In this interview we spoke with Neale Hunter from our Aberdeen Parts Team. He talked us through his career, working on the opening of the Aberdeen Parts Hub and his love of sport.
What’s your name, role and how long have you been at Allied?
My name is Neale Hunter. I’m Parts Supervisor at the Aberdeen Parts Hub and I’ve worked at Allied for five years.
Can you tell us a little about your career before you joined Allied?
I’ve been working in the motor trade since I left school at 16 and always on the Parts side of things. I did my apprenticeship at Renault then moved to Subaru, then finally to Toyota. They made me redundant during covid when times were difficult for the automotive sector.
I then did six months at a bodyshop before I moved to Allied. Having that experience in a bodyshop gave me a different perspective. It was the first time I’ve worked at a trade operation and not with one main dealer. It really gave me a new perspective on some of the difficulties and demands that a bodyshop face. I’ve taken that experience into my dealings with customers now.
It’s the same with working with the main dealers. There are transferrable skills and learnings from every job. Every franchise has its quirks. I’ve had to learn a little French and Japanese to look through different dealer catalogues!
I found out about the job through the guy that was delivering parts from Allied to the bodyshop I was working in and he mentioned we were opening a site in Aberdeen. I kept an eye out for the advert going live I’d applied as soon as it did.
I’d worked with John Forbes (Aberdeen Parts Hub Geneal Manager) at Arnold Clark Toyota before, so we knew each other pretty well and I knew we’d work together well. I’ve been here ever since so it must be going pretty well.
What was it like building a new Parts Hub from the ground?
Me and John were the first two through the door. This building was an empty shell. The first few weeks we were putting shelving up and putting parts on the shelves to get ready for launch.
I looked forward to setting up the space and the processes. John and I had the chance to organise everything how we liked it, which is a real rarity in this line of work.
Allied was pretty much unknown here so we had to build our reputation in the area from scratch. We went live in June 2021 and have been growing in the region ever since.
How did you build the Allied Parts reputation in the Aberdeenshire area?
There were a lot of phone calls, letting people know we were starting up. We also did a few visits to customers and garages to get the word out. Garages come and go but we tend to be talking to the same people as they move around different jobs.
I’ve always been a believer that people tend to buy from people, not businesses. In some cases, I’ve been talking to some of the same people every day for years and building that relationship. That way whenever people move to new garages or businesses, they come back to you at their new place.
What are your favourite bits of the job?
After thirty years I must like it! I like when you get a difficult one, a really challenging request that you’ve never seen before. That’s rare for me after all these years so I enjoy working out something new.
I also enjoy bringing through new apprentices and supporting the next generation of talent. As a former apprentice myself, I think it’s important to share your knowledge and experience and hopefully they’ll do the same when it’s their turn.
What are some of the challenges you face?
Having competitors in quite a small city can be difficult and breaking the habits of people who go to the same place every time is tough, but we like the challenge of winning them over.
Back orders can also be a real issue after covid and the war in Ukraine. There can be large wait times for parts and that can be difficult for customers, but we do our best to keep them informed and get their parts to them as soon as possible.
Outside the team in Aberdeen, what are your key relationships to get the job done?
We work with the Glasgow Parts team every day. Big Davy Smith and Robert Hutchinson are people we work with a lot. Robert helps me out if we ever have to raise technical queries with Stellantis.
What does the future look like for the team?
We’re currently looking to hire a few more team members and get them up to speed. Once we’ve got the staffing right it’ll be looking to even more growth in the region.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
I’m a football fan so I watch Aberdeen as often as I can. I also watch a lot of golf, especially the big tournaments like the Ryder Cup.
I like watching films on Netflix, but everything is a remake or a sequel at the moment!
Thank you to Neale for taking the time to talk with us and letting us know more about the Aberdeen Parts team. If you’d like to work with the team, then click here to see more information about their Parts Person role.
