Aftermarket December/January 2023

DECEMBER/JANUARY 2023 AFTERMARKET 59 www.aftermarketonline.net trying to offer. What we're trying to offer is that genuine part. We fit a genuine part every time. We also get tools through TPS. I don't know if people realise how easy it actually is to order a genuine tool. You can look at aftermarket suppliers. You might have to wait two or three days. If you know a tool number, you can have it next morning and it works perfectly.” On if he believes being a brand specialist is going to become more common for garages, John said: “I think garages are going to struggle if they don't specialise. I know a few garages do already struggle and we do work for them. Even down to coding items, a lot of stuff has to come from Volkswagen special control units. There's nowhere else to get them from. When you get it here, you need to code it. Without that ability, they're really going to struggle. It's getting harder.” Ongoing process John has been working on VW all his career, and locally this has meant he has good contacts on the parts front: “I’ve known our main point of contact at TPS since I was 17, and I am 39 now so that is quite a long time. He knows the products fantastically well, and that's important. Even though we are on a small site with three ramps, we are one of Slough TPS's biggest customers.” Within the team at VRT, and even his marriage to Christina, VW is a constant element: “Me and Christina met when I was 19 and we both worked at Windrush VW, where she did the same job she does here.” As well as a commitment to OE, VRT are a business looking to improve how they do things. As part of this ongoing process, the business entered Aftermarket’s very own Top Garage competition in 2021, ending up as one of the finalists in their class. The business also undertook courses from The Garage Inspector Andy Savva: “About three years ago, we were in a position where we were treading water. Andy gave us some great insight and some ideas. We went through his business course and this gave us the tools to progress the business. We wanted to be offering a good enough service so that people would step away from the main dealer. “ On how this affected the physical fabric of the garage, John said: “We looked at the site as a customer would. As a result, the reception was completely pulled down and rebuilt.” The course also led to changes in the way the space within the garage is used. Despite being quite small, the ceilings are actually relatively high, and John has capitalised on this, A car being worked on had its bumper off when we were visiting, and said part was hanging over the doorway that leads into the back workshops, like a decorative sword: “We use ladder hooks” explained John, “putting things higher up works well. Parts lift on and off and they are out of the way. We try to not have too much on the floor.” The reorganisation has also led to John having a desk in the workshop: “Space-wise, we looked at making reception bigger, but this way Christina and I are not on top of each other and it's nice to be in the workshop. I started VRT and ended up running a business, which wasn't what I foresaw. I thought I was going to be fixing cars. I haven't touched a car now for about maybe two years. I'm sitting down, typing away and printing job sheets and doing quotes. TPS’ support has also been part of us building up what we have after Andy's course. We came back and sat down with them and they asked ‘what can we do to help? ‘And they really did help. It was brilliant.” Asked if he enjoys this side of things, John observed: “If I can do something that makes us more efficient or pushes us or makes us better than our competition, that's where my hook is now.” He concluded: “We've invested and trained to be the best we can be.” We've invested and trained to be the best we can be ”