PCC franchisees have diverse backgrounds - from insurance executives and retail managers to pest control officers and civil servants; few have any relevant experience, and yet all have achieved thriving businesses which are continuing to grow and develop.

What they all have in common is a shared determination to break free of boring, desk bound jobs and the constraints that come with working long hours for someone else's benefit. All have responded to the unusual combination of a brand new franchise established by a deeply experienced management team, who are experts in the franchise industry as well as the automotive services marketplace within which both PCC and ChipsAway operate.

The PCC franchise has been modelled on ChipsAway International, in that quality of service, value for money and customer convenience are at the heart of its business philosophy. PCC franchisees operate from a purpose designed VW Caddy vehicle, which has an integrated wash & vacuum system built in, enabling them to take their service directly to their customer, any place, any time. They benefit from a comprehensive training programme that focuses on sales and marketing techniques as well as customer service values, and includes hands-on, one-to-one mentoring during the launch period and ongoing support from a dedicated franchise development team led by General Manager Adrian Stiehl.

Adrian is uniquely qualified to provide training, advice and reassurance to new franchisees, having spent most of his working life in the vehicle cleaning sector, as well as many years in franchising. He and his team play a key role in successfully establishing new franchisees on their territories and ensuring they have the necessary confidence, skills and incentive to keep momentum going for their business, post launch.

Former courier van driver Neil Gowing is one of many franchisees who are quick to acknowledge the importance of having someone experienced to accompany you on those first few potentially daunting calls. "I'm basically a very shy person," Neil confesses. "Before I took on the PCC franchise I used to hate even talking to strangers on the phone, but the training we receive is excellent and so is the subsequent support I received from the franchise development team. Adrian Stiehl personally came down to my territory when I first started, helping me identify potential business customers and doing demonstrations with me. He or one of the team still rings about once a week to see how I'm getting on, and I know that if I have any questions, someone's at the end of a telephone to help me out.

"Owning my own business has given me a tremendous boost to my confidence. Now I can call or knock on the door of a company and ask for the opportunity to valet one of their cars, with a view to securing the business for all their cars. My former work mates can't believe the change in me, but I have full order books for weeks ahead and much of my work is either repeat, regular valets for satisfied customers or new business that comes from word of mouth recommendation. My customers have been known to text me to thank me again for a wonderful job done!"