02/08/2019
I was recently asked by a potential client to explain what makes Thorpe Horseboxes different, our USP if you will. I found it difficult to pin it down to one so I wrote a few down. Grab yourself a cuppa & a biscuit this one's a long one.......
What makes Thorpe Horseboxes different........
1. 'Family run'
Whilst perhaps not ground breaking in business, it does set you aside from others in the fact that the wealth of decades of hard earned knowledge is passed down through generations & gives a business a good steer towards longevity if family members are at the helm. With the third generation now coming through the ranks we have our sights firmly set for the future.
2. 'Established over 40 years'
Not an easy achievement in these changing times but we have been here to see the industry change & evolve. Build styles have certainly changed & methods used to create them have needed to adapt accordingly. A few names in the industry have come & gone but the need for customer service remains as strong today as it did when we began.
3. 'Everything In-house'
How many coachbuilders will build, service, MOT, repair, paint & eventually buy your horsebox from you when you have finished with it? Most will do only maybe 2 or 3 of these 6 things. In recent years there seems to have been a trend in the industry to outsource tasks to 3rd party providers, in the extreme the entirety of a new build to then simply badge it up as their own, it will never happen at Thorpe.
4. 'Only horseboxes'
It's all we do here at Thorpe. We aren’t a company that complete a few horsebox repairs or new builds to fill in gaps around other work, we just do horseboxes…. make them, repair them, MOT them, paint them and sell them….just horseboxes.
5. 'Horse Owners'
As we own horses in our family we understand that they are part of the family. We understand therefore that horseboxes shouldn’t be based around glitzy paintwork, high spec livings along with smoke & mirrors sales tactics to meet sales targets. They start with horse safety and everything else is secondary to that.
6. 'Widest range of equestrian sectors'
Given our large customer base I am confident that over the years we have provided a service to every sector involved in the equestrian industry. With this large base we can pool experience & knowledge to assist future customers in a better way than many others.
7. 'All marques repaired'
We repair & MOT close to 200 horseboxes per year, these most likely cover almost every manufacturer of horsebox. The ability to do so is borne out of in depth knowledge & gives us the confidence to tackle any issue with any horsebox.
8. 'Owned Premises & Local Residents'
Perhaps not of the greatest concern for infrequent clients but the confidence it should provide our new build clients is that we are not likely to skip out half way through your new build project which has unbelievably happened with other manufacturers. We own all of our production workshops & equipment as well as our adjacent farm & stables, we live locally & are very much 'part of the furniture' in our local community.
9. 'Permanent , long term staff'
Seems an odd one but other manufacturers have been known to draft in subcontractors as & when required. Inconsistency in customer service & quality control issues can surely be the only likely outcome of doing so. The employees we have here have been with us a long time, for most of them its decades now, cementing the knowledge we have to do our job and do it well. We do of course bring mentored trainees through the ranks but their time with us is focused on learning the theory behind our builds way before the practical work.
10. 'Heavily invested in horsebox specific equipment'
As we are simply horsebox focused, so is our site & so is our equipment. Over the years we have & continue to invest heavily in maintaining our ability to be at the forefront of the industry's expectations. This ranges from the manufacturing facilities & equipment as well as the diagnostic equipment for maintaining the chassis in service. New & continued training is always a focus here at Thorpe.
11. 'Referral driven'
The equestrian community relies greatly on word of mouth to convey satisfaction & recommendation for services. We pride ourselves on gaining a great percentage of our work this way, either from returning customers for new builds & MOT or clients referring us to friends. It is what has helped us grow and without it others soon fall by the wayside.
12. 'Customer Service based'
Perhaps as an extension of the above we always try to put ourselves in an empathetic viewpoint. We have all at some point experienced poor customer service in our lives and therefore we strive to ensure that everything we do is based around leaving you happy that you made the decision to come to Thorpe.
13. 'Always on call'
Contact details are freely available for all points of contact at Thorpe. Weekends & after hour obligations when required are simply par for the course in achieving customer satisfaction. Our flexibility is second to none, going above and beyond is simply what we would expect ourselves so are happy to provide it.
14. 'Care doesn’t stop at the gate'
When gaining new clients we often hear stories of customer dissatisfaction with their box's builder, often stemming from a poorly handled after sales contact. These clients reinforce our belief that our care must continue after the service has been provided. Whilst poor customer service sometimes results in us gaining work from others it is always with a ting of shock that it has done so.
15. 'All encompassing service'
We literally handle it all. No IF's, no BUT's, put simply if you have any horsebox issues whatsoever it takes one phone call.
