How service providers in India are emerging strong amidst COVID-19

The world has come to a standstill. No more traffic on the roads, no one is rushing to the offices, no crowds at the metro stations, non-essential shops are shut, the world’s at a complete standstill. And all this because of the global pandemic, known as COVID-19 or the Novel Coronavirus.

The first line of action took effect when the Indian government announced a complete lockdown on the 23rd of March till 14th April, which is now extended till the 3rd of May. This step has proved to be very crucial in curbing the number of Coronavirus cases in India (flattening the curve). With the constant efforts of the Government authorities and the medical fraternity, India is trying its best to limit the damage. But what has it cost the SMBs and the automotive sector in India? The pandemic would have quite likely affected either you directly or your clients, your vendors or your customers. Lets’ dig deep.

Coronavirus and its Impact on the Automotive Sector

The Indian Automobile Industry was already in shambles due to the worst-ever slump in the past two decades (Read The Great Indian Automobile Crisis of 2019). The BS6 emission norms (taking the place of the obsolete BS4 norms) and low sales were the major reasons for this slump. The effect of this slump was clearly visible at the February-held Auto Expo 2020 where the majority of the car makers opted to stay out of the major automotive show held every two years in India.

Now the nationwide lockdown has just added to the grief. The Indian automobile industry, which currently comprises nearly 7% of the total GDP of the nation just isn’t getting any break. With the lockdown going on, car dealers are facing issues for delivering the cars to the customers. And the 10 days extension post lockdown to sell BS4 stock wasn’t enough to help the already dismal automotive industry.

How Automobile service & maintenance took a hit
The Automobile after-sales service sector was doing just fine before the lockdown. The surge in the second-hand car market meant that people were investing in pre-owned cars and getting it serviced outside the dealerships. But post lockdown the customers are not able to take their cars for servicing and the service centres. Even emergency services were unable to get their vehicles serviced in case of a sudden Breakdown.

That is why at GoMechanic we made sure that the frontline heroes are always mobile and not bothered by any vehicle breakdowns or emergency repairs in their battle against COVID-19. We are providing labour-free servicing of the vehicles that are currently being used in the emergency works through our #OpenForHeroes initiative.

The Government, to ease out the stress on such SMBs has allowed the opening of essential and non-essential businesses, although with some restrictions from 20th of April 2020. If you are in a leadership role then it’s very important that you take precautions. The danger of your staff being contaminated by coming into contact with a Corona-positive person is a major risk. Companies need to come up with a solution in order to keep their customers as well as their employees safe while ensuring business continuity.

One such initiative which has been taken by us at GoMechanic is called the “GoMechanic Suraksha Program”. We have resumed essential car services across a limited number of cities with due permissions and strict coordination from the government.

What is GoMechanic Suraksha?

Some of the major points covered under this program are as follows:

• Contactless pickup and delivery
  As GoMechanic offers free pickup and drop facility with every service, it was essential to make sure that our customers stay protected. This is being achieved by dropping the car keys at the doorstep, while the valet stands at a distance to ensure the safety of the customers.

• Masks, Gloves and Sanitisers
  GoMechanic, taking a step further towards the safety of employees, partners and customers, has made it mandatory for all the employees to use masks, gloves and sanitisers in order to keep a check on the spread of this deadly disease.
• Aarogya Setu App used by all staff members
  It is an app developed by the Government of India to ensure safety from COVID19. It calculates the risk of a person being infected by the virus by keeping in check some parameters that have been predefined. The USP of the app is that it can tell whether someone in your vicinity has contracted the virus or not if he or she has also downloaded the app. All the staff members at GoMechanic have downloaded the app so that the customers feel safe and know about the people they are interacting with. I would recommended that you download the app too.

• Sanitisation of premises every 4 hours
  To ensure that there is no spread at the workshops and premises of GoMechanic, we are doing a mandatory sanitisation every 4 hours to ensure that their premises are safe for the employees.
• Comprehensive car sanitisation
  The car surfaces are capable of carrying around the Coronavirus if it comes in contact with the infected person. To ensure that this threat is minimised, GoMechanic completely sanitises the common touch points in a car. This will surely ensure that surfaces get rid of the virus and car is safe to drive.

• No mechanic over the age of 60
  As it has become apparent that aged individuals are at an elevated risk of contracting the virus, GoMechanic has permitted only staff members of less than 60 years of age to work and ensured the safety of the senior employees. Also, the company has not laid off any of its employees.
• Temperature check of the employees
  With one of the major symptoms of the COVID19 being fever, the temperature of every employee is being checked on a regular basis at GoMechanic to ensure the safety of customers as well as the other employees.

• WHO Health and Safety Training to staff
  All the employees at GoMechanic are being trained for safety and health practices in accordance with the guidelines from the Ministry of Health and WHO guidelines.
• Work from home for the non-essential staff
  With the widespread of the COVID19, all the staff members that can work from their respective homes have been given WFH by the company. It is an essential step to ensure the safety of the employees.

Special Services
Apart from taking special care and precautions, it is also a good idea to keep in mind customers unique requirements in these changing times, for example, we have launched COVID19 Revival Package with the following inclusions

• Engine Oil Top-Up
• Coolant Top-Up
• Battery Jumpstart
• Battery Water Top-Up
• AC Vent Cleaning
• Interior Dry Cleaning
• Interior Anti-Virus Sanitisation
• Exterior Car Wash
• Wheel Alignment + Balancing
• Tyres Tread Inspection
• 25 Points Inspection

The idea here is to ensure that the major issues that cars can gather during the lockdown, such as Battery Discharging, Dirt accumulation in the car, Flat Spots on Tyres can be catered to. Along with this, our focus has been on purchasing Sanitising equipment to ensure the car is completely sanitised and virus free.

So in these unprecedented times, it is absolutely essential for us the decision-makers to ensure that safety and precautionary measures are taken. Because one careless moment can lead to the spread of infections in your firm and you could face a company-wide lockdown again or worse, put the lives of your employees in danger. My personal feeling is that post 3rd May there are going to be further relaxations for the businesses to run. Let’s all look forward to the bouncing back of the economy and return to normalcy. Stay Safe. Stay Surakshit.