Team Oldfields Win Another National Accolade

Friday 1st March 2024

PRESS RELEASE FEB 2024 – CAT MAG 2024 WINNERS

A hugely popular Leominster garage has become the first in the country to win two of the most coveted awards in the industry simultaneously, to underline its status as the nation’s finest.

Oldfields Garage has scooped the Independent Garage of the Year title at the Car Aftermarket Trader’s prestigious CAT Awards 2024 at the Lowry Hotel in Manchester. The accolade arrives hot on the heels of winning the Top Garage 2023, which is widely known as the most sought after silverware in in the automotive retail industry.

Based in Enterprise Park and owned by Tim Benson and his parents, the family business was once again praised for its customer service and painstaking approach to vehicle diagnosis and repairs, where no stone is left unturned and motorists are kept informed through regular, real-time dialogue.

Oldfields Garage is one of the town’s oldest and most popular garages and owner Tim Benson was quick to praise his 9 strong team for making the successes possible.

Tim said: “I couldn’t be prouder of the team, because without them none of our success is possible. Sam and I went to these awards, but it really is a team effort.”

“It is extremely rewarding to be acknowledged in this way, because a CAT Award is amongst he most highly respected prizes anywhere in the aftermarket.

But what makes me prouder is that judges acknowledged the work we do to drive standards and give each and every customer the best possible experience. We were informed by judges that we received several nominations from people in the industry, which really adds Kudos to what the team have achieved.”

“This is only possible because of the team we have in place. We are all from the local area and we care passionately about giving the community an offering that they can be proud of.”

CAT’s editorial lead Will Rimell said: “Oldfields Garage showed that no matter the challenge, especially those we experienced last year, such as parts shortages and high amenity costs, it can always be overcome.

“Congratulations to all our winners, to everyone who was shortlisted, and thank you to those of you who came from far and wide to attend.”

2023, what a year it’s been!

Wednesday 27th December 2023

As we head towards 2024, I’m really not sure where to start with my review of 2023, because it’s been one of our best yet!

I’d like to say a huge thank you to our customers for entrusting us with their vehicles, year after year. Our team try really hard to provide the best experience possible and this is shown through our customer satisfaction NPS score again being 94 for the entire year from 664 customer surveys – a staggering number in NPS terms because it goes from -100 to 100. While 95.8% of our 664 customers are “Very Satisfied” with us overall, we don’t get everything right and we’ll all be working hard to continue to develop, improve where we can and most importantly maintain the high levels of service we aim for.

Our team have done brilliantly in terms of industry recognition again this year, as Oldfields were shortlisted for 3 national awards finals. Automechanika “Garage of the Year”, Independent Garage Association “Community Engagement” and for the second year running “Top Garage.” This year we WON Top Garage 2023. Reaching any final in a national competition is an amazing achievement for the team and for us to actually win the most prestigious award in the country for our category is fantastic recognition. We’ve just been told we’ve reached another shortlist for February next year, so we’ll be looking to continue this progress into 2024.

We’ve continued to develop our Team with Chris gaining EV & Hybrid Level 3, Sam becoming an MOT tester and Katie attending The Road to Technical Service Advisor training at Tech Topics. We’ve also introduced two team staples to our month, BBQ Friday and Chippy Friday – it’s been so well received, it happens even when I’m not there.

We continue to contribute to the local community sponsoring Leominster in Bloom again, supporting the Food Bank and St Michaels Hospice as our Christmas Donation in lieu of cards and we’ve continued to support Luctonians Rugby Club, this time by agreeing to be Main Sponsors of the Female Team, Luctonians Vixens for the next 3 year years as they entered their first competitive league season. I’ve really enjoyed going down to support them, they are a great bunch and are developing and improving quickly!

It’s not all been positive though, Andy who has been our main MOT tester for nearly 10 years retired, a little earlier than expected and primarily due to health concerns. I hope he is able to enjoy his retirement; spend time on his hobbies and with family when he can.

Personally, I’ve had a lot of opportunities this year. I’ve been able to support some brilliant charities with some amazing friends. Five of us hiked a Marathon in the Wye Valley for Macmillan, raising nearly £5500 and over 50 of us hiked a challenging route through the Peak District for BEN – The Automotive Charity raising over £12,000. I’ve also Run as Santa with my family and friends for St Michaels Hospice. Next year will be interesting because I’ve agreed to do another hike and I will also be able to complete an ambition of mine to run the London Marathon with my friend Gareth, receiving a place through BEN – The Automotive Charity. We’ve already started fundraising and are sitting at just over £7000 between us, just in case here’s a blatant plug for sponsorship > Tim’s London Marathon Sponsorship

I’ve been invited to speak at several Automotive Industry event’s through the year The Blend Conference, Schaeffler RepXpert Academy Live and Automechanika to name a few along with visiting and working with some brilliant companies and organisations in the Automotive Aftermarket to help provide a garage perspective on the industry. I was able to attend the F1 British Grand Prix in possibly the best seats on the circuit and a Palmersport Racing Day thanks to the LKQ Euro Car Parts and I had the opportunity to visit the HQ and some production facilities of Original Equipment supplier Schaeffler, finding out about their history, quality processes and production scale in Germany, along with Sinatec in the Netherlands to understand their concept for consumables and how this will work in the UK.

I want to finish by thanking our suppliers who have been integral to our business development and of course our amazing team, without them none of this would have been possible. Let’s look forward to 2024 and the opportunities it will bring – we’ll see you on the 2nd January!

Best wishes, Tim

#NotYourAverageGarage

WINNERS! Top Garage 2023

Monday 16th October 2023

We’re delighted to announce that we have WON Top Garage 2023!

We were finalists last year and after a challenging application, assessment, interview and judging process we have gone one step further and picked up the award.

Our category, which was 10+ employees, saw 10 finalists, the UKs best independent garages, battle it out on Saturday 14th October to compete for the title of winner of “Top Garage 2023”. The final part of the process of the Aftermarket Magazine National Competition included a timed assessment based on Health and Safety, a timed presentation (maximum 3 minutes) of the business and how it benefits the customers and then 45 minute interview by 2 industry judges.

Tim represented the Oldfields team on the day and was later joined for the awards by Paul & Cheryl (Mum & Dad) along with his wife Fliss and picked up the award in front of a room full of 300 of the best garages, industry experts and end event sponsors.

Tim said “Top Garage is a tough competition, it’s arguably the most prestigious awards on the calendar because it is independent of any national garage networks. After reaching the final last year, I was absolutely buzzing to be able to pick up this award on behalf of the team. It was amazing. Without their hard work, none of this would be possible. What made it extra special was for mum and dad to be there when we won. They started the Oldfields journey back in 1991 and laid the foundations for us to be able to do what we do now.” He added “I’ve been inundated with positive comments and good wishes from inspirational people far and wide in the UK automotive industry, our customers, friends and family as well.”

Tim will be Speaking at The Garage Hive Blend Conference 2023

Tuesday 22nd August 2023

Tim will be talking about the topic of planning and working with the end game in mind, what decisions you can make earlier in the business to help work towards your exit goal – whenever or whatever that may be!

“We’ve been using the Garage Hive System to run our business Since August 2020. I’m delighted to have been asked to present at The Blend, because the Garage Hive Community represent some of the best independent garages throughout the UK & Ireland.” said Tim. “If you own or run a garage and are keen to find out more about how other garages operate and continuously try to improve, you should really be there!”

About the Blend 2023:

Garage Hive has organised The Blend 2023 on the 7th of October to gather garage owners and key decision-makers of garage businesses in Birmingham to learn about the garage management software and to expand their views on how to manage their business in the best way possible, as well as to network and build connections between each other to exchange experiences and create a supportive community within the automotive industry.

The conference (9.30 am – 5.45 pm) is filled with many sessions delivered by expert speakers like business development and technical training coach John Batten, HR Specialist Jennifer Webb, Andy Crook industry practitioner, Andy Hamilton from Euro Car Parts, Simon Gurney from Castrol and Mark Strain from GSF Car Parts, fellow garage owners Tim Benson, Matt Cleevely, Tom Cocokings, Alex Lindley with Garage Industry Trends and garage management software experts.

There will be an expo area with known brands like The Race Group and Castrol, 1 Tec Auto Hub, GSF Car parts, Pagid, Micheldever, Vostel, Pichler Tools, Autotech Training, Autogem, Diagnostic Connections and AutoIQ.

You can book your tickets here: The Blend | Garage Hive’s Conference

Oldfields Shortlisted for Community Engagement

Thursday 10th August 2023

We’re delighted to have been shortlisted for another awards final, this time for “Community Engagement” as part of the Independent Garage Association BIG Awards 2023. The Independent Garage Association BIG Awards recognising garages, industry suppliers and standout stars from the length and breadth of Britain. Award categories highlight all aspects of running a successful garage business, the BIG Awards have established a new gold standard for the independent garage sector.

Tim will be taking Owen, Oldfields apprentice, to the Awards Evening on September 22nd in Leicester. Tim said “I wanted to give Owen the chance to see what it’s like to mix with other people in the industry that are trying to be the best. These events are always great for socialising and networking on the business side, but hopefully can also create aspiration for the future!”

Owen added “It’s my first chance to go to a Garage Awards Ceremony, I don’t really know what to expect. It will be a good opportunity to see how other high end garages from all over the country do things.”

We didn’t win on this occasion, but congratulations to all the finalists and winners!

To see the full list of finalists or to find out more about the awards follow the link below!

IGA | The BIG Awards | IGA (independentgarageassociation.co.uk)

Pipped to the post in the Final

Thursday 15th June 2023

Tim and most of the team visited Automechanika UK in Birmingham last week, which is the UKs largest Automotive Aftermarket trade show. It was a brilliant few days out of the business that gave us the chance to meet suppliers, automotive experts and share experiences with other leading garages. The event was a huge success and we all got a lot from it.

On Wednesday 7th, Tim was invited by AllData, the leading provider of Manufacturer Technical Data, to join a panel of experts to discuss technical data from a business perspective (we’ll be writing a blog about that later). It was a great opportunity to share knowledge and learn from the other panalist’s. Then, on Wednesday evening, Tim, Katie and Chris put on their glad rags for the IAAF Awards where Oldfields were in the final shortlist for “Garage of the Year.” It was another great evening, even though we were pipped to the post for the win.

Tim said “After reaching the Final in Top Garage last year, we were hoping to go one better in these awards, but we were beaten by a great garage. Getting to the final is a real achievement for the team and all the other garages nominated. The winner was decided by votes and we have heard on good authority that we were close to the eventual winner.” He went on to add “Awards give us a great opportunity to see how we come up against the other leading UK independent garages. It’s the first major awards of the year and we’ll be looking for the elusive win in the other two we have been nominated for later in the Year.”

We have opportunities to join our team

Monday 12th June 2023

We’re looking for two team members to join our team, I’d advise you to take a look at our website and social media to see what we get up to

We use the best management system available, offer great training and development opportunities, have excellent facilities, modern and up to date equipment and we continue to invest to move us forward. We also pay well and have a generous holiday allowance, rising to 33 days inc bank holidays.

Customer / Business Manager

Picture yourself standing on the stage, receiving accolades and applause at a prestigious award ceremony. We envision a long-term, stable career for you within our company, where your growth and achievements are recognized and celebrated. We provide a motivated environment that drives your professional development, allowing you to thrive and rise to the top of your game.

Dan will be leaving to pursue other aims and we’ve taken the opportunity to re-evaluate our needs along with out desire to continue progressing and therefore this is a new role within the business. We are looking for someone to oversee the development of our operation, including customer service, sales and operational aspects of customer delivery to enable us to continue to be recognised industry-wide for our customer experience.

Oldfields Garage is searching for the right person to join our team, and we are committed to designing the job role around the strengths and aspirations of the successful applicant. Whether you have managerial experience or not, we believe in providing opportunities for growth and progression within our company. Our goal is to create a long-term successful career, offering stability, recognition, and success. We are dedicated to supporting your professional development and ensuring that you reach your full potential in a rewarding and fulfilling environment.

MOT Tester / Service Technician

We’re sadly losing Andy from our team due to retirement, and we are looking for a new team member to replace his role within the business. We are looking specifically for an MOT tester or someone who wants to obtain their MOT tester licence and in a position that we can can support you to do this straight away.

Along with modern equipment, the staff facilities and business investments you’d expect from a UK leading independent garage, we offer excellent rates of pay as well as other benefits including a generous holiday allowance rising to 33 days inc bank holidays, training opportunities, staff discounts, monthly BBQ, monthly Chippy Friday, industry outings and being a valued part of our exceptional team.

If you’d like to enquire, or discuss the opportunity please Email your CV and why you think you we shouldn’t miss the opportunity to employ you tim@oldfieldgarage.co.uk

Oldfields Through to National “Garage of the Year” Final

Thursday 27th April 2023

We didn’t pick up the gong this time, but we were absolutely thrilled to have made the final of Automechanika “Garage of the Year 2023” hosted by the Independent Automotive Aftermarket Federation (IAAF). Automechanika, held at the NEC in Birmingham, is the UKs largest trade event for the Automotive Aftermarket.

“Garage of the Year” is the headline award in the prestigious competition, which recognizes the best garages in the UK, and Oldfields has been selected as one of the top seven garages in the country.

The Automechanika Garage of the Year competition is judged by industry experts, who assess the quality of the garage’s work, customer service, and business practices and then pass it over to the public to vote for the overall winner, with the winner being announced at a special ceremony on 7th June 2023.

Tim Benson, Director of Oldfields Garage Services, expressed his excitement about reaching the final: “We are really chuffed to be named as a finalist for Garage of the Year 2023. It’s a fantastic recognition of the hard work and dedication of our team, who are committed to providing the highest quality service to our customers. We pride ourselves on our customer service and attention to detail, and this nomination is a testament to that.” He added that “We’ll be flying the flag for Herefordshire. There are some fantastic garages among our category, we may be smallest in the category but we’ll give it our best shot.”

Oldfields Garage Services has been providing car maintenance and repair services to the Leominster community for over 30 years. With a team of experienced technicians and state-of-the-art equipment, the garage offers a range of services, including MOT testing, servicing, and repairs.

About the awards…
The Garage of the Year award category recognises garages and aftermarket service outlets that have delivered exceptional service over the past twelve months and demonstrate high calibre business acumen to navigate the challenges of operating a thriving business in 2023 and beyond.

This includes proof of awareness and understanding of profit and loss, the difference between gross, operating, and net profit, and why the difference between mark up and margin is important for a business but ultimately delivers value for customers. The recipient of the Garage of the Year award will have demonstrated proficiency and a proactive approach in marketing, social media use and local community outreach.

The Garage of the Year will be identifiable with a team or individual delivering business performance transparency, meetings with suppliers and customers, and implementation of specific corporate governance policies such as complaints procedures, duty of care, and environmental awareness.