Devis Theodhori

Here at Grays Autocenters, a company that has been trading for over 60 years, the exiting opportunity of a General manager was presented to me with the challenge of taking the company to new heights and expanding it's reach with the addition of a wholesale tyre department and a moblie 24/7 car, van, truck, plant and agricultural tyre department.

In the last five years I have been developing the already established Autocentre part of the business by adding to the work mix to broaden our customer base and bringing in the required skill mix to be able to accommodate for such work and as a result we have a thriving workshop that is consistently braking YOY figures records.

In addition to that, I have developed and implemented all the systems required for the Wholesale and Moblie businesses, such as, creating relations and contracts with the required suppliers and operation networks, the purchase and setting up of the mobile vehicles, tools and machinery required. Putting in place all H&S procedures and work method statements for the tasks that we carry out in order to be fully compliant with legal requirements and developing our customer base.

We now have two other departments that are performing at the highest level. Our wholesale department is supplying most garages within a 20 mile radius, and our mobile business looks after 14 of our own customers fleets of vehicles and we are working with a number of major networks such as, ITDN, Tyrenet, Nationwide Fleet Services, Direct Tyre Management, Bridgestone, Conti360 etc.

I oversee the operation of all three departments and the team consists of: Autocentre Manager, Moblie Manager, Wholesale Manager, 2 Master Technicians, 3 MOT Testers, 4 Technicians, 4 Mobile Fitters and 2 Delivery Drivers.

• My main role here at Protyre Maldon is to develop the mechanical aspect of the business and continue to grow the fast fit, as well as all other duties related to an effective running of the business as listed on my previous roles.
  
• The centre had been under performing for the last couple of years due to a number of factors like, declining retail and account sales as well as a growing demand for mechanical work.
  
• After carefully looking at the needs of the centre and in particular the centre location and the skill level i made a few key changes, starting with the installation of an mot bay, training existing staff to be able to carry out duties required, bringing in new highly skilled technicians to set the standards for the rest of the team, personally visiting all existing accounts to re-establish relations and visiting other local businesses to develop new accounts as well as working closely with director and marketing to promote our business.
  
• The centre is now one of the best performing centres.
  
  
  
  
  
  

• My duties as a senior manager at centre level as well as regional level are firstly to provide the best customer journey and experience. Working closely with RGM to ensure that all targets are met and exceeded while minimising costs and increasing profitability.
• At Halfords Autocentres we carry out all aspects of vehicle repairs such as : tyres, exhausts, suspension, brakes, drive train repairs, service, mot, diagnostics, cambelts, air conditioning and electrical components for retail customers and a very wide range of warranty and fleet customer base for cars and LGVs
• Constantly looking at ways of improving the company standards by providing leadership and guidance to the colleagues and ensuring that we have a happy work force at an environment that they can be proud of.
• Making sure that we achieve audit scores of the highest level
• Studying KPIs and putting in place plans and procedures for improvement
• Working with marketing team to effectively promote our centres.
• Controlling payroll, rotas and holidays to ensure the right staff level and skill mix is available on a daily basis.
• Holding daily conference calls and monthly staff meetings and attending regional meetings and conferences.
• Working with suppliers to improve service and parts availability.
• Monitoring staff performance by having regular reviews.
• Carrying out investigations, disciplinary and appeals according to company procedures.
• Handling customer complaints and working with customer services to put in place procedures to avoid reoccurrence.
• Helping with recruitment and apprentice training
• MOT site manager

• Managing teams of up to 15 members of staff. Delivering excellent customer service, meeting and exceeding set targets of all products such as tyres, exhaust, brakes, suspension, batteries, hunter geometry alignment, service, mot, clutches, cambelts, diagnostics, air conditioning, retail and insurance products.
• Making sure the whole team works together to achieve harmony and service of the highest level, ensuring the highest possible audit scores by having excellent standards relating to all aspects of the business such as stock control, health and safety, equipment maintenance and calibration, all relevant reports and quality checks completed.
• MOT Site Manager
• Constantly monitoring and reviewing staff performances.
• Coaching, guiding and arranging training courses for staff to ensure development including apprentice programs.
• Studying KPIs and creating business plans accordingly.
• Researching the market and local competition in order to help the marketing team make the right marketing decisions for our centre.
• Ensuring all customer complaints are dealt with as prompt as possible and putting in place procedures to avoid a reoccurrence.
• Attending business conferences and divisional meetings and working closely with operation manager to improve area performance.
• Holding monthly staff meetings, daily team brief and conference calls.
• Carrying out investigations and disciplinary action according to company procedures.
• Effectively manage staff rota to ensure the best skill level and production throughout.

• Extensive training of the highway act and rules and regulations for attending roadside or home breakdowns, including gaining a b+e license.
• Attended home and roadside breakdowns dealing with fuel, electrical and mechanical issues.
• At times working together with the highways agency and the police to ensure the safety of motorists.

• Formula 1 autocentres ­ Enfield, Hertfordshire, Harlow, Stevenage and Chelmsford.
• While working at Formula 1 I progressed from mechanic, carrying out repairs such as, servicing, drive train (manual and auto), all type of engine diagnostic and repair including full re-builds on petrol and diesel vehicles, electrics, air bag, air conditioning and welding, to becoming a supervisor and ultimately a manager  for the last 2 and a half years managing a team of 9 members of staff.
• Managerial duties included delivering excellent customer service, achieving set targets for all products, stock control, ensuring company procedures are adhered to at all times, such as health and safety - audit - completion of reports and equipment maintenance and calibration.
• Dealing directly with customers regarding the work required.

• Carried out interim, full and manufacturers services on different makes and models of passenger vehicles and.
• attended call outs for tyre replacement to commercial vehicles such as vans and hgvs.

• Carried out inspections and repairs such as tyres, exhaust, brakes, wheel alignment, suspension and.
• batteries on different makes and models of vehicles according to company procedures.