February 2020

FEBRUARY 2020 AFTERMARKET 35 Below: Kevin and Matthew www.aftermarketonline.net Tarring Road branch, and three at our Littlehampton Road branch. That works out at more than one FOH per two technicians. We have done that purely so we can give the customer the time and experience that they need." They are the perfect back-up for the techs, says Kevin: "Our front-of-house staff are all-rounders in that they deal with the customers, they deal with the quotations, they deal with the pricing, they deal with the parts. Their job is to make it as easy as possible for technicians to do their job and make it as easy as possible for the customer to use us." Skills and knowledge When we were last at Cedar Garage, we were shown how important training was within the business. This included Matt delivering courses in the evenings after work, which were surprisingly (or should that be unsurprisingly) well-attended by the members of their tuned-in-team. Here we are at the start of 2020, and this focus on skills and knowledge has only grown stronger: "We are doing even more in-house training now. Matt has increased the internal training and, not just in the evenings either, which is what we predominantly held it. We are doing a lot more during the days now, with one-on-ones. "Beyond internal training, we have six techs going through the Auto iQ training programme right now. We also have subscriptions for everyone for Our Virtual Academy. That works really well. We also have software called Vehicle Visuals, for our front of house staff. If they are trying to explain things to the customers, we can even train the customers on what the components are that we are replacing. It gives a bit of animation about what we are talking about on their vehicle. That works really well." Looking ahead, Kevin said: "Matt's aim over the next few years is to be able to deliver the training to all the guys here in a much more fluid way. I know he definitely wants to do that. So far so good." Opportunity Looking at Top Garage, we asked Kevin if, as a business, they have learned something from their ongoing participation, and success, in Top Garage: "Definitely," he confirmed. "Any opportunity to look at your business and look at it from an outsider's point of view is great. That is when you get into the realms of really working on the business, rather than working in the business. That is one of the most important things when you are running a company with staff. It is about not getting yourself stuck in that hole where you are 8am-6pm every day and it is plodding along. It is about looking at where you can improve, where you can change things and where you can grow things." Would Kevin and Matt have any suggestions for people looking to take Top Garage, in terms what they should be looking to do, and how they should approach the tests?" Structure is the key," said Kevin. "I think we are very fortunate as a company because of the structure that we have here. Matt and I are very focused on what we do in the business. We have now managed to get ourselves to a point where we can work on the business during the day, rather than working in the business during the day and on the business in the evening. We have been very lucky in that sense for some time now. We have already picked up a lot of stuff along the way." On specific tips as to how Top Garage can help your overall approach, Kevin said: "I think the best thing to do is sit down, take the test, and take note of the questions that you struggle on. The ones where you don't straight away know the answer, just jot them down and come back to them later. Obviously, it is a time based test, but if you can just take a picture of that one on your phone, if you don't know the answer to it. If it is being asked in Top Garage is because you probably should know the answer. Regardless of whether you get through or not on the first round, you are going to learn from the 30 questions, even if you are 90% sure on 20 of them, 30% sure on five of them and not sure on the rest, that is 10 things you are going to brush your knowledge up on which could massively help with your business." Future Closing up, we asked what is next for Cedar Garage? "Top Garage 2020," Kevin replied, with a twinkle in his eye. Well, we are assuming they will be back, but whether they win again, we will see. Looking long-term, Kevin concluded: "We are improving all the time. Our aim is to consistently be better. We are currently in the process of rebuilding a few things inside our company; different procedures and policies. Both of the managers are going to be doing more training. Everything is looking good." Further information Make sure you keep an eye on toptechnicianonline.co.uk and Aftermarket magazine, as well as Aftermarket’s regular newsletter for updates. Top Technician 2020 and Top Garage 2020 are sponsored by Snap-on, Varta, TechMan and Euro Car Parts, and come to you in association with ABC Awards, ADS, the Garage Equipment Association (GEA), the Independent Automotive Aftermarket Federation (IAAF) and the Independent Garage Association (IGA).