Mobility Solutions is part of Allied that helps customers with mobility products. From wheelchairs to powered scooters, the Mobility Solutions team handles in-home demonstrations, sales and repairs. We spoke to Head of Department Kieron McFarlane about the work the team does and the challenges that come with running such a dynamic area of the business.
Explain what your department does, its goals and its role within the company.
Our main purpose is to deliver continued mobility to people with independence needs. We were a natural progression from Allied Mobility given that all their WAV (Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle) customers were wheelchair users. When the showroom opened we marketed ourselves as a “one-stop-shop” destination where customers could come and try everything from kitchen and bathroom aids to mobility furniture and wheeled mobility products.
We quickly realised that delivering the right mobility solution for each customer would require more than a showroom visit could provide and moved to insisting on a thorough home demonstration and test drive before a decision. Many customers would make an impulsive purchase in store and then realise that it couldn’t get over a door threshold or up a steep hill to the shops, for example.
If for any reason we can’t find that solution, it’s important that we own that because understanding the impact and how badly we can affect the customer’s life, if we do put them into the wrong product is crucial. The team have done a lot of training to allow them to prescribe complex seating systems which are tailored to the customer’s postural needs but it is important to work with Occupational Therapists and Physiotherapists to fully understand the requirements. We ensure that everyone on the team knows when we do not have the correct product to suit.
Being open and honest and saying, “sorry, we can’t do it on this occasion,” has led to a bit of a culture shift. We don’t just sell for the sake of selling; we sell for the right reasons, with the right product. And customers come back because they’ve had such a good experience with us.
Tell us about the team members.
We’ve grown a lot in the last few years, up to 35 staff. Our headcount has gone up quite a bit from when we started
There’s Sarah Butler, who is Sales Manager to manage and support the sales team, both the three who cover Scotland and the four in England, then I’ve got Joanna Gordon who runs Aftercare for me with a team of administrators and technicians to support these customers nationwide. Helen Blair is the call centre manager with her team a crucial part at the start of the customer’s journey, and then there’s Emma Green in Accounts who supports with stock levels and invoicing (generally helping us keep the numbers right!) and Lee Curle who is our Marketing brand manager who has taken the time to understand the complexities of the business and the ethos that sets us apart from other companies.
After that, there’s Anne Hunter, who is my right-hand when it comes to Operations. If I can’t get to something, then I pass over to Anne to deal with who can manage the unexpected with a level head. Due to the volume of administrative tasks, logistics planning and number of drivers and warehouse staff to manage, the team were moved into newly defined roles with Mary Porter supporting Anne and Claire Docherty now the full-time salesperson in the showroom.
It’s grown into a big team.
Describe a typical day in Mobility Solutions.
No two days are the same. We have such a dynamic demographic of customers from young kids in active wheelchairs to older people with some mobility, to people who need 24-hour care. We have a steady flow of customers who are able to come into the showroom to browse products but due to distance or lack of mobility, we also have enquiries via the website or phone to take the products to the customer.
It’s very fast paced, and we have to be a reactive business rather than a proactive business at times. I describe Mobility Solutions as the fifth emergency service, because if that product breaks down you need to realise that’s not just a customer’s chair or scooter breaking, that’s their freedom in some cases – they’re stuck at home or wherever the breakdown happened until we can get out there and fix it.
We can have a week planned out but we can never know what each day will throw at us when we get these emergency callouts. So, we are reactive, adaptive, and we solve problems quickly. It can be challenging but very rewarding at the same time.
Tell us about any recent successes, creative solutions or impactful projects.
The business has massively changed in the last two years.
For many years, we were one location in Glasgow, and our marketing focussed on getting customers to the shop. Then we did an analysis of what actually makes the money, and it was quite clear that it was the powered items and the business generated across the whole of Scotland on home visits. The other things like shoes and slippers, knives and forks, they just weren’t making us any money. If you had that business by itself with those little items, you would be out of business.
So, we refocused on changing our message and streamlining the offering in the showroom to focus on those powered products, which meant shifting the whole marketing dynamic, changing the website from an e-commerce website to more of a shop window to show the range of products on offer. And the next stage was to grow to become a national operator rather than just serving Scotland following the same strategy as Allied Mobility. We hope to grow our field team just as they have done to allow us to have more manageable areas.
To facilitate this we had to then put in some other systems, which was a huge piece of work. Tom Morrison, the Lead Project Manager, and his team, along with Steve Faull’s IT team, did an incredible job. Then my team had to do stock checks and Emma Green and Finance Director Brian Ritchie made sure all the components from the financial side all worked out. It was a huge task.
What challenges does the department face and how do you tend to overcome them?
Our challenges have really been created with the growth that we’ve seen. It is amazing to be part of and to lead that growth, but it comes with its challenges. We’ve got Salesforce in now, and it’s an amazing tool, but it’s not fully tailored to what we need it to be yet. We are still ironing out all the little bumps in the road and getting the whole team invested in how much it can add to managing their workload.
I’ve been working in the call centre, to sit and listen to what the guys do, because we’ve never had a call centre before. It was always just the staff in the shop answering enquiries, but as things got busier, we couldn’t handle the volume of calls coming in. So that’s been interesting, hearing how they handle the calls, put it into Salesforce, and move it to a demonstration or a work order. It helps us to understand what that tool can do and help us improve the business.
So, I would say the challenge has been the growth that we’ve seen on top of the amount of change we’ve made and some of the new tools that we’ve put into the business.
How does the work of your department tie into the bigger picture at Allied and enhance the customer experience?
Everybody who works for Allied knows how driven we are, but why I’m really proud of my team – and it’s the same throughout Allied – is that we care. We care to get the solution.
We bend over backwards, not to achieve great feedback, but because we want to do the right thing for our customers. I always say to my team, “How would you feel if that was your mum or your dad at the other end of the phone? What would you expect the staff or the company to do for you?”
We always try and go that extra mile within Mobility Solutions, and I think that’s probably what I’m proud of the most. That’s what I think resonates with customers and delivers an amazing business for Allied.
How can people get in touch with Mobility Solutions?
They can call and speak to us on 0800 616 0030 or, if they prefer, they can email us on info@mobilitysolutions.co.uk. And of course, if they’re in Glasgow they can come and visit us in the shop on Balmore Road; we’re open 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday, and 10am – 4pm on Saturday.
And remember, if you want a home demonstration of our products anywhere in the UK mainland, we’ll come to you. Call us, tell us what you’re looking for. We’ll come out to you and bring a product that suits your requirements and demonstrate or assess you for a purchase.
