Jonathan Aston, owner of Motorcare in Woking, has been a Snap-on customer since opening in 2008. Having recently acquired additional premises, Jonathan enjoyed a 'first-class' install of his second Sun MOT bay and felt the support he received was comparable to having a business partner:
"For a while I had been considering adding a second MOT test lane and additional service bays. I was at capacity and turning business away.
"An adjacent building became available and I moved fast to acquire it for my expansion plans.
"It was March 2017 when I received the keys for the new building and I called Mike Williams, the Sun technical consultant. Sun have successfully supplied equipment for the business many times previously, so for me it was a ‘no brainer’ to approach Mike to quote for the equipment we needed.
"The price was extremely competitive and Mike knows the DVSA regulations inside-out, so they were an obvious choice of supplier.
"We had a couple of weeks discussing plans, firming up the details. This mainly consisted of walking around the building several times with a tape measure to decide the best position for the MOT bay and other equipment.
"I organised the groundworks team independently, but Mike project managed it. He sat down to discuss the plans with everyone involved before marking up the floor.
"I run this business by myself, so it was great having Mike by my side. It was like having a business partner.
"Whilst the buck stops with me, I trusted Mike to help me get the job done. I left Mike to get on with it, leaving me free to sort out everything else that goes with opening new business premises.
"The concrete arrived and the groundworks started on 27 March. The MOT bay installation took place on 12 April, followed by a week or so of finishing touches to the reception and signage etc.
"We then had to wait for our DVSA slot which, fortunately for us, it was reasonably prompt on 25 May. DVSA measured everything but I think that they also trust Snap-on job to do a job well.
"It was signed off within a couple of hours – 100 per cent compliant! We carried out our first MOT using the new equipment on the same day.
"Mike’s attention to detail was exceptional and thanks to his vigilance a disaster was averted when he spotted, prior to pouring the concrete, we were 10mm adrift between the brake rollers and the MOT lift placement.
"With the additional space, I now can make headway in expanding my business. It feels less manic and I am no longer turning away MOT bookings.
"When the time comes to expanding again, I won’t be going anywhere else. The service from Snap-on was truly first-class."
Date posted: 23 November 2017