Hyundai retailer J Edgar & Son has won national recognition for its outstanding customer service at the annual Motor Trader Awards.
The award for Aftersales Excellence was presented to Tony Hodgson, aftersales manager, during a gala dinner at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London’s West End last night.
The family-run J Edgar & Son business has been at the heart of the local community in Workington, on the west coast of Cumbria, since it opened over 95 years ago.
The Motor Trader Awards judging panel awarded J Edgar & Son the top honours in the highly coveted Aftersales Excellence category, beating stiff competition from five other top retailers from across the UK.
The business was recognised and rewarded for the way it implemented a brand-new Hyundai Workshop Automation IT system which has automated its workshop operations to deliver better efficiencies and even higher standards of customer care.
Details of customer cars arriving at the dealership on Dunmail Park for servicing, repair or warranty work are captured by an Automated Number Plate Recognition camera. This immediately notifies the aftersales department, prompting a personal welcome and resulting in a more efficient check-in process.
Customers can then track the progress of their vehicles online or follow live updates on a display in the comfortable waiting area.
If additional work is required, an advisory video is sent to the customer with automated menu pricing which they can authorise on their smartphone or tablet.
J Edgar & Son was one of the first Hyundai retailers to invest in this cutting-edge technology ahead of the car maker rolling it out across the UK.
Speaking after the awards ceremony Tony Hodgson said: “Winning a national award from Motor Trader – one of the industry’s most respected publications – is an incredible achievement for the J Edgar & Son team.
“We invested time and money in introducing this new workshop automation system but quickly saw the benefits in terms of the number of cars we were able to work on which has reduced waiting times for bookings.
“Servicing and repair work is now carried out more efficiently with the customer kept in the loop throughout the process. We have seen a significant increase in customer satisfaction since introducing the system last year which is important for us as we continually aim to deliver the highest level of service to the local community.”
Julian Buckley, editor at Motor Trader, added: “The Motor Trader Awards judging panel was impressed by the work done at J Edgar & Son to increase customer retention across aftersales.
“The dealership was one of the first to adopt Hyundai Workshop Automation, a powerful digital platform that integrates the dealer management system to better manage customer interaction. The investment, which also included new workshop tools and equipment, was substantial and went beyond Hyundai’s minimum standards, but has been more than recouped by the growth of business within the first year.”
Tony Whitehorn, President & CEO, Hyundai Motor UK commented: “We are delighted to see the hard-working team at J Edgar & Son acknowledged and rewarded with a Motor Trader Award. As a result of the successful implementation of its cutting-edge workshop automation platform, the business is now one of the top performing retailers in Hyundai’s UK network for delivering outstanding customer satisfaction.”
