July/August 2021

established for 25 years in March last year, and in April it felt like we were back at the beginning again. Fortunately, we were back to full strength by the third week of May. At that point all mechanics were back. I am contemplating now employing more staff, but we will see. “ Looking to the future, Sean said: “We will continue to be a good garage, and I would like to maybe own another garage to expand. That would be my ideal aim, but obviously we need to consider that 2021 may be a difficult year in total. We will be cautious, push on through and see what happens.” On the likelihood of a belated silver anniversary party to top off what had been an extraordinary year, Sean said: “We couldn’t celebrate our 25th anniversary as lockdown was happening. Let’s see how Top Technician and Top Garage end in 2021. You never know, if we’re really lucky we may have even more to celebrate!” JULY/AUGUST 2021 AFTERMARKET 59 www.aftermarketonline.net equally down to good luck and a gamble: “An opportunity came up for the site, and I took a gamble on it. There was no real planning behind it.” Well, luck, opportunity plus a lifetime already spent in the sector: “I had been a mechanic since I left school. I’ve done HGV mechanics, plant mechanics, a lot of motorsport. Just a range of everything.” Old-fashioned skills Speaking of everything, the garage is a proud generalist, willing to support all customers, and is proud of its approach to customer service: “We have never done the brand-specific thing. We are completely anything goes – it could be a Porsche, it could be a Morris Minor. With the classic cars, people bring them here because we have a genuine interest, whether it is a 60-year-old Morris Minor or a three-year old Porsche. We have got a lot of old-fashioned engineering skills, and I don’t think a lot of people necessarily have that these days. We can weld, use lathes, taps and ties etc. We’re not just technicians, we are mechanics and engineers. “On the approach to customer relations, reading our Google reviews will indicate how we strive as a company to give outstanding customer service to all our customers alike. We are a very female-friendly garage. All our front-of-house staff are women, as is our Service Advisor, and I am convinced that goes a long way rather than the whole male garage scenario.” MOT City’s Office Manager Christine added: “We get a lot of families and we now look after multiple generations. We have quite an array of customers and once they first come through our door, they become a valued customer and we have formed some great relationships over the years”. Winning the competition Apart from being contestants in Top Garage for the last few years as a business, one of MOT City’s mechanics, Nigel Spalding, has been a regular Top Technician contestant too. We wondered what the business, and its individual team members, got from their participation: “Nigel is always looking to expand his already extensive knowledge, even to the point of every lunch break in the 13 years he has been with us is spent on his laptop learning,” said Sean. “He goes home every night and is on the internet still learning and researching. With Top Technician, he just wants to know where he is in the country. Nigel’s enthusiasm and knowledge are to be applauded. It’s fantastic observing him sharing his skills and passion for learning with all other members of staff”. On Top Garage, Christine commented: “We enter the competition because we strive to be the best garage, and we work very hard, every day to achieve that. Being in the competition instills confidence in our customer’s that we are good enough to go forward and enter the competition. Our customers show great interest and support.” Working right through In 2021, COVID-19 is an unavoidable topic, and we asked Sean about MOT City’s lockdown experience: “We did not shut down – we worked right through, albeit with massive consideration. I contemplated closing, I have to be honest but was grateful as an industry that we were one of the lucky ones allowed to be open, so we kept our gates that way. Of the fourteen of us, four of us stayed on through April 2020. Obviously, it was extremely quiet. However, we picked up many new customers on the way because many of the other local garages did close. I kept saying to people, it was like starting my business all over again; we got excited every time the telephone rang. Here I am, we’d been We have never done the brand-specific thing. We are completely anything goes – it could be a Porsche, it could be a Morris Minor ” Follow us on facebook: facebook.com/ aftermarketmagazine