Local Business Profile: Daly’s Service Station, Eglish

Name: Martin Daly
Business Name: Daly’s Service Station
Business Location: Eglish

How long has Daly’s Service Station been opened? Daly’s Service station has been on site since 1947 when my grandmother Cassie first started to supply TVO for tractors after the second World War. After her passing in 1986 my father (Jim) who had a garage on site took over the site and developed it from there. In 2017, I decided to leave my job in the Education Authority and develop the site to what it is now. Our new store has been opened for two years on September 12.

What are your strengths? We pride ourselves on strong customer service within our store. We were shortlisted last year for Forecourt of the Year awards in London for best customer service and this year it has just been announced that we have been shortlisted for best independent forecourt and newest newcomer to the sector for the Retail Industry awards in London – due to take place in January. We are very proud to have come this far in a short space of time – it’s all thanks to the wonderful staff we employ.

Has Covid-19 affected Daly’s? Covid has brought many challenges to our business, keeping high standards of hygiene throughout the store is a key priority for our staff and customers. We have also a very flexible delivery service which has
helped some of our older and more vulnerable members of society continue with their lives as much as possible. We certainly have felt pressures like all businesses, but adapting, amending, diversifying are the key ingredients to staying afloat. The support of our customers has been fantastic during the last few months and supporting local traders and suppliers is also something we are passionate about, especially is these challenging times.

What makes Daly’s Service Station unique? We feel our strengths are to serve our local community as we cater for the majority of their needs. Our fresh daily delivery of fruit and veg, fresh flowers and wide range of groceries and services
make us stand out and help provide our rural community with everyday essentials. At Daly’s we also sell a range of fine
wines and spirits, it’s something we are passionate about and our customers certainly enjoy what we have to offer.

What are your plans for the future? We hope to continue to grow the business over the next few years, consolidating our offers and range. We are in constant communication with our customers; our future is shaped on both what their needs are as well as introducing the latest global trends in food and shopping in order to give them high quality produce and choice as well as a great shopping experience.

What skills do you feel are relevant in the business world today? Spending your whole life in one career/job is not something I would recommend, having experience at doing different things helps build you as a person. There are so many transferable skills that can be adapted for any type of work/job. At the end of the day no matter what your job/career, you always work with people, if you master that, you can open any door to success.

Any advice for anyone starting out in business today? Do your homework, good business is all about good research and those you do business with. From the outset Henderson’s (SPAR) have been there every step of the way to help build the foundations of our business, they are key to the success of our business.

What will Christmas be like at Daly’s this year? It will certainly be a bit different for us all this Christmas, trying to make sure we stay safe and yet enjoy the build up and the occasion itself. It’s certainly a busy period for us as we try to make sure we have everything in place for our customers. Our 12 deals of Christmas has already started and once again is proving very popular with our customers, as well as our special food and wine hampers for those special gifts. Our big four-week TV giveaway will also be running this year again, a real treat for our lucky winners.

If you would like your business featured contact Sean on 07843256482  or email s.mcintosh@dungannonherald.com.