FOUR MASTER BCCS

The Life of Brians

FOUR MASTER BCSS

The Life of Brians

With combined experience of 30 years, father and son team Brian and Brian Steer (that’s right, two Brians!) cannot only demonstrate a historical pedigree but also an almost unmatched passion for audio.

Brian Junior, began the business 10 years ago after he left a national in-car technology chain and he hasn’t looked back since. Brian told us; “Even 20 years ago I was most passionate about audio and technology. As an employee I was constantly frustrated by the management ethos of putting profit before performance and when the company decided to chase the low-end volume markets at the expense of high-end audio, I could take no more and left. My son had worked for me on Saturdays and during school holidays since he was 13 and took little persuasion to join me in the business.”

Brian the younger caught the car audio bug at an early age, often frequenting local cruises as a youth sucking up the atmosphere and keeping an eye out for new trends. When he eventually became a driver he drove to cruises and shows in his own car, demonstrating his sounds and style.

Now somewhat older and wiser, the passion still remains, as does the enjoyment of car club meets, car shows and cruises where there remains a penchant for the extreme. These events feed Brian the younger’s imagination and keep him on the leading edge of trends in sound and styling.

BCSS is a three-man team, the third being Dean Marsh who spends much of his time keeping tabs on the other two as well as managing the showroom. The advantage of remaining relatively small is that all three staff know exactly what is going on which means customers get the best information at all times, even when a member of staff has a rare day off.

As a FOUR MASTER, BCSS promote their vast knowledge and skills to the premium audio market and carry out a lot of amp and speaker upgrades to executive saloons and luxury vehicles. Brian the elder is still astounded that the equipment fitted at the factory is still of such poor quality. He tells us; “Selling audio upgrades to owners of £35,000 plus cars takes just a five minute demonstration. The difference in dynamic range, clarity and musicality is so extreme that even a modest aftermarket system will convince car owners to upgrade to something they can actually enjoy listening to. With advances in subwoofer design as well as the availability of the very clever Audison BIT range of integration products, we can carry out extremely discrete systems with the added advantage that if leased, the car can be put back to stock condition at the end of its life.”

A quick look around the BCSS shop in Coulsdon will confirm that here is a business that embraces diversity and amongst the myriad of audio brands and equipment you will see alloy wheels and other styling accessories as well as an impressively stocked display of Meguiars cleaning, polishing and detailing products. You can also see examples of BCSS fibreglass work with a number of custom speaker and subwoofer pods on display. Brian the younger explains; “I still go to as many cruises as I can. My own car, a Vauxhall Vectra has now been rebuilt many times and we try to show all of our skills in every incarnation. Due to this we do pick up quite a bit of styling work alongside the audio system work we carry out and as an established business, we have hooked up with other specialist providers including other FOUR MASTERS in the locality and between us we can take on pretty much anything. We currently have a Porsche in for total refurbishment, which we have already converted it to right hand drive and are in the process of firming up the various bits of fabrication the customer wants. We will sub out work like spraying and even any upholstery stitching required. We are however, very much looking forward to designing and installing what should be a fabulous sound system.”

Vehicle security and hands-free phone kits are also an important part of the mix and BCSS provides fitting services to local car franchised and non-franchised dealers. Brian the elder concludes; “We have employed many different methods over the years to stimulate new custom and even dabble with Facebook and Twitter although these mediums work best for our younger customers. For the older and sometimes more discerning customer, word of mouth and our reputation for excellence is still the most valuable marketing asset we have. The trade work we pick up is almost exclusively based on reputation for excellent service, good products and an extra yard’s worth of technical know-how. When supplying a customer with a new car, the car dealer wants to know that any accessories fitted will integrate smoothly with the existing on board systems and that the vehicle will be treated with care and attention. We pride ourselves on the standard of our work and our up to date knowledge and always try to plan to avoid last minute headless panics.”

To find out more about BCSS or book a demonstration, visit www.briancarsounds.com or call 020 8645 0655