A True Story
In the year 2000 a boat enthusiast and qualified diesel mechanic woke up in the middle of the night thanks to a bizarre dream about rescuing a boat that had broken down.
The following night he dreamt that he ran a business called River Canal Rescue and that morning the business idea was born. Little did he know that this dream would start a journey that developed one of the most influential, liked, and respected small businesses in the UK. And the story is still being written…
RCR in a nutshell
RCR is at its core a breakdown and recovery provider for boaters and we pride ourselves on providing outstanding customer service. In fact – our award winning customer service ratings are amongst the best in the world with our UK customer base rating us on average 90% excellent and 98% satisfied.
We also are committed to providing unrivalled value for money and continue to look for ways to give the customer more. This has resulted in the introduction of Replacement Parts Cover, Rescue and Salvage services, and WaterNav to name a few. In fact, our customers value our services so highly that we are often prioritized over other services such as insurance when times are hard.
Another big part of why we have such a great reputation is due to our impact within the industry. RCR is a key standard setter and technology introducer and has an enviable track record of introducing modern technologies. RCR has introduced CMS databases, electronic mapping, app based customer account systems, fuel treatments, telematics, towing tools, and more and is currently working on a remote monitoring system and a hydrogen fuel cell propulsion system for boats.
The UK People
RCR worked out early on that a business is only as good as it’s employees and great employee’s are hard to come by in niche industries. Because of this RCR has always highly regarded apprentice schemes and staff retention. RCR has been recognized as one of the top 100 businesses for apprentices in the UK and has very good staff retention which can be seen in the hierarchy where every senior team member is either a founder or started as an RCR apprentice.
RCR values every member of its team and does all it can to ensure they receive continuous training and development as long as they are a part of the team. Because of this our staff are highly regarded within the industry and are amongst the highest qualified engineers anywhere globally with a very diverse knowledge base.
RCR also chooses who it works with carefully and looks for people who hold themselves to a high standard, is fearless and confident, who is interested in boats, and who is empathetic and helpful. Qualifications are secondary to this as RCR believes that skills can be taught but values and principles cannot.
Everyone at RCR is involved in the growth of the business and it is their ambitions that drives our evolution. The expansion of our offering to other territories is a goal that all at RCR will be involved with accomplishing and collectively wish to achieve.
Our next target is Perth WA and our colleagues there will be working closely with us to ensure a similar level of service is provided. And we don’t intend to stop there…
