North Yorkshire garage says being online is crucial

• Garage was one of first to offer MOT bookings via its website

Thirsk-based VISAR Garage is celebrating after being online for over a decade.

The garage was one of the first workshops in the area to recognise how customer behaviour was changing and foresee the necessity of investing in a well-engineered website.

It was also one of the very first garage businesses to offer online MOT bookings in Yorkshire and owner, Andy Kaye, says that despite being an established garage with lots of customers, he simply wouldn’t have a business without his forward-thinking attitude to being visible online.

He said: “We’re a really established garage with a big customer base but without our website, the business just wouldn’t operate properly. New customers come through all the time, and I guarantee they’ve looked at the website first to check out what services we offer and read our reviews.

“The way we present VISAR Garage online and the systems we have in place are all geared towards customer service and making life as easy as possible for vehicle owners.

“They can quickly find us online and then, via the website, can book a service or MOT, check their MOT status, send us an email, or get our telephone number. Garage customers have never been so diverse in the way they want to contact us so it’s imperative you give them every option.

“We get email enquiries at every hour of the day and it’s good to know our website and booking system is working away, even when I’m asleep!

“It’s 80 percent of your business and without it, you’ll be operating in the 20 percent where it just ticks over by itself. In my experience, if you haven’t got a website, you’re not in the business.”

Jim Lang, managing director at Garage Services Online which created and manages VISAR Garage’s website, said: “Andy is one of our oldest customers and we’ve seen his business grow and adapt over many years.

“He recognises that being online isn’t just about attracting work; it’s about attracting the right work and making it as effortless as possible for the customer.

“For some, that might be just finding the telephone number. For others it’s having the option to book a service at 11pm.

“Whatever their need, the one thing every single garage customer has in common is that they all expect to be able to find a website – and a good one.”