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The opening of a new Rolls-Royce dealership is a rare event with just seven showrooms covering the UK.
The latest purpose-built addition is operated by Rybrook Group, rated 28 in the Motor Trader Top 200, and sits alongside McLaren, Lamborghini and Bentley and a top-end specialist used cars outlet in Cribbs Causeway, just north of the city centre.
The new business covers a region stretching from Land’s End, through Wales and up to the Cotswolds and is the result of significant investment by Rybrook which also represent Rolls-Royce in Birmingham.
In charge is Mark Borwick, who joined the company in March as head of business. Borwick is highly experienced, having spent 26 years with Pendragon, rising from a service manager in Cardiff in 1988 to franchise director of 25 Land Rover dealerships. Motor Trader spoke to Borwick at last month’s official opening.
Why was Bristol chosen as a new location? Rolls-Royce is careful as to where it locates outlets but there was a clear demand in the south west. The brand is all about effortlessness, providing customers with easy access to its cars. Rybrook was a natural fit for Rolls-Royce as the company was known to the manufacturer, having run an outlet in Birmingham since 2010 and with a clear understanding of the south west area and the brand.
How did you go about recruiting the team? Rybrook set up a recruitment website in January. By the time I joined the company there was a bank of people who had shown interest and I personally recruited almost every staff member over a 10-week period. I laid down exactly what I was looking for, not so much a job description, more the personalities and the experience I thought they needed. I’ve only taken on those I felt fit Rybrook and the brand. It is difficult to recruit. Salary is a big part of the process generally, and there was no directive as to what I could and couldn’t pay. Based on my experience, and a lot of research, I understood what was being paid. If I found the right person I was willing to pay slightly over the odds to have them.
How have you recruited aftersales staff? I’m staffing the department step by step as the business grows. Currently I have four technicians and I expect I’ll eventually have between 10 and 12.
At present I’m only targeting aftersales work on post-2003 cars. If you are not careful with the older cars you’ll end up with a site full of such cars that you can’t get parts for.
Some of our customers also have pre-2003 cars that they would like me to look after, and at present I’m telling them I don’t yet have the expertise in that end of the market.
What makes a good Rybrook employee? I was looking primarily for people who had a good track record with customers. You can train your staff in all aspects of the business but there are some things that cannot be taught.
I wanted employees to be more focused on looking after the customer and doing a good job than they were on earning money. Some interviewees turned the subject around to the money being offered within three minutes and they never got a second interview.
Are Rolls-Royce customer service levels higher than other franchises? No, I think the same level is expected right across Rybrook’s business. Customers at the premium end of the market don’t tend to get so emotional about an issue with the car. They are very pragmatic and demanding but they don’t shout.
It doesn’t happen often thankfully but we know if we’ve let a customer down. Generally all they are looking for is a sincere apology and to move on.
How are you targeting customers in such a large territory? It is the biggest challenge, and made harder as a lot of Rolls-Royce owners in this territory are already Rybrook customers.
We’ve seen a lot of customers go through the centre who are quite happy with their existing Rolls-Royce dealer, but are intrigued by the new dealership. I believe 70% of those people will be my customers in future. I’ve given these customers a tour of the facilities but not done a hard sell on them. The business in its own right will sell. The brands that are in it and the quality standard it has been built to, nothing else comes close.
Another challenge we have in promoting the dealership is that existing customers generally don’t travel as usually their cars are collected for any work. We will collect cars from wherever is required. It’s part of the effortless experience of Rolls-Royce ownership.
Generally, all our customers want is a seamless experience, collected when we say it will be, kept informed during the process and the car returned, fixed, when we say. They very rarely chase you.
How are you marketing to new customers? The challenge with being a start-up is awareness of our existence, not the marketing of the brand, which the manufacturer does.
We are trying to forge relationships with local hotels, restaurants, golf clubs, anywhere where our customers frequent. For example we are letting such companies use our facilities, like the boardroom where we can put on a buffet for them.
It’s about getting our name out amongst premium brands in the area and not motoring brands. Someone working in a Gucci or Louis Vuitton shop in the area may not be in the market to buy one of our cars but they deal with customers who are.
How will you develop the used side of the business? Used is slightly more of a challenge as there is a lack of product to buy. But generally so long as you present and market your used cars properly and price them correctly you sell cars. A used car is a gateway into Rolls-Royce and many used customers will come back to commission a new car, having fallen in love with the brand.
The buyer of a new Rolls-Royce tends to own multiple cars, while the used customer will tend to be buying it as an aspirational purchase and their only main car. It’s relative, the used buyer is probably spending more of his disposable income, and they of course get treated exactly the same as a new customer.
How has progress been so far, and what do you expect of the rest of the year? The business opened on 1 June and that month was a challenge as much work was still going on to finish the dealership. August was a good month for both new and used sales and I expected September to be challenging as I need to replace the used stock we sold and Rolls-Royce customers don’t get excited about a 66 plate.
