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Clients
Kay Ruddy
The firm was founded in March 1978, by Kay's father Peter Finlay, who
opened a small shop in Bebington. Kay joined the firm later in 1989 as
an office junior, gradually taking responsibility for the accounts and
payroll and eventually moving through different roles at the firm,
including office manager and director. When Peter retired in 2004, the
firm identified the need for a managing director. "We decided to go for
the female touch," says Kay.
Kay, and the other company director Danny McMillan, also decided upon
Peter's retirement that they needed some advice with regard to the
logistics of running a business, as they had never had direct experience
of this before. Peter had been receiving advice from Dufton Kellner
for several years on his retirement, his personal finances and on the
company, after they were recommended to him by his bank. He had often
urged Kay to liaise with them about different ways to improve the
business.
"I was very cynical," said Kay, "always asking '˜how much will this
cost?' My dad asked me to give it a shot, and I'm extremely happy we
did."
Kay and Danny became involved with Dufton Kellner's Make It Happen
programme, which required them to attend monthly meetings with partners
from Dufton Kellner to discuss the various ways in which the business
could be improved, with focus on all facets of the firm including
finance and marketing. Dufton Kellner even arranged for a mystery
shopper to visit Bebington Glass and Glazing, without Kay or Danny being
aware.
"It was great because we could get honest feedback from a customer's
perspective on areas that the business could be improved," says Kay.
"When you're involved with the business day in, day out it's easy to
lose sight of how the customer sees the firm '“ you can't see the wood
for the trees. It definitely worked and had a knock on effect '“ our
profitability has increased."
After implementing these winning strategies, Dufton Kellner still
take care of the firm's general accountancy. Kay and Danny meet every
other month with Stuart and Andrew from DK who focus on figures and,
according to Kay, offer truly impartial advice. They also prepare
Bebington Glass and Glazing's quarterly management accounts.
"They have a very professional attitude and are still approachable.
The personal service they offer is fantastic, and it applies to everyone
at the firm. It's consistently high quality. The fees they charge
aren't the cheapest we've come across, but we know we're getting very
good value for our money."