Tour blog 4
27 October 2008 Monday 27th October . . .
1:00pm
Some road blocks have sent our sat nav haywire and the maze of tracks and lanes we’re being sent down is slightly concerning. The roads get so small that I’m starting to wonder if I wrote the address down wrong – something I really don’t want to have to admit to Simon who’s been doing some impressive work behind the steering wheel.
Eventually, after more than an hour crossing the muddy tracks and greasy grass banks of the Graddon Moor we arrive at CS of Shebbear itself where boss Chris Smejkal (pictured top right) joins in the fun by grabbing his copy of Aftermarket and pretends to study it in-depth just as I walk in the door.
Things are obviously going well for Chris as he’s just taken on a new technician! Maybe it’s got something to do with the brilliantly eccentric working environment.
He’s got two birds nests (yes, real birds nests) on the shelves in his reception area that are otherwise stocked with oils and engine flushes for customers to buy. This being countryside territory he does lots of work on those all-in-one horse box lorries. Apparently, if you leave them standing for more than five minutes at the right time of year, the birds move in!
The two birds nests on display were plucked from the horse box of a local member of the Beijing Olympics equestrian team! They were a wren’s nest and a blackbird’s nest in case you were wondering. One of them was tucked under the washer bottle and the other built into the corner of the chassis.
It’s really stinking weather outside but Mark welcomes us in shows us round his impressive reception area. He’s got so much stock for sale to customers that it’s effectively been turned into a mini accessory shop. Torches, screwdrivers, alloy wheels and more. You name it and Mark has it in stock.
The good news is he reckons customers really go for the added sales opportunities on offer. Some of his promo material from Michelin offers customers the chance of winning a free holiday. One of Mark’s regulars actually won a holiday thanks to the point-of-sale counter-top display which meant one very pleased customer and some valuable publicity for Mark’s garage in the local media. A really win-win situation!
Mark and some of his friends even feature in the pages of Aftermarket back in 2007 when they sent in pics of themselves competing in the Tour of Cornwall rally! It was great to see a reader who’s been in our magazine. We always love to get pics and other stories about what our readers are up to.
11:45
Personally, I think they’ve only got themselves to blame for sacking Martin Jol in the first place. It just goes to show that panic changes at the first sign of trouble aren’t always the right answer.
I reckon Tony Gallagher (see Tour blog 3) has got the right approach. Look at the situation, don’t panic and then, after a few weeks or months start making some sensible adjustments. Don’t, repeat don’t, believe the doom mongers in the national papers predicting the return of the Winter of Discontent and the re-emergence of the three-day working week. Repair garages are in a great position to take advantage of the changing financial climate!