HiQ has presented the owner of four fast fit centres in Cornwall with the network’s internal “excellence in customer service” award, an annual accolade presented at the HiQ’s annual franchise conference. Justin Roberton Ltd, owner of HiQ centres in Helston, Truro, Bodmin and St Austell, with wife and business partner Kim, received the award for delivering the highest levels in customer satisfaction at HiQ’s conference at Mercedes Benz World.
Fast-fit franchise chain HiQ says East Anglia has been its number one priority area for growth, and the company is now “celebrating a major breakthrough” in its expansion plans within the region after opening its first outlet there. Entrepreneur and former car salesman Avishek Sodhi has teamed up with HiQ to open a centre in Norwich. Sodhi describes the partnership as a “golden opportunity” to offer motorists a revolution in car care.
Olympic legend Denise Lewis met today with HiQ in her role as an Ambassador for Breast Cancer Care, Lewis extended thanks to HiQ and all its staff for their support. HiQ has supported Breast Cancer Care since 2009 in its first charity partnership and says it is on track to meet its fundraising target of £100,000 this year. HiQ says its staff have embraced the chance to don pink wigs and fundraise to help people affected by breast cancer. The money will be used to ensure Breast Cancer Care’s information and support services remain free to anyone who needs them.
A motorist survey conducted by HiQ shows economic factors are prompting 32 per cent of drivers to opt out of regular vehicle servicing. This is, admittedly, four per cent less than a similar survey taken by the fast fit network a year ago, yet HiQ manager Stuart Car points out that “while the initial outlay for a car service might be off-putting for some drivers, the implications of not taking one will hit the pocket harder in the long run.”
HiQ has named Motorama in Tamworth as the latest garage to join its network. Some £30,000 was invested converting the garage into a HiQ centre following owner Jay Ghedia’s decision to sign on as a franchise partner; the funds paid for numerous site upgrades, including an interior and exterior refurbishment.
Despite repeated warnings not to do so, it appears a quarter of British motorists continue to give thieves more than a sporting chance by leaving their unattended vehicles unlocked and running while they warm up. This statistic was comes courtesy of the HiQ fast fit network, who questioned more than 200 motorists on their preferred method of tackling freezing winter mornings. In the company’s own words, a full 25 per cent “disappearing out of view while their cars warm up.”
Fast fit network HiQ has announced the appointment of Kelvin Taylor as its new regional franchise manager for the Midlands and surrounding areas. Taylor brings 13 years’ automotive sector experience with him into the new role, having previously worked in similar positions for a number of vehicle main manufacturers, including Citroën, Nissan and Subaru.
A Worcester woman has beaten thousands of unsung volunteers and fundraisers to win the ‘HiQ Hero’ award. A month after selecting ten finalists in the campaign to ‘unmask’ the real-life heroes that live amongst us, the fast-fitter has selected Becky Hurd the UK’s number one hero. Ms Hurd, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at age 29 and now raises money for the Cure Parkinson's Trust, was presented with her award by Olympic gold medallist Sally Gunnell OBE in Birmingham. As well as gaining the accolade of being the 'HiQ Hero' for 2010, Ms Hurd was presented with a cheque for £500 and a £5,000 cash sum to be spent on a worthy charity or project of her choice.
Some say he is HiQ’s answer to the Stig, and unlike his television counterpart he’s unlikely to publish a book revealing his secret identity. All we know is, he’s called HiQ Bertie, and he is getting involved with the fast-fitter’s Project Pink campaign for Breast Cancer Care. The HiQ mascot is known to hundreds through his presence on the company’s Facebook page, and HiQ says he has captured the imagination of so many people that he has decided to get involved in fundraising activities.
Up to 42,000 British Touring Car Championship fans have been praised by HiQ for helping to raise £5,000 for Breast Cancer Care. Clad in pink, the network descended upon Brands Hatch to make the final race weekend of the season one to remember for HiQ's official charity. The fast fit network’s pink girls were on hand to give away caps and replica cars in return for donations to the cause, and after counting the particularly heavy collections buckets from Sunday, the network can now reveal that £5,000 was raised through generous donations. Of that total, the BTCC marshals at Brands Hatch have been singled out for a special mention, after raising £600 themselves.
This weekend a pink tyre will be rolled across the Black Country, part of the way by grown men wearing hot pink polo shirts. And while such a sight may be a rarity in the West Midlands, sound reasons lurk behind the pinkness and the tyre rolling. On October 16, the country’s largest HiQ franchisee is initiating a 15 mile tyre roll to raise money for Breast Cancer Care.
The HiQ fast fit network has enlisted the help of two of the quickest young drivers in Britain as it hits the fast lane with its fundraising efforts for Breast Cancer Care. British Touring Car Championship drivers Paul O'Neill and Tom Chilton are backing HiQ's pledge to turn Brands Hatch pink during the final round of BTCC action on October 10, and those coming along to watch the day’s events are encouraged to dress accordingly. To help things along, HiQ, sponsor of the Team's Championship, will be giving away official pink caps in return for a donation for the cause, while T-Shirts will also be up for grabs. Meanwhile, face painting and a series of other activities will be made available for fans.
The HiQ fast fit network reports more than 500 bespoke training courses at its HiQ Training Academy were booked in the first half of the year, a volume it believes bucks an industry trend that shows training to have decreased 12 per cent over the past two years. The training offered supports HiQ's partnership-led franchise model and also operates independently as a separate NVQ training programme for tyre technicians.
One of the largest franchisees in the HiQ network, Broadway Tyres, has acquired its 11th centre. Broadway owns a number of fast fit outlets in and around London, and has added HiQ Grays to its portfolio after acquiring the centre from P & R Tyres.
More than 200 UK motorists have declared Lenny Kravitz’s ‘Are You Gonna Go My Way’ the best driving anthem of all time, a HiQ survey has revealed. The fast fit network commissioned a survey to discover which track is the most enjoyable to listen to in the car, and the American rocker made a surprise entry at number one. The top five showed the British public is unafraid of flamboyance, with Frankie Goes to Hollywood (Two Tribes) second and Queen (One Vision) third. More laddish rockers Stereophonics finished fourth (Bartender and the Thief) and the Manic Street Preachers came fifth (‘Design for Life’).
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