I began my initial career with Pirtek as a centre assistant at Pirtek Slough in 1994 and became an MSST within a year.
As I gradually became more experienced I started to cover the Heathrow area in 1998 before heading north to Manchester in 1999 to start a new life with my wife where I initially worked at Pirtek Preston before moving to Pirtek Manchester where I worked for 3 years.
On a number of occasions I was asked by customers to approach hydraulic issues that unfortunately at the time, were beyond my skill set. However, I developed a curiosity around hydraulic circuits and systems and really wanted to expand my knowledge. This eventually led to me leaving Pirtek in order to work with a company that specialised in pumps, valves and motors, and component integration in to systems and this was a role that I continued for 13 years until I felt it was time for a change. I moved on to pastures new spending 2 years working with specialised high pressure and closed loop applications.
Over the last few years I have become more and more motivated towards owning my own business so that I could have more control over the service that I offer whilst being in the driving seat as the business evolves and grows.
I spent several years giving consideration to how and what I would like to do; I investigated a number of options and decided that I wanted the support and structure of working within a larger network. I also watched as some of the local Pirtek centres developed a technical capability which was far more developed than during my previous time with them. I believe that this level of service and support keeps the customer coming back every time.
I am aware that Pirtek has had its detractors over the years and that some lessons were learned during the evolution of the business, however I believe that this is because Pirtek in the UK was, and still is the benchmark in hydraulic hose replacement, and whilst many others have tried to copy the model none have been successful in being able to offer the level of support, service and coverage that Pirtek can.
I believe the future is bright for Pirtek but I need to get the basics right and offer the customer unparalleled support on core products and service within my area before we are ready to move forward with extra systems support and other areas of diversification as some branches are already doing. This approach will hopefully strengthen Pirtek’s standing in my local area and potentially beyond that.
I know that this cannot be achieved by the direction of a franchisee alone, and I will be calling upon the experience and support of the team at Pirtek UK and my neighbouring centres. There also needs to be a support structure of motivated staff that keep the interests of the business close to their heart and they need to be supported, developed and rewarded for their efforts as the business starts to grow. I feel extremely lucky to have a great team of staff behind me who really care about the business and in delivering exceptional customer service. I couldn’t ask for a better starting point in my journey as a business owner and Pirtek Franchisee!
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