Training puts Mazda dealership on road to success
28/07/09
Mazda employees with their certificates
A Romford businessman has won the “Os-car” for being the best car dealer in the country after he introduced management and customer service training for himself and his staff.
Amarjit Shokar, who runs the Romford Mazda dealership in Collier Row Lane, was named “dealer principal of the year” in the Motor Trader Awards 2009.
Dealer principal is the name given to the general manager of a car showroom and the prize is the pinnacle achievement in the retail motor industry.
Judges look for proven sales success, retailing innovation, and proactive staff training programmes when deciding on the winner.
Romford Mazda was also nominated for two other awards in the industry’s version of the Oscars; the “most improved dealership” and the “customer care” awards.
“There were 80,000 entries in 16 different categories so just to be among the few short listed for an award is a major achievement,” Amarjit said. “I think we did rather well.”
He attributed the dealership’s success to staff training introduced after he and his brother Kam bought the business in 2007.
He set up customer service training for five of his sales team which was delivered by Waltham Forest College. And while about it he took a management training course himself.
Joy McCann, the curriculum manager for workforce development at Waltham Forest College, described Amarjit as a star student.
She said: “He certainly inspired his team to complete the course in double quick time. He had empathy with them about getting their homework done and having targets to reach because he had to face the same issues.
“He was constantly chivvying them to ensure they were up to date and ready when their assessor arrived to test them.”
Amarjit, 43, achieved the NVQ level 3 qualification in management, which is the equivalent to an A level. Five of his staff studied for the NVQ level 2 customer service qualification, equivalent to a high grade GCSE pass.
He added: “Customer care is crucial to our business and the training provided by the college has helped us improve the way we look after the people who walk through our showroom.
“The reason why this sort of training is important to a company like ours is that it protects the profitability and the longevity of the business. Profits are directly related to customer care.
“The more skills you have, the easier the job becomes and the more you enjoy it. The training certainly benefited me. It made me look at this business from different angles and reflect more on the way I did things.
“The staff taking the course have inspired each other and their motivation has increased. They are more thorough with customers, take notice of their concerns, and as a result customer retention has increased.”
He said the five staff members are now proud possessors of their NVQ certificates and it has inspired others among his 23-strong workforce to become interested in gaining qualifications.
The college delivered the training at the showrooms, fitting around staff working hours so as not interfere with their work, and the training courses were specifically tailored to be relevant to the business.
Funding for the training was provided under the Government’s Train to Gain programme, which is owned and managed by the Learning and Skills Council and aimed at improving the skills of Britain’s workforce.
The 2009 awards were presented at a ceremony held at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London, on July 8.