Hills Ford has seen dramatic improvements in the service levels it provides to customers over the past four years at its Malvern site.

As a small family-run, two-site dealer group, it knows that its reputation for customer service can make or break the business.

After being ranked 53rd in the UK for service the dealership is now in second place in Ford’s CSI rankings in 2019 with a near perfect rating of 96.8%.

It has also gone from 16th place on sales in 2015 to seventh place with a rating of 97.8%.

The business uses JudgeService for its internal CSI scoring and is rated at 95% recommended in 2019.

Hills Ford has a customer-first policy that means their day should be brightened after visiting the dealership, rather than feeling exhausted by the customer journey. Customers are treated as people, rather than as just a potential sales figure and staff strive for excellence every day.

The dealership’s customer retention rates have steadily increased as a result of this customer-first strategy. Despite being a Ford specialist, the dealership retains customers for servicing work even if they have switched to a different brand.

The approach to customer service is constantly evolving and involves every member of the team, from the service washers to the managing directors and everyone in between.

Honesty is always the best policy and on occasions where mistakes are made team members own up to it and open the lines of communication with customers to put things right with the minimum amount of inconvenience.

Managers will speak directly with the customer to help put a face of authority on a complaint.

The key for Hills Ford has been consistency by making sure customers are kept informed at all stages and to make sure they are never left feeling ignored.

Highly commended: Luscombe Suzuki Leeds, Roadside Garages

Finalists: Alexanders Prestige, BuyaCar.co.uk, Hills Ford, Luscombe Suzuki Leeds, Motonet.com, Roadside Garages

Award sponsored by: LTK Consultants