The curtain has come down on another incredible awards period for the garage industry. Having been fortunate enough to attend a few of them this year, we are left to reflect on what got us to this point. After this year’s Top Garage final, I find myself reflecting on how far we’ve come. Having won the competition for the 4-6 category last year it could have been easy for us to rest on our laurels. Instead, we carved a path forward, continuing our movement into the 21st century. Despite winning, to me it was clear after last year that we weren’t doing enough to propel ourselves forward. Our website was already on point, with social media now integrated. Social media also saw a massive increase in activity. The technology we were using in the workshop increased, with new garage management software and tablets for all technicians. For many of you reading this, these may seem glaringly obvious. When a garage has been around for over 50 years there is a certain element of “this is the way. It’s always been done like this.” This ultimately leads to the long and winding road of learning, development and the dreaded need to ‘change’. The truth is that its easy to sit in the sweet spot of comfort. There will be many garages that are still averse to digitalisation. If you are, I suggest you get on the bandwagon. With increased digitalisation our garage has made bounds forward. The office that hadn’t been painted for 20 years, finally got the spruce up it deserved. This was possible because the office staff had more time, due to increased efficiency. It wasn’t all plain sailing, and I’m not suggesting that for a second that winning an award means it is. We also had a roof with leaks in several places, we had an electrical fire on our circuit board and we had technicians (yes plural), move to pastures new. Change is a continual thing. Changing the habits of 50 years is no walk in the park. However, if change is something you dread, then take it one step at a time. Some of our 22 AFTERMARKET DECEMBER/JANUARY 2024 TOP TECHNICIAN AND TOP GARAGE www.aftermarketonline.net A personal reflection from a 2022 Top Garage winner on his experiences during the 2023 competition, and what this led to for his business BY Russ Houlden, Owner, Billingborough Cars and Commercials CURTAIN CALL... improvements were as simple as moving the tyre machine so the technicians had more room. They don’t have to be massive things, but the changes can never stop. Our changes culminated in us moving from six employees to seven employees. Unfortunately for us, we didn’t manage to reach the pinnacle in this year’s competition. The award went home this year with the incredible Cleevely Motors. It’s easy to be disappointed by the loss, but sometimes as the owner you have to look back at what you have achieved to get there. When you look across the list of finalists, you realise you are amongst them. For us, a small garage in the middle of nowhere, it doesn’t make sense for us to be in the midst of these industry giants. Yet, here we are pitting ourselves against them. You might even suggest that we are laying the gauntlet down for them, chasing them to help make this industry a better place. There is no better way to do it than offer a little healthy competition.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjQ0NzM=