16 Acquisition International - Business Excellence Awards 2023 Feb23009 Best Regional Car Repairs & Servicing Business 2023 - Bedfordshire Established almost three years ago at the height of the pandemic, Krause Autos Ltd has continued to impress through its diligent approach to its work. We spoke with Cole Demetriades, Director at Krause Autos Ltd, following its deserved success in the awards programme to find out how the company has thrived during an incredibly challenging period for the greater industry and region. Despite its growth and expansion, Krause Autos Ltd is still very much a family run business through and through, utilising seamless collaboration with the family members that comprise its core team and the people it has grown to encompass. It would be easy to conclude that this collaborative culture was the key to success for the company as it navigated the treacherous waters of the COVID-19 pandemic, but that’s only part of Krause Autos Ltd’s story. First, while it has grown over the last couple of years on the back of its enduring success, Cole and the team have always been aware of ensuring everything remains scalable – not expanding too quickly or beyond its means, or sacrificing its approach to client service. Second, its offering has remained unchanged, robust, and relatively simple. As Cole says in his own words, “we service and repair cars and vans, and also offer MOTs.” There’s something very down-toearth and grounded about Krause Autos Ltd, and that will remain in place as the team move forward into the future. “We set up in 2020 during the height of the pandemic, with one unit, one ramp, and one man. It’s since scaled to ten employees, 4x units and become a trusted name in the Bedfordshire area. However it remains family owned and run - I have four members of my immediate family including my mother, wife, and brother on the payroll in key positions. By far the most valuable service we have is that we offer free collection and delivery to all our customers. This helps customers who are busy at work (we can collect from their work and deliver back there). It also provides peace of mind to customers who are unsure about driving the vehicle themselves (if it’s been in an accident or is making a noise or demonstrating signs of a fault) - it also benefits our less able/disabled/incapacitated customers too,” Cole explains. It’s clear the customer service underpins the entire company, with most decisions stemming from a place of customer consideration. Does this make this easier for the customer? Or more accessible? More cost-effective on their side? If the answer is yes, Krause Autos Ltd endeavours to do it, even if – to anyone else – the resource cost of that would weigh heavier on the business itself. “Behind the scenes, this means us employing 3x drivers on a full time basis, a fleet manager to look after them and our 20 plus company owned vehicles, and lots of co-ordination back and forth as sometimes we are collecting and delivering 20 cars a day. There’s a huge expense to this but it’s really valued by our customers so we plan to keep doing this.” But, let’s take a closer look at the customer service itself, and how the entire team play a role in delivering best in class services. Honesty goes a long way in this space, rife as it can be with dodgy dealers that look to make extra money from customer naivety. Cole is only too aware of this, and indeed, established its operations to best mitigate that trend, all while building a reputation for being a trustworthy entity in the industry, as he continues. “We always diagnose the vehicle for free, and then call the customer to explain what might be wrong, how long it might take to fix, and how much it would be. We also offer all customers the chance to supply their own parts should they wish, and a choice of whether they would like a new or re-conditioned part. This all has an impact on our bottom line, however we prioritise customer wishes and communicate with them so they feel in control of what’s happening with their vehicle.” From here on out, Cole and the team plan on continuing on the path they have established so far, and continuing to build Krause Auto Ltd’s incredible reputation in the space for, simply, good, honest work. Last year was very successful for the company, and this year looks to be even brighter, as Cole discusses in his closing comments. “2022 was a very successful year for us, completing work on over 3000 vehicles. We also did a lot for the local community. In January 2022 we sponsored the local primary school’s U8’s netball team, providing them with new kits. In October we followed this up by sponsoring Sandy Football Club, both their men’s teams and U18s teams got an array of new training kits, travel wear, and of course home and away football shirts. Finally we also employed a government apprentice which has been really rewarding - he’s learning on the job and studying one day a week but developing really quickly!” Company Name: Krause Autos Ltd Contact: Cole Demetriades, Director Website URL: www.krauseautos.co.uk Social Media Links: https://www.instagram.com/krauseautos/ https://www.facebook.com/KrauseAutos https://www.linkedin.com/company/krause-autos-ltd/ “Our customers love us. We have exceptional reviews across Trustpilot and Facebook.”
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