Published: December 10, 2024 | Updated: 10th December 2024
Colleagues at an automotive accident repair centre run by Southampton-based Snows Motor Group have won a prestigious national award.
Snows’ Accident Repair Centre in Third Avenue, Millbrook was named Service and Repair Outlet of the Year at the Car Dealer Magazine Used Car Awards, hosted at The Brewery in London by car trader-turned-presenter Mike Brewer.
The accolade recognises the high quality of work carried out by the team and the level of care and attention paid to customers.
Hundreds of automotive retailers, plus MOT testing stations and workshops, enter the awards every year.
Each one undergoes a rigorous judging process and mystery shopping test before the gongs are handed out.
In the service and repair category, judges were looking for consistently high scores in online reviews, a user-friendly website, courteous phone manners and good customer service.
The Snows Accident Repair Centre excelled on all fronts and fought off tough competition to take top honours.
Dan Bush, general manager, said: “I’m very proud to have picked up this award – not just for me but for our whole team.
“I’d like to pay tribute to them all and say a huge thank you for their efforts throughout the year.”
Asked if he could identify the secret of the business’s success, Dan said that a lot of customers checked out its Google reviews before getting in touch, and then asked for a particular member of staff by name after reading complimentary comments about them.
He added: “We do our utmost to look after our customers.
“Our job is to be reassuring and kind to people who are making a stress purchase after an accident.
“Once you’ve convinced somebody you can restore their car to its former glory, carrying out the work is fairly straightforward.
“It’s what we’re experts in, after all.”
James Baggott, editor and founder of Gosport-based Car Dealer Magazine, said: ‘‘Many congratulations to the team at the Snows Accident Repair Centre.
“During the judging process, we discovered it’s an outfit where quality is the watchword.
‘‘That encompasses the quality of the work carried out on the vehicles in their care and the high level of consideration and attention shown towards customers.
“Many of them may be feeling somewhat anxious, having recently been involved in a motoring mishap, of course.”
Awards host Mike Brewer said: ‘‘Quite often at the Used Car Awards, we say it was a difficult decision to decide the winner in a particular category.
‘‘However, the Snows Accident Repair Centre team made it easy for us in the service and repair outlet section this year – they ticked every box and got everything right.
“This is a banging result for everyone involved, so well done all.”
Snows was highly commended as one of the UK’s top three used car dealership groups.
And Louis Gaskin, an apprentice technician at Snows Peugeot Portsmouth, was also highly commended as a future star of the industry.