Staff at a leading Volkswagen van centre are heading back to the classroom to make sure their customers are the happiest in the country.
Cordwallis Commercials, who have Volkswagen van centres in Heathrow, Maidenhead and Oxford, have called in an expert training firm to en sure their customers are always kept satisfied.
The company says the intensive training for its sales and after sales team will help them stay on top of rapid changes in customers’ demands and expectations over the last few years.
John Harkin, head of business at Cordwallis Volkswagen Van Centre, said the course was being run by independent experts ECR Training and would feature both classroom work and ‘on the job’ one-to-one coaching.
It will help staff keep up to date with the way customers now looked for a deal – both online and traditionally – and what they expected in terms of service, value, offers and choice.
John said: “At Cordwallis Volkswagen Van Centres, we hope to provide the best possible service for our customers. We want them to come back year after year so it is vital we stay up to date in our training and know exactly what the modern consumer wants.
“Arranging an intense programme of sales and after sales training for our team is just one of the ways we are tackling these issues.”
Deborah Cooper, operations director of ECR Training, says: “This training is great for customer focused roles. With the changing needs and habits of the modern-day consumer, companies need to keep evolving their practices.
“We are delighted to be working with the Cordwallis group, who are so committed to developing their employees whilst simultaneously ensuring that they meet their customer’s needs.
“Wherever possible, we create a ‘real life’ showroom or service department environment so that delegates can practice the new techniques they have learned.
“The power has definitely shifted into the customer’s hands over the years and it’s now up to retailers to meet their needs and to start utilising the new rules and techniques of customer service
“The consumer landscape has changed dramatically over the past 10 to 20 years. Our aim in developing this programme has been to help Cordwallis learn how to handle the 2013 customer and to enable the sales and aftersales teams to build value in terms of communicating and reinforcing what they can offer their customers.”