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When Customer Service ticks all the boxes! 

Article written by Bella Brodie on behalf of Park Home & Holiday Living magazine

Issue: February 2025 | Page 32

Bella Brodie reports

When Customer Service ticks all the boxes! 

When Viv and John O’Donovan decided to make the move to a park home, they were determined to do their research properly to ensure that they were aware of the pitfalls. However, having gone through the process of buying, they were also very keen to tell others not to be put off by negativity. We took time to talk to them recently after Viv posted feedback on a Google Review to try and help others who might be in the early stages of the buying process.

Park Home & Holiday Liiving Magazine Laird Estates

The park home they eventually bought was built by Omar, sited on Western Park, Sandbach, owned and run by Laird Estates. They took occupation in September 2024 and were just settling down for their first Christmas in their new home when we caught up with them. 

In the review Viv had said; “Buying your new home is a big investment, which we completed a few months ago. I hope that our before, during, and aftersales experience will help you also. We purchased a new Omar, designed our own interiors, and extra touches that we felt would enhance our new home, from extra patio doors, to waterfall showers, even changing a kitchen island’s purpose completely! Nothing was too much trouble, my calls and emails were always answered promptly same day.  We love our new home, the build and insulation gives peace of mind to British build standards, innovative design that is well thought through to maximise space.  Every new build offers follow up snag list support, and I have to say the after sales team is outstanding, a rarity these days, professional, thorough, friendly and nothing is too much trouble. I think it’s important for potential customers to be assured that the care and attention doesn’t end once you have paid and moved in! this peace of mind really mattered to us. So, I do hope this helps others, this is our personal experience, and we couldn’t be happier!  Park homes get such bad press, and I did SO much research because of this, but in this day and age it’s such a sensible, viable living option especially since British build standards incorporated which gives assurance.  Do we miss large council tax and utility bills? No thanks!!”

For a little background on their move, Viv and John already lived in Sandbach with their little dog Peanut.  They became interested in the park home lifestyle after visiting friends already living in a park home, and having asked lots of questions about the lifestyle. With a chronic pain condition, Viv is medically retired from the NHS, so they were looking for a low maintenance lifestyle solution and were impressed by the low running costs of a park home.  Viv said, “In my work I have seen plenty of retired folks who have found managing finances harder in retirement and have gone without. We worked out that the park home life would cut at least 50% off our bills, so we decided to go for it. Our lifestyle isn’t extravagant, but the savings would help us enjoy plenty of short trips while we’re fit enough.”

They visited several parks, spoke to a lot of residents, joined forums online and set out to do as much research as possible.  Viv said, “Joining the forums was a mixed bag, many on there had an axe to grind and what you see on there can be quite frightening, but we could also see that being thorough with our research was absolutely necessary. It’s important to look into who owns the park, and from a home perspective the customer care and after sales process is everything.  That’s why I felt compelled to write my review once we had bought. My parents were also concerned about longevity, but these homes last for 60/70 years in many cases, so we were also able to reassure our family members about the concept.”

She continued; “We decided to choose an Omar home as it felt like you get more from your money. The designs seemed to make the most of every centimetre and were quite innovative. Sophie Ronson from Omar came to go through everything with us and the park, and we had great fun going through everything we wanted in our home as we could specify it to our own preferences, that was such an enjoyable and exciting process. Nothing was too much trouble, everything was dealt with professionally and swiftly, with same-day replies to our emails and we found everyone would pick up the phone and get back to us straight away if we called. The aftercare team was just as good, both the park and Omar have been there for everything we needed, we have been so impressed!  It’s a lot of money to spend, and as we had read on the forums that lack of communication was sometimes a problem with other manufacturers, we are keen to tell others that our experience was quite different.”

Sophie Ronson, Account Manager for Omar said “One of the most rewarding aspects of our work is helping our customers achieve their perfect outcome, and it was a pleasure to work on this home.  We work closely with Laird Estates on several of their parks, and have a great working relationship with them. It’s great to hear how that translates from a customer’s perspective.”

Talking about Laird Estates and Western Park Viv said, “Bill Laird Jnr and Keith, the warden on our park have been brilliant to deal with and so helpful.  The build process took about 12 weeks and both the park and manufacturer helped with timing. As our home arrived on the park slightly ahead of us exiting our bricks and mortar property, we had access to it, so we didn’t have to do everything in one day.  We’re not big gardeners so the front of the plot has been laid to lawn with the rear block paved and safe and secure with low level fencing for Peanut. 

We also have a large shed they laid the base for, which we definitely needed as you do have to reduce what’s in your home fairly drastically. To be honest, it did us good to have a good clear out, we had so many things we didn’t use and didn’t need!  The shed also houses our tumble drier in although we tend to dry washing indoors. That was another surprise, we had hot and cold air conditioning added by Roberts Air Conditioning and that also helps keep running costs down, but we’ve found that using dry mode on that takes any condensation out of the air, so it’s a useful addition we’ll find useful whatever the time of year!”

“We love hearing feedback from our residents about how making the switch to park home living has positively impacted their lives. While we know how rewarding this way of life can be, for someone considering the leap, the best advice often comes from those who’ve already made it.


The Omar Vision home that Viv and John chose is stunning, and their thoughtful customisations have truly made it their own. One of the many perks of park homes is how customisable they are, and we always encourage residents to tailor their homes to suit their needs. 


We’ve been working with Omar for years because of their exceptional quality, from the construction of the homes to their customer service and aftercare. Their support plays a vital role in what we do.


We’re so grateful to Viv for sharing her story and helping to spread the word about the unique benefits of park home living.”

In summary Viv said, “The main thing that puts people off is that you can get unscrupulous owners, but it’s such a shame as it’s such a lovely cost-effective way of living. A quick email/call to the council in the parks area will assure if you are contemplating a fully residential park, which it has to be for 12 month occupation and to have legal protection under the mobile homes act, and to check park owner has passed fit and proper person council checks. The combination we found with Laird Estates and Omar has been a great example of how good the experience can be. They were both absolutely outstanding, from start to finish, and beyond!”