July/August 2019

30 AFTERMARKET JULY/AUGUST 2019 TOP TECHNICIAN-TOP GARAGE 2019 www.toptechnicianonline.co.uk A year on from winning Top Garage, Aftermarket spoke to Cedar Garage co-owner Kevin Pearce about the impact the win had on their business. It's a year now since you won Top Garage. How has this impacted on Cedar Garage? It has been great. From a customer perspective, they see the award up on the wall, they see it on our marketing materials, and it reinforces the brand, and shows what we are trying to make it stand for. For a morale point of view within the business it has been fantastic. All the staff love working for a garage that strives to be the best, and to try and get the recognition that we are the best. This means a lot to them as well. It gives them something to work towards, especially when it comes to wrong from time to time. We can say 'that's not good, considering we are the best garage'. We can use it in so many ways, from a marketing point of view, from a staff morale point of view, from a training point of view. Has it given you extra impetus as a business to go that extra mile? It certainly has. We have always strived to be the best, and we say we are different from other garages. In the whole of the motor trade, everything is done on trust. It is probably the same in other sectors, but for the majority of our customers, they do not know what goes on under the bonnet. If we tell them it needs something, they trust us to be honest. Having the recognition of being the best garage reinforces that and allows customers to open up and trust us more. It works really well. On the eve of the next final where you will be the reigning champions, competing against the other garages, do you rate your chances? You have always got to believe in yourself. We will be at the final and we will give it our best shot. We still believe we strive to be the best garage. There likely to be other garages who will have been inspired by our win last year, and if everyone in the trade steps up their game and strives to be the best garage, then hopefully one day our industry will be much more respected. Any developments since Aftermarket last visited? We are currently looking at extending the second site. We are going to put a MOT bay in there, rather than having to REFLECTIONS: TOP TECHNICIAN AND TOP GARAGE 2019 On the eve of the finals, Aftermarket reflects on Top Technician and Top Garage 2019 Sponsored by: Pre-dinner drinks sponsor: Below: Kevin Pearce and Matthew Copp