Insurance aparently, wanted a complete change of scenery.. I personally think he has wanted that for at least a couple of years.
Originally I only took him to work with me after he left school at 16 because I was getting home from work to find out he still had not gotten out of bed, so I told him he was going to work for me or fill in his college applications... He never did apply to college and no matter how many engines I told him to clean (from underneath while still installed in the car) he stuck it out and I ended up sending him off to college to get his diplomas in advanced automotive engineering while working for JMG.
So, it is no surprise he eventually woke up and decided he wanted to try something else and spread his wings.. another year and he would have been with me for 10 years and has never had experience of working for someone else.
Dave started a couple of weeks earlier and is the new service manager, who was bought in so I could spend more time in the workshop, which is something I decided on last summer while in hospital.
To be honest, I am taking this phase to actually re-evaluate things at JMG, rather than trying to keep up with demand and end up swamped whatever we do, so we are now taking a slight change in direction..
In the past we have found ourselves spending 80% of our time trying to make 20% of our customers happy, just because the 20% make the loudest noises and have the biggest attitudes, although no matter how we try, these 20% can probably not be pleased.. The ironic thing, is through a bit of analysis, these 20% probably not only occupy 80% of our time, but also only contribute 10% of revenue for the business... So the plan is now we have identified these problems is to cut them out, and spend 100% of our time keeping the good 80% happy, rather than 20% of our time and letting them down.
Just in case anyone thinks we are talking about you being the 20%... If you are the type who tries to bully my staff into letting your car be a priority, usually acting like a gangster, portray an image of being a drug dealer, and always claim your car did not have a misfire before you dropped the car off to have the screen wash topped up, even though you were told we could do it while you wait.. Or you are the kind of customer who has someone else rebuild your 996 turbo transmission and then blame us changing your spark plugs 3 years ago as to why after the rebuild 5th an 6th gear are now in the wrong place since the rebuild last month by "BishAndBashTransmission".. then yes.. you are the 20% we don't want coming here anymore!
)
I think the 20% of customers I have just mentioned are part of Mark's big problem.. He spent years trying to please everyone and over promising to everyone, which often resulted in letting a lot of people down and getting a hard time from both customers and me.. So now I believe he has gone to a desk job that is not customer facing.
I am sure Mark will be along to our BBQ's in the future, and who knows, once he does not have to work on them, he might start driving a Porsche for fun and turning up to club meetings!
In the meantime, still have my other son Stephen here, he spent the first six months of his apprenticeship working reception here and now has moved onto the workshop training which is the bit he has been looking forward to for ages.
Then of course there is still Jamie in the workshop, who is also heading for his 9th year with me, Becky in the office who is a recent addition and of course the most confusing named member of the workshop staff, Mitchell.. But Mitchell is his first name and he is no relative!!
All of us are happy to banter with you Wayne, its half the fun, that need not stop just because Mark is no longer here
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