Lisa May is the Female Business Ambassador and Workshop Controller for car dealership Town & Country Cars in Ash near Aldershot.
Town & Country Cars is FOXY Lady Approved, a friendly family run business and one of the very first Suzuki dealers in the UK.
FOXY has a special affinity arrangement with Suzuki Cars UK whereby Club members enjoy special discounts. With that in mind, we wanted to ask Lisa about life in a busy Suzuki dealership to encourage members in Aldershot to pop in, have a look at their excellent range of car models and book their car in for its MOT and service perhaps?
Tell us about your career Lisa
I started work over 30 years ago in a Main Ford dealer in Winchester which was an excellent way for me to learn about the industry and the many jobs in it. I have always loved cars and got interested in them from an early age as I used to check tyre pressures, tyres and levels for my father who was a taxi driver.
I then worked for a Volvo main dealer for nearly 20 years becoming an Associate of the Institute of the Motor Industry (AMIMI) in the process. When I decided it was time for a change I joined Town & Country Cars because it’s such a customer focused dealership with a friendly atmosphere you can feel from the moment you walk in the door.
What does a Workshop Controller do?
Car dealerships aren’t all about car sales of course. As the Workshop Controller I am more involved in the garage services side of our business, that’s looking after MOT’s, car servicing and mechanical repair work (called ‘aftersales’ in the trade) from the customer point of view.
We can MOT, service and repair all makes of cars, not just Suzuki’s, which some motorists don’t realise. And being a manufacturer approved dealership you can rely on our technicians having been regularly trained and licensed to do the job properly.
FOXY note: This matters in an unregulated industry where mechanics don’t have to be licensed to repair our cars, and most aren’t. In fact, Town and Country Cars are members of The Motor Ombudsman Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) Code of Practice scheme for Vehicle Sales and Service & Repair work which is the badge of quality that FOXY Lady Approved looks for and supports.
What do you love most about your job?
I love dealing with people and cars and getting really involved from the initial stage of greeting the customer (by phone or in person), booking their car in for work, quality controlling the work done, invoicing and making sure the customer is delighted. Because there’s so much variety in what I do, no day is ever the same and I enjoy them all!
I also believe our customers sense our happy working environment and this is one of the reasons so many remain loyal to us – because we’re committed to being honest, transparent and professional at all times. It’s important to treat customers as we’d like to be treated ourselves.
Obviously we recognise that customers expect great value for money as a minimum and in addition to the excellent Suzuki affinity new car deals for Club members, they (and their family) can also enjoy special discounts off MOTs as well as labour and parts costs for any servicing and/or repair work. We also offer a winter vehicle health check for £29.95 for those quoting FOXY please. Be sure to ask me for details.
Contact Details:
Town and Country Cars
62 Ash Street
Aldershot
GU12 6LR
tel: 01252 796979
