Doing it Right

Uncategorised,General

Pirtek Ashford definitely falls into the category of a progressive centre. Having weathered one of the deepest recessions in modern times, the Centre decided it was time to go out in search of those elusive ‘green shoots’ that should have been sprouting everywhere by now.

Centre manager Chris Tomlinson explained it has taken a lot of hard work to get where they are today. “But we have been positive all along and realised that if we survived everything, we had a great opportunity to grow the business. We had to look at how this centre worked and how it could possibly be improved. We orginally had three service vans but managed to increase that to four this year. This gave a much better response time for customers, as the areas for each MSST was considerably reduced. In fact, it worked so well that we decided to recruit another field engineer and put a fifth van on the road. But the improvements didnt end there, “We reviewed each MSST’s territory to decrease the ETA response times. We now have one of the biggest service van fleets in Pirtek, and that is definately to the customer’s advantage, as we can respond faster,” Tomlinson explains. “We have also taken on two new members of staff to help with admin and sales. This has helped make the centre run much more efficiently with paperwork dealt with immediately. Plus they have been able to contact potential customers to look at their needs, discuss prices and generally help them work more efficiently.”

Tomlinson says that even he wasn’t immune to the ongoing programme of improvement, “It was proving impossible to delegate mundane tasks without having an efficient counter engineer. Earlier in the year we trialled another apprentice, Owen Hessing, who has proved worth his weight in gold. Having trained as a chef of all things, but he found he wasn’t cut out for a job in the hospitality sector. He did a work placement in a workshop and realised engineering was the profession he had been looking for,” Tomlinson continues. “By pure chance, his mother-who works for one of our clients-said Owen was looking for a job and asked if we might take him on as an apprentice. We did and he has proved quite a find, he agreed to go on a Pirtek training course and has now more or less taken over our trade counter. We are hoping he will be able to complete a two year engineering and mechanics course at college for two days a week, with him spending the remainder of this time at Ashford.  This frees me up to concentrate on sales and making sure the centre runs smoothly.”

The last word has to go to Matt: “I’ve really enjoyed my time at Pirtek, they have taught me a lot and all the MSSTs have helped me with my training. When I can get a driving licence, I shall certainly be looking to go out in a mobile workshop of my own. There are lots of opportunities in Pirtek and who knows I might be able to go up through the ranks one day.”