Where the best is second nature

Success Stories - Mr Lambert's story

Local firms support each other

“Kitridding Farm is a family company. We’ve been farming here since 1950 and we opened the farm shop in 2000. We believe in supporting local firms, because they support us, which was one reason why we went with BDS. We also found that BDS could supply our needs where other companies couldn’t. The main thing in our choice of supplier was service – that was more important to us than price. We found that other suppliers required us to give a lot of notice to deliver; BDS were much more flexible with notice, and their service has always been excellent. We’ve been with BDS since the start, about 10 years, and for 25 years before that.

For us to run out of gas would be a disaster – particularly for the kitchens, cooking in the bakery, restaurant and so on, but fortunately that’s never happened while we’ve been with BDS. We’re on a scheme called ‘top-up’ – which means we know that we’ll never run out. BDS was our first supplier about 9 years ago; they were recommended by a friend and we’ve been with them ever since. They supply us with gas for the kitchens, cooking etc. and for the bakery. We’ve gone back to having a ‘proper’ bakery. It takes us 2 days to bake a loaf of bread because we don’t use additives and preservatives; we produce quality goods.

‘They fit in with our business’

Because we know we can rely on BDS it’s one less worry knowing that you’re not going to run out of gas. It’s rare that we have to ring them up: they check the tank; if it needs filling they do it; if it doesn’t, they just leave a note to say that they’ve been. They fit in with our business – not the other way round. We don’t have to be there when they fill up. If we’re busy in the shop, the driver knows what to do. We can trust them just to get on with it. And we know their prices are as good as anybody else’s so we don’t have to waste time checking prices. You can pay the driver on the spot and get a discount, or pay at the end of the month. You have the choice.

Continuity is important

We have regular customers both for our shop, the restaurant we supply and the farmers’ markets. We don’t advertise heavily. We sell mainly through word of mouth and our reputation so we know how important customer care is. At BDS you always get hold of the same people in the office; they know you and your particular business’s needs and you get continuity which is important. And if you have a technical problem they’ve got technical help as well. You know you can rely on them.

Could they improve?

I don’t see any way in which BDS could improve really – unless they wanted to offer a bartering system like the stallholders do at the end of the farmers’ markets - a leg of lamb for a tank of gas – that type of thing – but I don’t think that’s likely to happen do you? Mind you, Gordon Brown could maybe learn a thing or two from that system!”

Visit the website at: www.kitridding.co.uk

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