Oswestry/Wales based car dealership Arthurs Motor Group is currently being ‘driven’ by two sets of COVID-19 restrictions. The business is having to navigate Coronavirus lockdown rules crossing the border of England and Wales, over its 3 branches. The award winning, family-owned business has Vauxhall approved motor dealerships in Oswestry, Shropshire & Newtown, Powys plus a Peugeot approved dealership in Wrexham, North Wales.
Nigel Williams, Arthurs Motor Group manging director says, “As you can imagine, the differences in cross-border regulations are causing confusion with staff and customers with some branches having to close, while others remain open for business. There is also the issue of crossing the English/Welsh border to get a car repaired. For example, some Peugeot vehicle customers live in England, but use the Wrexham branch for servicing and repair.”
Nigel continues, “Unfortunately none of our cars’ sat nav’s are programmed to find a way through this! But we are pulling together as a team to make sure we continue to deliver the best customer service possible”
In fact, Arthurs is leading the way in terms of customer service to ensure they can continue to remain operational as much as possible. Despite the car showrooms having to close periodically during the latest Welsh ‘firebreak’ & English ‘lockdown 2’, their dealerships remain open for servicing, MOTs & repairs and the sales team remain on site for processing online orders and a Click & Collect service.
Gareth Hughes, sales manager at Arthurs of Oswestry adds, “We can do sales consultation zoom calls with personal videos of individual used cars on request, plus our website will continue to offer a reservation service or full online buying of used cars throughout the lockdown, with customers able to collect their cars from our forecourts.”
To assist with those in nearby rural locations, who struggle to get to their premises during lockdown, the team are busy collecting cars for repairs & servicing and returning them fully sanitised. So, it’s no surprise that Arthurs Motor Group have received a 95% rating for COVID-19 safety practices from review and customer satisfaction specialist, Judge Service.
Nigel concludes “Despite the challenges of running a business within such unprecedented times, keeping customer service at the core of everything we do, can only lead to success.”
The Oswestry Old Racecourse ‘Janus horse’ statue represents the nearby English/welsh border, close to Offa’s Dyke. In ancient Rome, Janus was the god of beginnings, gates and transitions – an apt symbol for the businesses that work in and around border towns like Oswestry during the COVID-19 pandemic. Picture credit: Graham Mitchell