Posted:23-July-2013
Autovaletdirect at Goodwood Festival of Speed
For the sixth year, Autovaletdirect franchisees have undertaken the valeting preparation and maintenance for the Goodwood Festival of Speed. This year Autovaletdirect looked after four stands for four Motor Manufactures with Five lucky Autovaletdirect franchisees attending for the four days plus set-up day on the Wednesday. We asked some of them about their experiences over the event.
Richard Rowe, Autovaletdirect (Cheltenham)
“Going to Goodwood filled me with excitement and the weather forecast for the week was looking like sun all the way. Myself and four other franchisees arrived at Goodwood on Wednesday morning to prepare over 30 cars for Seat, VW and Hyundai; all vehicles had to be in show condition for the very prestigious event.
We had an array of vehicles from the new Golf GTI and Seat Leon SC to the estimated 100k Euro VW XL1 which is in production and capable of 300mpg. Wednesday was a long day and patience was needed as some stands were having problems and could not get the cars on until late into the day but all cars were prepared to the exacting standards that Autovaletdirect set.
Over the next four days with a 6am start and 6pm finish, all cars were maintained to show standard. Goodwood is a vast estate; our cars were in three or four different locations so by Sunday evening the feet were now sore.
The Companies we were working for had nothing but praise for all the Autovaletdirect team and our professional approach to the job in hand.
Roll on next year and can we order similar weather please!”
Paul Salmon, Autovaletdirect (Birmingham East)
“The Goodwood Festival of Speed Event runs for the public for four days from the 11th to the 14th of July where an estimated 180,000 spectators turned up.
I arrived on the 10th of July to help with the set-up of the Hyundai stand in the Moving Motor Show Marquee.
My job was to perform Standard Valets on the 3 Hyundai cars outside the marquee. These cars; two Velosters were encased in a special wrap which could only be washed with pure water and a ix35.
These 3 cars along with a Helium powered Santa Fe which would arrive at the end of the day were to be the Tourer cars used for giving prospective customers a trial drive. There were another two cars inside the marquee itself, an i20 and another Veloster which just required a light dusting and a vacuum.
The day of the launch itself was a really busy affair with all roads in and around the Festival jammed up by 7am and by 9am the Festival ground was jam packed with a frenzy of activity. Inside the Moving Motor Show marquee itself it was packed out with people looking at the cars and taking turns on the various race simulators. My job was basically to keep the show cars clean after the customers had put their finger marks all over them. The tourer cars had to be cleaned after each time they were taken out and brought back.
All in all it was a fantastic event with nearly all the major dealers taking part.”
Richard Keen, Autovaletdirect (Swindon)
“On the hottest week of the year I attended the Goodwood Festival of Speed working for VW/SEAT for two days then transferred to Hyundai for the remaining three days.
During this time the cars were valeted every morning then I went back regularly throughout the day to keep them in excellent condition. At a high profile event like this it was important to maintain high standards at all time to help promote the car company I was working for.
We also maintained our own professional appearance ensuring we wore the promoter’s shirts and we were provided with and smart shoes, (even though they killed my feet in the hot weather!)
It was an enjoyable event as I was working with colleagues from other franchises, (it is always good to meet up with everyone and discuss business over a good meal and a drink at the end of the day.) My son’s girlfriend was also working on the Renault stand opposite me as a promotions person.
The event organisers all seemed very satisfied with the high standard of work we did. We also had a chance to look around Goodwood at the various events going on. Also I got to see Nico Rosberg, Tiff Needell, Ed China and Sterling Moss. An excellent event but also glad to get home again!”
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