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| FEATURE ARTICLE |
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| Focused
On Training - Focus Windscreen Repair Of Lincolnshire |
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 It is highly
unlikely the British motor trade will find a man with a more
diversified background than Graham Watson of Focus Windscreen Repair in Bardney, Lincolnshire UK. This humble man, who teases he was “asked to leave school”, began working at age 13 selling fruit and vegetables at a London green grocers. Today, at 52, he still recognizes the sales skills he learned so many years ago, as a major asset to his current success, both as owner of Focus Wind-screen Repair and as a highly successful trainer in the PDR and windscreen repair industry throughout Western Europe. “At 15, I fell into the motor trade because it was the first job I was offered,” Graham deadpans, but he wasn’t yet married to it – just romancing it. “I trained in 32 different jobs in just over 4 years, doing anything from auto technician, to putting up scaffolding, to erecting TV aerials; but learning to sell and even more so, learning how to up-sell, was the most important aspect of my early career. “It didn’t take me long to realize I wasn’t cut out to have a boss…” he admits then stammers, “…err, outside of my wife, that is… but I started working for my self when I was only 19, following those 32 jobs.” Even on his own, Graham had some fits and starts. “My first solo as a mechanic in a small rented motor shop lasted a very short time… again - just not for me. So I decided buying and selling cars instead of fixing them was the better road. By the time I was 20, I was doing okay buying and selling vehicles of all kinds.” Graham and Pamela, his wife of 34 years, married young. Things weren’t easy in the early days Graham admits, as his age and lack of financial support were a detriment, but together, he and Pam stuck with it and in 3 more years, they were buying and selling 500 vehicles a year. “She was then, and is now, my rock,” Graham says, “We workedextremely long hours to build the business and a good home environment for our 3 boys.” Over the next 10 years, they both had enough of long hours and 7-day workweeks. They “upped sticks” and moved away from London to rural Lincoln-shire, a village of about 1200 people, where the Watson’s bought a country house. “Selling cars again was not an option,” he says. “It was a chance remark by a friend whilst watching my son play football that put me on the path to windscreen repair,” Graham says. “I was unemployed and needed something other than eating out to fill my time and bank accounts.” It was still the early years before the Internet when Graham’s ground research turned up Novus. “I bought one of their first UK franchises, and it was a major success with 2 other franchises quickly following. “But after 10 years or so, Novus started fixing what wasn’t broken in the UK, and made a proper mess of not only my business, but others as well. We jumped ship and started Focus Windscreen Repair.” |
Now
stateside, “windscreens” are better known as windshields in the same
charming ways the hood is better known as a “bonnet” in the UK. Graham and his son Martin built Focus into another successful living, until 9 years later when Martin left to go into teaching. Graham continued on his own, using subcontractors he trained himself. “It was the best way to keep my customers happy,” he says. Graham prides himself on having a very strong customer service policy. “I find out what the customer wants and I deliver it at a price they can afford… that is not always the price they want to pay, as I am not, and never want to be, the cheapest in town.” Pinched from a customer, Graham feels his company motto - “Nobody Ever Regrets Buying Quality”- is well suited to many things in life. “We had a large fleet customer spending about $600 a week on twice-weekly visits. I wanted to see if there was any more we could do for them, concerned they might be flinching at the weekly expenditure. The customer came back and said, ‘Yes, we need to increase to 3 times per week, can you handle that?’ You see. Those who do not ask, do not receive.” Split between motor trade, fleet cars, buses, and retail, Focus Windscreen Repair has a strong fleet customer base. Where Graham spent his early days working long hours, now, he can do many jobs in one visit, leaving him plenty of time off to enjoy life. Moreover, today, Graham’s ‘focus’ is on training. “I want to help others get into our fantastic trade. I think we should all work towards a far higher standard of repair. I feel that 90% of repairs carried out in the UK are of very poor quality.” Graham has signed on as a distributor for an American company called Delta Kits for windscreen repair and with a UK company called Dentex for PDR. He has 1-2 technicians come in to Focus Windscreen for 2-3 days at a time for on-hand training before sending them out on their own. “I have tried many systems over the years, and Delta Kits have the quality and reliability with which I want to be associated and Dentex tools out of South Hampton are also my choice for excellence.” Graham has sent many successful windscreen repair technicians and PDR techs out into the world. They come from Scotland, Sweden, all over Europe to learn from the master. One of his recent graduates works for Rolls Royce & Bentley while another is a technical engineer with the Malaysian Racing Team. Over the years, he has developed a network of quality subcontractors with skills learned at his own hand. They know if they have any problems with anything in the motor trade, they can call Graham. “Training others to find success gives me a nice contented feeling and one I want to feel more often,” he says. Contact: Focus Windscreen Repair, Crompton House, Station Rd, Bardney, Lincolnshire, UK LN3 5UF.= |
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