Sytner JLRS Division
Himaakshi Songra
Jaguar Land Rover South West London
Award Nominee, December 2024
Himaakshi joined the service admin team in September thinking it would be all about job card prep and diary production and filing and learning invoicing…….how wrong this would be!
We closed the Contact Centre and before she knew it she was immersed in phone calls and bookings! Then two of her colleagues were out of the business and Himaakshi was flying solo!
She stayed positive, kept calm and carried on! Bookings continued and she was able to make many customers make plans.
She really did step up and now her colleague is back, she is ready to continue her learning with the team.
Nick Miernik (right), Head of Business, congratulating Christopher Miklos.
Award Nominee, December 2024
Shout out for Chris Miklos who went out of his way to help driver Helena who was delivering a vehicle to us and she was running over to her next pick up due to the extreme weather.
Helena had to catch a bus to the bus station in the city, Chris immediately offered to take her to the station not only to help out but the weather was extremely inclement on that day and Helena would have got soaked through.
Later in the day we received a call from Helena as with this small act of kindness she actually made it on time and wanted to pass on her thanks, in her own words “please pass on my gratitude, I was blown away with the fantastic level of service I received from Chris Miklos, he was a true gent, he went above and beyond with no thought about himself and truly made me feel special”.
Helena went on to say that she works part-time as a DJ for a small radio station in Croydon and she was going to mention Chris on the radio station! Well done Chris.
Roman Zawadzki (right), Head of Sales, congratulating Georgie Farrow.
Award Nominee, December 2024
Georgie created a wonderful event for the sales team, for secret Santa. Georgie made the event so special that she came in on her day off and other sales colleagues also came in on their day off to take part.
Georgie had music, Gregg’s breakfast and juices (laid out beautifully) which she arranged and picked up by herself, games and amazing pressies for the team. Well done Georgie.
Paul Williams (left), Head of Business, congratulating Tom Rookledge.
Jaguar Land Rover Huddersfield
Award Nominee, December 2024
Tom’s dedication to delivering exceptional service shines through in every interaction, earning him the highest number of gold stars and an impeccable 100% customer satisfaction rating for the whole of 2024.
His genuine care, attention to detail, and relentless pursuit of excellence have made a lasting impact on every customer he serves. Whether guiding someone toward their dream car or ensuring a seamless purchasing experience, Tom consistently goes above and beyond.
This recognition reflects not only his outstanding work but also his ability to inspire the team and elevate the dealership’s reputation.
Thank you, Tom, for your unwavering commitment to setting the highest standards of customer care. You truly make our dealership special!
Keep up the fantastic work!
Luke and Sarah Welling ‘The Wellings’
Award Nominee, December 2024
I’d like to nominate both Luke and Sarah Welling for going out of their way to help us make a customer’s experience particularly special this weekend.
Mrs Lou purchased and collected her Pre-Reg Jaguar F-Pace this Saturday without any hitches thanks to their hard work. Whilst the car was being valeted it became apparent there was an issue with the car’s wipers, Luke stopped what he was doing, got the car in immediately and diagnosed/rectified the issue, the customers experience wasn’t impacted as this was all done behind the scenes.
In addition, Mrs Lou opted to purchase the car on Finance, even though it was Sarah’s day off and she was having a Xmas tree delivered, she invoiced (and then reinvoiced) the car for delivery and pay-out.
Without both of their over and above efforts Mrs Lou would never have
Dan Turner (left), Approved Used Sales Manager, congratulating Neal Webb.
Award Nominee, December 2024
Our Making it Special nomination for the month December is Neal Webb.
Neal consistently goes above and beyond for our clients ensuring the client first culture is at the front of every enquiry we take.
Neal went out of his way to make it very special for a lifelong aspirational client who finally managed to achieve his dream car. Neal noticed it was the clients birthday and took it upon himself to create a surprise handover for Mr Dickman and his wife, he had the car magically unveiled including a lovely big birthday bow.
The client left the showroom in floods of tears for all the right reasons.
A dream come true
Well done Neal!
James Hird (left), Service Manager, congratulating Martin Law.
Award Winner, December 2024
A customer collected his new Defender recently, the following evening he broke down on the M1.
The recovery service told the client that they would be taken off the motorway and they would then have to wait for JLR assistance to attend and the customer had his family in the vehicle who had a small child with them.
Martin travelled to the scene to take them a courtesy vehicle then waited and organised for the car to be brought back to site whilst the family drove home safely. He finally returned to site at approximately 7pm with the breakdown lorry.
The client was blown away by how quick we assisted him and could not thank us enough.
Thank you for going the extra mile Martin!
Nick Miernik (left), Head of Business, congratulating Talea Younge.
Award Nominee, November 2024
Client commendation.
Dear TaleaI hope this letter finds you well. I wanted to take a moment to express my heartfelt appreciation for the outstanding care you provided for my vehicle while it was at Land Rover. It truly means a lot to me, knowing that my car was in such capable hands. Your attention to detail and dedication did not go unnoticed. It’s reassuring to know that someone as diligent as you was looking after my vehicle. Thank you for ensuring it was well taken care of and for going above and beyond in every aspect. As a small token of my gratitude I’ve included some air fresheners for you to enjoy, I hope they bring a little joy to your day! Once again, thank you for everything. I truly appreciate your support and professionalism.Warm regards,Gabriel (B1 UUG)
– Gabriel Hambleton
Steve Walker (left), Workshop Manager, congratulating Ryan Clarke.
Award Nominee, October 2024
We have nominated Ryan for MIS this month for his leading example to other Apprentices.
Ryan attended he JLR Apprentice Outward Bound event in October and really pushed himself out of his comfort zone, volunteering to go first at abseiling, even though he was scared. This in turn definitely helped others including the support staff to get over their fears to go over the edge.
Pulled staff out of a gorge on numerous occasions ensuring they were not swept away and kept on going when they all found things tough.
His biggest achievement was standing up in front of the whole group of 36 Apprentices and Managers to deliver his presentation, even when he was adamant he wasn’t going to do it and been the youngest in the group he showed real maturity and support to others when he was clearly out of his comfort zone, but he did it.
Well done Ryan.
Hi Julie I hope you are well. I just wanted to contact you regarding the Outward Bound event this week. Honestly I could cry about how amazing Ryan has been. He has thrown himself in headfirst to everything we have done and supported the whole team. He volunteered to go first in the abseiling even though he was scared, and his courage definitely helped others (me included) face their fears and go over the edge. He pulled me out of a gorge on numerous occasions ensuring I wasn't swept away and was so encouraging when we all found things tough. He was first up the rock climbing on the harder of the two routes, and even when he slipped, he kept going and got to the top. I think his biggest achievement was standing up in front of the whole group (36 apprentices, and managers online) and saying his name and where he was from. He was adamant he wasn't going to do it and it was clearly so far out of his comfort zone he was visibly uncomfortable, but he did it. He stood up at the front of the room whilst the group delivered their presentation. Considering he was the youngest in the group he was really mature and supportive and really engaged with everything. You can be so proud of what he has achieved and I'm sure his new found confidence will show at work too. Jenny Jenny BunyardApprentice Programme Administrator & EPA Coordinator
– Jenny Bunyard is JLR Apprentice Administrator who was the staff member Ryan pulled out of the gorge.
. (left), ., congratulating James Forrester-Ioannou.
Jaguar Land Rover Huddersfield
Award Nominee, November 2024
A loyal customer of ours recently faced a significant challenge when their vehicle was diagnosed at another dealership for an engine replacement. Initially, the repair was not covered under their extended warranty, leaving them potentially facing a daunting £15,000 repair bill.
Recognising the stress this caused, our dedicated employee, James, took it upon himself to advocate tirelessly on the customer’s behalf. Thanks to his exceptional knowledge and expertise, James successfully secured coverage for the engine replacement, reversing the initial decision and authorising the repair under the warranty.
This not only alleviated a substantial financial burden for the client but also reinforced the trust and commitment to care that we strive to provide to all our customers. James truly went above and beyond, making a real difference in ensuring the customer’s needs were met.
Charlotte Didaoo (right), Aftersales manager, congratulating Jack Gallagher.
Award Nominee, November 2024
Jack has gone above and beyond for the month of November, from doing his 1st ever month end for October and making sure accounts have all the relevant information so they can close. Coming in early to make sure the department is ready for the day ahead. Sending the team updates on where the department is in terms of performance and pushing them all to push for more.
Growing our Trade business but calling clients and offering our services, this has shown in our figures the last couple of month. Nothing is never an issue when anyone comes to see Jack for anything, he will drop what he is doing to help and I have received many comments on how helpful he is, from management and colleagues too!
N/A (left), N/A, congratulating Kirsty Bullimore.
Award Nominee, November 2024
Kirsty consistently receives excellent feedback from our clients but this recent one highlights how much she goes out of her way to ensure our clients receive outstanding service.
Thank you for your email and for keeping me informed throughout this process. I would like to take a moment to commend you for the professionalism and care you have demonstrated in handling my situation. Despite the challenges regarding the courtesy vehicle, you have consistently gone above and beyond to ensure I feel valued as a customer, and I am genuinely impressed by your dedication and proactive approach.Thank you once again for your outstanding service—it has made a difficult situation much easier to navigate. I truly appreciate your efforts and look forward to hearing from you.
– Lynn Gunning
Oliver Mann (L) & Andy Penn (R) (left), Head of Business & Head of Aftersales, congratulating Kelly Campbell.
Award Winner, November 2024
Our Making it Special nomination for the month of November is Kelly Campbell.
Mr Lawson has bought cars from us before but more recently from Solihull. Mr Lawson had an issue with the sat nav not working. The car was taken into Solihull for investigation. Solihull said they had fixed the issue but when Mr Lawson checked the next day, the sat nav was still the same. Mr Lawson called Solihull to re book but they advised it would 6 weeks until they could get him back in.
Mr Lawson called us to see if we could take a look at the issue as he has cancer and his wife was struggling to get him to the different hospital appointments with the sat nav not working. After several attempts over the phone trying to rectify the issue Kelly sent Mr Lawson a CITNOW clip of how to change the sat nav from Belgium to the UK. Mr Lawson struggled with this so Kelly asked if Mrs Lawson could pop the car down to us so we could change it for her.
When Mrs Lawson arrived Kelly and Richard tried to change it from Belgium back to the UK but the car would not change back. We asked Mrs Lawson to take a seat in the waiting area so we could take a quick look in the workshop. After an hour of trying to reset the work Solihull had failed to do we found out the module was corrupt and would not update.
The car was 8 months out of manufacturer’s warranty with no extended warranty in place. The workshop raised a FRED which was approved and Kelly took it upon herself to raise CRC case for 100% goodwill due to the poor experience the client has been through with Solihull and his uncertain time with his illness. The CRC case was later approved at 100%.
The client was over the moon with the outcome and hopefully this has restored the faith back in the Brand and Retailer network, they came back and dropped off a gift and thank you card for Kelly.
Well done!
Marcia Scott (left), Dealership Accountant, congratulating Philippa Ward.
Award Nominee, November 2024
Philippa went above and beyond to stay late and ensure that the new service loan Evoque’s were invoiced and registered after a late email on Friday afternoon, along with also being on hand over weekends and non-working days to help the departments
Paul Williams (right), Head of Business, congratulating Adele Bryant.
Jaguar Land Rover Huddersfield
Award Nominee, October 2024
This month’s Making It Special goes to Adele Bryant who gave a truly outstanding service and experience to a customer who’s day was not going well at all!!
We had a customer who was trying to transfer his balance so he could collect his brand-new RR, but unfortunately, he was running into some frustrating issues with his bank. The bank wasn’t being very helpful, and understandably, the customer was becoming quite frustrated. Adele (Accounts assistant), being the proactive and caring colleague she is, stepped in to assist.
Not only did Adele patiently walk the customer through the process, but she also stayed with him for over two hours past her leaving time from work, offering support as he worked with the bank on the phone. Her calm demeanour and unwavering patience helped to keep the customer composed during a stressful situation.
The customer was so impressed by Adele’s kindness and dedication that he came back the next day with his wife to thank her in person. To top it all off, he sent a beautiful bouquet of flowers to express his gratitude.
Adele’s commitment to ensuring the customer’s needs were met, even when it required going above and beyond, is a wonderful example of the exceptional service we strive to provide.
A big well done to Adele for her outstanding effort and for making such a positive impact on our customer.
Mike Tyson (right), Managing Director, congratulating Rob Broom.
Award Nominee, October 2024
We had to get a vehicle back into us for an oil service and to re-set the service light.
Rob took the vehicle back to the client in Aldershot which is over 200 miles from Sheffield and set off at 2am to make sure he got there before the client had to leave for work that morning. Rob went out of his way to make sure the client wasn’t inconvenienced in any way and he was very happy.
Well Done Rob!
Natalie Walker (left), Senior Host, congratulating Lucy Forde.
Jaguar Land Rover South West London
Award Nominee, October 2024
Lucy receives untold amounts of positive reviews from clients!
She is always going above and beyond for clients in the lounge and going the extra mile for them.
The most recent event Lucy had an elderly client that had just bought a new car from us and needed assistance in getting their InControl/ MAPs downloaded. The client did not have a USB stick or know how to use one so Lucy drove home, bought him a USB stick, downloaded the MAPs and then came back into the office and downloaded these onto the clients for him, the client was delighted!
She also never fails to support any department in business and has a very can do attitude.
Duggie Sarris (left), Aftersales Manager, congratulating Richard Pitt.
Award Nominee, October 2024
Going above and beyond to assist in all other sub departments in Aftersales to deliver the October result!
Colin Hopkins (Centre), Used Car Sales Manager, congratulating Anwar Hussain & Michael Mancini (Spike).
Award Nominee, October 2024
Our Making it Special nomination for the month of October is Anwar Hussain and Michael Mancini (Spike).
Spike and Anwar were approached by a confused and flustered elderly gentleman who had arrived in his 30 year old Jaguar (a true brand ambassador). The gentleman was visibly upset and in a panic as he was due to meet a long lost family member at a destination that had been misplaced on his hand drawn map.
Anwar ensured the gentleman received some refreshments and reassurance whilst Spike generated a plan.
With no in car navigation and no simple way of guiding the gentlemen to his desired venue Spike jumped in his own car and created a convoy to lead the gentlemen to his appointment on time and in one piece.
Sometimes we have to make a decision on being kind or correct and in this instance Spike and Anwar chose kind.
Well done both!
Andrew Kitney (left), Senior Business Manager, congratulating Sally Gollop.
Award Winner, October 2024
Sally was out collecting a customer’s car for service and she witnessed a serious accident, narrowly avoiding being directly involved.
Despite the fact that the incident occurred on a busy major road and had partially blocked the road, no-one else stopped. Sally provided immediate first aid to the driver of the vehicle hit from behind, who was both physically injured and in a confused shocked state. She ensured that the driver of the second vehicle was not at risk, even though he was unconscious.
She then organised the emergency services, tried to keep the traffic moving, contacted the driver’s wife to explain the situation and remained on site, despite the very inclement weather, until the emergency services arrived and took over.
Her action, whilst not a specific benefit to us as a Company, displayed the ethos of ‘above and beyond’ in the most definitive manner.
Charlotte Diadoo (right), Aftersales Manager, congratulating Cathy Gallagher.
Award Nominee, October 2024
Cathy has gone above and beyond for our clients and colleagues, she has always got a smile on her face and a positive attitude and willingness to go the extra mile like staying late to assist are invaluable assists to our team.
Thank you for your hard work and commitment and for being a all-round team player!
Nick Miernik (right), General Sales Manager, congratulating Emily Osborne.
Award Nominee, October 2024
Hats off to Emily for making it extra special for an elderly Jaguar Client who called into the retailer on the off chance of being able to help.
The client was stressed as there was no service history with his vehicle and it was showing that a service was required, he said there probably wasn’t anything that we could do but would be extremely grateful for any advice we had to offer.
Emily to the rescue! She calmly settled him in the Client Area with refreshments and reassured the gentleman that she would do her best to help. She then patiently went about calling other retailers in order to piece together the service history of the vehicle much to the gentleman’s joy, this was an extremely laborious task which Emily enthusiastically embraced.
On departing a now very happy gentleman left a message with our Reception Team that he wanted the Managing Director to be made aware just how Emily had not only made his day, but her level of customer service was unsurpassable and deserved commendation!
A very well deserved Making It Special Emily well done.
