From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).
Letter addressing customer feedback on a Phantom and discussing the commercial importance of personal product use by a retailer.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 71\3\ scan0411 | |
| Date | 23th January 1928 | |
| -2- There is another point that would interest us very much & that is, whether you kept a record of your average speed, and if you found you were able to make a better average speed over the run which you know so well with your other cars than you were with the Phantom. Our general experience is that there is no car upon which a better average speed can be made on a reasonably long journey than on a Phantom, as what may be lost in the possibilities of high speed is more than compensated for by other advantages. We very much appreciate the few criticisms you make and those items concerning the chassis we will bring before our Works. On the question of the clutch stop, this is just a small point in driving that we might have explained to you. We think, under the particular circumstance which you mention, if you had double clutched when changing up, with the throttle closed, you would have found this in order. With reference to the concluding part of your letter in regard to your own personal reasons for owning cars other than Rolls-Royce, I can, of course, fully appreciate this. The reason we are so keen on your having a Rolls-Royce, however, is that, quite apart from your own personal position, we feel that as a Director of Barkers, who are our principal Retailers, quite a wrong impression is likely to be conveyed to your friends, which must result in orders being placed for the cars you use from time to time, whereas, if you were using a Rolls-Royce, those orders might conceivably be placed with Messrs.Barker for Rolls-Royce chassis. We still hope, therefore, that when you are ordering another big car, you will decide to have a Rolls-Royce. Perhaps those of us who have had to depend on our commercial efforts for our livelihood are inclined to look at all important points through commercial eyes. For instance, if the article on which we were principally building up our business was a Purdey gun, we should be very distressed if one of our Directors considered it desirable always to use some other make of gun because he liked one particular feature in its construction, although he realised that the Purdey gun for all essential purposes was the best. It would obviously give our customers a very wrong impression of the Director's opinion of the Purdey gun if he himself did not use the gun which was his business. I suppose in commerce it is often necessary for persons to bury their own particular fancies in order to uphold the reputation and goodwill of the Companies they are serving. I must again thank you for your exceedingly interesting | ||