Two Australian dealer service teams have made Volvo’s global service competition finals in Sweden after qualifying at the recent Asia Pacific finals in Thailand.
Two teams, one from VCV Chullora and the other from VCV Townsville have made the global final of the Volvo VISTA competition after excelling in the recent Bangkok regional final.
More than 18,500 participants have taken part in the biennial Volvo VISTA
contest for 2015-2016, which the company claims is the world’s largest competition for aftermarket personnel. The Asia Pacific region attracted a massive 4000 participants, which was the largest gathering for the region in the history of the contest
The top 24 teams from the Asia Pacific took part in the two-day regional final in Bangkok with the six winning teams fromIndonesia,Australia, China, Taiwan and Singapore advancing to theWorld Finals in Gothenburg starting on May31.
President of Volvo Trucks AsiaPacific Mr Jacques Michel said Volvo was extremely proud to double the number of teams in this year’s competition and extended congratulations to the winners.
“Our aftermarket professionals meet and interact with our customers each and everyday. They are arguably the most important people when it comes to delivering customer satisfaction and we recognise that.”
President of VolvoGroup Australia, Peter Voorhoeve said he is thrilled to have two Australian dealer teams competing in theWorld Final.
“This is a testament to the quality of all the Volvo Truck technicians in Australia –who are so proudly committed to providing world-class service to our customers every day. We wish the teams from Chullora and Townsville every success as they compete with the world’s best technicians on May31 in Sweden.”
VISTA has grown from being a local competition for Volvo’s mechanics in Sweden in 1957 to a global event spanning 98 countries.The Asia Pacific region has also developed into the second largest region in terms of participation rate, with over4,000 participants representing 15 different countries taking part in the 2015-2016 edition.
“VISTA is not just a competition .It has a strong heritage and is a very effective competence development tool where teams are tested also on their ability to work together, solve problems together and meeting Volvo’s required standards,”Mr. Michel further elaborates.
Since the onset of VISTA in September last year,the teams of 2 to 4 aftermarket professionals have been competing in three theoretical rounds. The teams have to answer
30 questions in each round, covering the aftermarket areaof theVolvo business and operations. 24 teams madeitto the regional finalsin Bangkok-agreat testament of their performance,yet nottheend ofthe journey.
Mr Michel explains, “VISTA embodies the aspirations that we as a company have. We strive to be leading in our customer satisfaction and also constantly pursue to be the most desired employer in our industry.”
Regional finals are also being held in Curitiba, Gothenburg and Greensboro. The top 32 teams will then move on to theWorld finals which will also be held in Gothenburg, Sweden on May31, 2016 at theVolvo Trucks global training centre.
Mr Filip Van den Heede,Vice President Aftermarket of Volvo Trucks Asia Pacific is delighted with the competition so far, “VISTA is a key part of our competence development program covering the technical and commercial areas of the Aftermarket business including awareness of the Volvo brand. Everyone who takes part in VISTA is guaranteed to come away from this experience with improved skills and new knowledge,which is why we encourage all our employees to get involved. Everything that the participants learn while competing has a direct impact on the quality of services we provide to our customers.