All smiles again on the South Coast!
Just under a year ago, it all seemed so terribly bleak for one taxi garage on the south coast. Smith & Humphrey, who are based in the small town of Bexhill-on-Sea in Sussex, had just been given its marching orders on its existing taxi franchise.
“It was a very bad day indeed” explains Richard Swatton one of the partners at Smith & Humphrey, who with his colleague Andrew Smith had spent over 20 years building up a reputation as a taxi specialist in the south of England. “We were devastated to be given notice of termination of our franchise because we had dedicated our business to selling and supporting this one product over many years. And, it wasn’t as if we had done anything wrong: we’d always been told we gave our customers a great service. Things were bad enough with the recession, but then to have this sprung on us was just
But, as they say, out of adversity comes opportunity and along came the chance to re-focus in the shape of the three-pointed star – Mercedes. “We knew that the Mercedes Vito Taxi was starting to sell in London and we heard it was doing very well. After getting in touch with KPM who had been in the same situation as us but who were now selling the Mercedes they agreed to discuss the opportunity for us to begin selling Vito Taxis in our part of the country. We were appointed at the end of last year, and
Not that it has been all plain sailing for Smith & Humphrey. The business proposition is completely different with the Mercedes Vito Taxi. As Richard explains “The service intervals are a lot longer, 20,000 miles at least and the Mercedes is so reliable. You just won’t be seeing your customer back into the workshops that often. But I suppose, that’s a good thing from a
over the territory, servicing is done by the local Mercedes commercial dealers, not necessarily by us. We’re also offering a ‘free 3 years/100,000 miles servicing’ package which keeps the customer’s costs very low in the initial period and makes them appreciate that a Mercedes can be very competitive in its running costs.
TAWD ST. GARAGE LTD
Service Dealer
DAY AND NIGHT COLLARS
NOW TAXI TESTING
HACKNEY AND PRIVATE HIRE
LIVERPOOL
24 HOUR RECOVERY
Had a Bump!!
We can sort it from start to finish
including legal representation
Mechanical and Electrical Panels and Paint All Your Taxi Needs
SERVICE AND MAINTAINANCE MANAGEMENT
KEEPING YOUR VEHICLE ON THE ROAD
0151 922 3626
6-8 TAWD ST, OFF WESTMINSTER ROAD, WALTON, L4 4PD
26
Smith & Humphrey still have a thriving garage repair and bodyshop business – there are plenty of older cabs around to make sure of that. But I guess the change to the Mercedes has brought us right up to date in the 21st
century. It’s a fantastic high-technology product which is superbly
01424 210746
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