Meet Nick Milsom, Workshop Technician

---

Nick joined the workshop team in January and has enjoyed learning the ropes and getting to know everyone. Outside of work he enjoys hiking and walking, and has recently started taking part in 100k Ultra Challenges.

In May, Nick completed the Jurassic Coast walk to raise money for Alzheimer’s Research, an illness his grandad suffered from. In June, he completed his second 100k Ultra in the Cotswolds and he’s soon to embark on a climb up Snowdon!

What does your role involve?

As a technician I undertake caravan services, repairs, warranty work and jobs to install new equipment. I basically deal with any task related to the technical side of caravans! We also carry out habitation checks on motorhomes and campervans, which involves checking that all the systems are working well such as the heating, water, electric, gas etc. We also check for signs of damp etc and sort out any issues that we find.

 

What is your career background?

I started my career as a marine engineer building superyachts. It sounds very glamorous, but was actually quite high stress. I put in 110%, but I was just a number to them. So I left that role in 2017 and went travelling around the world for two years which was an amazing experience!

When I got back at the end of 2019, the pandemic was starting but I managed to get outdoor work working for my friend, fitting fascias. Once the worst of Covid had passed, I put my CV online to see if I got any interest from boat building companies, which I did and I went for a few interviews.

At this time James Southwood, Winchester Caravans MD, saw my CV online and approached me about a technician role. I came for the trial and I loved it! Everyone was really welcoming, the company has a real family feel and it seemed like a great place to work so I decided to go for it!

What do you like about caravanning?

I’ve caravanned in the past and I love the fact that you can just up and go at short notice and that you have everything you need with you for an easy, self-contained break. If we have any pre-owned caravans in stock, as staff, we’re allowed to borrow them and I’m planning to do this in August. I’m going for a long weekend away, accompanying a friend to a car show and it will be great to have the caravan to come back to at the end of the day rather than a tent! I’m very outdoorsy so caravanning suits me, it’s great that you can just pitch up and enjoy the great outdoors!

What do you find most rewarding about your role?

I love dealing with the customers; it’s great when you talk to them after you’ve completed the work and they’re happy with what you’ve done. We go the extra mile for our customers, especially compared to some other dealerships and people really appreciate it. For example, if there’s a little niggle with the caravan, we will always go out of our way to sort it while it's in for its service to make it easier for the customer.

We deliver extremely high standards, and as I’m used to working on superyachts, that elite standard of work is ingrained in me and I follow that through in all my work wherever I am. I take great pride in my work and get huge satisfaction from knowing I’ve done a great job. Seeing the happy customer at the end is very rewarding!

 

What do you find most challenging about your role?

As I come from a boat background, caravans are still quite new to me, so overcoming differences in the vehicles can be challenging sometimes but it’s enjoyable too. Diagnosing problems isn’t always easy and I’m constantly learning, but I get lots of support from my colleagues and everyone’s really helpful. I enjoy trying to work things out for myself but it’s good to have the team behind me too. We all help each other out, we’ve all got our own strengths and we each bring something different to the table which is great.

Do you have any aims or plans for the coming year?

I’d like to progress into a supervisory role at some point in the future and my managers are very supportive of that goal. I will also continue building up my certifications - I’ve done one already and I’ve got another three to go. It's very similar to the boat certifications that I already hold, but it’ll be great to have the caravan ones too.

Why is Winchester Caravans and Motorhomes a great place to work?

They really look after their staff and I feel totally valued as an individual. It makes you want to work even harder for them and do your absolute best. I also like the work itself, it’s really enjoyable with the added bonus of a great team and no stress!


Read some more staff interviews or check out our Meet the Team page!

---

‹ All press releases