turnover you would think, but it is no longer fun for the mechanics. “No, they really walk on their toes,” says Stiekema. “And it doesn’t benefit the service either. If a customer drives by for a broken light, we don’t always have time for that. And if we do, another car will stay there again. So yes, this will also cost you customers .”
Add to that the aging population and the number of technicians is rapidly declining. Stiekema: “Wages have risen considerably in recent years, but even if we offer them more money, it won’t work. And not just us. Colleagues in a radius of twenty kilometers are also struggling.”
What also doesn’t help for the crowds is that motorists more often choose to have their car repaired instead of buying a new one. Repairs that cost garages a lot of time. And so, according to Stiekema, there is only one thing to do. “Call on time! You will receive a letter that your car needs to be inspected again two months in advance. Then schedule it immediately. Don’t wait until the last minute, because then you will come home from a rude awakening.”