Daimler has announced a new addition to its Elite Support certification with the family-run Mavin Truck Centre in the NSW North Coast town of Kempsey achieving the coveted service level.
It has taken the Daimler Truck and Bus dealer four years to progress through the accreditation process after implementing a raft of improvements for its customers and staff along the way.
Mavin Truck Centre dealer principal, Dean Mavin, says its customers are better off thanks to its participation in the Elite Support initiative.
“Customer service has always been important to us, but the Elite Support process has given us a solid structure to deliver a better result for our customers and a formal way of measuring and scrutinising what we do,” Mr Mavin says.
“The initiative has pushed us to make a range of improvements that we always wanted to do, but the certification process meant that we had to do them if we wanted to become an Elite Support dealer.”
Dealerships must meet 129 criteria as part of the Elite Support accreditation, an initiative introduced by Daimler Truck and Bus in partnership with its dealership network. Elite Support certified dealers across the country say the initiative has improved their customer satisfaction levels and helped them run better businesses.
A key part of Elite Support initiative is that the dealership adopt the Express Assessment commitment, which requires that within two hours of a truck arriving at the dealership, the dealer will communicate primary diagnosis, check parts availability, and provide an estimate of cost and repair time.
“Express Assessment has benefitted both our dealership and our customers,” explains Mavin Truck Centre Continuous Improvement Coordinator, Lea Mavin.
“The clear communication is the key because the customer now knows what is happening with their truck and they can plan accordingly,” she adds.
Other criteria include those based around robust parts availability, office amenities and range of other measures designed to deliver a premium in-dealership experience.
Mr Mavin says the Elite Support program has been supported by the Mavin Truck Centre staff.
“Our staff are really behind Elite Support, it becomes a culture,” he says.
“It also helps with new staff because they know exactly what is expected of them,” Mr Mavin adds.
There are now nine Daimler Trucks dealerships with Elite Support certification across Australia, with more in process of achieving certification.
Mavin Truck Centre, which has won several Best Regional Dealer of the Year awards for both Mercedes-Benz and Freightliner brands during the last five years, recently opened a parts and service dealership in Coffs Harbour further boosting its customer support.
