Fentons of Bourne got out of selling big agricultural machinery for good because cut-throat discount wars would have meant sacrificing high standards of customer care.
But the long-established agricultural engineers has kept many farmers as customers of the grounds maintenance equipment it now sells, and has just won exceptional sales and customer care awards from its suppliers of both Mountfield and Stiga small tractors and mowers.
Glen, who took over the Kate’s Bridge business that was established in the 1930s with his wife Helen and father Bim back in 1987, has kept UK-wide importing rights for the “Rolls Royce of drain-cleaners” the Homburg from Holland, which he won 20 years ago, and remains on the lookout for similar unique new products for his customers.
He said: “We’ve been selling two or three Homburgs a week since the rain kicked in in December as landowners and contractors are having to keep drainage channels clear.
“We made the switch from large-scale agricultural machinery to smaller-scale grounds care equipment 15 years ago because while we will never land a customer with a machine that won’t do the job just to make a sale, our competitors didn’t hesitate.
“The business we’re now in enables us to continue with our very high standards of customer care.”
There are ten people including Glen and Helen working at Fentons with five hands-on in service and parts, so they can give a complete service to all customers, reaching geographically from the Humber to Hatfield.
Glen will visit the grounds and advise on the perfect machine to do the job. If he doesn’t have it to sell, he’ll say so.
Every machine that goes out has a pre-delivery inspection in Fentons’ workshops before it’s delivered and fully commissioned by Pete Jackson.