OEM Audio gains blue tick

OEM Audio, a family-owned business specialising in after-market in-car entertainment systems and charging options for electric vehicles (EVs), has joined the Consumer Trusted ranks.

The accreditation is awarded to businesses by Consumer NZ that fulfil 11 key principles, including exceptional customer service, fair-contract terms and accurate advertising.

In essence, Consumer Trusted businesses “go above and beyond” for their clients says the independent non-profit organisation, which created the accreditation to help people choose retail and service providers they can trust. 

The programme, which awards successful firms a blue tick, also aims to assist companies in meeting their obligations under the law, raising their standards for operations and celebrating exceptional service.

OEM Audio supplies the likes of car multimedia units, reversing cameras and GPS navigation options. Installation is available by the team at its Christchurch-based workshop along with New Zealand-wide shipping.

In addition, there’s EV Power by OEM Audio, which was established in 2016. It offers the growing EV community a variety of products, such as charging cables and wall chargers, including smart wall chargers with dynamic load balancing.

About the company

Paul O’Connor owns OEM Audio, which he started after nearly reversing into someone in his driveway. The near-miss prompted him to look for a reasonably priced reversing camera, but after doing his research he found those on offer were disappointing, reports Consumer NZ.

In 2008, after realising there was a gap in the market, O’Connor decided to start supplying his own cameras. He tested 10 prototypes, considered five different manufacturers, and spent hours on research and development. 

Since then, OEM Audio has gone from strength to strength, and now also offers car multimedia stereos. EV Power provides charging products to many new and used-car dealers for EV and audio products. OEM Audio recently partnered with Meridian to supply charging cables to its customers with EVs.

“When I think about how I want to run my business, it’s all about finding great products with low failure rates, offering fantastic customer service and pricing products reasonably,” says O’Connor.

OEM Audio is family-run. O’Connor’s wife Sonya heads up operations and keeps the place running smoothly, while his son manages reception. 

They are all thrilled to have achieved Consumer Trusted accreditation status. A key component of the assessment for this is fulfilling customer experience expectations.

Over a three-week period, Consumer NZ asked eight mystery shoppers to covertly call OEM Audio to enquire about its services and a variety of its products.

They were impressed with OEM Audio scoring 97 per cent for customer service. In addition, a Consumer Trusted auditor interviewed staff and observed customer interactions as part of an on-site assessment.

“Our staff are fantastic,” says O’Connor. “I genuinely think we have the best audio technicians in the country, and top-notch repairers and tinkerers. All our employees are empowered to help customers. I’m proud of the working environment we have.”

O’Connor, pictured below, is now in the final stages of developing a new product – a portable EV charger designed and assembled in New Zealand. Working with a design team in the Garden City, he has created a product that’s robust, water resistant and meets the needs of EV owners.

About Consumer Trusted

Consumer Trusted accreditation is awarded to businesses and products that meet Consumer NZ’s strict code of conduct. It has 11 key principles designed to ensure high standards.

The advisory service deals with about 4,000 complaints and inquiries each year. Its accreditation programme aims to assist businesspeople to meet their obligations under the law, lead the way in raising standards and inspire companies to up their game by recognising those delivering exceptional service.

The 11 principles collectively define Consumer NZ’s ideal for doing right by Kiwis. They include customer service – exceptional; returns, refunds and complaints – putting it right; digital presence – up to date and informative; and contracts – fair, robust and easy to understand.

Then there’s pricing and payment – clear pricing and responsible payment options; privacy and personal data – safe and secure; advertising and promotion – accurate; industry standards – met or exceeded; environmental sustainability and ethical practices – individual business commitment; health and safety practices – met or exceeded; and over and above the law – individual business commitment.

Businesses are assessed against all the standards under each principle. When all are met a business is awarded accreditation. 

To apply, companies complete an expression of interest (EoI), which allows Consumer NZ to carry out initial due diligence. 

This includes checking for compliance advice, warnings or successful prosecutions by the Commerce Commission, any Disputes Tribunal information about its handling of disputes, feedback from people received by Consumer NZ’s advisory service and customer-service ratings in any of its customer-satisfaction surveys.

If the EoI is accepted, the business is assessed against all the standards under each principle of the code of conduct. When all are met, a company is awarded accreditation for 12 months.

Compliance is monitored on an ongoing basis. Click here to find out more about the Consumer Trusted programme.