Out of hours service in the car industry doesn't measure up well, says Daniel Attwood.
Much is being made of the improved customer service in the car industry, with huge investments in new state-of-the-art showrooms.
Yet, for motorists who work during the week and want to get their car serviced, it's a question of what you drive that will determine whether or not you can get your car serviced at the weekend.
This is the age of the consumer. Legislators are introducing stricter laws with the sole aim of protecting consumers. Competition law, the sale of goods act, data protection, are all designed to protect consumers' rights.
Then we have a change in the mentality of businesses - indeed entire industries - that once perceived themselves above the indignity of adjusting their opening times to suit customers.
For years, the term 'service industry' was an oxymoron. Banks opened when most people were at work, and then closed at lunch when most weren't. However, customers began to demand change. As a result, we can now bank 24-hours a day online, shop 365 days of the year and refuel our cars any time we want.
And now the car industry is catching up. While it is noticeable that dealers have invested heavily in new showrooms, some still appear to be resistant to accommodating the increasingly hectic lifestyles of their customers.
Many ironically named service departments operate on a Monday-to-Friday basis during normal working hours, especially those in rural areas.
While customers are welcomed into showrooms to buy a new car on Saturdays, and in many cases Sundays, if they return to have their new car serviced at the weekends, they will find that department closed.
However, there are exceptions. Of the 18 BMW dealers, eight now offer Saturday servicing to their customers. The majority of these are in large urban areas, which gives credence to many dealers' explanations that demand is not yet strong enough in rural areas for dealers to offer Saturday servicing.
Giving a new meaning to a Sunday service, one Dublin-based BMW dealer is about to open its service department on a Sunday to cater for customers with a hectic schedule during the week: Joe Duffy Motors in North Dublin.
It is the exception however. For Saab, Jaguar, Alfa Romeo and a host of other marques (see panel) there is no opportunity to have your car serviced at an authorised dealer, on either a Saturday or a Sunday.
Customers as well as dealers need to change. "As car retailing at weekends gathers momentum, servicing is likely to follow," says Eddie Murphy, MD of Ford of Ireland.
"Several Ford dealers in Dublin offer servicing at weekends, but the level of take-up indicates the demand at present is not as high as suggested. This may be to do with a presumption among customers that servicing is not available at weekends.
"However, I know of examples where, despite considerable investment in communicating the offering, it has failed to attract customers in large numbers."
While some car dealers are reluctant to introduce weekend servicing, blaming difficulties with staff levels over seven days, their counterparts in the truck industry have been providing weekend servicing for some time.
Truck dealers now routinely service vehicles during the weekend. Most hauliers cannot afford to have a vehicle off the road during the week and if a dealer will not service their fleet at a time that suits them, there are many other truck dealers who will. As a result, heavy goods vehicle dealers have embraced the service culture far more quickly than their car-selling counterparts.
However, speaking about the car sector, the importer of Volkswagen into Ireland (none of its dealers offer weekend servicing) says demand is just not there.
"Dealers are entrepreneurs," says Tom O'Connor from VW. "If there is an opportunity they will embrace it, but many have explored Saturday servicing and felt there is nothing to be gained from it."
While some dealers are embracing the service culture and moving towards seven-day services, others have tried and failed, as Ciaran Allen from Mercedes-Benz explains: "Our dealership, MSL, offered Saturday servicing to Mercedes-Benz customers four or five years ago, but uptake was low and eventually they went back to five-day servicing. The demand just wasn't there."
This is an experience shared by other dealers. "There is an increasing trend towards seven-day opening in the motor industry," explains Opel MD, Dave Sheeran.
"Some Opel dealers open on Saturday mornings for service, however past experience does not reflect great customer demand. Should demand grow, dealers will review Saturday openings."
Dealers complain that they are faced with severe difficulties recruiting and retaining technicians who are willing to work weekends.
"There is already a shortage of technicians in the country," explains Anthony Neville from importers OHM, which distributes marques including Jaguar, Saab, Seat and Daihatsu.
"It is extremely difficult to get technicians in the first place and that will prove even more so if we ask them to work weekends."
However, things will change. "Customers across the board are looking for better service. Dealers that offer services such as the weekend servicing of cars will set themselves apart from the competition," says Neville.
"Customers are becoming more demanding and we accept that for many it is not convenient for them to have their cars serviced during the week."