Franchisee Paul Thomas discusses his time with the business.

Paul Thomas joined Surface Medic in May and was in the first group of trainees. Head Office caught up with him to find out how he’s adjusting to life as a Surface Medic Technician.

What did you do before joining Surface Medic, Paul?

I had worked for a conservatory company as a store man looking after supplies and arranging all the kit and materials that the fitters would need before each job. Occasionally I would also assist the fitters so I was quite used to working with my hands and also with the general public.

Would you say that previous experience of surface repair is important?

No, because on my training course there were a couple of franchise owners from retail backgrounds and I was pleasantly surprised how well those guys did. I think I had a feeling that because they were from very different backgrounds that they might find it a bit harder but in fact they were producing excellent quality work and I soon realised that it didn’t matter what they had done before. So it obviously doesn’t matter, the main thing is that you’ve got a pleasant personality and you can get on with all different types of people.

How did you rate the training?

Fantastic! I really loved it, Inverness is a lovely place and Gary the trainer was brilliant, a top bloke! I didn’t really find any aspect of it difficult but if I had to pick one thing it would be colour matching which sometimes I get right straight away and other times it takes me a little longer but I think that’s just a matter of more practice and experience which will come.

What sort of jobs have you done so far?

I’ve had quite a bit of variety including lots of cracked floor tiles which I can fill and easily disguise, I’ve also done a lot of glass polishing and repaired damage to a granite worktop, this morning Head Office sent me my first caravan job too which is a repair to a piece of chipped laminate.

What area do you cover?

At the moment Head Office are providing leads and jobs over quite a wide area but I’ll eventually concentrate on a compact region and Head Office are happy for me to work wherever provided that I’m not on a franchisee’s area. Some of the employed technicians are doing the same as well as being able to support new franchise owners.

How have you got on selling the service to others, Paul?

So far I’ve not really had the time to call on house builders, etc., but will be doing that shortly and I expect to get busier and busier as the months go by because there is no shortage of avenues to go down.

Thanks for your time, Paul, would you recommend this career to others?

Yes I would, the training was brilliant and I can see that this company is going places which is good news for all involved.