
Arnold Clark is a pioneering automotive retail company with 143 dealerships across Scotland and England. Founded in 1954, the business has grown from a single showroom into a multi-franchise, nationwide chain of car dealerships and remains the largest privately owned company in Scotland.
Arnold Clark’s commitment to customer service and innovation has propelled the company to the forefront of the market. The company sells over 300,000 cars yearly and offers new and used cars, rentals, and aftersales services.

Arnold Clark: Project Overview
The Financial Conduct Authority regulates businesses offering financial services in the retail motor industry. Arnold Clark collaborates with several manufacturers across the network, each operating a mystery shopping program to monitor brand and regulatory compliance. However, Arnold Clark initiated its mystery shopping programme to delve deeper into the measurements and understand what the ‘Arnold Clark’ customer experience looked like, irrespective of the manufacturer.
After working with one provider for several years, Arnold Clark transitioned its mystery shopping programme to insight6. The company appreciates the detailed reporting and instant data and values the commitment of its local CX Director, Stuart Shepherd, who genuinely desires to help the business deliver the best customer experience.

Our Approach
The partnership between insight6 and Arnold Clark has been well-established for many years. 143 dealerships receive two mystery shopping reports every quarter.
The objectives of the mystery shopping programme are two-fold: firstly, to establish that dealerships are meeting their regularity obligations, and secondly, to measure how well dealerships are meeting and exceeding their customers’ expectations.
Although Arnold Clark was already striving to exceed regulatory standards, the arrival of the FCA’s new Consumer Duty rules in 2023 has put a firmer emphasis on proving and reporting compliance, and the insight6 mystery shopping programme does exactly that.
CX Solutions
The insight6 mystery shopping programme, meticulously tailored for Arnold Clark, examines the customer experience across various touchpoints, including dealership visits, phone enquiries, and website interactions.
Investing in comprehensive training for mystery shoppers is crucial for programme success. Researchers undergo thorough briefing and training to ensure they ask the right questions and assess critical requirements accurately.
Reports meticulously scrutinise the pivotal aspects of the Arnold Clark customer journey. Stuart Shepherd’s collaborative partnership with the business enables efficient process reviews, adjustments to report focus and prompt identification and resolution of trends at local and national levels.
Furthermore, each report includes video or audio documentation of the mystery shop. The central team has recently initiated reviewing reports and footage with relevant dealerships, fostering a collaborative environment to analyse results, draw insights, and acknowledge achievements.
Project Outcomes
CX Excellence Recognition Scheme
Arnold Clark is proud to set the bar high regarding CX. Dealerships must continually ensure customer experience and compliance are on their radar to meet the 80% mystery shop pass mark.
In the last six months, the company has given more autonomy to leadership teams within the dealerships to improve customer experience through mentoring and training within their teams based on the reports. The first subsequent report has seen a 1% uplift in all dealerships’ already positive Net Promoter Scores.
insight6’s end-to-end customer experience (CX) solutions have earned us a reputation as the partner of choice for many forward-thinking motor dealerships. Our network of local specialists provides on-the-ground support. Don’t let an inadequate customer experience ruin your reputation or impact your success. Get in touch today to schedule a no-obligation chat with your local CX specialist or a free demo of our total feedback solution—instant insight.