Rapid COVID tests play an important role in the reopening of showrooms

LSH Auto managing director Martyn Webb has asserted that car dealers' rapid COVID tests will play an important role in the sector’s fight against the pandemic, as showrooms prepare to open next month.

The the AM100 Mercedes-Benz dealer group has started offering rapid COVID tests to colleagues across its eight dealerships in the Midlands and the North West.

Webb said: “It gives us the means to identify asymptomatic colleagues before they pass it on unknowingly. By offering regular tests in the workplace, we can help to protect our colleagues, their families and the wider community.”

In the last week, more than 150 employees at Mercedes-Benz of Erdington, Mercedes-Benz of Solihull and Mercedes-Benz of Birmingham Central were tested using ‘lateral flow’ tests that produce a result in 30 minutes.

The testing programme, led by Ian Williams, head of human resources, will now be rolled out to colleagues at LSH Auto’s Mercedes-Benz dealerships in Tamworth, Stockport, Macclesfield and Whitehead with plans in place to offer regular workplace tests at all eight dealerships from next week.

Webb added: “During the lockdown period, our aftersales and servicing facilities have remained open in order to provide essential services for customers, including many key workers.

“Our teams have provided assistance for Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles used for a range of customers from emergency services to home shopping, postal and parcel deliveries, utilities and breakdown services. We’ve also been providing customers with online shopping through our digital showroom and click and collect services, which have proven really popular.

“Now we’re looking forward to welcoming customers back into our showrooms, hopefully from 12th April, in line with the latest Government roadmap. By then our regular workplace testing will have been running for a number of weeks, so our colleagues and customers can be reassured that we’re putting safety at the heart everything we do.”

To date, five members of staff from the HR, Health & Safety and IT departments at LSH Auto have undergone NHS training to administer the lateral flow tests and plans are in place to train more colleagues to manage the ongoing testing programme.

Picture caption: Sarina Patidar, Rachel McDermott, Alan Hollyhoke, Sean Williams and Ian Williams from LSH Auto.