James Wheatley is Service Manager at Uckfield Motor Services, a long-standing family-run business in the eponymous East Sussex town. He was also the winner of the Top Service Advisor award within Top Garage 2023. Aftermarket visited James recently to find out more about him, and his experiences of competing and winning in Top Garage. James started by explaining how he ended up at the top of the tree, by rolling back to where he began: “I started in the trade in 2016 as valeter, and then went into sales. However, I didn't like that my only relationship with the customer was trying to sell them something. Within six 56 AFTERMARKET MARCH 2024 GARAGE VISIT www.aftermarketonline.net In the first of a two-part visit, we find out more about 2023 Top Service Advisor winner James Wheatley months I had moved over to the service department. I got on with this really well, as I preferred the whole dynamic and the relationship I had with customers. I’ve been doing it ever since.” In September 2022 James moved over to Uckfield Motor Services, a move which ultimately lead to his win as Top Service Advisor. Attributes On what he feels makes a good service advisor, James observed: “The key is to care about your customers. We do a lot of work here, getting through a lot of cars. We sometimes do as many as 50 to 60 a day, but we always PERSONAL SERVICES
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