Thomas Hardie customers in the north-west may already know Ronnie Kelsall well, our used vehicle regional sales executive who works with new and existing customers to find ways Thomas Hardie Used Trucks can help with sourcing and maintaining vehicles to the highest of standards.
Ronnie was previously at Thomas Hardie Commercials, and joined the Used Trucks division in November 2016. He’s already famous around our offices for the time he drove a replacement turbo from Middlewich to Exeter for a customer who needed it urgently and, for obvious reasons, couldn’t come to collect it.
The round trip of over 400 miles has to be one of the most epic undertakings in Thomas Hardie history, but it’s par for the course for Ronnie, who always goes the extra mile (or 400) to help out a valued customer.
All part of the paint job
It’s testament to Ronnie’s commitment to his clients that when he moved from his previous role in aftermarket sales to his current used vehicles position, he didn’t give up on the relationships he had already invested himself into.
One prime example of this is his work with James Bellis and Katie Gater of R F Bellis Haulage Ltd, who Ronnie had been talking to about transferring their maintenance contract over to Thomas Hardie Commercials Deeside, up until the point at which he moved over into Used Vehicle Sales.
Rather than giving up on them, he instead contacted James and Katie to find out if they needed any extra Volvos to add to their existing fleet – and was able to source a Volvo FH Version 4 500BHP Globetrotter XL on a 15 plate that was perfect for the job.
Again, Ronnie went ABCD – above and beyond the call of duty – to bolt on a preventative maintenance contract for a year so James and Katie could sample Thomas Hardie’s service that they had already discussed in the past, as well as getting their newly acquired truck repainted in R F Bellis colours.
Ronnie adds: “James and Katie are both very polite and professional individuals and have been a pleasure to deal with in the short time I have dealt with them.”
Success and successors
While many people might not want to spend much time with the person who replaced them, Ronnie took Sean Taylforth, his successor in the Aftermarket Sales Executive role, along with him for the ride when delivering the Globetrotter to James and Katie.
A week later, the pair had signed a contract for their entire Volvo fleet to be transferred over to Thomas Hardie Commercials Deeside for future preventative maintenance work – a great success that is testament to the groundwork laid down by Ronnie in the role, and generously handed over to Sean to close the deal.
The budding business partnership between Thomas Hardie and R F Bellis doesn’t end there either, as Ronnie followed it with a second deal, again agreeing to repaint the vehicle in R F Bellis blue at Thomas Hardie Vehicle Solutions.
Under this latest deal, James and Katie get a no-stress Gold VCM repair and maintenance contract from Volvo, and delivered by Thomas Hardie Commercials, one of our most complete aftermarket packages which gives a great insight into our capabilities.
All of this has been achieved through Ronnie’s tireless efforts and is not only a huge win for Thomas Hardie, but also gives R F Bellis – and James and Katie – a worry-free future as their vehicle is protected by gold-standard preventative maintenance and repair arrangements.