3 great achievements in 2016 for the Eurovans Van Centre in Eastbourne!

Eurovans Eastbourne had a fantastic 2016, winning Silver in the Overall Top Performer award, the Top Used Performer award, and the Q4 Overall Top Performer awards run by Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles nationally. This brought in a massive haul of £400 for each and every member of their staff. We asked a few members of their team what this meant for them:

• "The whole team is delighted with the recognition we’ve received, it’s been a great year for us and the team is working really well together. £400 is a lot of money, and I’m hoping to treat my two kids to something special with the money.” Paul Wiltshear, Technician
  
  
• “The Every Moment Matters platform is vital to help us recognise what is good and bad behaviour in the network, and how we can continue to strive to be better at what we do. It really helps us feel recognised for what we do and helps build that all important team spirit; with happy staff meaning happy customers!” Tom Paddock, After Sales Manager

Head of Business, Robin Day, told us of the turn around that had taken place during the year:

• “Two years ago we were second from bottom in the entire network, so we sat down and constructed a solid strategy to turn things around, analysing our Key Performance Indicators and seeing where we needed to improve. We’re now seeing the real benefits of this, with a fantastic team working hard day in day out to deliver the quality and service expected from Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles” Robin told us that proper training and accreditation was a key part of this plan, and that a key reason that customers keep coming back to his dealership is the fantastic brand knowledge and expertise on offer from the whole team: “Focussing on training and development has been an integral part of the turnaround here, as our customers come to us because of the thorough product knowledge and expertise our personable staff have on offer. This has also resulted in a much better level of staff turnover, as the staff here feel much more valued as we invest in their development”

With Eurovans Eastbourne winning the Overall Used award, this is clearly an area they do very well, so we asked Robin to elaborate on their strategy in this area too.

• "Customers are attracted to our used stock because of the quality they associate with the brand, with Das Welt Auto being a massive draw for us. When we sell a Das Welt Auto package we know with confidence that we won’t see a customer for another 12 months, (in the nicest possible way of course!) as the quality of this service is industry leading for a reason.”

Personalisation from the top

Head of Business Robin emphasised the importance he puts on knowing what his team are doing on the front line, and ensuring that he doesn’t become detached from the ever changing needs of his customers:

“I like to pick up the odd phone call each day and talk to our customers, it’s the best way to really know what’s happening at your dealership, otherwise it becomes very easy to lose touch with what’s really going on.”

Robin also told us that he liked to write a personalised letter to every customer that visits the centre, whether they purchase or not. This was just to thank them for coming by and to let them know that they were glad to see them and that they’re welcome back any time, even if it’s just for a cup of tea.

“This approach really helps build the ethos we aspire to meet in the JCB group, of a welcoming and comfortable environment for our customers that ensures they really feel like a valued member of the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles network”

Championing Aftersales

Customer satisfaction is key to the success of any dealership, and because of this we were very keen to talk to Customer Champion Tom Paddock, the very first qualified After Sales Manager of the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles network.

“Customer satisfaction is at the heart of our dealership. We try and build an ethos of inclusion in the team, with the Service and Sales team working quite literally side by side. This is something we believe really contributes to the fantastic team spirit we’re lucky to have here at Eurovans Eastbourne."

Well done to the whole team at Eurovans Eastbourne!