Garage family happy to move up a gear

Work is a family affair at a West Bromwich garage which has been run by close relatives for the past 20 years.

And now the Glaze family from Halesowen are celebrating after moving into a new custom-built garage costing around £550,000.

Autoserve Garages Ltd, based in Oldbury Road, is run by owner Steve Glaze and his wife Cherralyn, aged 52. The couple's son, Mark, 28, works as a mechanic, their daughter Amy, aged 25, works as a company secretary, and their youngest son Paul, aged 23, works as a technician.

Miss Glaze also met her partner, Gavin Adkins, aged 29, from Oldbury through the garage while working as a delivery driver in his previous job.

Mr Adkins has now also joined the company as a service engineer and now works alongside his mother Glennis Quick, 59, who works as a part-time accounts assistant.

"It works really well for us and it stops anyone pulling a sick day," said Miss Glaze. "When I was younger I was thinking about the possibility of going into catering but I came here to work part-time and I have been here ever since.

"There is a huge level of trust between the staff, and we all gel together and help support each other.

"The trust that we have generated here certainly comes across to the customers and that is probably behind our level of success.

"I have to be thankful to the job because it has brought me together with Gavin and you could say it was love at first sight."

The new garage, which employs nine people, boasts a specialist MoT testing machine which requires just one person to operate.

Father-of-three and garage owner Steve Glaze, aged 55, from Halesowen, has been working at the garage for more than 20 years.

He said: "I think one of the main reasons we have been so successful is because of the atmosphere we create here.

"Whenever customers come into the garage they can stop and have a bit of a laugh and a joke with us and we all get on really well."

His wife Cherralyn, and company director said it was a "dream come true" to be able to expand the business.

"All of the staff work so hard and I think because we are a family business it has certainly helped with the success because we all work together," she said.