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Steve & Jill Tubbs - Chippenham, Wiltshire - Start Date: January 2008

14 July 2012

BUSINESS MATTERS

After twenty years of running a successful convenience store and petrol station with a staff of twenty-five we knew how to run a business - and the meaning of self-employment. Dedication and long hours brought success but it was time to reduce the pace and bring enjoyment back into our lives.

A regular job was the intended next move, and as employees we came with very high credentials. With experience in human resources, stock control, security systems, health and safety in the midst of managing accounts we had a variety of options. Not for the want of trying rejections came, in some cases for being over qualified. Moral was low and we were forced to revert back to our long record of working together, and again for ourselves.

Franchising was clearly the best option and while we were used to selling and dealing with the public the opportunity of a new business that delivers a proven successful system within a large organisation would give us a head start. The Internet was a good sourcing point and with a varied range of options available pets were calling us every time. We are pet lovers and by working with a product line that we could enjoy, our enthusiasm to make a fresh start was re-energised. Our appetite for OSCAR became very clear when our own dogs were introduced to the food – the effects were dynamic and our decision was made.

Starting with a Greenfield area that needed an introduction to the OSCAR complete pet care service, we were proud to promote the products, via home delivery; we were also relieved to be now working from home. Never alone, the training and Head Office support guided us in the right direction and then out of the blue, a local resale area became available. This was an opportunity we could not refuse, and in the process of adding to our, now very large area, we also increased our family of pets. Over the years we have bred three litters of Chocolate Labradors, keeping mum and one from each litter – so four plus two Golden Retrievers gives us a total of 6 dogs. This is a great advert for our business locally and for the puppies en-route to their new homes - one of which now resides with OSCAR Pet Foods.

With belief in our product and a passion for what we can offer our customers - likeminded people with fantastic pets – our success in this business comes from dedicating time to making sure that every customer is special. It is important for us to listen, understand and respond to their needs at any time. Giving a little extra brings a greater reward and loyalty is extremely valuable to a small business.

We front our business at all times and with help from our family we attend local shows in and around our various areas. We pride ourselves on never failing to deliver in bad weather, which brings us a wealth of testimonials. In five years we have achieved well and by working closely with Head Office we keep abreast of change. We take every opportunity to support fellow franchisees around the network towards adding national credibility for the company – and we have just renewed our contract for another five years of trading as we have total faith in self-employment and confidence in OSCAR.


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