A couple best known for repairing car bodywork are celebrating after landing a major industry award. Brian and Amanda Palmer, owners of ChipsAway St Albans, have won The Great British Franchisee Award from whichfranchise – one of the highest honours in the franchising world.

“They couldn’t be more deserving,” says Rebecca de Chair, Group Marketing Manager of ChipsAway International. “They’ve developed their business from a man-in-a-van operation to a very successful Car Care Centre employing eight people – a testament to their hard work and dedication.

“Brian and Amanda have been nominated for no less than six of our internal company awards since they joined the network, winning a fantastic four times, including Franchisee of the Year in 2018 and 2022, and our Customer Service Award twice.

“During the Covid lockdown they truly went above and beyond, using their van to deliver meals to NHS frontline workers – an initiative that saw them win What Car magazine’s Van Hero award.”

Amanda comments, “We had to temporarily close down our business during the Covid lockdown, so we wanted to put our van to good use - and what better way to do this than to provide nourishing meals to NHS frontline staff?”

Amanda who worked for Shell for 16 years, and Brian, who spent 18 years as an IT Manager at a marketing company, also support fellow franchisees by helping them out with jobs they can’t do or perhaps have problems with.

The couple also understand the importance of strong teamwork.

“Our employees come from many different backgrounds and all bring their own individual strengths to the team” says Amanda. “We work hard to ensure they are all happy, and have the opportunity to develop their skills wherever possible.

“We’re now testing the water with a potential new territory, which we’re looking after on a temporary basis with a view to purchasing it in the near future.

“We feel extremely honoured to have been recognised for all our hard work in this way, but of course none of this would be possible without the continued support of our loyal customers who are kind enough to trust us with their vehicle repairs. We’re incredibly proud that so much of our business comes through word-of-mouth recommendations, as well as customers returning to us time and time again, and we are looking forward to seeing how far we can take ChipsAway St Albans in the coming years.” Concludes Amanda. 

NOTE TO EDITOR

·       ChipsAway has the largest network of repair specialists in the UK, and all have undergone specialist training at the bespoke IMI accredited training centre. Providing high quality, value-for-money repairs to car paintwork, specialists work from vehicles fully equipped as mobile workshops, or fixed-base units known as Car Care Centres.

·       The Great British Franchisee Awards are run by whichfranchise, supported by Lloyds Bank, BDO, Worldpay from FIS, AMO Consulting and Chantry Group.