swiftrelief - The Swift Awards Blog

Cool it with a hot hatch to save cash

As motoring costs slide ever upwards, drivers are searching for more ways to cut the price of their car insurance. swiftcover.com has discovered that drivers can help reduce their premiums by opting for standard models, rather than ‘hot hatches’. Opting for a sporty model instead of a standard version of the same car can cost more than twice as much to insure, even for experienced drivers.

A 30 year old man driving a VW Golf GTi would shell out...

Buying a Second Hand Car

Times are tight and even with the Government offering you money to ditch your old banger, buying a brand new car can blow the budget for many people. Buying a second hand car could save you a load of cash – despite a heavy decline in new car sales over the last couple of years, used car sales have remained strong in comparison – but beware because you could also end up buying into a headache. Almost one in five people have experienced problems after...

Swift Learners

This month, we’re looking at what a great business can do to stand out in a crowded marketplace.
There are over 44,000 driving instructors in the UK, so it can be difficult for driving instructors to distinguish themselves, especially when they are competing against well established, national schools such as BSM and the AA. However, driving instructor Jon Reynolds has implemented a number of innovative ideas which have set his school apart. Jon, who owns and runs View blog

Weather the winter with Swift Relief’s tips for safer driving

Winter is well and truly here. Driving to and from work in the dark is the norm, and the recent floods are a vivid reminder of the severe weather conditions we may experience over the next few months.

With these hazardous driving conditions in mind, it’s no surprise that insurance claims rise around 21 per cent during winter, compared to the rest of the year. But, there’s plenty we can do to ensure we’re driving safely. For instance, before embarking upon a long journey...

Swift Relief from traffic jams and road rage

Avoiding stress on the roads could be as simple as making eye contact, according to research by author and automotive expert Thomas Vanderbilt. In his book ‘Traffic’, which looks at how we drive and why, Thomas suggests that the more interaction drivers have with each other, the better and safer driving can be.

He says that if you make eye contact with other drivers, they are more likely to...

Going green

Nearly seven out of ten drivers say the cost of motoring has increased in the last 12 months, according to research by swiftcover.com, a situation reflected by the AA’s Running Cost tables, which suggests that the average cost of running a car has soared in 2009. According to the AA the annual cost of running a car now ranges from £1,965 for a small city car, up to a whopping £10,316...

Innovation, perspiration and dedication

This month, the Swift Awards visited Macclesfield, Newport, Kingston upon Thames and Inverness, and discovered some truly outstanding businesses. What the team really noted, however, was the variety of businesses thriving despite the recession: taxi companies, florists, fish and chip shops to name but a few are flourishing due to their dedication...

Old school vs. new school

Among the Swift Award winners this month there was a real mixture of old and new. Carlisle-based coffee shop John Watt & Son has roasted fresh coffee beans on-site nearly every day since it was established in 1865, and the business has remained true to its roots ever since. Rather than spending money on advertising, John Watt & Son continues to lure customers...

We’re all going on a summer holiday

It might not be the sunniest of economic climates at the moment, but getting into the holiday spirit is still high on the agenda according to the UK’s tourism agency VisitBritain, which has discovered that more than half of Brits are refusing to cut back on their holidays this year.

But with VisitBritain also suggesting that 20% of people...

The personal touch

We’re always hearing about the credit crunch and what businesses are doing to do to scrape by: cutting back on costs, finding different suppliers and letting staff go. So this month it was fantastic to talk to a business owner who hasn’t had to change a thing. E Pellicci, a popular café in East London, has been...

Shoppers Look Local for Value and Quality

The battle between independent traders and supermarket giants has been rapidly increasing throughout the last decade with many of the larger retailers securing prominent sites on Britain’s high streets or tempting shoppers away from city centres altogether by setting up out-of-town megastores.

With supermarkets boasting a wealth of credit crunch deals and smart marketing campaigns, it is hardly surprising that independent traders have suffered as a result.
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Complaints about complaining

The BBC consumer champion Watchdog recently carried out some research to find out how long it took a number of leading companies to answer their customer hotlines. Telephone and broadband providers including BT, Vodafone and Tiscali were tested, along with...

Simple yet very effective

Waste not want not

Launching a fledgling business during a recession may seem like a bad idea, but this week we spoke to a young entrepreneur from Manchester who believes that if you can save your customers money then you can potentially turn the economic downturn into a great business opportunity.

Shiply was founded in June 2008 by Robert Matthams. Already the company has 3,500 hauliers signed up to use its services and an impressive...

Welcome to the Swift Awards blog!

Each week our judges interview a diverse range of local businesses throughout the UK to find shops, tradespeople and companies that offer good customer service and great value. Each nominated business must be able to demonstrate its ability to provide the quickest, most reliable and hassle-free service for its customers, as measured against our tough awards criteria. However, we are also looking for companies that contribute to a thriving local business community; either by offering...