Rik Pickering's VDA League Victory
This week at Lloyd Motor Group, we celebrate our brilliant Lloyd Colne Bodyshop Assistant Manager, Rik Pickering, placing first in the VDA league!
The VDA league is a fantastic scheme designed to improve our overall Bodyshop productivity, efficiency, and help to identify any areas for improvement within our practises. Every Vehicle Damage Assessor across the Lloyd network is encouraged to participate, scoring points across a month within various categories.
Anyone who knows or has had the privalidge of dealing with Rik, will know his passion for delivering exceptional customer service and repairs. Over the course of his time with us, he has committed himself to developing his expertise to help guarentee any vehicle booked in with our Colne Bodyshop is restored to premium pre-accident condition.
We are all delighted to see him achieve this well earned recognition for his hard work.
Read on to hear about this fantastic achievement...
Hi Rik, congratulations on placing first, can you tell us a bit about your career with Lloyd so far?
“I started working for Lloyd Colne as a Vehicle Refinisher many years ago when the Bodyshop first opened here on site, later progressing to Supervisor and I have now been Assistant Bodyshop Manager for almost 5 years. The last 4 years have been made tough with being diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, but the support I have received from my friends here, particularly from my Manager Matt Heap, I really could never see myself working anywhere else.”
Can you tell us about the VDA league and how does it feel to come first?
“The VDA league was created by our Group Bodyshop Manager, Tim, and every VDA in the Lloyd group takes part across the month, with points being awarded for different categories. There is the fun element of it, which is great, but the scheme is also a great indicator to see how you are doing against the competition and if there are any areas for personal improvement within your practises. I just missed out on the top spot last year (due to being off having surgery) so my aim at the beginning of the year was to finish top this time round, and it is nice to have accomplished this.”
Can you talk us through a typical day within your role?
“I start the day by checking any emails or work instructions that we might have recieved through the night. Then, I will make sure any customer vehicles going out later that day are cleaned and ready for collection. My Manager Matt and I will always have a catch up first thing to make sure we are both aware of any situations that need attention either from the previous day or upcoming. I will then start my estimates and either network these to the insurance company or email them to the customer directly. Throughout the day there is always phone calls to answer and just day to day jobs to sort.”
What do you enjoy most about working for Lloyd Bodyshop Colne?
“There are many things that I enjoy about my job, but the biggest perk is definatley the family atmosphere we have here at Colne. A large number of the staff have been here since before I started, so seeing the same friendly and supportive faces everyday makes Lloyd Bodyshop Colne a lovely place to work!"
What have been your favourite project to work on?
“When I was a Painter, we had a Jaguar E-Type and a BMW 2002 in for a full restoration. Our Panel Beater at the time and I restored the vehicles, it was a fun and rewarding project.”
Finally, can you explain the benefits of bringing your vehicle to an Approved Repairer?
“Bringing your vehicle to a Lloyd Approved Bodyshop ensures that not only are manufacturer repair methods used, but genuine parts too. This helps us guarentee all jobs are restored to pre-accident condition and manufacturer standards. We also pledge the workmanship carried out for the life of the vehicle ownership.”
On behalf of the Lloyd Motor Group team, we would like to congratulate Rik on this fantastic achievement.
For more information on Lloyd Colne Bodyshop or to make a speculative inquiry, call a member of our firendly Bodyshop team today on 01282 881448 or click the buttons below.
