Railston Blog

The world watched in wonder on Sunday the 16th October as Wootton Bassett finally received the Royal seal of approval. Everyone from Princess Anne to David Cameron came to the event, not to mention all the members of the armed forces. Many members of Railston staff proudly stood amongst the crowd watching in wonder as the town officially receive the title Royal Wootton Bassett!

Another recent development was that the town required a new coat of arms due to problems with the registration of the existing one. The local chamber of commerce asked local businesses to donate towards the costs involved in this change and Railston were one of the companies to donate some money. As a result we were awarded our very own plaque at a special thanking ceremony prior to the events that took place on Sunday. Quite frankly we are delighted both with our plaque and that Wootton Bassett has been acknowledge for its efforts, it wasn't necessary, however it was very much appreciated by all who live and work there! Check out our pics of the chairman receiving the plaque below. Thanks Bassett.. or should that be your Royal Highness!

Well, the coffee morning came and went. It was two hours of homemade cake, delicious much needed coffee and steaming hot tea, not to mention great conversation! Special thanks has to go to Julie for helping so much with the organization and all the staff at Railston who so generously gave their time and money baking cakes.

We also must give a special thanks to Owen Collier the Wootton Bassett town crier who delighted all by arrive in full attire and not only having tea and cake but helping us drum up business on the estate.. Wonderful! Also a special thanks to The Wootton Bassett Chamber of Commerce who came in large numbers and really bought some great conversation to proceedings. They included (and please forgive me for anyone I've missed out or whose name may be mis-spelt:) Jon White, Angie Reeves, Alex Hudd, Lis McDermott and Suzanne Gore... Good show!

Also thanks to Kath and Dave Cridge from Cridge Auto, Jenny from SL Transport and Dezaray Lawless from Bell Design consultants.

The event was certainly a hit and we raise just over £80 which Railston will double to £160!.. Really not bad for only 2 hours work... Thank you all and we hope to see you again soon. Here's a few pics of the event:

We've updated the technology for using our lovely flippy brochures. The content remains the same but the resolution and loading time should be better, and you don't need flash version anymore! The new tech means that the brochure should recognize that you are using an android / apple (non-flash supported) piece of kit and will show you an alternate and compatible version of the brochure.
Also we've embedded fully working brochures within our facebook page so if you like to follow us you no longer need to leave our page to have a good flick through our lovely pictures and extensive company information. Just click the image below to go to our page. We hope you approve... As ever any suggestions or comments feel free to click the comment icon below and leave us a little message, we really do love feedback!

Retail Trust launches campaign to help riot-affected shopkeepers! In retail week The Retail Trust state:

“We launched our #highstheroes campaign on Twitter to ensure the hidden impact elements of the rioting are not lost and that we could help as many people affected from retail as possible through additional and immediate fundraising.
We are the only charity that looks after all those in the retail industry in need, through our confidential helpline, website and campaigns such as this when stress and trauma are at their peak. Our immediate focus is on:

• Financial aid – emergency grants of £250 issued to people in retail with needs who have been personally affected by the riots. As additional needs arise over time, and the pool of donations increases, levels of aid will build and diversify
• Advice and guidance – practical support and guidance regarding the riots, including legal advice, financial services (debt management, personal budgeting, etc) and resources
• Counseling – telephone and face-to-face counseling and support regarding the riots, loss and trauma
• Critical incident support – requests for on-site counseling support related to the riots"

We applaude them for their attitude in trying to help our retailers get back on their feet. For the whole article click here.

Thank you to all who came to the cricket On August the 7th. Unfortunately the game itself had to be cancelled part of the way through due to the weather, but this did not dampen the spirits of those who joined in the frivolities! The BBQ still took place as did the the bar that was generously run by Railston staff.

As for the game: (short as it was)

MWC went in to bat 1st and after a brilliant start for us they were 32 for 4wkts from 9.2 over’s when we came off. Our very own Drew Tegg took 2 wickets in the 1st over then another in the next figures of 3wkts for 8 runs. The MD himself Mr. Andy Fox took the other wicket with a catch from Lawrence Taylor figures of 1wkt for 8 runs.

Overall despite the rain the day was definitely a success and in all we still managed to add £45.50 from the BBQ to our charity total so far. This year the money will go to Macmillan Cancer Support and we are well on the way to raising quite a handsome sum! Well done all!

We have had more work experience students in the office this week. Again we asked them to write us a little breakdown of their experience with us and this is what we got in response:

My time at Railston….

1st day
The first day was interesting, as I met all the people in accounts I would be working with for the week like, Sarah Clarke, Sue Pharro, Donna Pearce, Kathy Wood and Debra Uzzell, they were all very welcoming and friendly too me. After doing this me and Hristo went to see Rob Wight who told us all about the health and safety of Railston, who also covered all the policies, although it sounds boring Rob found away of making it interesting although we did go off topic a lot. After covering the H&S we filled out an induction form and went for a walk around Railston.
After this we went and saw Mike Slade who told us what the warehouse team did and how the shop fitting business is like a big circle, because of H&S we couldn’t go into the warehouse, as we were running along because of Rob we had to have the warehouse induction as fast as possible.
After doing this we went to Phil Arnett who showed us what design does, I found this bit the most interesting as this was the heart of the shop fitting industry, he showed us some previous sites that Railston have done, he showed us the 3D images on the computer, he also showed us the before and after pictures of his favourite sites.
After all this we went to Kathy wood who showed us what accounting does, I found this important as for the rest of the week I would be working in accounts.
After the inductions, I went back to accounts and was showed what Sarah did on excel she told me to check through all of them and print them all of.
The first day was good and I was excited to go the next day, its weird to think I was nervous at the beginning of the day.

2nd day
I came in and as I walked to my desk everybody said morning, which got me in the right frame of work for the rest of the day, after this I got given all the things I printed of the day before and got told to stick them into a envelope, this is when I learnt what a franking machine did.
After doing this I got given a big bag of expenditure receipts which I stuck in alphabetical order and chronological, although the task was easy it was hard to concentrate with Darren Goss (the office joker) mucking around, but I think he brightened up everyone’s day.
I also did some more stuff on excel and got shown what sage was, this is where I got told to check some pieces of paper to the data base.

3rd day
This is the day when I helped Sue and Deb out a little bit, I helped out Sue by printing of some bits and bobs then using the printer to send all of then to Sues email.
After finishing my work I saw Tracey Hicks she told us about H&R and what roll she had on the company, we then told her the bits and bobs we needed to find out for are school. After this we got some more H&S stuff of off Rob.
After this I did some more sage word.


4th day
Today I have been helping Sue again with the business statements, which I had to check on sage, if they had been paid or not.
After this me and Hristo went to see Alice Rumsey, who showed us what she did; she designs the website and the logo which was interesting.

I’m looking forward to tomorrow, but I’m going to miss everyone here at Railston when I leave :)

This week Railston have had two students in for work experience, we asked them what they thought of the experience and this was their feedback:

“This past week I’ve experienced what it’s like to work in Railston. I’ve spent a little time talking to a member of each department to understand what their role is in the company. Talking to each department has made me realise that without one team; the others can’t run. I have spent most of my week working with the design team. I have done a variety of different tasks; all leading up to my project. I had to choose a room in my house and re-design it. To do this, I had to complete a survey as a ‘home work’ type task. This is to measure the room I chose for the project. I then had to draw up the arrangement of the room and include elevations- using a program called ‘AutoCAD’. Next for the project, I searched for images of the colours, materials, furniture and accessories used in the re-designed room and used them to create a sample board. I really enjoyed doing this, as it’s an ‘arty’ task.

Each member of staff I have worked with has been friendly and when working are all calm; there doesn’t seem to be any tension or stress, which is unusual for work! It just shows how Railston is different from other companies. Everyone works together and communicates well, even though they’re often in different department, which is a must in companies like this.

I have really enjoyed doing my work experience at Railston, nothing but positive feedback! All of the staff are friendly and polite, the building itself is stylish and the way everything runs is effective. Coming here has helped me develop lots of useful skills; for example I feel I am now a lot better at organising my time. I also feel I would be a lot more confident than I have been in the past, with new environments and new people. Throughout this week I’ve felt very comfortable and relaxed. Each night I went home and looked forward to the next day; employees are sociable and at ease; and the workplace is nice and stylish. This experience, even though it’s work has been a very good one and it is a shame to be leaving.”
- Chloe

"My work experience here at Railston has been very good. Although the work may have been boring, such as being in Accounts all day, sorting through mail and doing expenses, I still managed to enjoy myself.

The work may have perhaps not been the most exciting tasks, but I did learn a lot about the company: how it works, the design, the drawings, marketing and the money that’s involved. I learned more of how a company works as a whole and found shop fitting isn’t quite as unexciting as it looks.

I was able to see the designs and plans for one of the shops in Exeter and was lucky enough to go on site to the shop and see how it’s all pulled together to make what the shop is. I learned the importance of the different roles like the accounts, health and safety, sales and most of all the project managers.

Overall, I think I was very lucky to have my work experience at Railston and I actually have had a good time and experience. Thank you Nathan!"
- Sarah

A new feature of our newsletter: "10 things we've learnt this month".

Some of the facts are funny and quite frankly rather random. Others are informative and highly relevant to the current state of the retail / shopfitting world. Here is a sneak peak of our first three things we learnt this month:

1. Everyone hates jargon including us, however, the term e-tail meaning electronic retailing is definitely the watch word this month and we have to admit it’s quite a good one.
2. With the apprentice back on telly it made us wonder where the phrase to “get fired” comes from. Apparently many years ago clans who wanted to expel members without killing them would burn their houses down!.. Hence the term "getting fired"... All of a sudden Alan Sugars pointed index finger seems far less threatening!
3. Google wasn't even in the top 100 of the worlds most valuable brands until 2005, but have been in the top spot for the last few years until this month when they were thrown of the top spot by no one other then the giants themselves Apple.

    You can sign up to our newsletter, which this quarter includes: 

    - A story about how the digital age will effect the physical shop, 
    - Our top ten things we learnt this month including information on The Consumer Rights Act and stats about 
      UK online spending
    - And Railston updates including our Charity fund-raising shenanigans and our newest shop fit-outs. 


    Click Here 

 

 

As promised here are a few of the many pictures we took on the day. We would like to take this opportunity to thank anyone who was involved in the day: Thank you!

Ok so "goes with a swing" isn't the most original title for a golf story, but it does describe the fantastic day enjoyed by Railston clients, suppliers and staff at the Celtic Manor on Friday 13th. The charity event was held to raise money for The Mustard Tree Macmillan centre at Plymouth Hospital, funds are still being totalled and we will post the final amount in the next few days. The golfers were lucky enough to play the Ryder Cup Twenty Ten Course and competition was fierce from the start. There were some cracking shots, good-humoured banter with drinks and food following the main event.
 
The individual winner was Railston project manager, Mike McKenna.
 
The winning team was High & Mighty

The other winners were:
Longest drive - John Haney
Nearest the pin - Reg Prim
Shot of horror - Chris Hyrb

Thanks to Reg Prim and Irena Windslow for their efforts organising the day and to all those who played and gave generously to the charity.

Photos to follow...