It's definitely a testament to a business doing it right when they are able to rely solely on word of mouth for business. Dan Tomson's Tomson Motor Company can boast as much, with nary a lick of advertising to their name, and rightfully so. When we talk about hidden gems on Yelp, most folk will - Edinburghers certainly - conjure up images of secluded restaurants or secret polish vodka bars, but Tomson Motor Co. is one of Edinburgh's REAL hidden gems.
Dan is a fantastically eccentric character and an honest tradesman, a rarity in this world, especially for a mechanic. For example, he offers a MOT service, however these are not carried out by his guys; he uses a third party garage, who he pays a flat rate, devoid of pass. fail or any work required, thereby eliminating any incentive to glorify or exaggerate any shortcomings of the vehicle in question.
My last car died inexplicably one day and even Dan struggled to find out why. Where other garages would try something, charge you, try something else, charge you, rinse and repeat, Dan picked up the phone and had a very honest conversation with me about it. Stressing that he was almost 'at a loss', Dan went on to explain the couple of ideas he thought the problem might be, and, as he wasn't sure what the problem was, offered a cut down price to explore both ideas. He eventually solved the problem by replacing the battery with one of his own, and as it was only into January, he knocked the battery off the bill, citing it as a 'late Christmas present'.
What a guy.
As long as Dan keeps the business going, I'll keep bringing my business to him. He has a wealth of similarly reliable contacts for work such as car electronics, who he is happy to refer you to if he thinks you've come to the wrong place. Now how many garages would you see knocking business away?
Long live Tomson Motor Co.! read more