A Co. Armagh car salesman has bid a fond farewell to the dealer group he has given nearly four decades of service to.
Chris Mehaffey retired from Roadside Motors last week, where he devoted 39 years of his career.
He started in the Lurgan branch of Roadside Motors in 1985, where he worked his way up from the truck and van commercial end, before moving into new car sales and eventually into used car sales.
In 2000, Chris was offered the position of Dealer Principal in the Armagh branch, where he has been ever since.
In that time, Chris has seen many changes in the industry, but he managed to adapt and pull through.
Speaking to Armagh I following his retirement, Chris says the motor trade is “night and day” compared to what it was when he started out.
“You’ve moved to online sales now, which never existed then,” he said. “Your online presence is now your showroom. You now have less people come into the showroom, but those customers that do come in come in more informed and more ready to buy on their first visit, because they’ve done their homework online.
“Competition has increased too because the Internet has introduced more cars into people’s thinking.
“You now need to have more of an online presence, with Facebook, Instagram and a website. You couldn’t survive without those things these days.”
Chris adds that having good salesmanship was more important in the old days.
“You had the opportunity in those days to persuade somebody to buy something they hadn’t considered.
“Today if somebody wants an Audi A3, they want an Audi A3. Years ago people would come in looking for an Audi, they maybe would’ve driven away in a Golf.
“People will travel a distance now for a car, whereas 40 years ago they’d see what the local dealer had.”
However, Chris adds that personal service is still key in the industry and that people like getting service from a face they know.
“That hasn’t changed. Customer service is still key,” he said.
Due to his long service, and coupled with his wife’s recent retirement, Chris says he decided now was the time to “let somebody else take the mantle”.
He added: “Let’s get stuck into the garden and holiday a bit more!”
Chris continued: “I’ve worked with a lot of good people over the years. Certainly in Armagh we had a good, loyal work force. A lot of the staff in the garage have been there for years.
“I’d like to thank all our customers that supported us over the years. Everyone has been more than good to us.
“I had a great bunch of staff to work with and we pulled together as a team. I thoroughly enjoyed working with them.
“I’d also like to thank the two directors, Brian and Ian Hutchinson, for all their help and support.”
