Marshall Hyundai Gloucester has won the Best In Customer Service Award at the 2022 AM Awards for car dealers.

For two years running, in extraordinary circumstances with the pandemic, Marshall Hyundai Gloucester topped the Korean brand’s national league for customer focus.

Under the guidance of general manager Tom Avery, who has been with the business since it was founded in 2012 as part of Westland Group, the business also returned 2.9% return on sale in 2021 and an over budget performance of £168,000.

Sales numbers were 5% above Hyundai’s national average, service 4%.

This is against a background of lockdowns and vehicle supply disruptions caused by the Covid pandemic.

Longevity is an important element of providing excellent customer care, with Avery and his senior sales executive being able to track customers back more than 20 years when he worked for another business, the two sales executives have been with the business five years and the master technician 11 years, parts manager and aftersales manager seven and sales manager more than three.

A key challenge says Avery is identifying customers who have “slipped under the net”, because the business didn’t respond quickly enough when they were not totally satisfied. “My office is a glass box in the showroom,” he said in his entry. The door is always open and if Avery hears a disgruntled customer he’ll talk to them immediately and resolve the problem.

To prevent this, all sales and service customers are asked to complete satisfaction surveys, they’re asked to complete Google reviews (the dealership has more than 500 with an average score of 4.6 out of five) and all customer phone conversations are recorded. Each of the management team listen to 20 calls per week for coaching and development purposes.

Considerable attention is given to checking customer email addresses and telephone numbers at all touchpoints. The focus means it has the cleanest data in the Hyundai network: 96% for email, 95% for mobile numbers.

It has paid off. As one customer put it, leaving a five-star review: “I went for day trip to search for a new car. Honestly, I did not expect to get such an amazing experience.”

 

Highly Commended

Lookers Northallerton Volkswagen

Roadside Garages

 

Finalists 

• Jim Reid Vehicle Sales & Service
• Lexus Cardiff (Marshall Motor Group)
• Livery Dole
• Lookers Northallerton Volkswagen
• Marshall Hyundai Gloucester
• Marshall Toyota Newport
• Motonet.com
• Roadside Garages
• Holdcroft Motor Group
•  

 Sponsor's comment

 "LTK Consultants Ltd were delighted to sponsor the Best in Customer Service category at this year’s award ceremony, which was won by Marshall Hyundai Gloucester

"LTK in providing customer retention tools and services for many years, understands that serving and retaining customers is a key ingredient to the success and longevity of any business. Providing excellent customer service is not an activity, but an ethos that permeates throughout a business and is confirmed by how many customers are prepared to return again and again, which is why this award category was a good fit for LTK to sponsor.

"The passion and dedication of the team in Gloucester was manifested through the joy of its Manager in accepting the Award, and is testament to the customer centric ethos present in both the staff and management.

"LTK commends the whole Marshall Hyundai Gloucester team on being worthy winners and wish them continued success," said Andrew Landell, managing director.