MAY 2024 AFTERMARKET 57 www.aftermarketonline.net On their customer base, David observed: “Now that we have a permanent place, we have people coming from an hour-plus away and sometimes further for the most specialised stuff. We have people travelling up to two hours for a DPF issue. That’s not all though: “Last week we finished off a Renault Zoe that needed a new motor and the customer lived a good 50 minutes away.” They are also generating local trade for more conventional servicing: “We are targeting our own town too, obviously because they're here. We have a nice community on Facebook, with around 2,500 followers now.” Top Garage For a relatively young business, winning Top Garage is quite an achievement. Commenting on their victory in the 1-3 staff members category, David noted: “Winning Top Above: David Wilson pictured centre Garage has allowed me to feel that I belong in this industry. I’m not a fully trained mechanic, and I’m not personally offering to fix anyone’s car. I've got guys here that do that. However, winning Top Garage has really shown me where my place in the industry is, and what my role is.” We asked David if he believes that coming into the industry from a different angle has given him an advantage? “Yes,” he replied, “I speak to lots of people that have garages and they're very busy and they struggle because they don't sit where I sit in the business. They're on the tools and they're dealing with staffing and other issues. I’ve done jobs for myself; clutches, timing belts etc and I can do it, but obviously I wouldn't charge a customer for my work because I'm not trained. Instead, I run the business and that gives me time to look at tools and part prices and go to training events and networking events. I can deal with that side of things, and let the trained staff focus on what’s going on in the workshop.” There are also disadvantages though: “One of my guys was really poorly a few weeks ago. He was off for a week. Unfortunately, I couldn't jump in and help. We had massive amounts of work and it felt like there was no way it would all get completed.” He added with a rueful smile: “We managed though.” Right investment Looking ahead, David said he would like to expand: “I’d like to move us to a bigger premise with more ramps, and more technicians.” He would also like to give something back to the community: “In the current economic situation, we have of people that come in and they are struggling financially. I’d like to be able to help people who are in real financial need, to do a full service and put four new tyres on and get them through their MOT. It would be really nice to be in a situation where we can choose where we can have one a week instead of one every few months.” In conclusion, David added: “We opened the garage in 2021, and in 2023 we were a winner in Top Garage. It shows that with hard work, training and the right investment, it can pay off.”
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