IT'S FASTER BY ROAD
Page 45
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by David Lowe MInstTA
sions he will not put "all his eggs in one basket-. Ian Sayer showed me lists of customers for whom the firm had worked in the preceding months and the names were many in number and considerable in reputation. Some 500 clients have used the Belfast service since its inauguration and last December work was carried out for 120 customers.
This philosophy of a wide-based clientele ensures that slow payers do not restrict the expansion of the company. But Ian Sayer confessed that in theory the better the company does the worse off it could become because some customers would still help themselves to extended credit facilities and as the turnover increased the amount of payments due would become more outstanding. It is the company's practice, however, despite the temptation to do likewise with its suppliers, to pay accounts as soon as practicable. In this way a reputation has been built up of being a soundly established creditworthy company.
Turnover chart The company is very proud of its steadily increasing annual turnover figures (£200,000 to April 1971 and £300,000 expected in the year to April 1972) and a chart displays this information. I was interested to note the peaks during certain months, the largest ever being during the month of the national dock strike. "We thrive on other people's strikes and labour relations problems," Mr Sayer said, "and we have done better since the Heathrow cargo centre opened, because of its machinery breakdown problems. Them are so many aspects that can adversely affect airport operation and consequently have a bearing on customer service offered by the airlines."
While Ian Sayer and his young colleagues are striving to present an efficient image to the business world, their youth and ultramodern offices may give a false impression to some customers. However, this glossy exterior hides a very competent and astute management team, who are very costand profit-conscious (pretax profit for the year ending April 1971 is expected to be £70,000) and are aware of, and use, all available management tools and techniques for improving their services and their business.
These are young men in a hurry, looking transport straight in the eye and showing how it can be done.