EXECUTIVE REPORT
Part of the community
Alan Guthrie conducts a quick Q&A session with David Johnstone, Managing Director of Falkirk-based Y.E.S. (Your Equipment Solutions), which won our 2020 Passionate Hirer Award in the Outstanding Single Depot Hirer category.
Q. What did it mean to win our Award? A. I felt immensely proud for the team and a bit emotional. My father, David Snr, passed away late last year and he was an integral part of the business from when we started back in 2012. Already ‘retired’, he’d work from 10am till 3pm every day, which enabled me to go on the road, see customers and develop the business. I imagined he was with us in spirit when we received the Award at the Executive Hire Show Party.
support our local council’s initiatives to help the homeless.
Q. You also sponsor Stenhousemuir FC? A. They’re my local team and I was a ball boy there in the late 70s, although Dundee United is my main team, from when we used to have family holidays along the north east coast and we would visit family in Dundee. We are main sponsors of Stenhousemuir’s ‘Warriors in the Community’ programme, providing support for nearly 600 young people from 4 years old to 16, and also the Senior Ladies side and the Health & Wellbeing teams. We also helped with equipment when the club’s Astroturf pitch was flooded recently: we provided pumps quickly to get the ground cleared, and the match would have been postponed otherwise.
Being a big part of the local community is very important to me. We have also supported bowling clubs, army veterans initiatives and gala days organised by the Strathcarron Hospice.
David Johnstone and the team proudly display their Award.
Q. What is behind your success? A. Simply, a real passion for what we do. We get what the customer needs, whenever they want it and at a fair price, out of regular hours if necessary. We now have 20 staff and we are all on the same wavelength, upholding the same values. I try to ensure that everyone feels appreciated. For example, each Y.E.S. employee gets their birthday off as a special holiday, to say thank-you to them.
Q. One factor behind winning the Award was your community involvement. Can you give us an example of that? A. One Sunday last December, a massive network failure left 8,000 people in Falkirk without gas. The weather was freezing cold and I knew vulnerable people could be at risk. My son, Ryan, posted that evening on social media that we would open our depot to provide free heater hire from our fleet on a first come, first served basis. People’s gratitude was overwhelming and we hired out over 30 heaters, with a number of elderly and infirm people benefiting, which was particularly pleasing given that it took several days to resolve the issue. We also
26
Q. Did you enjoy the Executive Hire Show? A. Absolutely. I always do. We spent around £25,000 on new kit with exhibitors, including pressure washers and mixers from Altrad Belle;
Y.E.S. supplied pumps when Stenhousemuir FC’s ground was flooded recently.
“No two days are the same and every customer request is different.”
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52