By CASEY NEILL
RETAIL AWARD
SPONSOR: City of Greater Dandenong
WINNER: Patterson Cheney
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PATTERSON Cheney can prove its “bold customer service statements”.
Awards chairman James Sturgess said the Dandenong business started from the proposition it should have only premium brands, and worked hard to maintain its long-standing reputation of safety and customer satisfaction.
This and much more earned Patterson Cheney the Greater Dandenong Chamber of Commerce 2013 Retail Award.
Mr Sturgess said customer service was regularly measured in the automotive retail segment.
Across its various franchises, Patterson Cheney has achieved five-star status as a Toyota dealer, was awarded the Dealer Excellence Award by Honda, was named in second place as the Best National Dealer in Mercedes Benz, and achieved Grand Master Status within the Holden operations.
“All of this simply adds up to the fact that a group that conducts more than 55,000 repair orders per annum and is constantly measured, can prove their bold customer service statements,” Mr Sturgess said.
“In addition, the business prides itself on being a one stop shop – from sales to finance to service – and really assisting particularly fleet and government customers with benefits.”
The group has developed a 24-hour service.
“So that, in particular, truck operators can drop their vehicle off at the end of the day and pick it up before work the next morning,” Mr Sturgess said.
He said this removed the downtime costs associated with vehicles being off the road and Patterson Cheney also offered a one-hour express maintenance.
“Two technicians work on the car to provide a service, wash and vacuum while the customers enjoy a coffee from the various dealership cafes,” Mr Sturgess said.
“Loan cars and drop-offs are another part of the overall service enjoyed by Paterson Cheney customers.”
The Cheltenham Road site is not only home to the head office but also Isuzu truck and Toyota dealerships.
The group has leading brands across three automotive areas.
The first is its passenger dealerships which include Honda, Holden, Toyota, Mercedes Benz and Racesport.
In commercial utes and vans, the group can deliver and service Isuzu, Holden, Toyota and Mercedes Benz.
In the heavy vehicle segment, the business has Isuzu, MAN, Western Star Trucks and Dennis Eagle.
“The dealerships are spread across Metropolitan Melbourne from Berwick to Ferntree Gully to Campbellfield and Derrimut,” Mr Sturgess said.
“This geographical spread means they are always close at hand wherever their customer is located throughout metropolitan Melbourne.”
Patterson Cheney also won the Premier Regional Business Award and was nominated for the Employment, Service Excellence and Corporate and Social Responsibility awards.
