AFT_B912

Matt, Andy and Andy! E very month, we run an article from The Garage Inspector, Andy Savva, where he shares his hard- earned wisdom. To mix things up, we thought it would be good to get out into the field, to see him help a garage in real time. With this in mind, we found ourselves in Westham, outside Eastbourne in East Sussex visiting Lushington Motors. The business was founded eight years ago by Matt Emmerson, who is supported by manager (and Matt’s uncle) Andy Simpson, three techs, and Matt's mum, Judy The business is based on a site outside the town, in a building originally built for a Suzuki dealer who never moved in. The building is split across several businesses, including the garage. When we arrived, we expected Andy Savva to be just getting started. It turns out he got there half a day early, so he could see the place in the raw. Andy explained: "If I arrived this morning at 7.30am as planned, they would have prepared. Instead, I got here yesterday at 1.30pm when they were not ready. That's good for me!" Matt Emmerson laughed at this. "I thought he would turn up and say 'I'm here, I am going to check into my hotel, see you tomorrow morning'. When he turned up and stayed, I thought 'uh-oh'." We asked Matt what he was hoping to gain from the experience: "To take the business to the next level," he replied. “I want to get Andy's ideas in use here. I have come from working on the shop floor, to being self- employed, and we have grown to become a quite big business. I have not had the training to manage that. You are winging it and no one else out there can guide you. You need someone else like Andy to come in with his experience and ideas and help you transform it and continue to progress. He has already done that within a few hours." That's fast work. We asked Andy where the focus was: "I looked at all the paperwork, all the invoicing, looked at the DMS system, looked at the job cards etc. I looked at all sorts of improvements we could make, which we discussed at length yesterday. We looked at the visual appearance of the workshop, the set- up where reception is, where the tools and equipment are. We made some comments about that, positive comments that can be changed for the better." Reception One of Andy's pet hates is the concept of the counter in reception, as it creates a barrier between the business and its customers. Did Lushington Motors have a counter? You bet, a big one, but worse than that, before you even reach it you have to find your way inside, through a darkened semi-finished storage area. Matt and Andy took us to see the proto-cupboard in question, which indeed occupied space that would make a great reception. "Why would you have that at the front and put the reception at the back?" Andy asked rhetorically. "It should be the other way around.” Matt nodded: "How I haven't seen that in three years I do not know." "This is what I am here to do,” Andy replied, reassuringly. Pricing Andy's next area of interest was the pricing structure: "This has some inconsistency and, in many cases, they are not charging enough for the very good and honest work they do." It wasn't all bad news: "What I found very reassuring was the relationship that Matt and Andy have built up with their customers. They have built up a really fantastic bond. "However, I feel that at the moment they are not charging correctly and they are giving things away. It is not about ripping customers off, it is about charging them a reasonable figure." Following consultation with Andy, the business opted to shift the labour rate from £45 to £60 per hour. "It should be a bit more, " said Andy, "but we are going to do incremental increases. What you have to remember is that no one will come in and ask about the labour charges, all they are asking about is a quote. How you manipulate the figure, and how you add it up, that is the technique." He continued: "Customers are not going to worry about an extra £10 or £15. It still represents exceptional value for money. Like most garages, 16 AFTERMARKET DECEMBER/JANUARY 2020 BUSINESS www.aftermarketonline.net AN INSPECTOR CALLS East Sussex-based Lushington Motors recently got The Garage Inspector treatment, and Aftermarket was on hand to see what went down