Over the past 17 years, Roy and Liz Hutchings have built a workshop business driven by teamwork. Now they are enhancing their offering with the backing of Eurorepar’s supply network.
Nestled on an industrial estate not too far from the rust-inducing salty air of the English Channel, Bognor Regis-based Hutchings Vehicle Services started out as a go-to centre for French-made cars from the likes of Citroën and Peugeot. Since opening its doors in 2005, however, the business has evolved into an all-makes garage that is part of the Eurorepar Car Service network.
“This is it!”, is Liz’s response when asked about the team at Hutchings. Indeed, while the business has gone from strength to strength, growing its customer base and expanding its service offering, Liz and Roy have never needed to bring in additional staff.
The pair, it seems, have been able to make things work by having a clear understanding of each other’s strengths and weaknesses. “I may not be allowed to touch emails,” says Roy, “but the workshop is my pride and joy. No matter what happens, we always work together when we need to.”
Behind the scenes and in the office is where Liz works her magic – taking care of every customer’s individual needs. It’s thanks to her quality of customer service that people come back time and time again.
“Having Liz in the office is very handy. People don’t want some greasy mechanic telling them what’s wrong with their car,” explains Roy. Confirming her husband’s sentiments, Liz says that “I tell the customers what they need to know, without all the jargon. They don’t need any of that tech talk that the average person won’t understand.”
Providing peace of mind
“It’s all about managing expectations,” she continues. “We make it our mission to ensure that the customer gets a fair price for any given job. If it’s a cambelt job, for example, a lot of garages will simply give a fixed price for a cambelt. But, of course, when you do a cambelt job, if it’s driven by a water pump, you want a cambelt, a water pump, and a drive belt. We break down the price to let the customer know exactly what they need.”
For Roy, another secret to Hutchings’ success is his desire to keep up to date with industry news and developments. “I’ve always tried to keep up with what’s happening. The only problem for me is that whenever I need to attend a training course, I have no choice but to shut the garage. This can make it quite difficult to stay on top of technical training and current practices, but it has to be done.”
To supplement his training, Roy keeps his knowledge topped up by reading trade magazines and by scrolling through technical and business content on YouTube and Facebook. But Roy has something else up his sleeve that is even more valuable.
“I was an early adopter of the EV training programmes. We’re geared up to work on electric cars as they gradually take over the market. I think that hydrogen and electric hybrid powertrains will dominate the market going forward, but whatever the outcome, we’ll be ready”.
Roy is already beginning to notice changes to the type of work that he carries out on a day-to-day basis. At present, providing diagnostic services to customers with electric cars is becoming much more common.
“I’ve always been known for the diagnostic work that I do, so working on the newer electric vehicles of today fits in quite nicely with what I’ve been doing throughout my career”, Roy enthuses.
The road ahead
Like many other garages around the country that are preparing for the era of electrification, Hutchings knows it needs all the support it can get. As a member of the Eurorepar Car Service network – an initiative run by the Stellantis Group – Hutchings benefits from business, technical and marketing support, as well as access to one of the most comprehensive ranges of spare parts for all major makes and models. Of equal significance to Roy and Liz, however, is the fact that they remain proudly independent, focused on honest service and a willingness to go the extra mile for their customers.
Joining Eurorepar gave Hutchings a sense of security, but also a new sense of direction for the business. Keen to share the long list of benefits, Roy explains that “Eurorepar really stood out to me ever since the brand reached British soil. I’d already seen the work that it had done for small French garages, and I wanted to be a part of it. All it took was a quick email and the rest is history.
The network’s professionalism, quality of parts and support are second to none. Eurorepar doesn’t discriminate, no matter the size of your establishment. But the main thing that sets Eurorepar apart from other initiatives is the value for money when it comes to parts – you’d struggle to beat it.”
Adding to Roy’s comments, Liz explained that “there was a time when we had a vehicle in the shop that we needed a part for, but the part wasn’t available in the country. Yet somehow, Eurorepar managed to get hold of the part – and it arrived all the way from France.”
“There’s no doubt that we’re excited about the future. There will certainly be challenges, but each day presents a new opportunity. With the continued support of Eurorepar and our loyal customers, we’ll always be proud to serve our local area.”
