PATTERSON Cheney Toyota has attributed its Toyota Dealer of the Year award to the Dandenong community.
“We’ve had such a great community who’ve supported us,” general sales manager David Haines said.
“How they’ve supported us, it’s then enabled us to perform at the level we’ve been able to perform at.”
He said the state award was “not just about how many cars you sell”.
“It’s more to do with customer service, more to do with selling cars, more to do with being profitable, doing all the right things through marketing,” he said.
The dealership organised a community planting for National Tree Day last year, held a snow day in Springvale and is supporting the Good for Footy program.
“We’re always looking at what’s the next thing we can do in terms of getting our message out to the community,” Mr Haines said.
Patterson Cheney took home awards for being the best dealership in its prime market area (PMA) every quarter, its sales department and its customer relations.
“As you keep winning the categories, it builds up to the Toyota Dealer of the Year, so it’s all points-driven,” he said.
Mr Haines and his management team accepted the award at the Crown Palladium earlier this month. He said the dealership’s staff reflected the multiculturalism in the community.
“If you can’t supply someone who can communicate with them effectively, they’ll just go somewhere else,” he said.
“Our motto in the marketplace is that we speak 11 languages.
“We’ve got Sri Lankans and Bosnians and Fijians and so forth that work for us.
“They have that relationship within the community. There’s respect and trust.
“They’ll just keep coming back and bringing their friends and their friends’ friends, and before you know it one customer’s brought you 10.”
Mr Haines said he’d be looking to back up the award next year.
“In our industry in particular, you’re only as good as your last sale,” he said.
