PROGRESS AT LAST

PROGRESS AT LAST. A CAMPAIGN AGAINST UNSAFE PART WORN TYRES.

At last, today we received a letter from the representative body, the Irish Tyre Industry Association(ITIA), which advised us of a new campaign to lobby Local Authorities and TDs about the double standards being applied where the sale of Part Worn tyres are concerned.

A standard letter has been drafted which includes all of the issues we raised in our previous posts on the subject including, Black economy, cowboys,VAT, jobs, environment, dumping, safety and tax.

Respectable businesses such as ours are often singled out by the same authorities to the point of near harassment. After all it's easier to ask standard questions in a business where your safety and comfort are guaranteed than it is in a filthy depot nearby where they're not as hospitable as we are. We exist and play on a totally uneven playing pitch and it threatens our jobs and income, every day.

A simultaneous campaign will begin in Northern Ireland where tyres are to be purchased from some of these outlets and sent for safety testing. We know what the results will be. DANGEROUS!

If you or anyone you know are considering going down the road of purchasing part worn tyres. Please think again. Your safety and our industry are in the balance.

At Heffernan Tyres we take our commitment to safety and environment seriously. We will not compromise on either whatever the opposition throw at us and will continue with our campaign until a positive result is achieved.

EVANGELIST CUSTOMERS

THE CUSTOMER AS EVANGELIST.

I heard a past and favourite mentor of mine, Ray Tobin of Salessource , on the radio last week using the analogy of ''evangelist'' to describe customers who spread the word about exceptional service that they have received.

By definition, evangelists are people who are ''marked by extreme enthusiasm for or support of any cause, particularly but not necessarily with regard to religion''.
It's a powerful word compared to the rather milder ''referrel'' or ''recommendation'' and in order to achieve that sort of accolade exceptional service must surely be required as a minimum.


So I researched the topic a little further and found a book by Ben McConnell and Jackie Hubba called Creating Customer Evangelism. According to McConnell as minimum a company must achieve the following benchmarks,

• Customer plus-delta: Continuously gather customer feedback.
• Napsterize knowledge: Make it a point to share knowledge freely.
• Build the buzz: Expertly build word-of-mouth networks.
• Create community: Encourage communities of customers to meet and share.
• Make bite-size chunks: Devise specialised, smaller offerings to get customers to bite.
• Create a cause: Focus on making the world, or your industry, better.

In their book, they provide several American examples of companies who have succeeded in building such relationships with their customers and have succeeded often against odds which sank their opponents.

At Heffernan Tyres we know that many of our new customers come to us as result of having been told by their friends and family of the quality shopping experience they have had at our depot.

Every year we expand our reach geographically to neighbouring towns and counties. We have a loyal customer base from towns including Naas, Newbridge, Carlow, Portlaoise and of course Dublin. All of these towns have large independent and Multi National Branded tyre businesses with advertising budgets to spread their own messages. Yet it is the strength of the personal experience that prevails.

It is the professionalism and friendliness of our reception staff that makes the customer feel welcome when they visit. Their consultative non pushy style of selling that makes them feel relaxed. The little extras of fresh coffee, Newspapers, Wi-Fi and clean comfortable surroundings that sets us apart from the others and generates the sort of customer evangelism that Ray described in his radio segment.

We will examine the other criteria as set out by McConnnell and Hubba and always strive for better. In the meantime we would like to thank all our customers who have recommended us to friends and family. We would welcome any feedback through our reception, facebook, twitter or website and look forward to seeing you at our depot.

OUR TEAM AT HEFFERNAN TYRES

THOMAS HEFFERNAN

Thomas was pretty much born into Heffernan Tyres in that the business was established before he was born. He worked part time in the business whilst in school and did the hard yards when we were a truck specialist in Sillott Hill. The design of our new state of the art premises on Dublin Rd was conceived by the vision of Thomas and his wife Linda and was years ahead of it's time when completed. We like to think it still is and we have the accolades to prove it. Outside of the tyre industry, Thomas is a trained Pilot. His hobbies include Skiing and Opera Singing. Although, for obvious reasons, not both at the same time.

FIDELMA CONWAY

Before having three sons, Fidelma was something of a Corporate High Flyer and it shows in her telephone technique. A consummate professional, Fidelma is probably the best telephone Sales Consultant in the tyre industry. Recorded examples of  her calls are used in training workshops by some of our major tyre suppliers. A vivacious personality, Fidelma , is a great asset to Heffernan Tyres and always gets the better side out of people. Good humoured, Fidlema, is always quick with a joke. It is usually the same one, mind.

NIGEL GILL

Nigel Gill has been our floor Manager for ten years. He is responsible for a team of six Mechanics, fitters and breakdown men. Before joining us Nigel ran a depot with a retread factory so had many years in the tyre industry. A calm and relaxed manager, Nigel interacts well with our staff and customers. Probably as a result of this we have minimal staff turnover. Nigel is very interested in what he does and always has time to explain to customers and staff what work needs to be undertaken and why.

Honest to a fault, Nigel is a deeply spiritual man. If you have any theological questions for him you are advised to bring a packed lunch.

BILL DOMICAN

Sales Representitive, Social Media Person and general nuisance, Bill Domican has a long association with Heffernan Tyres. Firstly as our Michelin Area Manager in 2001 and later as our Business Development Executive. Bill is a Michelin Institute trained tyre Technician and has brought many  long term accounts to Heffernan Tyres. Unlike Nigel, Bill is not spiritual at all. He is vain. His hair is real.

GER MURRAY

For all things Mechanical, Ger is your man. With over ten years experience in Irish Garages, Ger has worked on cars of all decriptions. He pretty much puts his hand to any task from clutches to timing belts and has been a huge asset to us since joining the team three years ago. Despite being from Offaly, Ger says he experiences very little predjudice from the locals. This speaks volumes for the tolerance of Kildare people in that it was a man from Tullamore who was pretty much responsible for most of our country's current problems.

ROBERT SZMIDKOWSKI

Some people are born with a gift with their hands. This has to be said of Robert Szmidkowski from Poland. A welder by trade, Robert has the ability to fix things which most of us throw out. Alloy repairs are a specialty but his best talent is in the repair and rebuilding of exhausts. Every year Robert save hundreds of our customers money with his repairs. He is not popular with our exhaust suppliers as a result. He invented recycling.

ANNE O'BRIEN

Anne is possibly the most constant person we know. She never appears to have a bad day, a bad mood or a bad anything. Or if she does we never see it. Like Fidelma, Anne is a customer service expert with a huge knowledge of our industry. Ann always talks quality and knows how to drive home the difference between premium and budget products. When  Ann is working the waiting area and office are always spotless. We would not describe her as OCD in this regard, we are however afraid of her where muddy shoes are concerned.

MARY McEVOY

Mary McEvoy is our longest serving staff member and has been with Heffernan Tyres for twenty years. Mary knows and manages every area of our business from TEAM systems, Stock control, Payroll, Budgets, to credit control. Mary manages our 24/7 call out services and we have 100% success rate in this regard. We have never let a customer down on the roadside in Ireland or Europe. Mary is the only one other than the MD who has control over the breakdown drivers. They don't listen to anyone else.

HEFFERNAN TYRES IN THE COMMUNITY.

''What goes around comes around''. Or so the saying goes! Maybe it's a simplistic generalisation of the ancient Karma law but like many generalisations contains more than a grain of truth.

Operating as we are in a small Irish town, Heffernan Tyres have long been aware of the importance of ''giving back'' to the community that supports us. It is in every bodies interests that our town retains it's community spirit and that we all pull together to achieve that end. Located as we are, less than thirty minutes from Dublin City, it would have been easy for Kildare Town to become little more than a commuter satellite town during the housing boom. Many other towns did and lost of a lot in the process. A town where the inhabitants are not present during work hours is a dying town. A combination of good fortune and good planning avoided this outcome for Kildare town and we emerged from the madness with a town with it's own economy and a ''central place'' for miles around.

Crucial to this outcome has been the effectiveness of the local Kildare Chamber of Commerce. Our Managing Director,Thomas Heffernan was Chairman of same for two years during a term which saw great strides forward for Kildare Town. Perhaps the Jewel in the crown was the completion of the Kildare Village Outlet centre. It has proved such a success that on some days overflow parking space is required and there are plans to extend at a time when retail in other centres is dying. The centre has proved a great magnet for our town, a great source of local employment and an achievement for which the whole community can share and be proud of.

Another great community achievement attributable to the efforts of the Chamber has been the annual hosting of winter concerts at St. Brigid's Cathedral. We have hosted Brian Kennedy, Eimear Quinn, Anuna, Colm Wilkinson and Rebecca Storm. The acoustics of the cathedral as well as the beautiful interior make it an atmospheric and distinctive venue. We look forward to  the 2012 concert.

Nurturing sporting talent is central to the health of the heart and soul of any community. Heffernan Tyres has long been an important sponsor of several of Kildare Town's sporting clubs. Our county has been the nursery of many fine International Rugby stars including former Lions Captain Ciaran Fitzgerald, Geordan Murphy and Johne Murphy. Unsurprisingly we take a keen interest in Rugby Union here at Heffernan Tyres and have been a proud sponsor of Cill Dara RFC. Our name is proudly emblazoned on the back of every Cill Dara Rugby shirt. The club caters for all ages and genders from underage to seniors and has a won many trophies since it's inception in 1976.

We are also sponsors of the local GAA club, Round Towers, and Soccer Club Kildare AFC. The choice of sports available to the residents of our town includes Karate, Boxing and of course all things Equestrian. Heffernan Tyres take a keen interest in all of these pursuits and will continue to do so. For us, it has not been one way traffic. Club members and their families are genuinely appreciative of  the support we give and we have won and  retained many customers as a result.

But mostly what we get out of our various involvements is a sense of community. Satisfaction in the knowledge that we help to make Kildare Town and county a place fit to live in for all our staff and customers.
Long may that continue and good luck to all our sporting heroes in the coming years.

MICHELIN GOING THE EXTRA MILE THIS SPRING.

In our some of our previous posts we wrote about the great strides that are being made in the chemical engineering of tyres and how there are significant savings to be made on fuel consumption by choosing the right tyre for your car.

Well it probably comes as no surprise that Michelin have been very involved in the race to make the ''perfect tyre'' for a long time. Michelin invented the radial tyre, the single piece inflatable tyre, the runflat tyre, and numerous other innovations. Energy or fuel saving tyres have been part of the Michelin portfolio of products for over ten years and have prove time and again to cut fuel consumption through reduced rolling resistance.

 Until the end of May Michelin are going the extra mile to save you on your fuel bills.
Just buy two or more Michelin Tyres from Heffernan Tyres and Michelin will send you fuel voucher for up to €50!!!!!. No tricks or gimmicks, just a genuine offer. Combined with never seen before prices on key sizes, this deal puts arguably the market's finest tyre on your vehicle for a seriously competitive price. Values of vouchers depend on the rim size on your vehicle. Phone us today on 045 521253 for a quote. We were Ireland's first Michelin Accredited depot and always carry a wide range of car, van and 4x4 sizes.