Episode 27
Moving Matters with Georgina Berry of Richard Healey Removals
August 12th, 2021
38 mins 24 secs
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About this Episode
In this episode Georgina Berry of Richard Healey Removals discusses that after finishing her financial services exams where she was to become a financial advisor, she joined the family business on a temporary 6 months basis – that was in 1999 and she is still there to this very day!
We discover that Richard Healey Removals was started by her father (Richard) in 1965, who was a painter and decorator working in London, returning home at weekends, but soon discovered he was making more money transporting goods back and forth in his van, and thus the foray into removals began!
We discuss that today, Richard Healey Removals provide predominantly domestic and commercial removals, some European & International moves, storage in a 120,000sqft warehouse and shredding, running 15 vehicles, employing approximately 32 staff and house just over 1,000 storage containers. And all of this is now managed by brother Richard, Georgina herself, and Barry (Operations Manager)!
We discover Richard Healey Removals are heavily involved in training and have their own training facility onsite, which is a BAR approved training school.
We discuss the challenges faced and the biggest one was losing a major contract 8/9 years ago that they had held for many years, leaving them with simply no business! Using their resources and having to start from scratch they built Richard Healey Removals into a ‘proper’ removal business.
We discover that Georgina wouldn’t change a thing from the past, losing the contract allowed the team to grow as a company into what it is today.
We discuss Georgina’s highpoints and its winning awards. Richard Healey Removals are past winners of the BAR Domestic Mover of the Year in 2015, in 2017 they won 2 awards for customer service at the Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce, and they are previous winners of Scotland’s Top Truck Training Operator at the Transport Awards, where Georgina was presented with the award by Anne, Princess Royal.
We discover that the one thing Georgina would like to change within the industry is keys, but also exchange and completion on the same day.
We discuss the advice that Georgina would give to herself just starting in the industry again and it would be to network, get to know other companies but also make yourself know to people, use the training resources available and join BAR either as a company or/and as an individual member.
We discover that in 5 years time Georgina hopes Richard Healey Removals continues along its current growth path but keeping everything manageable. Industry wise Georgina hopes the decent rates are here to stay as the current driver (and porter) shortage is pushing up wages.
And we discuss how we are going to have to do more to entice new blood into the industry, through many of the career paths available, just as Georgina did 6 years ago with Ryan & Ryan (yes, I know!).
We discover that outside of the industry Georgina likes to keep fit and reads for relaxation, but is mainly taxi for her two children (15 & 17), where he daughter does a lot of dancing and her son a lot of football.
And as always we end Moving Matters with a funny moving story regarding the making of a promotional video.
Enjoy!
Links to Richard Healey Removals: