Sytner JLRS Division
Dave Stott (left), Sales Controller, congratulating Craig Humphries.
Award Nominee, September 2021
We would like to nominate Craig Humphries for August’s Employee of the Month.
Mr Rose collected his new vehicle only last week and unfortunately it broke down today. Mr Rose called Land Rover Assist this morning and was told he was going to have to wait for 5 hours which was going to cause Mr Rose an issue as he had a very important meeting to go to. Craig took a loan car to Mr Rose and took it on himself to wait with the broken down vehicle until Land Rover Assist recovered the car. This then allowed the customer to get on with his day and went a long way to making the very best of a bad situation.
Really well done Craig.
Tom Booth (right), Used Car Sales Manager, congratulating Craig Dendy.
Award Nominee, August 2021
We have nominate Craig Dendy for August’s Employee of the Month.
Craig had a handover on the last day of the month, the latest V5 had not been taken in at the Porsche dealer who had brought the car into stock. To save the customer having to go away and collect on another day when we had the V5, he phoned the DVLA and arranged to tax the car at the post office. He then paid for 6 months tax out of his own money to enable the car to be taxed and registered and allow the customer to take delivery of their car.
Craig may not be able to afford to eat tonight after paying out over £260 to help our customer but the customer is happy and that’s all that matters!
Thank you Craig.
Nick Moore (right), General Sales Manager, congratulating Darren Dobson.
Award Nominee, July 2021
We have nominated Darren Dobson for July’s Employee of the Month for getting involved with a customer issue after hours and putting a plan in place so quickly.
A customer’s car had been collected by a customer but he had an issue with the massage seats, it seemed to be stuck in one position with the lump sticking out and it didn’t want to change.
He was going down to London the following day and was worried that he would get a severe back pain if he drove with a lump in his back. A plan was hatched with Darren who volunteered to come in early to fix the issue by deflating the massage pack to make the journey more comfortable as the issue could not be totally fixed without new parts.
Thank you Darren who is always on hand to help a customer out night or day.
PAUL SMITH (left), HEAD OF AFTERSALES, congratulating Paul Howden.
Award Nominee, September 2021
One of our customers, Mrs Thomson Parkin had booked a waiting service appointment at the dealership. With her son being autistic she was very conscious he would not want to wait inside and become agitated. Quick thinking Paul suggested the park which is just a few yards down the road to entertain her son whilst her car was in the workshop Mrs Thompson Parkin thought it was a wonderful idea. Whilst they were away Paul took it upon himself to make their visit extra special by purchasing a remote control car from our Parts Department to give to the little boy when he came back. Due to his autism Paul wanted to make sure the car worked immediately for him to prevent him from becoming upset, so he shot off to the local shop to buy batteries in preparation. On Mrs Thompson Parkin’s return Paul presented the car to the little boy and WOW he was thrilled. Mrs Thompson Parkin was so moved by Paul’s generosity she became very emotional and said she was extremely grateful for all of the team for being so kind it had made their day. Well done Paul for thinking outside the box!
Ian Bennett (right), Head of Business, congratulating Anthony Cronk.
Award Nominee, September 2021
Anthony’s customers’ daughter was inquisitive about how the tyres on the cars were put on, were they glued on? He did his best to explain to her and after her visit, he did a CITNOW video in the workshop of the tyres being changed on a vehicle and sent it to his customer so her daughter could visualise his explanation.
The customer was delighted at the personalised customer experience she received from Anthony and the lasting impression it made on her daughter. Well done Anthony!
Alan Davis (left), Head of Business, congratulating Gemma Smith.
Award Nominee, September 2021
We have nominated Gemma for our Employee of September for “Making it Special” based on her recent responses of “Voice of the Customer”!
Along with some wonderful and amazing comments from customers, she also had a Mrs Williams who was so delighted with the level of service provided she arrived with a massive bunch of flowers for Gemma to say thank you.
Gemma is very passionate about delivering outstanding customer service in a tough and challenging environment. Well done and well deserved Gemma!
CommentNPS - Why Do You Say That?I walked into Guy Salmon with so many issues wrong with my car. However, this did not deter the Service Consultant from ensuring that all my problems were resolved. I left the dealership with complete satisfaction as my car was restored to perfection. Service Advisor Recommendation - Why Do You Say That Gemma Smith was absolutely brilliant. I literally had so many items on my to do to list but Gemma listened, took photos and got the Technician to resolve them all. I was also kept informed at every stage of the way. I am highly impressed by her quality of service and would recommend her to friends and family. Service Mentioned Other Person Details Gemma Smith is a very remarkable lady with an attention to detail. She went above and beyond in every way. I am a very satisfied customer. CommentNPS - Why Do You Say That? Excellent service Service Advisor Recommendation - Why Do You Say That Nothing more to say Service Mentioned Other Person Details Gemma. Excellent member of your staff who kept me informed regarding the progress of the service of the car. 11/10.
– Mrs Williams
Andrew Meads (right), Parts Manager, congratulating Derek Tweedie.
Award Nominee, September 2021
Derek did a fantastic job on a Saturday afternoon, out of hours, when delivering some wheels to a customer.
He could see the customer was an elderly gentleman and decided to make sure that he took the wheels up to his garage and stored them for him to avoid him struggling.
He then received a lovely email of thanks for his attitude.
Morning Mark, thanks again for arranging the wheel delivery for me, the Driver was very friendly and helpful, he even helped me stack them, I am very grateful. Can I ask if you know the weight of one of the wheels please as the courier always ask for this, thanks very much again, John Wilkinson
– John Wilkinson
Gary Slater (right), Head of Sales, congratulating Justin Defaye.
Award Nominee, September 2021
Justin Defaye is our Making it Special winner for September and here are the reasons why:
Justin has on a number of occasions gone over and above his duties by taking the time out of his day to speak with customers before the vehicle repair to understand what, why and how the fault has appeared on their vehicle.
He then keeps the customers updated throughout the repair via various media forms, finally concluding with a conversation with the customers as to the rectification work that he has carried out in great detail.
This approach from Justin has given our customers the wow factor, made them feel extremely special and turned what could have been the customers final visit to the dealership into hopefully many more purchases and service bookings.
Samuel McCann (right), Body Shop Estimator, congratulating Curtis Granidson.
Award Nominee, September 2021
This was another colleague who nominated Curtis.
I would just like to make note of some great work from Curtis in our cosmetics bay.
Curtis worked on a set of wheels yesterday under a strict time limit and to a great standard.
He forfeited his lunch break to make sure all efforts were made to complete the job and I wanted to confirm how appreciative I am for his efforts, so that our customer could take delivery of their new vehicle.
Simon Crane (right), Head Of Business, congratulating Nick Calvey.
Award Nominee, September 2021
One of our customers took the time to write to Simon Crane (Head of Business) with the below letter. Well done Nick for exceptional customer care!
I always believe in ‘shouting from the rooftops’ when someone goes over and above their duty and you have two guys who really saved the day for us a couple of weeks ago. My youngest son Josh called in at home, on his way up from Devon, on Saturday 4 September and I noticed his rear wheel was covered in what looked like oil but turned out to be axle grease. He was due to drive to Liverpool the following day and then on the Monday up to the Isle of Skye and then the island of North Uist. Clearly he wasn’t going anywhere. I rang your Service department (bear in mind it was Saturday afternoon) expecting to be told that there was nothing to be done until the car could be booked in etc. Fortunately Luke Sutton answered the phone and, on hearing Josh’s predicament, told us to get there as soon as possible. We arrived to find him waiting for us – he took the car to Nick Calvey who had a brief look, diagnosed the issue and then came to see us. He clearly explained what was wrong and what was needed. He said to leave the car with him as he should be able to sort it. We went off for a coffee and a sandwich next door. Twenty minutes later Luke rang to say it was all sorted but they needed to let the sealant set over the rest of the weekend. He told us we could collect the car on the Monday morning as early as we liked. We collected the car at 8:15am on Monday 6 September and the work had been done…..and the car had even been washed!! That is extraordinary service. They could both have said that it was too short notice, there were people in the queue in front of us and that the servicing lead-time was four weeks, etc. Instead they went out of their way to help Josh. That is perfect exemplary service.
– Mr W of Clifton
Ashley Southam (left), Used Car Sales Manager, congratulating Suki Gill.
Jaguar Land Rover South West London
Award Nominee, September 2021
This month we would like to celebrate Suki Gill. As a Sales Executive he has been instrumental in driving in excellent reviews into the Sytner website and Five Star Google and Trustpilot ratings.
We have even had customers writing in as they have been so pleased with the level of service offered by Suki. Some of the quotes from customers were: “Suki was a real pleasure to deal with,” “Suki Gill … was very knowledgeable, honest and responsive,” “exceptional level of service,” “friendly, courteous and professional.”
Thank you so much Suki for this Rockstar approach to delivering an excellent level of service that is clearly natural to you. You have been flexible and adaptable to the needs of our ever-changing customer base. Well done Suki and THANK YOU …
James Grice (right), Service Manager, congratulating Lorraine Hasty.
Award Nominee, August 2021
Lorraine Hasty is our Making it Special nomination for August.
Lorraine at a moment’s notice has covered reception, she had all incoming calls diverted to her phone and did a great job managing the calls alongside her own role.
Lorraine has also been proactive and given our Used Car Sales Manager two leads where customers have been looking to sell their cars.
In addition to that Lorraine has called complaint customers and dealt with booking in delay issues really well.
Well done Lorraine!
Marley-Dee Joseph (right), Dealership Accountant, congratulating Kelly Pullin.
Award Nominee, August 2021
Kelly is the definition of a team player, she often goes above and beyond to support her team and the wider dealership. Her dedication and motivation to providing the best customer experience is inspiring. She is always willing to step up, provide cover for colleagues and exceed expectations. The last couple of weeks have been particularly challenging for the Host team and we wouldn’t have been able to succeed as well as we have without Kelly.
Alan Davis (right), Head of Business, congratulating Jim Wicks.
Award Nominee, August 2021
John Wicks our longest serving colleague continues to keep our Land Rover warranty claiming systems in tiptop order which is often being complemented by Neil Hannan for his controls along with our Land Rover Health & Safety processes, again working closely with Sian.
His attention to detail, common sense and management of expenses makes him very worthy of our nomination for August. Well done Jim!
Matthew Welch (right), Head of Sales, congratulating Paul Goode.
Award Nominee, August 2021
Paul has recently completed the coast to coast challenge, which he did on his only day off that week. He raised £500 for Acorns children hospital and the challenge took him all day whilst raising money for a good cause.
We felt this was a great achievement and worth recognizing the effort taken on a day off to do an amazing thing for charity.
PAUL WILLIAMS (right), MANAGING DIRECTOR, congratulating Chris Addle and Matthew Summersgill.
Award Nominee, August 2021
A double nomination for Wakefield prompted by a customer commendation new starter Matthew Summersgill – Service Advisor and Chris Addle – Workshop Quality Controller went out of their way to make this customer reassured and happy once again with their vehicle, well done guys!
I had taken my Evoque into Guy Salmon at Wakefield because of the poor performance of my car and what we thought was the turbo after looking it up on youtube and speaking to others about it. We had Matthew, Service Advisor to ensure us that they would look into this problem by running a diagnostic test and taking the car out test drive. Matthew was very friendly and professional in making sure this problem would get sorted and asked a couple of work colleagues to listen and notice the problem. At first this wasn't noticed by the test drives but he didn't give up and then asked Chris their expert Mechanic to come out with myself to see if we could find the problem together. Chris was brilliant with myself and made me feel confident by being patient with me and taking over the driving as I was a little nervous driving on motorways due to a back injury and confidence lost. Chris noticed the problem with the car pretty much instantly and explained what it was and why it was doing it and that it can be fixed with no problem, he also gave a detailed explanation to my Husband and myself. Once back Chris and Matthew wrote a detailed quote for us to send to the warranty company. The service from Guy Salmon was brilliant and I would definitely recommend them to anyone. Thank you so much for your patience and expertise. Mrs Lisa Jane Collins
– Mrs Lisa Jane Collins
Ian Bennett (left), Head of Business, congratulating Rob Gicquel.
Award Nominee, August 2021
Rob has been acknowledged by his customers regularly for the fantastic experience he delivers.
The following feedback we have received from a delighted customer says it all.
Well done Rob for Making it Special!
I cannot commend Rob Gicquel enough for the truly pleasant and most professional customer service which I received during my recent car repair. I unfortunately already had a poor experience with another local JLR dealership only a couple of weeks prior to bringing my car to Guy Salmon Portsmouth. That dealership had failed to fully fix a fault that my 2019 Velar had developed, despite having the car in their possession for several weeks. The staff there were utterly inattentive. It was therefore such a relief to speak to Rob and for him to actually listen to and understand my needs and concerns. The car was fully investigated and fixed in a matter of days, with Rob compiling a thorough report of the work undertaken. Rob's level of customer service skills goes far beyond what can be taught, he is clearly a natural in his role and is an absolute asset to your company. As a direct result of Rob's meticulous and comprehensive approach to work, as well as his empathetic nature, I will certainly be a returning customer to Guy Salmon Portsmouth; even though you aren't the closest dealership to me.
– Nic Smith
Wendy Beatty (left), Head of Customer Service, congratulating Katie Edmonds.
Jaguar Land Rover South West London
Award Nominee, August 2021
Katie Edmonds has been recognised for our Making it special award for August 2021. She was nominated by the Host team. One of our customers came in with her husband partaking in the delight of our ‘while you wait’ service. The lady had recently been having chemotherapy treatment and had commented to Katie that this was why she had no hair. Katie took the time to sit with her and have a long chat, when she carried out a little Miss Marple activity and found out she worked in a local school. As the customer has been vulnerable during the Covid pandemic she had to be away from the school for quite a while. Katie made a point of making a note of the school and that she was returning this week. She has gone out of her way to go and delivered some flowers to the school. We think this is a beautiful gesture and reflects what a compassionate person she is. She carried all of this out in her own time and really went out of her way to make someone’s day and to make them feel so special. Thank you Katie, we are delighted you are part of our team.
Richard Kocinski (left), Workshop Controller, congratulating Mark Ashbee.
Award Nominee, July 2021
Richard Kocinski, Workshop Controller said, “I would like to nominate Mark Ashbee for Making it Special in July as he has gone out of his way for the company and customer’s this month.”
Mark had the 8th & 9th booked off but came in on the 8th due to us being short staffed and being very busy. Then he also came in on his summer holidays, he was due to finish on the 23rd but came in to finish a car he had started but didn’t have time to complete which I think is as Land Rover would say ‘above and beyond’.
NICK MIERNIK (right), GENERAL SALES MANAGER, congratulating Mark Dale.
Award Nominee, July 2021
A slightly different Making It Special but we thought it was well deserved as the act in question helped our customers and colleagues alike.
Mark Dale our Warranty Administrator has set a lot of time aside recently even encroaching into his own time and is still continuing to do so, in order to attend to all the decal transfers on New Land Rover Defenders in fact all decals that need addressing within the dealership!
Mark is only too happy to help which in turn has helped us out massively not to mention the cost savings as well as no requirement to employ the services of a signage company.
Well done Mark!
Alan Davis (right), Head of Business, congratulating Leo Goodhew.
Award Nominee, July 2021
Leo has kindly taken the challenge of engaging directly with our customers prior to arrival to discuss their vehicle concerns in greater detail and extending information from our Call Centre to assist our technical team.
He has demonstrated his Level 4 skills by interacting with customers during their visit, road testing where necessary and explaining in detail the vehicle features which often puts the customer at ease along with saving time, removes pressure from Service Advisor’s and is making a positive impact to our Right First Time measurement.
With the vehicles becoming more complicated and technical, this position and his desire to deliver outstanding customer service is certainly paying off!!!
Well done Leo, totally deserved!
Craig Bales (right), Service Manager, congratulating Lucy Arnold.
Award Nominee, July 2021
Lucy has recently joined the business, from the Events sector, having not worked in the motor trade before Lucy has been a breath of fresh air to the department.
Lucy has had CLP above target for each month she has worked here and has received some outstanding customer comments on her returns, as below.
Lucy’s customer service has been superb and everyone in the department is impressed with how she has adapted so well to the role and incorporating the brand and Sytner values.
Very helpful and super friendly staff. Lucy was fabulous and hit my car in and sorted very quickly.I was looked after really well - Lucy was great. Courtesy car was clean and nice to try something new! Lucy kept me up to date and got my car returned at the time I was toldI was greeted by Lucy at the dealership and was extremely impressed by her helpful and professional manner. She pulled out all the stops to get my needs met and in a very friendly way. I hope I get to deal with her on my next visit.
– various
Mike Tyson (left), Head of Business, congratulating Paul Slater.
Award Nominee, July 2021
Paul has gone above and beyond over the last few months taking it upon himself to help guide new subcontract valeters. He has also arranged overtime if it has been needed in the evening and covered holidays without being asked. Paul even decided to start early to get all loan cars sanitised for our customers.
Paul has been instrumental in ensuring there is enough space around our site for customers to park by moving vehicles to the correct area, again without being asked. This is essential, as we currently have very limited space due to our dealership being fully refurbished and are currently operating between three temporary workshops.
Without his efforts, we do not think we would have been top in our group for customer satisfaction.
Thank you for all your hard work Paul.
Darrell Jones (right), Head of Business, congratulating Brett Pike.
Award Nominee, July 2021
Brett has been nominated for July’s Making It Special by his colleagues for his helpfulness, his hard work, commitment and energy in being able to photograph, reappraise and load onto SEA 40 trade vehicles and arranging for them all to be collected in the month, making a trade profit in the process of £43000!
He was also during this time still photographing all our retail vehicles as well.
Laura Barley (right), Financial Controller, congratulating Lorna Weir.
Jaguar Land Rover South West London
Award Nominee, July 2021
Our worthy respondent of our Making it Special award for the month of July is Lorna Weir. Lorna has been instrumental in learning how to deal with HMRC and the DVLA processes and forms on how to export cars to Europe post-Brexit.
She has been recognised for a car purchased through the Embassy route for a customer called Antonio who was delighted with Lorna’s support. Tim Carter, Manager—Special Programmes for Fleet and Business, contacted into the business to add: “Can I just add my thanks on behalf of the Europe Region for the excellent work done by the Sytner team and particularly to Lorna. A really good job which exemplifies the Above and Beyond value.”
Well done and thank you Lorna.
