# My Brownhills Nightmare



## alitone (Jun 17, 2009)

I was delighted when I spotted an advert for part time driver with Brownhills. The HR manager assured me i had all the rights of full time employees and the contract was on "as and when required basis". So without any training I was called on to drive a 28ft Bessacarr tag axel to the Cheshire show as my first job and then to drive it back to base. No problem, this is ideal I thought getting paid for driving was great ( even though the pay was about £6 an hour minimum wage ). Then Brownhills decided to close Swindon at short notice .... Ahh now I can see why they hired all the extra drivers.. cheap way of moving all the stock I thought . So for 4 days I was taken to Swindon by car and drove back a motorhome each day ( a round trip of 500 miles each day ). On the Friday disaster struck. I was getting concerned that most of the stock we picked up had completely dead batteries and almost NO FUEL so drivers were forced to Risk taking the vehicles onto the busy Cirencester Swindon duel carriageway with flat battery and "fresh air" in the tank. Then we made for the first service station over 8 miles away. So on Friday which was the last of the four journeys I spead onto the duel carriageway at 60 MPH only for the Engine to cut out ... disaster I thought .. what do I do now. ahh put on the your warning lights to let other road users know your in trouble .. only problem was no battery at all , absolutely flat. So no warning lights no indicators and no brake lights. As I rolled along with speed dropping and HGV`S blasting me with air horns I stuck my arm out the cab window and tried to "wave on" those following . No hard shoulder was available either.. luckily I managed to reach the top of a hill and freewheeled for another mile whilst i looked for a side road to pull in to get off the busy duel carriageway. Luckily the Police did not come along and I was off the main road when I came to a stop .... just. Then I phoned by boss at Brownhills and told him what had happened . "Im not happy with this" , I told him, being put into a dangerous situation and endangering other road users. His reply which stunned me was, " Well... if you dont want the job you know what you can do ". I was taken back by his attitude . I was then "rescued" by the other two drivers who when for a battery starter and some spare diesel and managed to get going after 2 hours delay. However, what followed in the next 7 months was just a disgrace. Because then the "manager" denied me any further driving jobs for months on end. This was because I dared to complain about the incident. Speaking to other drivers at Brownhills it happens all the time. Regularly drivers have no battery charge and almost empty of fuel tank and have to risk it to the local garage.. of course BHs will deny this but its absolutly true. MHs are also often left running while filling up at service station.. against the law I thought !. So I kept complaining about "lack of further driving jobs" to Brownhills HR ( total waste of time ) I did get one or two jobs but in the end I was "given notice" and sacked because i was "no longer be suitable." ie complain and your out. Yes I did have three more jobs and started to carry my own fuel can as a precation . On one of the Jobs the motorhome would not start so I had to come home by train. I was disgusted with the attitude of management at Brownhills, they have a very arrogant attitude and low standard of care. It was simply a horrible place to work.No wonder they are closing more branches than opening new ones,and there claim to be "UKs Biggest dealer" I doubt will be in accurate given the standard of some manager that I had the missfortune to meet... who just sack anyone who complains. ! Bullying its called


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## rayc (Jun 3, 2008)

In my experience it is those at the lower end of the job market who get exploited the most. My Daughter was a carer and amongst her perks were not getting paid or get mileage to get to the first job of the day or home from the last, having to use her own car at miserable mileage rates, having to use her own mobile and when a job was cancelled for whatever reason she sat around with no pay.
That is the reason that drving jobs like those at Brownhill are taken by retired people who look on it as pocket money or economic migrants who will work all hours and share living expenses with others like them. I think you will find that most 'as and when required' driving jobs in the car delivery business are all the same.


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## alitone (Jun 17, 2009)

rayc said:


> In my experience it is those at the lower end of the job market who get exploited the most. My Daughter was a carer and amongst her perks were not getting paid or get mileage to get to the first job of the day or home from the last, having to use her own car at miserable mileage rates, having to use her own mobile and when a job was cancelled for whatever reason she sat around with no pay.
> That is the reason that drving jobs like those at Brownhill are taken by retired people who look on it as pocket money or economic migrants who will work all hours and share living expenses with others like them. I think you will find that most 'as and when required' driving jobs in the car delivery business are all the same.


Thanks racy. I wasnt complaining about the pay ( £6 an hour ) as I was aware of the rates when signing up and quiet frankly didnt need the money. What my main beef was being put "on the road with hardly any fuel and no battery charge" and I confirm this happens all the time... my safety and my driving licence are worth more than £6 a hour !!


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## Hydrocell (Jan 29, 2011)

Hi Alitone

Just simply disgraceful, you’re right no amount of money is worth being treated so poorly, anyone how trades with these types of people must be mad.
This sought of attitude, will only drive others farther and farther away and another buyout want save them.
Hope you have better luck with your next employer; it can’t get any worse can it.

Regards
Ray


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## vicdicdoc (May 14, 2005)

Why do people STILL continue to go to Brownhills ???


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## brianamelia (Mar 17, 2008)

vicdicdoc said:


> Why do people STILL continue to go to Brownhills ???


Simple because not everybody is dissatisfied

Bri


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## duxdeluxe (Sep 2, 2007)

As above...... I usually call in on my way past. The accessory shop is pretty good and the staff there are very helpful. I was a bit surprised by the indoor showroom being half empty, though. I think they were going to shift some stock in/out - that is what it looked like.


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## Markt500 (Mar 23, 2010)

That's pretty poor, but ultimately it's down to the driver to decide. I think you'll be better off out of there. Must say though that I've used their parts dept this week and was impressed with their attitude and service


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## quartet (Jul 9, 2006)

*Drivers!*

Hi
Feel sympathy in a way. I did some driving for Nissan a while back.
Had to do a 6 hours induction ...unpaid! If you failed that you were just sent packing ..no expenses..nothing! Paid the minimum wage even though you finished at 2am. Pretty pressurised conditions and if the job finished early you were sent packing early unpaid.
Brownhills spent at least 1 hour with me this week on my bike rack purchase including several phone calls and i got it at a considerable discount. They also posted a spare part out to me at a cost to them of £9 this week. I use them because in 5 years they have always come up with the goods and they are only 5 miles away
Barry


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## alitone (Jun 17, 2009)

*Marquis Brownhills*

I always meant to post the update to this story .
before Brownhills sold the Durham Branch to Marquis they got rid ( sacked ) all temporary drivers . My letter arrived in the post saying I was unfit for the Job... and it was almost a year since I started

If I had been full time I would have taken them to a tribunal but in the end I just let it go . No doubt the same manager is installed at the Marquis branch in Durham still "beating up" the sales lads for business when all he does is sit in the office.

Always remember when you purchase from a dealer you are funding overstaffed organisations who have to make a massive margin to pay for all the hangers on .

Always buy privately and you will save a fortune and have thses funds as a massive back up if anything goes wrong . Purchased from one dealer but never again !


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## nickoff (Oct 11, 2005)

Bugger that for a game of soldiers. After getting that reply from the manager I would have left the motorhome at the side of the road, all doors open and the keys in the ignition. You can always find a way to get home.

Nick.

PS. Was at Brownhills yesterday, very pleasant it was too


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## prof20 (Jan 11, 2007)

I'm not implying that this was you, altone, and slightly off topic, but I've lost count of the number of times I've been passed by new motorhomes being driven to shows at speeds far in excess of the speed limits, even on motorways at 70mph.

I've seen them in convoys racing each other.

I know modern engines are not supposed to require running in as much as the vehicles of yesteryear did, but there are other components which do require treating gently at first, such as brake pads and shoes, clutches and wheel and other bearings.

Most of these drivers appear to have absolutely no respect for the expensive vehicles they are temporarily entrusted with, and it says a lot for the mentality of the dealers who knowingly permit this to take place.

R  ger


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## rosalan (Aug 24, 2009)

Brownhills certainly hold the limelight for many reasons, some bad but others almost set the balance. Their sales figures remain too high for everything to be bad although they are certainly weighed down with history.
On a recent visit I was intrigued by the behaviour of some customers, a salesman told me that anything that could be removed and stolen by customers, would be. I raised the issue following finding several missing items from a van we were looking at, including door catches, hinges and taps. The particular salesman said he recently caught someone walking away with a microwave oven he had removed from a van. With such clientele it is not surprising that the company are not oozing with trust towards every customer.


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## Jeannette (Aug 7, 2012)

We bought a new Bessacar from Brownhills yesterday and all I can say so far is I have been delighted with the service and the deal. The salesman was attentive but never pushy. Spent three hours following us around every van and answered all our questions. We eventually settled on the perfect van for us and rather than pushing a sale left us to talk it over. When we were ready the Director Gary came to talk money and I tackled him about the negative comments. He was quite honest and said they had gotten to big with too many dealerships and dropped the ball on customer service. They have downsized and are concentrating on the Newark site with a trimmed down line. 

We haggled hard and he gave us the deal we wanted so we bought the van and will take delivery in a couple of weeks. 

It remains to be seen if they continue with the excellent service but what I have seen so far I am delighted with.


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## alitone (Jun 17, 2009)

Jeannette said:


> We bought a new Bessacar from Brownhills yesterday and all I can say so far is I have been delighted with the service and the deal. The salesman was attentive but never pushy. Spent three hours following us around every van and answered all our questions. We eventually settled on the perfect van for us and rather than pushing a sale left us to talk it over. When we were ready the Director Gary came to talk money and I tackled him about the negative comments. He was quite honest and said they had gotten to big with too many dealerships and dropped the ball on customer service. They have downsized and are concentrating on the Newark site with a trimmed down line.
> 
> We haggled hard and he gave us the deal we wanted so we bought the van and will take delivery in a couple of weeks.
> 
> It remains to be seen if they continue with the excellent service but what I have seen so far I am delighted with.


Hope it goes well with the new motorhome J but I can honestly say you get the same service and buying experience from most dealers in the UK but once you pick it up and drive away ... its luck of the draw. I would personally always buy from a private seller pay 4000-6000 less and take that amount as a back up fund.

Since my original posting i was sacked by Brownhills as being unsuitable for the role just before they sold Brownhills Durham Branch to Marquis ( Birtley ). Same cowboys but a different Label !


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