June 2021

Last leg We’ve seen what’s happening now, and what happened then, so what’s next? Looking ahead, Shayne said: “I am planning a new MOT bay. It’s a bit more investment for the future. We are going to go for one-man testing via an ATL. However, the main focus will be to get the DPF cleaning centre up and running to give us another branch to the business. We want to get those cars in, processed and out the door. One of the things Andy tells you in the garage programme is that cars visiting the garage should not be there for long. You don’t want 15-20 cars hanging around all day that you can’t get to work on.” Shayne is clearly a man with a mission, but he had enough time for one last observation: “I turned 50 last year, so I’m thinking where do we go from here? In 15 years, I will be at retirement age, but I don’t think I will retire. I want to keep up to date. I am booked on training programmes for EVs and hybrids, which have been rescheduled to the end of the year. We will have a twin-charging point put in as well. This will allow us to deal with EVs and hybrids. “ He added “I will be doing more electrical work in the future, that’s my aim. You get weaker as you get older, but you should try to keep your mind strong, even if your legs aren’t!” JUNE 2021 AFTERMARKET 51 www.aftermarketonline.net same job. By admitting the ozone, it kills the bacteria and anything else that is growing around the vehicle, but without using any chemicals.” As part of the full reopening, Shayne looked to shift the online advertising and marketing position: “I shut everything down for three months, but in the process of doing that I have taken it away from one provider and given it to another, so it gives us a more in-depth view of where our customers are coming from.” Business As well as his many other accomplishments, Shayne is a graduate of Andy Savva’s Garage Inspector programme: “It has made a huge difference. Andy is a fantastic guy, really knowledgeable, and very good at getting across how to get across to people how to deal with customers and make your garage successful. What it has done for me is give me another view. I have been trading for so long, and you get complacent. The course helped me to go back to the drawing board and try to give our customers a better experience, and also give myself and the guys in the workshop a better experience on how we work and how we process stuff. It helped to become more efficient. “It was also good to meet other people from all different parts of the country on the programme, and see they have all got the same issues we have, and that it’s not just us – we are not alone. “Having that network now, obviously through Facebook as well, is a great thing for somebody who is self-employed. It gives you a bit of confidence. If you get stuck, or you’ve got an issue, or you are unsure about something, just being able to chat to people about stuff and get some feedback, and obviously Andy is still involved too. He is always in the background to help, and if we wanted to take it to the next stage, we could have Andy come in, and oversee what’s gone on. “I got involved through ECP’s Euro Academy. You pay a fee, and you can go on as many courses as you want during the year. You’ve got to look at how much you are spending, and how much you are out of the business, but I felt that was an essential course for me to go on for two days. The parts that deal with customer care and garage management has been an eye- opener for a lot of people, and certainly for myself. Even if you have been on one of his courses before, there is always something to take away from it. It’s just a no-brainer really. “Anyone who has got a garage should go on such a course, whether it be Andy Savva’s or somebody else’s. You really need to do it. At the end of the day, we all start a garage because we like fixing vehicles, we like being able to do that process of mending cars, but not necessarily the business side of stuff; looking after customers, ensuring your processes are in place. That’s where Andy comes in. It is about frame of mind. We all need to make money, but if you think you are going the wrong way, change direction.” Method We had a fairly good idea of where Shayne is at by now, but we wondered how he got here: “I started at an independent garage after leaving school, and then went to work for a dealer, doing a lot of bodyshop fitting. I went back to an independent after that, and then I was working in a Subaru dealer. They made me redundant just before the recession in 1990. After that I went to work for Halfords, and helped set up their garage and service centre as it came off the ground in our town. I worked there for the best part of a year, but decided it wasn’t for me. I wanted to go off on my own. As a young man at the age of 21, I took a big leap. I had a partner, we started the business together, but I bought him out as we wanted to go in different directions.” Training and investment were always Shayne’s method: “We have always been looking to be ahead of the curve. I did the Bosch training programme, and I was doing diagnostic work back in the 1990s. I was probably one of the first people in the area to have an Auto Diagnose. There was nothing like that around at the time, and it was an expensive bit of kit too. I think back in the early 1990s it was around £10,000. We started doing air conditioning back then as well.” We all need to make money, but if you think you are going the wrong way, change direction ” Follow us on facebook: facebook.com/ aftermarketmagazine