Shopfloor PROFILE: WHO?


November 2


February 2019 ertonline.co.uk


Above: Lyn Knight with Andrew Clarke, who looks after the service and installation side of the business.


Left: The incorporated kitchen showroom at Abbey Appliances 55


Q: What would you say is the most unique thing about your business? LK: Our dedication to customer service, definitely. We go above and beyond. My daughter works here too, and we’re all friends and we all have the same work ethic. Our customers are valuable and they have to be looked after. For example, I keep a fax machine in the office because I’ve got two deaf customers and they fax me if they need anything. People don’t use these anymore! And I wouldn’t have a fax machine if it wasn’t for them. We’re a bit like a community service sometimes. We’ll go and put a lightbulb in for anyone who needs it – little things like that. It’s not all about making the margins every time, it’s about looking after the people in your community as well, because they will look after you. Bad news and bad customer reviews


spread like wildfire, but if you shake their hand they will tell other people and there’s nothing better than a good, genuine customer recommendation.


Q: What made you want to move into selling fitted kitchens? LK: Well, I’d seen Symphony Group at the Sirius Buying Group’s annual trade show – they were new to Sirius at the time – and it got me thinking. Then, a few months later, I heard this guy Phil Pond speaking at an event and he inspired me, he took my blinkers off. He made me realise that your business needs to move forward. You can’t just have rows of washing machines anymore, you need something where people feel comfortable, where they can sit and have a chat with staff about all their options. I was so excited at the way he sort of woke me up. But I didn’t know quite how I was going to do it. A couple of people told me about the kitchen departments they’d had installed from Symphony Group and then, eventually, I met David Hall, who came to


The best thing was taking a six-foot fridge-freezer and a cooker up two flights of stairs once and installing them in someone’s flat. I don’t know how it did it... bit I did it!


speak to me about everything and it all just fell into place. It was a no-brainer basically.


Symphony Group was a major drive behind the kitchen showroom installation


Q: What’s it been like working with Symphony Group? LK: They have been superb! The support is brilliant and Robert Williamson has helped us every step of the way, visiting us quite often to make sure we had everything we need. There have been a couple of hiccups along the way, but nothing is plain sailing is it. They’ve really invested time and money in the Sirius Buying Group and its retailers, helping even little people like me to keep us on the high street. And it wasn’t a rushed job. We talked about the different places we could put our displays, how


Every part of choosing a new kitchen is covered in the store, including materials and colour schemes


many we could have, whether we did it upstairs or downstairs. We worked together on the plans, complementing what we’ve already got here. Then


David came up with idea of


incorporating kitchen worktops within our customer desks, so they have various uses. Some retailers have dedicated spaces for their kitchen showrooms, but we had to have ours in our working environment, but it works well and I’m really pleased with it.


And the other thing they do of course, which


I find is impressive, is all the training. All our staff get training and I’ve already booked my sessions for the next few months for design and knowledge about the products. It’s great!


Q: So good training is an important aspect for you then? LK: Absolutely! We don’t seem to get the training that we used to get from manufacturers, and if my staff don’t know about their new products and their benefits, they can’t sell them with confidence. It’s as simple as that.


Some manufacturers are better than others and we can get hands-on with the products at the special training days they host. And it’s similar


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