The Growing Importance of Car Breakdown Cover

<h1>The Growing Importance of Car Breakdown Cover</h1>Author: <a title="Vineet.M.Apte" href="http://www.articlesbase.com/authors/vineet.m.apte/27631.htm">Vineet.M.Apte</a> The Growing Importance of Car Breakdown cover The Cars go wrong and then are the time when we are in a panicky situation maybe at night hours on a Highway or in the city stranded trying to call our Garage Technician or the Helpline number of the Manufacturer. Again most of us today really don’t keep these numbers handy and the amount you spent with the time is awesome to get your vehicle started or towed to the nearest Garage. Today in India with New generation cars coming up and the importance and the standards of after sales service growing very rapidly. Breakdown cover is also provided by the Manufacturers along with every new car sold. Breakdown assistance services are generally provided by the manufacturers through their existing wide spread dealer network across the country. Almost all the dealers have their breakdown vans well equipped with adequate spare parts and technicians nominated to attend these calls. Some manufacturers also have 24/7/365 Toll free numbers for such services. But there are also new companies, which have emerged over past years in India which are devoted only to attend breakdowns of Cars and Two wheelers. These companies attend Breakdowns 24/7/365. They have vans, which are equipped with fast running spare parts, tools, towing ropes, fuel etc. The mode of communication is with the help of Radio transmitter Sets which are given to every technician on the van. The reason for giving radios to the technician is that as these providers attend Breakdowns of all kinds of cars and two wheelers it is very easy for the technicians to communicate between themselves and the control room in charge in case of any typical problem in the car or the two-wheeler. Almost most of these Assistance companies also give in-house training to their technicians. The reach time what they promise is 30 mins from the time of receiving the call which they adhere to as again they have the fleet ready only to attend the breakdown calls. The reach time is possible as these providers have a fleet operating 24/7/365 ranging from min 5 cars for a smaller city to max of more than 40 cars in bigger Metros. Again all the Breakdown calls are recorded on a in-house built software which are capable of generating history of a particular car, time taken to attend the breakdown, Customer care exe report, control room in charge report etc. generally the customer care executives and the control room in charge are the people who are from the After sales service industry with sound knowledge on the diagnostics of the car. These companies also have a Telemarketing dept to make outbound calls for the sale of Memberships, promotions teams, field executives, cold calling teams, etc. Some of them also have short codes on the local mobile networks of their control room. It is very interesting to note that the demand for such services is rapidly increasing amongst the car owners. The most common list of services they offer are as under: 1. On road minor repairs. 2. Arrangement of up to 5 Liters of fuel at cost. 3. Replacement of a flat tire. 4. Lockout assistance. 5. Towing service. 6. Jump-start. 7. Route guidance. There are some companies who also arrange Ambulances, legal advice etc in case of accidents. Now all of these services are offered by these companies just at a mere Starting Annual membership fees of Rs365/- to Rs 2500/- depending on the coverage area and the services that are offered by the providers. Some of them also provide discount coupons for Free Washings, Spare parts, Servicing, Accessories etc. These Memberships are vehicle based and the services are restricted only to the vehicle that is registered under particular programme. It’s cheaper in the long run to make sure you properly service your vehicle and you need to make sure that it remains legally roadworthy anyway. You may also find you can save a lot of money by making an investment in breakdown cover, as it costs a lot less than paying once to a tow truck to rescue you if you have a breakdown. What you need to know You need to make sure your car is in good working order - even the most reliable car can break down! You also need to be aware of some the dangers whilst driving such as not parking in deserted areas or not using your mobile phone whilst driving. What you can do • Make sure that your car is regularly serviced • Keep your breakdown service phone number in the car and programme it into your mobile • If you do breakdown, find a safe place to stop and use your mobile or find a phone box to call for help. • If you're traveling alone, make sure you tell the operator as they will make the call a higher priority than others • If you can, let your family know what has happened so they aren't worried if you're back late • Remember to be aware of what is happening around you • Don't accept a lift from a stranger • Stay with the car - if parked safely, sit in the passenger side and lock your doors • When help arrives, always check their ID before you leave the car.About the Author: Vineet M Apte
Sahayashram Co-op Hsg Soceity, B-8 Dr.Ambedkar Road
Shivajinagar Pune 411005.
Tel - 020 25511218 Mobile – 0 9823612471.
E Mail: <a href="mailto:win_it@hotmail.com">win_it@hotmail.com</a>.

Educational Details:		
     	 	Vishwakarma Institute of Technology (Pune): B.E. Automobile.

Knowledge of WORD, EXCEL (Version 7.0) for Windows 98 and Internet.

Competencies:
		Managing abilities, Leadership qualities, Positive attitude

Work Experience:
10th March2006 Till Date.
Lease Plan India Limited. (Pune).
Designation: Asst manager Operations.
Job Responsibilities:
          Incharge of Operations in Pune & reporting to General Manager Operations (All India).
          Responsible for Tie-ups with major car dealers in pune to avail cashless facility.
          To assure that Lease Plan clients get good service support in pune.
          Coordinating with Royal Sundaram office for Accident Claims of L.Plan Vehicles.
          Also responsible for developing Network with Car dealers in Nasik, Aurangabad etc.
          To conduct Service Camps at the Corporates.

1st October 2005 Till 9th March 2006.
International SOS Services (India) Pvt.Ltd. (Delhi)
International SOS is the world\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s leading provider of medical assistance, international healthcare, security services and outsourced customer care. International SOS also provides a range of services to the automotive industry, from manufacturers to car-related organizations worldwide. International SOS has a global presence in more than 66 countries with 26 Alarm centers across the world. 
Designation: Asst Manager Auto Network Development.
Job Responsibilities:
          Total incharge of Auto Assist Project reporting to Country General Manager.
      	Developed Network of Service providers operating 24/7 in Delhi, Mumbai Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Calcutta.
      	To set Quality standards for the service provided by the Service providers.
      	In process of Adding into Network Exide Bat Mobile services, Windshield Experts, J.K.tyre Steel Wheel Shops etc across the country. 
      	Involved in Mapping Software development for the project.
      	Incharge of laying down S.O.P standard Operating Procedures for our operations Department.
      	To assist Operations department in case of any Technical queries.
      	Conducting quarterly meetings with the Operations and Marketing Teams on the Development on the Auto Assist project, take feed back from the Marketing department about expectations of the customers from the project.
	
1st May 2004 Till 1st September 2005.
AUTOPALL. PRJ Crossroads Autoservices (Pune)
“AUTOPALL, a Delhi based CAR HELPLINE Company with over 1,00,000 members and fleet of 50 Vans on road , which provides highly dependable on-road breakdown assistance to cars and 2 wheelers owners now started operations in pune since 1st July 2004.
Designation: Manager – Operations (Pune).
Job Responsibilities:
          Total in charge of operations Department for pune .
          Managing staff of 5 Customer Care Exe, 3 Control Room Incharge, 20                   
            Technicians, 1 Customer care executive and 1 storekeeper.
 	Imparting training to the above staff on the product knowledge.
 	Conducting in house training programmes for technicians on various models of  passenger cars and two wheelers in relation to breakdown possibilities in each model and corrective action to be taken.
 	Generating various reports like service charge report, nodal point report, c.c.e performance report, control room in charge report, K.M. readings report etc.
 	To ensure that Break down van reaches the site within 30 mins of the call received.
 	Done Marketing Tie ups with Airtel (Pune), Idea Cellular Services, M/s B.U.Bhandari Motors (Telco Dealer) etc for Autopall in pune.
 	Got Autopall tied up with Prestolite Batteries for providing 24 Hrs helpline services to all Prestolite customers.
 	Arranged a meet of all Honda Dealers in pune where in they have started to outsource their breakdowns (around 200) to Autopall.
 	Also held health Camps and put Canopies at various coarporates like Indus Soft, Onward Technologies, Wipro, Infosys etc.

25th feb2002 Till 28th April 2004
Jay Vijay Motors Pvt Ltd:
Authorized Dealer of Fiat India Ltd with sales and service facility. 
Designation: Work’s Manager.
Job Responsibilities:
 	Total in charge of Workshop activities, Labor turnover, Spares Dept, Warranty Dept and after sales service.
 	Handling a team of total 20Technicians, 3 Service Advisors, 2 Supervisors, 6 for BackOffice work.
 	Held Free Check Up Camps in month of May on Sunday’s for Sienna, Uno and Palio Owner’s
 	To meet all the corporate customers every month and any difficulties faced by them with the vehicle and at the dealership and satisfy them with corrective actions.

1st Nov 2000 Till 10th Feb 2002
Orix Auto Finance Ltd. Mumbai.
Joint Venture of ORIX(Japan) & IL & FS Mumbai. 
Designation: Officer Customer Service desk (Fleet management).

Job Responsibilities
 	Responsible for maintenance of fleet of 375 cars. (Replacement vehicles, Executive cars, Maintenance Link leased cars and RAC cars.).
 	To Organize Monthly Health Check ups for Various Corporate like IL & FS, Hoechst, Godrej Saralee, Cummins Concept etc for their vehicles
 	To prepare Pre Maintenance schedule for 375 vehicles on monthly basis and then to send Service and PUC reminders to the customers.
 	To divert these above cars to meet the convenience of the customers to Various ORIX Franchises like M/S Ekbote Auto Engineers at Kurla, VIP Automobiles at Sewree, and Multiplastic Products Pvt Ltd at marol in Bombay according to the service schedule’s.
 	To certify the bills coming from the franchises before sending them to accounts for payments to the Franchises.
 	To handle Petty cash for local purchase of parts required for breakdown of cars attended at worli office. 
 	To generate Revenue Report on daily basis per Franchises and forward it to M.D’s Office.
 	To get ORIX Replacement car Billings done for the Month and then send them to the Accounts dept for further processing.
 	To prepare MIS on monthly basis.

15th Dec 1999 To 15th Dec 2000.
Concorde Motors Pvt Ltd Mumbai.
Joint Venture Of Tata &Jardine Fleming.
Dealership of Tata passenger Vehicle’s
Designation: Service Advisor.
Job Responsibilities
 	Responsible for workshop loading and achieving define targets for sales by number of job orders and service volumes.
 	To satisfy customers with the quality, timeliness and price of the work done through workshop controller and team leaders for the commitments made.
 	To increase sales for the department by promoting service offerings (extended warranty, service contracts etc) and for the whole dealership by liasing with the parts department for sales of accessories, car care products etc and by notifying the sales department of any vehicle sales opportunities.
 	Study market information on competitive dealer service, and current market conditions including service promotions, labor targets etc.

1st August 1995 to 14th Dec 1999.
The National Garage Ltd Mumbai.
Dealership of General Motor’s Pvt Ltd & Hindustan Motors.
Designation: Service Engineer.
Job Responsibilities:
 	Attended “report formalities” for G.M.Motors halol and their Delhi office for their P.D.I. reports and the product complaint report’s.
 	Fault detection using TECH-II (Scanner), TIS System’s (Using CD-ROM’s), & actual trials keeping in view the details of complaints received.
 	Diagnostic analysis of fault’s incurred in “opel cars” received for repairs and servicing.

Personal information
DATE OF BIRTH:		12th April 1971
MARITAL STATUS:		Married
PASSPORT NO: 		U-901421.
	
			
			
(Vineet.M.Apte)
Article Source: <a href="http://www.articlesbase.com/">ArticlesBase.com</a> - <a href="http://www.articlesbase.com/automotive-articles/the-growing-importance-of-car-breakdown-cover-235421.html" title="The Growing Importance of Car Breakdown Cover">The Growing Importance of Car Breakdown Cover</a>

The Growing Importance of Car Breakdown cover

The Cars go wrong and then are the time when we are in a panicky situation maybe at night hours on a Highway or in the city stranded trying to call our Garage Technician or the Helpline number of the Manufacturer. Again most of us today really don’t keep these numbers handy and the amount you spent with the time is awesome to get your vehicle started or towed to the nearest Garage.

Today in India with New generation cars coming up and the importance and the standards of after sales service growing very rapidly.

Breakdown cover is also provided by the Manufacturers along with every new car sold. Breakdown assistance services are generally provided by the manufacturers through their existing wide spread dealer network across the country. Almost all the dealers have their breakdown vans well equipped with adequate spare parts and technicians nominated to attend these calls. Some manufacturers also have 24/7/365 Toll free numbers for such services.

But there are also new companies, which have emerged over past years in India which are devoted only to attend breakdowns of Cars and Two wheelers. These companies attend Breakdowns 24/7/365. They have vans, which are equipped with fast running spare parts, tools, towing ropes, fuel etc. The mode of communication is with the help of Radio transmitter Sets which are given to every technician on the van. The reason for giving radios to the technician is that as these providers attend Breakdowns of all kinds of cars and two wheelers it is very easy for the technicians to communicate between themselves and the control room in charge in case of any typical problem in the car or the two-wheeler. Almost most of these Assistance companies also give in-house training to their technicians. The reach time what they promise is 30 mins from the time of receiving the call which they adhere to as again they have the fleet ready only to attend the breakdown calls. The reach time is possible as these providers have a fleet operating 24/7/365 ranging from min 5 cars for a smaller city to max of more than 40 cars in bigger Metros. Again all the Breakdown calls are recorded on a in-house built software which are capable of generating history of a particular car, time taken to attend the breakdown, Customer care exe report, control room in charge report etc. generally the customer care executives and the control room in charge are the people who are from the After sales service industry with sound knowledge on the diagnostics of the car. These companies also have a Telemarketing dept to make outbound calls for the sale of Memberships, promotions teams, field executives, cold calling teams, etc. Some of them also have short codes on the local mobile networks of their control room.

It is very interesting to note that the demand for such services is rapidly increasing amongst the car owners.

The most common list of services they offer are as under:

1. On road minor repairs.

2. Arrangement of up to 5 Liters of fuel at cost.

3. Replacement of a flat tire.

4. Lockout assistance.

5. Towing service.

6. Jump-start.

7. Route guidance.

There are some companies who also arrange Ambulances, legal advice etc in case of accidents. Now all of these services are offered by these companies just at a mere Starting Annual membership fees of Rs365/- to Rs 2500/- depending on the coverage area and the services that are offered by the providers. Some of them also provide discount coupons for Free Washings, Spare parts, Servicing, Accessories etc. These Memberships are vehicle based and the services are restricted only to the vehicle that is registered under particular programme.

It’s cheaper in the long run to make sure you properly service your vehicle and you need to make sure that it remains legally roadworthy anyway. You may also find you can save a lot of money by making an investment in breakdown cover, as it costs a lot less than paying once to a tow truck to rescue you if you have a breakdown.

What you need to know

You need to make sure your car is in good working order - even the most reliable car can break down! You also need to be aware of some the dangers whilst driving such as not parking in deserted areas or not using your mobile phone whilst driving.

What you can do

• Make sure that your car is regularly serviced

• Keep your breakdown service phone number in the car and programme it into your mobile

• If you do breakdown, find a safe place to stop and use your mobile or find a phone box to call for help.

• If you're traveling alone, make sure you tell the operator as they will make the call a higher priority than others

• If you can, let your family know what has happened so they aren't worried if you're back late

• Remember to be aware of what is happening around you

• Don't accept a lift from a stranger

• Stay with the car - if parked safely, sit in the passenger side and lock your doors

• When help arrives, always check their ID before you leave the car.

Vineet M Apte Sahayashram Co-op Hsg Soceity, B-8 Dr.Ambedkar Road Shivajinagar Pune 411005. Tel - 020 25511218 Mobile – 0 9823612471. E Mail: win_it@hotmail.com. Educational Details: Vishwakarma Institute of Technology (Pune): B.E. Automobile. Knowledge of WORD, EXCEL (Version 7.0) for Windows 98 and Internet. Competencies: Managing abilities, Leadership qualities, Positive attitude Work Experience: 10th March2006 Till Date. Lease Plan India Limited. (Pune). Designation: Asst manager Operations. Job Responsibilities: Incharge of Operations in Pune & reporting to General Manager Operations (All India). Responsible for Tie-ups with major car dealers in pune to avail cashless facility. To assure that Lease Plan clients get good service support in pune. Coordinating with Royal Sundaram office for Accident Claims of L.Plan Vehicles. Also responsible for developing Network with Car dealers in Nasik, Aurangabad etc. To conduct Service Camps at the Corporates. 1st October 2005 Till 9th March 2006. International SOS Services (India) Pvt.Ltd. (Delhi) International SOS is the world\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s leading provider of medical assistance, international healthcare, security services and outsourced customer care. International SOS also provides a range of services to the automotive industry, from manufacturers to car-related organizations worldwide. International SOS has a global presence in more than 66 countries with 26 Alarm centers across the world. Designation: Asst Manager Auto Network Development. Job Responsibilities: Total incharge of Auto Assist Project reporting to Country General Manager. Developed Network of Service providers operating 24/7 in Delhi, Mumbai Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Calcutta. To set Quality standards for the service provided by the Service providers. In process of Adding into Network Exide Bat Mobile services, Windshield Experts, J.K.tyre Steel Wheel Shops etc across the country. Involved in Mapping Software development for the project. Incharge of laying down S.O.P standard Operating Procedures for our operations Department. To assist Operations department in case of any Technical queries. Conducting quarterly meetings with the Operations and Marketing Teams on the Development on the Auto Assist project, take feed back from the Marketing department about expectations of the customers from the project. 1st May 2004 Till 1st September 2005. AUTOPALL. PRJ Crossroads Autoservices (Pune) “AUTOPALL, a Delhi based CAR HELPLINE Company with over 1,00,000 members and fleet of 50 Vans on road , which provides highly dependable on-road breakdown assistance to cars and 2 wheelers owners now started operations in pune since 1st July 2004. Designation: Manager – Operations (Pune). Job Responsibilities: Total in charge of operations Department for pune . Managing staff of 5 Customer Care Exe, 3 Control Room Incharge, 20 Technicians, 1 Customer care executive and 1 storekeeper. Imparting training to the above staff on the product knowledge. Conducting in house training programmes for technicians on various models of passenger cars and two wheelers in relation to breakdown possibilities in each model and corrective action to be taken. Generating various reports like service charge report, nodal point report, c.c.e performance report, control room in charge report, K.M. readings report etc. To ensure that Break down van reaches the site within 30 mins of the call received. Done Marketing Tie ups with Airtel (Pune), Idea Cellular Services, M/s B.U.Bhandari Motors (Telco Dealer) etc for Autopall in pune. Got Autopall tied up with Prestolite Batteries for providing 24 Hrs helpline services to all Prestolite customers. Arranged a meet of all Honda Dealers in pune where in they have started to outsource their breakdowns (around 200) to Autopall. Also held health Camps and put Canopies at various coarporates like Indus Soft, Onward Technologies, Wipro, Infosys etc. 25th feb2002 Till 28th April 2004 Jay Vijay Motors Pvt Ltd: Authorized Dealer of Fiat India Ltd with sales and service facility. Designation: Work’s Manager. Job Responsibilities: Total in charge of Workshop activities, Labor turnover, Spares Dept, Warranty Dept and after sales service. Handling a team of total 20Technicians, 3 Service Advisors, 2 Supervisors, 6 for BackOffice work. Held Free Check Up Camps in month of May on Sunday’s for Sienna, Uno and Palio Owner’s To meet all the corporate customers every month and any difficulties faced by them with the vehicle and at the dealership and satisfy them with corrective actions. 1st Nov 2000 Till 10th Feb 2002 Orix Auto Finance Ltd. Mumbai. Joint Venture of ORIX(Japan) & IL & FS Mumbai. Designation: Officer Customer Service desk (Fleet management). Job Responsibilities Responsible for maintenance of fleet of 375 cars. (Replacement vehicles, Executive cars, Maintenance Link leased cars and RAC cars.). To Organize Monthly Health Check ups for Various Corporate like IL & FS, Hoechst, Godrej Saralee, Cummins Concept etc for their vehicles To prepare Pre Maintenance schedule for 375 vehicles on monthly basis and then to send Service and PUC reminders to the customers. To divert these above cars to meet the convenience of the customers to Various ORIX Franchises like M/S Ekbote Auto Engineers at Kurla, VIP Automobiles at Sewree, and Multiplastic Products Pvt Ltd at marol in Bombay according to the service schedule’s. To certify the bills coming from the franchises before sending them to accounts for payments to the Franchises. To handle Petty cash for local purchase of parts required for breakdown of cars attended at worli office. To generate Revenue Report on daily basis per Franchises and forward it to M.D’s Office. To get ORIX Replacement car Billings done for the Month and then send them to the Accounts dept for further processing. To prepare MIS on monthly basis. 15th Dec 1999 To 15th Dec 2000. Concorde Motors Pvt Ltd Mumbai. Joint Venture Of Tata &Jardine Fleming. Dealership of Tata passenger Vehicle’s Designation: Service Advisor. Job Responsibilities Responsible for workshop loading and achieving define targets for sales by number of job orders and service volumes. To satisfy customers with the quality, timeliness and price of the work done through workshop controller and team leaders for the commitments made. To increase sales for the department by promoting service offerings (extended warranty, service contracts etc) and for the whole dealership by liasing with the parts department for sales of accessories, car care products etc and by notifying the sales department of any vehicle sales opportunities. Study market information on competitive dealer service, and current market conditions including service promotions, labor targets etc. 1st August 1995 to 14th Dec 1999. The National Garage Ltd Mumbai. Dealership of General Motor’s Pvt Ltd & Hindustan Motors. Designation: Service Engineer. Job Responsibilities: Attended “report formalities” for G.M.Motors halol and their Delhi office for their P.D.I. reports and the product complaint report’s. Fault detection using TECH-II (Scanner), TIS System’s (Using CD-ROM’s), & actual trials keeping in view the details of complaints received. Diagnostic analysis of fault’s incurred in “opel cars” received for repairs and servicing. Personal information DATE OF BIRTH: 12th April 1971 MARITAL STATUS: Married PASSPORT NO: U-901421. (Vineet.M.Apte)

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