Trust and Humour - Insights from a local garage.

Introduction

This blog is part of a series exploring humour and storytelling inspired by working on MyBeast.  In this post I’m writing about a traditional work environment like North Street Garage in Lewes to uncover lessons that can enhance connection and trust in remote & hybrid teams.

I interviewed the brilliant Dave Ryan who is the owner to get his insights on managing a team of mechanics.

North Street Garage

When you visit North Street Garage the experience can be defined as fun and friendly.  The garage has excellent reviews which often mention the fun and humorous atmosphere you experience as a customer.

Dave and his business partner Paul manage a team of around eight mechanics.

I had been to the garage a few times since living in Lewes and found Dave and the team very entertaining.  

When I went in to ask about this interview there was a theatrical scene playing out in the office.  One of the resident dogs had just jumped up and hit Dave in the privates and a comedic dramatic episode ensued with a lot of swearing and he was holding a toy fishing rod which added to the scene.

There was a visitor behind the desk doing an audit at the time who seemed a bit taken back but he was enjoying himself and had a big smile on his face.

That’s the thing about North Street Garage - everyone seems to be in a good mood.  The customers waiting to discuss their vehicle are smiling, visiting sales reps are laughing and the team are very friendly and helpful.

Humour at Work

I asked Dave why humour is so important to him at work “I've always been a great believer in injecting humour into the workplace.  Whether it's with customers or reps or staff, I don't like miserable workplaces. I don't think they're productive.”

“Yeah, the last thing you want to do on a grey miserable Monday morning is go to work. So if you can inject a bit of humour into the workplace and make it a bit of a fun place to work and put a smile on people's face. I'm always a great believer in that.”

“But you know it's uh, a relationship that people are not used to because the boss is a bit of a jovial person.”  

You don’t expect the owner of a business you engage with to be fun and express their personality so openly.  I guess it does take confidence - but with practice it would come naturally. 

Humour is a big part of customer service for Dave.  This instinct is backed by research which shows that humour is a powerful way of building trust.  When we laugh, our brains release oxytocin - a chemical often called the "bonding molecule" because it fosters feelings of trust and connection.

When talking about trust Dave went on to say “This is an odd one for you, most of our customers are ladies. Most of our customers, I'd say 70-75 percent of our customers are ladies.  You know that always makes me smile because it's quite a unique point with us and I think it's because they come in and feel relaxed.”

A male dominated business like a garage could potentially be an intimidating place for women where fears of being overcharged are a concern.  A high proportion of female customers is a testament to the service and trust provided.

Dave said once a lady came in who was a regular and with whom he usually had a bit of banter but on one occasion it was different.

“We usually have a bit of banter but she did look a little bit off.  She came in and said, look I know you’re going to start joking around and stuff but now is not the time.  And I stopped and went, oh okay, that’s fine.  It was to do with her father who had just died and it was a huge stress in the home”.

“But again, it stopped me, it is because they expect a little bit of joviality and messing about. And she just said look, it's not a good day today.”

I like how she was open about her feelings.  Humour does help to reduce stress but sometimes the heaviness of life is just too much and we simply don’t feel like it.

Being open about personal struggles and challenges was another key theme that came out of the interview.

Empathy

“We do like each other here and if they've got personal problems and if they've got troubles at home and stuff, I mean that's part and parcel of the job.  So it's not a boss-worker relationship. Not at all. It's um, it’s definitely a bit more of a family atmosphere.”

“When you employ somebody you don't employ just that person, you employ their family, you employ their social life, you employ their habits, you employ their downsides, you employ their upsides, you employ a whole personality and a family too.”

“All their families come in.  Tom's family comes in once a week or so and we’ll have a chat. His sister's pregnant so we bought her a load of baby stuff. You know it's a family thing a community thing and if you look after people like that and look after stuff like that and you have a bit of banter and stuff.  I mean we're very, very low staff turnover.”

This was quite inspiring to hear because whilst we’re all entitled to a private, personal life away from work - it is impossible to completely separate our lives.  So it sounds like they celebrate big events but are also sympathetic when there’s stressful things going on.

Being empathetic also helps to foster trust and accountability with colleagues.

Mistakes and Failure

I asked Dave how do you deal with mistakes and failure?

“People will make mistakes. We've got one downstairs this morning. Um, We pay for it, we sort it out, we help the customer and we go forward and that’s all we do. We don't berate staff.  If you were doing a job and you were doing it for a year and you never made a mistake I'd call you a liar because everybody makes mistakes.”

After I interviewed Dave I had a quick chat with a couple of mechanics to get their thoughts on working at North Street Garage and without asking first about mistakes they brought it up.  “One great thing about working here is that if you do make a mistake - we feel like we can be honest about it.  The bosses are understanding and that makes a big difference.  We don’t need to hide anything.”

That’s an indicator of high psychological safety - feeling like you can be open and honest about mistakes.

They said they wouldn’t work anywhere else now and that they were both very happy and content.  They said the banter can be a bit explicit at times but we just make sure there aren’t any customers about.

Advice

I asked Dave if he had advice for other managers.

“I think the biggest thing is be kind, be kind to people and I'm not just saying that because it sounds good.  If there is a problem, there's always something behind it and talk to people, be kind and, yeah. I honestly believe if you're kind to people, if you sympathise with people, if you look after people, the real rewards come.”

“If there is ever a problem, we just talk about it. What's going on? Why aren't you functioning as you should? What can we do to help? You know, is there something outside of work that's affecting your concentration?”

“I think you only recognise that in people by chatting to them.”

Conclusion

The two main lessons for me from this interview is that firstly, humour in customer service works!  It really does help to build trust.

I understand it can feel risky to use humour in a professional environment especially with customers but if it helps to build trust then why not? Brands like Curry's, M&S, Uber are all now using humour in marketing.

In a MyBeast workshop I teach people the cocktail of ingredients that go into creating good humour.  I’m not teaching people how to be funny - but rather just encouraging them to be creative and confident with their own sense of humour.

The second lesson is the empathic and open approach to management.  When Dave chats to his team in honest, open conversations they feel heard and that they can express themselves.

Creating an environment where people can be open about mistakes doesn’t just immediately excuse them - it promotes accountability.

The rewards for creating both a fun work environment and fun customer experience are clear: low staff turnover and happy customers.

Hybrid and remote work models are popular with evidence suggesting that employees are just as productive if not more so than working onsite.  However loneliness is a concern in modern society so it’s important we introduce strategies that foster human connection and a sense of community among workers.  

Whilst a family culture is a little bit easier to imagine in a local garage - I think we should still strive for strong, personal relationships with our colleagues we don’t see in-person five days a week.

A MyBeast strategy helps to foster connection through storytelling and humour workshops combined with an internal communication campaign to engage colleagues in a fun way.

To learn more please get in touch on jason@mybeast.life.

Thank you to Dave and the team at North Street Garage for being a trusted and much loved part of the local community and for taking the time to sit down and do this interview.