Aftermarket March 2022

MARCH 2022 AFTERMARKET 55 www.aftermarketonline.net everything is uniform. It also helps with marketing situations and allows the name to grow a lot faster when you have more than one site.” The main Dagenham site has four MOT bays, six workshop bays with six ramps and a wheel alignment bay. The second site, 15-20 minutes away by car in South Ockenden is smaller, with two MOT bays and two workshop bays. We asked Ben if he is doing a pincer movement on Essex: “Yes, in fact I’d like to try and open up another one. That is why I changed the name. If we are going to open a third and then a fourth, it is much easier if they have the same name.” Willing As we have established via our highly stereotypical worldview of Essex (prove us wrong readers, prove us wrong, objections on a postcard), Ford is king in the vicinity of A1 Autocentre. We wondered if they still see a lot of Fords? “We see millions of Fords,” Ben confirmed, “especially the one in Dagenham. South Ockenden is a little bit more random. We have previous Ford technicians working for us and we have all the diagnostic equipment for Fords, so it allows us to fix most problems that come through the door. We have also recently invested in VAG and BMW main dealer systems which I think is the way the future will go.” On the ages of those cars Ben mused: “We used to see cars that were five or six years old. However, in the last year, we seem to have taken on a lot more newer cars, a lot more 19 to 20 plates. We seem to find that more people are willing to go to an independent as opposed to a main dealer. “It’s good for us as we will pick up more run-of-the-mill jobs as opposed to cars coming in that are falling apart. I think people are not keeping cars for as long now and I think that is more the way now due to diesel emission problems and that sort of thing. We can do most things that the main dealer can do, just a lot faster. I think people are willing to come to us for that reason. “We do quite a bit of fleet work too, as we have quite big commercial ramps. We have quite a lot of big commercial vehicles, Mainly Ford Transits but also other brands like Iveco or Mercedes.” Did this shift happen on its own, or has the business been actively seeking to poach customers from the local franchised dealers? “Not at all,” replied Ben. “Most of our customers come from our promotion of Top Garage over the last couple of years.” A1 Autocentre was a finalist in the competition in 2019 and more recently in 2021. Ben continued: “We also get a lot from online reviews. We have quite a few Google reviews which is nice.” We use Garage Hive, and through that we are able to send a message to every customer asking them to give use feedback. I think the reviews have doubled in the last year, going up to nearly 500, so they do well. In all honesty, that is where the bulk of our customers come from.” Has Ben contracted this out? Or is it being done in- house? “We do it in-house, that’s me that does it, usually on a Sunday afternoon. When you’ve got kids, you stop going to the pub every night and you start finding other ways to fill your time.” Understanding So, you’ve got the two sites now. Are there concrete plans for a third one? “I’d like to have another one, said Ben, “and possibly a fourth garage, it just depends on premises. It’s so hard to find the right place. Being in London and Essex it is so built-up. It makes it more difficult to come by any property at all, let alone the right property.” We will conclude by getting back to our starting point; What did Ben think being a hairdresser taught him about running a garage? “It taught me how to deal with customers,” he observed. “Some customers are easy, some customers are hard. When you are stuck behind the chair all day, you have to adapt to different personalities. Some want to talk, some don’t, some are fussy, some not. Some are extra nice, and you go out of your way for them.” Sound familiar? We find that more people are willing to go to an independent as opposed to a main dealer ” Below: Inside the workshop at A1 Autocentre