No slouch in Slough
Aftermarket heads to Slough to find out how a local VAG specialist is working to support their customers with the help of their main supplier
Published: 07 February, 2023
By Alex Wells
With access from front and rear to their garage on an industrial estate on the edge of Slough, local VAG specialists VRT are making the most of the space available, in every possible way. The family-run business operates out of two units, fielding three lifts. “As we expanded, our neighbour moved out, so we were able to take on another unit,” said owner John Grogan. Supported by his wife Christina on reception, the garage has six staff in total, plus two dogs.
The business was founded in 2011, and has been on its current site since 2013. Since the beginning, VRT has been entirely focused as a VAG specialist. “We mainly see Volkswagen and Audi” said John. “We also cover SEAT and Skoda, but we tend not to see so many of them.” Do they get potential customers with non-VAG cars coming in? “We do,” replied John, “but we know some other good garages in the town and we will send them there.”
Along with their focus on VAG vehicles comes a commitment to OE parts. Luckily for them, the local TPS depot is just a few minutes away: “We stock nearly every service part we need. So, the night before, I preload the job sheets, do a pre-picks sheet and I've got everything I need. They also know they've guaranteed the sale because I've got stuff ready to go. It adds value and also provides a level of security for the customer. When they know a good quality part, they trust that brand and item. We buy everything from them. I don't think people realise sometimes how much you can get from them. Our seat covers, our floormats, steering wheel wraps, even bin bags and toilet roll; We buy everything from TPS.”
Even the TP from TPS; Now that’s what we call commitment to OE. Seriously though, this goes as far as key tags, which are brand-matched to the car in question: “Yes, I am really that sad” laughed John, but apparently it works: “It makes it easier to find them, as you know straight away if you are looking for VW, if the tag has the VW badge on it.” John even thinks using the official screenwash makes a difference: “I think it does matter. If you try and save a few pence or a few pounds and buy something else, it just starts to chip away at what you're 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.”
- Online provider applauds winners of Top Garage 2022
Three of the five garages that won Top Garage 2022 have received extra congratulations from a company that works with them. Commenting on the success seen by the three customers of sector specialists Garage Services Online Managing Director Jim Lang said: “The Top Garage awards are fiercely contested and I take my hat off to all the finalists and winners, but special congratulations go to Shaikly Motor Company, Hunters of Linlithgow and Robert Cockings Motor Repairs whom we work with and know well.
- Automechanika launches UK Garage and Bodyshop Event for 2022
The organisers of Automechanika Birmingham have announced a two-day live event taking place next June; The UK Garage and Bodyshop Event. Taking place on 8-9 June 2022 at the NEC Birmingham, the event will provide the opportunity to get up close with suppliers, as well as access to three training hubs and three feature areas.
- Customer first: Monksbridge Garage
Like many garages based in small towns, Monksbridge Garage has been a local fixture for longer than the current owners have been in charge: "It used to be a heavy goods garage back in the 1960s," explained Craig Hewison, Manager at the business, based in Dinnington, South Yorkshire.
Within one fixture is another, one that has found new life in a new era: "As a consequence of the garage's former life, we have got an enormous pit. This means we do a lot of motorhomes because no one else in the area can deal with them."
Alongside this ominous-sounding but actually-useful feature, the business operates two ramps and a MOT bay. The full complement is three full-time technicians, and two part-time that work opposite each other. "We stay busy, but we don't advertise - it is primarily long-time customers that have children who are also our customers, and they are the kids of the customers we used to have."
Efficient
The business has been with the family for 17 years, but their connection goes back further:"My dad, Peter, has always been in the motor trade and he used to be a customer here. He came in one day for an MOT, and Geoff, who was the owner at the time, said he was thinking about packing it in and selling up. My dad showed an interest, so he came to work with him for a few years, to get to know the business and also to get to know the customers, and to get his MOT testing license and what-not. My dad worked with Geoff for four years, and when Geoff retired, my dad took over from him. As he finished on the Saturday I started on the Monday as an apprentice. It was just me and my dad. It has gone from that to where we are now.
"My dad is still here but he is only part time, just two days a week.” Craig laughed: “He does the MOTs, annoys everybody and goes home!"
The business had to move with the times: "When we started the garage was like the Black Hole of Calcutta. We had the whole place rewired and everything."
Craig moved with the times too: "Early on, whenever anything came in with a management light on, or emissions on MOT or anything, it had to go to another garage in the area- the one where the guy was known for doing that sort of stuff. Everything just got sent there. One day I said 'instead of sending it out all the time, what would it take for me to learn all this stuff? ' My dad said 'find yourself whatever you need to do' and he supported me through whatever courses I needed to go through.
"I'm not saying I did it in the most efficient manner, I probably did the wrong courses in the wrong order, I did what tickled my fancy as opposed to learning the basics first. However, he never once said you can't go on that one. Over the years, with experience, I have learned more and more. We have invested in quite a few of the dealer tools. Word has gotten around and now we are the go-to-place for the complicated faults." How the wheel turns.
Different way
While he had his hand firmly on the technical side early on, it was only in the last few years that Craig found himself on the business side of the business, and he had to learn quickly: "Four years ago, my dad had a heart attack, and he had to have about three months off work, which dropped me in it. I had to suddenly learn how to run a business, and I wanted to run it a different way. My dad used Excel, whereas I brought in Sage. We have moved onto QuickBooks since then. We moved onto an electronic diary, because just working from a paper one you couldn't work out what you've got in for a day and what you haven't. Five lines could be a 20-minute job, and one line could be a full day's job. I basically started automating a lot of things. It has changed a lot as a result.
"I know the way round cars like the back of my hand, but I didn't know much about running a business. That is why I have started doing training on running a garage. I am on the business accelerator programme with John Batten for example."
Craig is continuing to use technology to help the business: "We have just had Garage Hive installed this week. Give it a couple of weeks to get used to it and it should increase the efficiency within the garage which should then free up more appointments for customers. Obviously then we might have to look at advertising to fill those spaces, but at the moment we are at capacity."
For someone who said they didn't know how to run a business, he sounded like got on top of it pretty well: "It’s sink or swim isn’t it!" Typical Yorkshire understatement.
Wisdom
A little wisdom also goes a long way: "Garage Hive is new, but the ethos behind it has never changed. My dad was a good mentor. Our motto has always been 'customer first'. it is something my dad has just drilled into me since I first started.
"Without the customer you haven't got a business, have you? Everything we do is orientated to make the customer happy. My dad taught me that from starting out on my very first day. We have never used cheap parts - we use quality ones because we don't want to do a job twice. It is messing the customer about and they might not come back. We don't bodge anything. If something is not right we sort it. If we have not included it in the quote then we stand to it - the job has got to be done right. You can't afford to upset customers, especially when you are a small business because word gets around too quickly. Kwit-Fit can probably afford to lose a couple of customers, whereas we can't.
"Just this month, we have taken a courtesy car on. This is because people ring up and ask for an appointment for Saturday, but we are fully booked, Saturdays are booked weeks in advance, so they go elsewhere. Now we have the courtesy car. We had a call this week; ‘Have you got a slot on Saturday?’ No. ‘Ok I will leave it’. Well can you bring it down mid-week and have our courtesy car. ‘Oh fantastic I will book it in’. It is just providing that extra service.
"We will soon be able to take online bookings for MOTs, and we now do automatic MOT and service reminders. We are having a new website built too."
Craig believes this is crucial: "I don't want to be like the other garages that don't have the knowledge and don't invest and are falling behind. I don't want that to happen to us. I don't want people coming in and we are not able to help them. I am trying to get it all working so it just flows. It is better for technicians as it keeps them happy, it is better for the business as it keeps the money coming in and it is better for customers as we can provide them with a better service. My focus is to make sure that all three are right, that way the customer should have a great experience "
Top Technician
As well as within his own business, Craig is doing pretty well in Top Technician, year-by-year: "I have been a semi-finalist twice, and I have only entered it twice. The first one I entered out of curiosity and I ended up in the semis. I let the pressure get to me though. I don't count it as a big loss as I was a nervous wreck when I went into it. The second time I knew what to expect. I did not expect to go through to the finals because of the hybrid, so I came in a lot clearer minded and I was a lot happier with what I had done." Craig laughed again: "I don't see it as two attempts, I see it as one and a half!
“I would definitely recommend Top Technician. You learn where your strengths and weaknesses are.”
The fundamentals
Looking forward to the future, Craig commented: "At the moment I am trying to continue improving the efficiency. With my dad semi-retired, and all this new technology coming in, we need everyone at a high level. One of my lads is my right-hand man now. He is fantastic. He can run the workshop without me, so I am trying to get him technically where I am at, that way the business can continue to operate flawlessly when I’m not here."
Craig is also looking to upsize the workshop in the long-term: "I would like to have something double the size in the next few years. At the moment the main focus is getting everything running properly so we have a good brand out there and so that we are the go-to-garage in the area. The immediate future is trying to get the fundamentals right. It is the little details that make it look professional. They inspire confidence. I need to get my foundations laid so I then have something stable to build on. If you have good foundations, you can build it as tall as you want."
- Diamonds in the database
One of the biggest mistakes I regularly see within the aftersales garage sector is the constant advertising specifically in local press with ‘come and get me offers’ in order to attract new business. Most of these are by already established business.
Whether they are large or small, they will rarely measure the actual effectiveness of such campaigns, or analyse the type of customers they are attracting. Indeed very few of these businesses actually understand the ‘diamonds’ that already exist within their database.
Too little thought is given to how an existing customer may feel if he or she saw a deal that had never been offered to them, despite the fact that they have been loyal customers over a number of years. This could be a real kick in the teeth.
The perils of transactional marketing
We’ve all seen the larger corporates like Sky, Vodaphone and, of course the insurance industry to name a few, offering far better terms for new customers than any existing customer can get. In my opinion this form of ‘transactional marketing’ does not work in the independent garage sector as it does not lead to long term loyalty and leads to these potential new customers hopping from one garage deal to the next one.
There is no point trying to attract vast numbers of new customers and provide them with a sub–standard service based on a cheap price which can cause severe damage to the reputation of your business. Another factor is that established customers tend to buy more and are less price sensitive and may be less likely to defect due to price alone.
Focus on relationship marketing
You have to focus on ‘relationship marketing’ and yes there are many guises however your own database and the ‘diamonds’ within must always be your starting point. It also builds a platform where the business and its customers are more likely to be able to adapt to each other’s needs and reach agreement quickly and easily. So, by getting emotionally connected and regularly engage with your existing customers will only enhance the trust and loyalty you build with them.
It can be concluded that relationships with customers help a lot growing the revenues/profits for the business. Relationship marketing is all about creating, building and maintaining the relationships with the existing as well as new customers for the long-term profits. Relationship-focused marketing is not something that will happen overnight. It requires a change in thinking and some discipline along the way. Top level management support is needed for introducing such a change.
It's quite obvious that the relationship approach is really successful, because 80% of an organisation's revenues are generated by 20% of the customers. Thus, it is concluded that building strong relationships with customers is very important for any business to grow and relationship marketing is a mantra to long-term success by retaining and delighting the customers.
Simply by reminding customers of their vehicles next MOT due date, or service for that matter is the minimum that any independent garage should be undertaking. Reminding them of specific campaigns such as winter checks or health checks if they are planning long journeys will reinforce that you care about them and keep them safe. By expanding this two-way communication with news of any success stories within the business, such as: charitable fund raising by the business or any employee, training and development that’s undertaken, new services/products introduced will reinforce to your customers that you want to build long term relationships with them.
This strategy will help you constantly create a small influx of new customers through recommendations as opposed to constantly advertising for a field for new ones. You will also greatly improve the chances of providing and exceeding the high level of service they expect, because you will not be swamped with a mass of new customers rushing to take you up on those ‘come and get me offers’. Therefore, this promotes another selection of new clientele that hopefully continue the cycle and improves the long -term implications for continued growth. Your existing customers will become your advocates; your marketing angels.
Assets and more diamonds
Quite simply, customers are the organisation’s most important asset (along with staff too). Without them, it cannot exist. To survive, prosper and possibly expand the business, the independent garage owner must continue to acquire new customers but more importantly must never neglect existing customers or take them for granted.
Constant database management will build-up and trust and personal knowledge with your customers, which create a far more effective customer retention tool, which in turn will find you more diamonds.
Please visit www.thegarageinspector.com for business training courses and for more business tips.
- Diamonds in the database
One of the biggest mistakes I regularly see within the aftersales garage sector is the constant advertising specifically in local press with ‘come and get me offers’ in order to attract new business. Most of these are by already established business.
Whether they are large or small, they will rarely measure the actual effectiveness of such campaigns, or analyse the type of customers they are attracting. Indeed very few of these businesses actually understand the ‘diamonds’ that already exist within their database.
Too little thought is given to how an existing customer may feel if he or she saw a deal that had never been offered to them, despite the fact that they have been loyal customers over a number of years. This could be a real kick in the teeth.
The perils of transactional marketing
We’ve all seen the larger corporates like Sky, Vodaphone and, of course the insurance industry to name a few, offering far better terms for new customers than any existing customer can get. In my opinion this form of ‘transactional marketing’ does not work in the independent garage sector as it does not lead to long term loyalty and leads to these potential new customers hopping from one garage deal to the next one.
There is no point trying to attract vast numbers of new customers and provide them with a sub–standard service based on a cheap price which can cause severe damage to the reputation of your business. Another factor is that established customers tend to buy more and are less price sensitive and may be less likely to defect due to price alone.
Focus on relationship marketing
You have to focus on ‘relationship marketing’ and yes there are many guises however your own database and the ‘diamonds’ within must always be your starting point. It also builds a platform where the business and its customers are more likely to be able to adapt to each other’s needs and reach agreement quickly and easily. So, by getting emotionally connected and regularly engage with your existing customers will only enhance the trust and loyalty you build with them.
It can be concluded that relationships with customers help a lot growing the revenues/profits for the business. Relationship marketing is all about creating, building and maintaining the relationships with the existing as well as new customers for the long-term profits. Relationship-focused marketing is not something that will happen overnight. It requires a change in thinking and some discipline along the way. Top level management support is needed for introducing such a change.
It's quite obvious that the relationship approach is really successful, because 80% of an organisation's revenues are generated by 20% of the customers. Thus, it is concluded that building strong relationships with customers is very important for any business to grow and relationship marketing is a mantra to long-term success by retaining and delighting the customers.
Simply by reminding customers of their vehicles next MOT due date, or service for that matter is the minimum that any independent garage should be undertaking. Reminding them of specific campaigns such as winter checks or health checks if they are planning long journeys will reinforce that you care about them and keep them safe. By expanding this two-way communication with news of any success stories within the business, such as: charitable fund raising by the business or any employee, training and development that’s undertaken, new services/products introduced will reinforce to your customers that you want to build long term relationships with them.
This strategy will help you constantly create a small influx of new customers through recommendations as opposed to constantly advertising for a field for new ones. You will also greatly improve the chances of providing and exceeding the high level of service they expect, because you will not be swamped with a mass of new customers rushing to take you up on those ‘come and get me offers’. Therefore, this promotes another selection of new clientele that hopefully continue the cycle and improves the long -term implications for continued growth. Your existing customers will become your advocates; your marketing angels.
Assets and more diamonds
Quite simply, customers are the organisation’s most important asset (along with staff too). Without them, it cannot exist. To survive, prosper and possibly expand the business, the independent garage owner must continue to acquire new customers but more importantly must never neglect existing customers or take them for granted.
Constant database management will build-up and trust and personal knowledge with your customers, which create a far more effective customer retention tool, which in turn will find you more diamonds.