Beverley Motorworks

Beverley Motor Works is an independent servicing garage, specialising in BMWs and Minis. They offer a main dealership experience at independent prices. This includes collection and delivery of vehicles, offering a loan car and repairing vehicles to the same specification they would get at a dealership.

Run by Richard Hayes and Alan Lewis, Beverley Motor Works was set up to give car owners quality customer service, but without the red tape inherent in many of the big companies.

Richard and Alan have both worked for main BMW and Mini dealerships, but they became frustrated with working in a PLC and decided to set up on their own. So, Beverley Motor Works was born.

Richard said: “We were given a high level of training in what we did, but we weren’t able to look after the customers as well. Alan was under increased pressure in the workshop and having to work with less talented people than himself.”

Richard knew the market was there for a garage which focused on its customers and listened to them and what they wanted. He also felt that some of the big corporates were so focused on the end product that they lacked the common sense needed to speak to customers.

“Our ability is to deal with everyone as an individual, “ he said. “Be it the man with a 7 series and a fleet of cars we look after, or the lady with an old, beloved Fiat Panda who was fed up with the service she received from her garage and came to us instead. She even rang up to thank us for the experience she got from us.

“We want to exceed people’s expectations and will communicate with the customer however they want to be communicated with; telephone, text, email. There won’t be any shock bills at the end and we will always speak to the customer before we do any work. We want to keep people happy.”

Clarity and understanding is a particular selling point of Beverley Motor Works.

“We had someone in whose car needed new brake pipes,” Richard said. “He was interested to see the problem, so we had his car on the ramp when he came to collect it, so he could see under the car and I was able to point out what we had done, and then showed him where the old brake pipes had been corroded.

“This transparency of service is very important to us.”

Richard has been in the motor industry for 18 years and he and Alan have a lot of resources on which to draw, as well as several connections within the trade.

They have also been able to use some of the beneficial aspects of working for BMW and Mini, armed with a great knowledge of service schedules, what oils are used and what parts are best, which they then purchase direct from the manufacturers.

They are very process-driven when it comes to repairing the cars, but don’t lose sight of the customer-oriented ethos behind why they set up the business in the first place.

“We are a business which is based on being here for many years to come, not making a quick buck and then disappearing,” Richard said.

“In the area between York and Hull, there is no one doing what we do. Growth is clearly visible in Beverley and there is a good level of investment into the town. The road infrastructure is also good and the new bypass is going to benefit us greatly, increasing footfall.

“We may be on an industrial estate, but that has just meant we have worked harder on our marketing. We started with an empty database and now we have just short of 2,000 customers on it.

“We employ seven people and we have two apprentices. We work closely with local schools and colleges and both of them are progressing really well.”

Richard and Alan are heavily involved with the local community, whether this is by supporting Beverley Rugby Club, sponsoring Beverley Whitestar football team or giving a trophy to Victoria Dock primary school, which is played for in their end of term girls v boys football match.

“We like to give experience to the younger generation,” Richard added. “Not just those who are interested in cars, but also young entrepreneurs. We are members of the FEO (For Entrepreneurs Only) in Hull, and we are still in touch with people who came to us on work experience.

“We are genuinely interested in working with the community and nurturing young people who are coming through, as well as offering employment to local people.”

Beverley Motor Works is a local business which really cares about the customers it has got, and Richard is keen to raise their profile in this area.

“We want to be a recognised business in Beverley,” he said. “We want to be seen as approachable and offering support.

“We are keen to be part of the Beverley business scene and be one of the key players when it comes to business decisions made in Beverley, so we can help others to develop.”