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At your services
Page 24
Page 25
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Overpriced, overcrowded and no fun? Mike McLeavy, director of Roadchefs Strensham site, teils Jennifer Ball MSAs are changing.
Mike McLeavy believes that people who criticise motorway service areas (MSAs) can't have visited one for years: "Many people have preconceived ideas about what MSAs are all about. I spoke to one truck driver recently and he told me that the food was crap but admitted that he hadn't actually eaten in one for five years.! take these comments personally because we are always trying to improve standards."
In his 20 years with Roadchef McLeavy has seen first-hand how MSAs have changed. He stresses that the days of grimy toilets and school canteen food are long gone.to be replaced with bright, airy restaurants and features like fountains in the pounds to change the whole MSA experience.
Over the past year or so Roadchef has spent more than £30m rebuilding and bringing in franchises like Wimpy and Costa: "People's buying has changed a lot and while fast food alone use to be OK, brands are everything nowadays. "We are aware that the majority of truck drivers come in after 5pm and so we want to ensure that anybody,no matter what time of day, is able to get hot food. After all, why shouldn't they be offered the wide selection of food that was on offer at lunchtime in the evening?
McLeavy adds that people are too quick to brand service areas as expensive. He argues that people forget that Roadchef is a business not a charity, and it has its own overheads to meet. For instance, it provides free toilets for everybody and free parking for two hours.
Many people will use these amenities without stopping to buy anything else: "Even at this time of year it costs me £7,000 a week to ensure that the toilets, tables, floors and outside areas at Strensham are kept clean.
"There are 60 bins outside but you'd be amazed at the amount of people who still drop litter, which increase our costs.
"The cost of Idling a pothole and or repairing a lamp-post that's been hit by a truck are very expensive.We had a small piece of ashphalt last year which had worn away where lorries turn around and it cost us £10,000 to repair it."
Strensham has one of the biggest truck parks in the UK; McLeavy says Roadchef tries to make it as secure as possible with well lit over night parking and security guards on patrol.
About 25% of Roadchef's customers are truck drivers and the firm is keen to encourage more of them to use its facilities. McLeavy has been working with the Professional Drivers Association to address the problems that truck drivers face.
Earlier this year, for example, he chaired the group's AGM at Staffordshire services which. he says. gave him the opportunity to meet driv ers and industry representatives to hear about the problems that the sector faces.
One of McLeavy's fellow site directors, Mike Patten who runs the Clacket Lane MSA, has been across to Germany with PDA rep Johnny Hunt to find out what MSAs offer abroad and to see if Roadchef can import some of their ideas.
McLeavy reports: We are looking at the possibility of offering discounts to PDA mem bers to swell their numbers and help ti get people to invest in the haulage in and promote what a worthwhile career driving is."
He's upbeat about Roadchers apr truck drivers: "I am meeting with ou: executive to discuss what other things do to ensure more truck drivers use ou ices, and show them how things have cl and what important customers they are: