Monthly Archives: April 2015

Jaguar to celebrate 80th anniversary at Mille Miglia event

 

By Jamie White – Head of Communications

 

Jaguar is celebrating its 80th anniversary by once again taking on the legendary challenge that is the Mille Miglia.

 

Held from May 14th-17th in Italy, Jaguar Heritage Racing will be fielding a team of drivers who will cover more than 1,000 miles from Brescia-Rome-Brescia in nine of the marque’s most celebrated models.

Jaguar at Mille Miglia - Douglas Stafford Mystery Shopping

 

Famous faces from the world of motorsport, TV and music will put their historic Jaguars through their paces on the gruelling route, which takes place over four days starting in Brescia, heading to Rimini, Rome, Parma and then back to Brescia.

 

Crowds lining the route will get to see examples of historically-significant Jaguar XKs, C-types and D-types hurtling past them.

 

Five-time winner of the Le Mans 24hr, three-time Daytona 24hr winner and world sportscar veteran, Derek Bell, will make his Mille Miglia debut driving a Jaguar C-type, while Jaguar Vehicle Integrity Chief Engineer Mike Cross will pilot the second second C-type, ‘NDU 289’ with the final C-type, ‘PUG 676’, driven by Royal Automobile Club Motoring Committee Chairman, Ben Cussons.

 

Driving ‘RSF 303’, will be Jaguar Design Director, Ian Callum. A veteran of the Mille Miglia, Ian drove with US chat show host Jay Leno in the 2014 event – this year he will be partnering up with businessman and classic car enthusiast, Clive Beecham.

Jaguar at Mille Miglia - Douglas Stafford Mystery Shopping

 

At the wheel of a Jaguar MK VII will Charley Boorman, who will be partnered by Bremont co-founder Giles English.

 

Making for a very glamorous cockpit is ‘OOF 748’ – the XK120 roadster of model and TV presenter, Jodie Kidd, whose co-driver will be male supermodel, GQ columnist and classic car enthusiast, David Gandy.

 

Host of BBC One show, Saturday Kitchen, James Martin, will be partnered by Bremont co-founder Nick English in the penultimate ‘Long Nose’ Jaguar D-type ever built, registered ‘393 RW’. Completing the trio of D-types will be one of the classic car world’s most respected experts, Simon Kidston.

 

Completing the Jaguar Heritage team line-up is successful British singer/song-writer Elliot Gleave, otherwise known as Example. Elliot will be driving a XK140 with his father, Michael, as co-pilot. The XK140, registered ‘TAC 743’, was once owned by successful British racing driver David Hobbs.

 

 

Renault and Dacia record impressive results in Auto Express Survey

 

By Jamie White – Head of Communications

 

Renault has continued to rise up the ranks in the Auto Express Driver Power 2015 survey rising eight places to seventh overall out of 32 brands – while its subsidiary Dacia maintained its impressive fifth position.

Renault and Dacia record impressive results in Auto Express Survey - Douglas Stafford Mystery Shopping

 

Renault’s score of 87.08 per cent was attributed in the survey to finishing fourth overall for running costs, seventh for in-car technology and eighth for ride quality. Customer satisfaction with reliability and build quality has also improved.

 

Dacia’s score of 88.86 per cent overall was achieved with impressive scores from owners on practicality, in-car technology and servicing costs and them ranking Dacia first of all 32 brands for fuel economy and other running costs. There were also improvements in build quality and performance compared to 2014.

 

Auto Express said in summary of Renault’s performance: “Last year it scored 15th overall with 85.88 per cent, helped by the new Captur. Now, though, it’s jumped a further eight places and catapulted itself into the top 10. It really is quite an impressive performance in such a competitive field.”

Renault and Dacia record impressive results in Auto Express Survey - Douglas Stafford Mystery Shopping

 

Steve Fowler, Auto Express Editor-in-chief said: “Holding its own in the top five shows that affordability shouldn’t compromise quality, and Dacia has impressed with its models’ reliability and low running costs. It’s clear that British car buyers love a bargain, but that these bargains are proving to be solid investments.”

 

Ken Ramirez, Managing Director, Renault UK, said: “Product and Service Quality are fundamental parts of our GO5+ mid-term plan objectives and it is therefore highly encouraging to see that real customer feedback place both our brands, Renault and Dacia, amongst the Top10 in the industry.”

 

The Auto Express Driver Power survey had its largest response ever in 2015 with 61,113 car owners, up 20 per cent on 2014, completing the comprehensive survey about their vehicle ownership experience.

Renault and Dacia record impressive results in Auto Express Survey - Douglas Stafford Mystery Shopping

 

Renault UK car sales in the first quarter of 2015 were up 16.6 per cent on 2014 with 20,593 cars registered. Total, 2014 full-year sales stood at 66,334, up 43.7 per cent.

 

Dacia saw a first quarter UK sales increase in 2015 of 10.3 per cent to 7,524 vehicles, while 2014 full-year sales stood at 23,862, up 39.2 per cent on the previous year.

 

Mystery Shopping and Performance Improvement company, Douglas Stafford, provides Renault UK and Dacia with a tailored and bespoke nationwide mystery shopping programme to include Telephone Mystery Shopping, Email Mystery Shopping and Video Mystery Shopping.

Ford Mustang to roar into Europe

 

By Jamie White – Head of Communications

 

Ford has announced that the all-new Ford Mustang will deliver 0-62mph acceleration in under five seconds – making it the fastest accelerating Ford coupe ever offered in Europe.

 

The company also revealed that more than 1,200 customers have ordered an all-new Ford Mustang in Britain – and a further 2,200 across Europe.

New Ford Mustang now available to order in the UK - Douglas Stafford Mystery Shopping

 

The Ford Mustang – on sale in Europe for the first time in the car’s 50-year history – is available with Ford’s 5.0-litre V8 engine delivering 421PS and 530Nm of torque, or the more fuel-efficient 2.3-litre EcoBoost engine delivering 317PS and 432Nm of torque.

 

The 5.0-litre V8 fastback with six-speed manual transmission reaches 62mph from a standing start in 4.8sec –faster than any Ford coupé in Europe since the limited Ford GT supercar launched in 2005. The Ford Mustang 2.3-litre EcoBoost fastback manual reaches the marker in 5.8sec.

 

Ford Mustang drivers can optimise the car’s performance to suit their mood and driving conditions using selectable drive modes, and away from the public highway can use Track Apps to monitor driving performance. Ford Mustang 5.0-litre V8 drivers also can achieve the fastest possible acceleration off the line on the track assisted by Launch Control technology. Mustang also delivers up to 0.97g when cornering.

 

Equipped with Ford’s 2.3-litre EcoBoost engine the new Ford Mustang also delivers up to 35.3mpg fuel economy and 179g/km CO2 emissions.

 

Douglas Stafford Mystery Shopping Weekly Round Up

 

By Jamie White – Head of Communications

 

It’s been a very busy week for the head office team, mystery shoppers and clients of mystery shopping and performance improvement company, Douglas Stafford.

Douglas Stafford Mystery Shopping Weekly Round Up

 

Today (Friday) Douglas Stafford has welcomed business partners from the automotive and retail industries to our head office to discuss all things mystery shopping and customer experience.

 

Also this week, Douglas Stafford team members have hosted team-building events with valued clients Honda UK and Scania GB, on the south coast.

 

Earlier this week, Renault celebrated the success of 100 of its best global dealers, with a ‘Dealer of the Year’ ceremony in Paris.

Jaguar announced as official partner to Wimbledon tennis championships - Douglas Stafford Mystery Shopping

 

The event, hosted by Jerome Stoll, Chief Performance Officer and Executive Vice President, Sales & Marketing for Renault, had entries from more than 2,000 Renault Group dealers across 35 countries in 2014. You can read more here.

 

British luxury and sports car manufacturer, Jaguar, has been announced as The Official Car of The Championships, Wimbledon.

 

Jaguar and Land Rover will supply 170 luxury and high performance vehicles to support the tennis tournament’s operations, including the new Jaguar XE and XF, as well as successful XF Sportbrake and XJ models. Read more here.

 

Global fashion company ASOS has launched an app for the new Apple Watch, joining companies including British Airways and Avios in introducing the new technology.

After a five year wait - the new Honda Civic Type R is unveiled - Douglas Stafford Mystery Shopping

 

The new ASOS app – which will is available from today (24th) coincides with the global launch of the Apple Watch. Read more here.

 

Honda has retained its crown as the UK’s most reliable used car manufacturer, scooping top spot in research conducted by What Car? and Warranty Direct for the ninth consecutive year. You can read more about the Honda success here.

 

Douglas Stafford is recruiting new team members to work at the Portsmouth Head Office. To find out about available positions, click here.

Recruitment – Douglas Stafford Head Office positions available

 

Douglas Stafford is recruiting new team members to work at our Portsmouth Head Office

 

Douglas Stafford has been at the forefront of mystery shopping and customer experience initiatives in the UK for 25 years, working with many national and international blue chip companies.

Based at the thriving business hub at Lakeside North Harbour on the outskirts of Portsmouth, which boasts excellent working facilities, Douglas Stafford currently employs more than 110 team members – and we are looking for additional members to join our professional team.

 

Douglas Stafford Head Office at 1000 Lakeside, Lakeside North Harbour

 

Mystery Shopper Field Scheduling Co-ordinator

 

Do you think you can work within a team and co-ordinate a national team of field-based mystery shoppers across the UK, from our Portsmouth head office? Are you a good communicator, with a high level of attention to detail? Do you have experience in liaising and organising field team operative’s workloads? Can you motivate and provide exceptional levels of customer service and support? We are looking for an additional team member who is excellent at organising, is a strong communicator and works well on their own and as part of team.

 

Visual and Audio Quality Controllers

 

Due to business expansion in 2015, we have a number of part-time, full-time, weekend and flexi-time positions available as Visual and Audio Quality Controllers in the Video Editing Department. We need team members with an extremely high level of attention to detail, good judgement, ability to use your own initiative and competent computer skills. Some video editing experience is preferable.

 

Departmental Manager

 

Do you have what it takes to manage a team of people? Can you develop, motivate and manage team members to achieve high levels of quality and help them to develop? As a niche-market specialist company we need an individual that can make sure the service we provide to our clients is second to none. If you have a proven background in achieving this, we would like to hear from you.

 

If you feel you have the suitable skillset and experience for any of the above positions, please email your CV to [email protected]

 

 

 

Honda named most reliable car manufacturer for ninth successive year

 

By Jamie White – Head of Communications

 

Honda has retained its crown as the UK’s most reliable used car manufacturer, scooping top spot in research conducted by What Car? and Warranty Direct for the ninth consecutive year.

Honda named most reliable car manufacturer for ninth successive year - Douglas Stafford Mystery Shopping

 

The independent research analysed 50,000 live Warranty Direct policies for cars between three and eight years old, to give a Reliability Index of 37 car manufacturers.

 

The Index takes into account failure rates, age of car, mileage and cost of repair to give an overall score for reliability.

 

The research revealed the Honda Jazz to be the most reliable used car on the UK market today, the second such accolade for the Jazz this year, and one of many that the popular supermini has won over the years.

 

Jim Holder, Editor of What Car? magazine, said: “Honda’s success in the Reliability Index is chiefly down to low failure rates. However, when things do go wrong, the cars are also relatively cheap to fix. Reliability is always one of the key attributes buyers look for when considering a used car purchase, so manufacturers that consistently demonstrate durability will always do well with the consumer.”

Honda named most reliable car manufacturer for ninth successive year - Douglas Stafford Mystery Shopping

 

Philip Crossman, Managing Director of Honda UK, said: “To be named most reliable manufacturer by such authorities as What Car? and Warranty Direct is a real achievement, and to take the title for the ninth consecutive year is fantastic. Our success is built upon the trust that customers have in our brand to keep them on the move with great products and great service.”

 

The Honda Jazz was also crowned most reliable car in the fourth annual Carbuyer Awards recently.

 

Douglas Stafford was delighted to welcome team members from valued clients, Honda UK, for a celebratory ‘Honda Oscars’ event, recognising the manufacturer’s top mystery shopping performers, who were rewarded with a special sailing day on the Solent and lunch on the Isle of Wight.

Companies embrace Apple Watch with new Apps

 

By Jamie White – Head of Communications

 

Global fashion company ASOS has launched an app for the new Apple Watch, joining companies including British Airways and Avios in introducing the new technology.

Companies embrace Apple Watch with new Apps - Douglas Stafford Mystery Shopping

 

The new ASOS app – which will be available from this Friday (April 24th) coincides with the global launch of the Apple Watch.

 

The app will enable customers to add ‘Saved Items’ directly to their bag, before being able to view them on their mobile or desktop.

 

It will also deliver personalised product recommendations based on customers purchasing and saving behaviour. The ‘Recommendations’ feature offers a number of products options.

 

The launch of the Apple Watch app adds to the ASOS personalised and tailored experience.

 

British Airways’ offering gives information at a glance, by swiping the watch face to receive notifications of departure time and flight status. A further swipe will deliver more detailed information including flight number, route, weather and connecting flights.

Companies embrace Apple Watch with new Apps - Douglas Stafford Mystery Shopping

 

Other advantages include check-in and gate notifications, as well as welcome messages and Wi-Fi codes for travellers arriving at the lounges within Heathrow Terminal 5.

 

Sara Dunham from British Airways said: “We’re excited to be one of the first apps available for Apple Watch. We know our customers love innovation and we love making travel through the airport as quick and easy as possible for them, so this is the perfect combination.”

 

A sister app will also be launched by Avios, the travel rewards currency offered by BA, allowing participants to easily keep tabs on their balance.

 

Jaguar announced as official partner to Wimbledon tennis championships

 

By Jamie White – Head of Communications

 

British luxury and sports car manufacturer, Jaguar, has been announced as The Official Car of The Championships, Wimbledon.

Jaguar announced as official partner to Wimbledon tennis championships - Douglas Stafford Mystery Shopping

 

Jaguar and Land Rover will supply 170 luxury and high performance vehicles to support the tennis tournament’s operations, including the new Jaguar XE and XF, as well as successful XF Sportbrake and XJ models.

 

Sporting icon and Jaguar ambassador, Jose Mourinho, was given his first Wimbledon experience to mark the occasion as part of a tour hosted by AELTC Committee member and Former British No. 1 tennis star Tim Henman.

 

Mourinho was given a tour of the historic surroundings of SW19 and followed in the footsteps of Wimbledon champions by making the celebrated walk to Centre Court.

 

Mourinho said: “Wimbledon is more than a Grand Slam. You have great tournaments, great matches, but Wimbledon is Wimbledon. The tradition, the history around this tournament is magnificent.”

Jaguar announced as official partner to Wimbledon tennis championships - Douglas Stafford Mystery Shopping

 

Commenting on his favourite memory of the Wimbledon tennis championship, Mourinho added: “The one that I really felt, was Andy Murray’s victory because it was very special for him. Winning Wimbledon is the same for all the players, but for a British player to win Wimbledon after so many years I felt so much emotion. I am not British, but on that day I felt like I was.”

 

Laura Schwab, UK Marketing Director at Jaguar Land Rover, said: “The tournament captures our imagination in different ways. For some it’s the feeling of summer, but for others it’s British sport at its best. We’re very excited to be working with the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club to establish our new partnership and celebrate what makes Wimbledon so special.”

 

Former British No.1, Tim Henman, said: “When you talk about Wimbledon being a quintessential tournament and part of the British calendar, you can talk about Jaguar being a quintessentially, luxury British brand. I think they complement each other well.”

 

The Championships, Wimbledon 2015 runs from June 29th to July 12th 2015.

 

A new short film capturing Mourinho’s reaction to the Wimbledon experience can be viewed here.

Renault celebrates success of its best 100 global dealer groups

 

By Jamie White – Head of Communications

 

Renault has celebrated the success of 100 of its best global dealers, with a ‘Dealer of the Year’ ceremony in Paris.

Renault celebrates success of its best 100 global dealer groups - Douglas Stafford Mystery Shopping

 

The event, hosted by Jerôme Stoll, Chief Performance Officer and Executive Vice President, Sales & Marketing for Renault, had entries from more than 2,000 Renault Group dealers across 35 countries in 2014.

 

Each year, the ‘Dealer of the Year’ challenge recognises the Group’s best dealers in terms of Sales Volume for New Vehicles, Spare Parts, Accessories and Service Contracts, Profitability and  Service Quality in Sales and Aftersales.

 

Throughout the ceremony, Jerome acknowledged the commitment and professionalism of these elite Renault dealers, underlining the importance of the dealer network in transmitting the values of the Group’s brands, products and services and their key role in customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Renault celebrates success of its best 100 global dealer groups - Douglas Stafford Mystery Shopping

 

To meet the expectations of its customers more effectively, Renault has stepped up the rollout of its new Renault Store showroom concept, which was initially launched in 2013. It now features in more than 1,200 dealerships around the world.

 

Jerome said: “Renault’s success and that of its dealer network both depend on the quality of service we deliver to our customers. If we’re not up to the level of customer satisfaction expected of us, our customers will go to the competition.”

 

The five ‘Dealers of the Year’ from the UK and Ireland were Mitchells Garage, Lowestoft, TC Auto’s, Omagh, Gravells, Kidwelly, Park’s Coatbridge, Lanarkshire and O’Briens Mullingar, County Westmeath.

 

Mystery Shopping and Performance Improvement company, Douglas Stafford, provides Renault UK with a tailored and bespoke nationwide mystery shopping programme to include Telephone Mystery Shopping, Email Mystery Shopping and Video Mystery Shopping.

 

Douglas Stafford Mystery Shopping Weekly Round Up

 

By Jamie White – Head of Communications

 

It’s been a very busy week for the head office team, mystery shoppers and clients of mystery shopping and performance improvement company, Douglas Stafford.

Douglas Stafford Mystery Shopping

 

Today (Friday) top performing team members from Douglas Stafford’s valued clients, Honda UK, are taking part in a special celebratory team-building event.

 

After achieving exemplary results in the company’s mystery shopping programme in 2014, lucky winners are enjoying a day sailing in the Solent as part of the ‘Honda Oscars’ celebration for performance.

 

Team members have been on board two yachts – including the 40ft Beneteau Lady Diane – in the Solent, where they were involved with raising and lowering the sails and racing against each other, before stopping for lunch on the Isle of Wight and sailing back to Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth.

Douglas Stafford Mystery Shopping Employee of the Quarter

 

There was further delight for Honda this week as the Honda Aircraft Company announced that the HondaJet will begin a world tour in late April, with the advanced light jet making its first appearances in Japan and Europe. You can read more here.

 

Earlier this week, the inaugural David Williamson Award for the best performance of the quarter has taken place at the Douglas Stafford head office at Lakeside North Harbour, Portsmouth.

 

The award was the brainchild of Data Analyst, David Williamson, who thought a reward for an excellent performance within the company should be recognised. You can find out the winner here.

Douglas Stafford Mystery Shopping presents cheque to Charity of the Year

 

Fundraising throughout 2014/15 by team members at mystery shopping and performance improvement company, Douglas Stafford, has helped raise £1,000 for The Roberts Centre.

 

Douglas Stafford Chief Executive, Nigel Cook, presented a cheque to Mel Goddard from the charity, at the company’s head office at Lakeside North Harbour, Portsmouth. Read more here.

 

Bentley Motors is commemorating the historic ‘Blue Train’ race won by the Bentley Speed Six in 1930, with a Mulliner Limited Edition – the Mulsanne Speed ‘Blue Train’. You can read more and see pictures here.