Which? Trusted trader of the month for June 2018 awarded to R Drew Decorators Ltd
In a tightly-fought competition, the Sheffield-based painting and decorating business impressed the judges to win this month’s award.
Rebecca MilliganLast Updated: Jun 2018
Many congratulations to the June 2018 Which? Trusted trader of the month – R Drew Decorators Ltd, trading as Drew Decor. Richard Drew is the owner and founder of the business. He set up R Drew Decorators Ltd ten years ago to cater to the high-end of the decorating market in Sheffield. The business has gradually expanded, and now Richard heads up a team of three.
Richard is delighted to win the award, saying he wants to ‘fly the flag for all the painters and decorators’. He told us that he feels sometimes painters and decorators are afforded less respect than other areas of construction, but ‘the industry has changed rapidly over the years, with more modern techniques and tools,’ something that Richard and his team are proud to use.
R Drew Decorators Limited only joined Which? Trusted Traders in November 2017, but the judges were impressed by the way the business has really embraced the endorsement scheme. The judges commented on how there was ‘lots of depth and substance’ to how it is using the endorsement.
See what you need to do to become the next Which? Trusted trader of the month or read on for more about our winner.
Working with military precision
The business provides a full range of painting and decorating services all around Sheffield. R Drew Decorators Ltd specialises in providing a high-quality service, aiming to be the best in the area through a combination of meticulous attention to detail, using good quality products and excellent customer service.
Richard attributes his attention to detail to his training as a Royal Marines Commando. He started working in decorating when he left school but took a big change of direction at the age of 21, when he signed up to the Royal Marines. Richard was part of the highly-trained, elite force where he served two tours in Iraq.
He describes his time as a green beret as ‘a fantastic experience’ and credits it with giving him the drive, team-working and leadership skills that helped him set up his decorating business. ‘Being in the marines put me in a good place,’ Richard explained. ‘They say it’s the hardest training in the world and it left me with a completely ambition and leadership skills to set up my own business.’
Drew Decor works hard to provide the highest quality service for its customers. ‘We focus on preparation to get the best finish,’ Richard told us. ‘We try and innovate a bit – we’re using new dustless sanders. Originally they were used to polish cars up but they’ve moved into the painting and decorating industry. It’s better for our health and better for the customers too – there’s no dust flying about in each room.
The business has lots of loyal, returning customers. ‘We get a lot of feedback telling us that we’re not the cheapest, but we’re worth the money,’ says Richard. ‘We really put our all into each job. We’ll spend time with our customers - advising on colours, products and styles. We aim to be professional in terms of sending in quotes, turning up when we agreed, keeping everything clean and tidy and just providing the best service we can.’
Using the endorsement effectively
Richard said he felt the assessment process set Which? Trusted Traders apart from other accreditation schemes. ‘Everyone knows Which? and what it means,’ he said. ‘It means trust and people associate it with quality.’ There are so many association for traders, but lots of places don’t ask for much more than your insurance details. I was taken aback by the fact someone actually comes out to see you.
It was clear that a Which? Trusted traders is going to be the best of the best and we want to be part of that crew.’
The business certainly makes full use of the fact that it is a Which? Trusted trader. The team have the Which? Trusted trader logo on its workwear, vans, website, customer brochure and marketing materials.
Drew Decor has a logo on a sponsorship board at Hallam Football Club – home to the oldest ground in the world. ‘It’s a small team but it’s great to watch football there,’ said Richard. ‘We want to give something back to the community, and we’re going to be there, doing some painting and decorating mid-season.’
The business has a number of videos and blogs on a wide range of social media feeds aimed at supporting DIYers who are trying to do some decoration. Richard explained that ‘not everyone can afford to employ a trader and we want to give something back by sharing our knowledge to help people do the best job they can.’ The team ensure that the Which? Trusted trader logo is used with every post, in addition to the video content on their own site. You can visit his blog page here https://www.drewdecor.co.uk/blog
The wide range of ways that Drew Decor use the endorsement, in addition to putting it on their vans and workwear really impressed our judges this month. Many congratulations to Richard Drew Decoration Ltd, trading as Drew Decor, our Which? Trusted trader of the month.
Find out more about Drew Decor at his fantastic website www.drewdecor.co.uk
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