Winchester-based Williams Garage first partnered with BookMyGarage in 2017 and were among the first to sign up to the Accelerate package when it was launched in February 2024. Two years on, the garage’s bookings are healthier than ever. The family-run garage in Otterbourne, Winchester, has offered car repairs and services since 1990 and benefits from a solid loyal customer base including several generations of motorists from the same family.

We caught up with Williams Garage CEO Peter Whieldon and put some questions to him.

BMG: What services do you offer?

PW: Everything a customer would expect from their local garage catering for all car and van repair and maintenance needs – routine servicing, MOT testing (classes 4, 5 and 7), car servicing, and repairs from major components such as exhausts and brakes to harder-to-find services such as wet belt maintenance and replacements, and DSG gearbox repairs.

BMG: Why do your customers choose Williams Garage?

PW: Our greatest asset is our people and we pride ourselves on delivering an exceptional and personal service. I am well known to all our customers and adopt a hands-on approach. Our team of technicians are highly trained and qualified including one Master Technician so customers can be confident their vehicles are in safe hands. We consider ourselves to be at the forefront of industry developments and, as such, we have also trained and qualified in working on electric and hybrid vehicles, one of very few garages in our area to do so.

But we’ve also invested in our business and when customers see the effort we’ve made then they know they can trust us. For example, we recently refurbished and future-proofed our workshop with state-of-the-art tools and equipment including dealer diagnostic software for multiple vehicle marques. For an independent business, our workshop is very large with 10 separate bays so it means we’re more likely to fit a customer’s vehicle in at a time that’s convenient for them as well as putting us in a good position to take advantage of the last-minute bookings that come through the BookMyGarage platform. What’s really beneficial is that any customers who book direct online are not subject to the regular BookMyGarage booking fee even though it’s their tool that’s embedded on our website and for me, that’s a major plus point and is something that has paid for itself over and over.

BMG: What made you decide to partner BookMyGarage?

PW: We recognised that we had to embrace digital tools not only to attract new customers but to ensure we maintained our forward-thinking reputation that we’ve worked hard to establish among our loyal customers. When BookMyGarage came along with its innovative platform and retail custom driven ethos, we realised this was a supplier that not only helped us tick the digital box but was committed to technological development to keep itself and garages like ours ahead of the curve. We take full advantage of the team’s technological know-how and digital marketing expertise to benefit our business and our relationship is stronger than ever.

 

BMG: How does the relationship with BookMyGarage bear fruit for your business?

PW: You can’t be in business, particularly in the motor trade, without having an eye for figures and a firm grip on return for investment. At the last count, we had welcomed more than 1,000 additional customers who booked via the platform. Almost all customers (94%) attended their appointment and between them, they have left 577 reviews with a score of 4.9 out of 5. The final invoice value for work completed was an average of £337 per customer. The figures speak for themselves. The partnership has also enabled us to deploy new technology such as the online booking tool ahead of when we would have been in a position to invest in something similar ourselves. It continues to prove itself an asset with many of our customers choosing to make bookings out of hours.

BMG: When and why did you sign up to the Accelerate package?

PW: Since 2017 our business has grown extensively and we put a significant proportion of that down to our partnership with BookMyGarage. When we were first presented with the Accelerate package, we recognised it as something that could help drive even more customers to our door so we were among the first garages to become signatories. Since signing up to Accelerate, we're now seeing around 30 new customers per month, a three-fold growth.

BMG: What are the benefits of the Accelerate scheme?

PW: Where do I start? I feel like the BookMyGarage team are an extension of our business. They provide marketing support, advice and campaign delivery that you would expect from a specialist agency but without the price tag. We have a broad skillset within the business including marketing acumen but the extra layer of specialist knowledge and professionals to bear the burden of the intricacies of social media promotions, fully funded Google ads, and campaign optimisation means we can get on with running our business whilst our digital presence is in the best hands. I trust them to deliver on our behalf.

BMG: Finally, would you recommend us?

PW: Obviously, I would like to keep BookMyGarage as my own secret weapon in the war of attracting and retaining customers in a highly competitive space but that’s not viable or fair! We have a wonderful relationship with the BookMyGarage team who know most of us here. BookMyGarage is very much the digital arm of our business and our partnership enables our business to punch above its weight in the virtual world where it’s increasingly difficult to achieve cut-through. Our partnership is one of the best business decisions I have made.