BALLARAT Isuzu in regional Victoria has been named Isuzu Australia Limited’s 2016 National Dealer of the Year, with dealer principal Ian Deacon accepting the coveted award at a ceremony in Sydney earlier this month.

The presentation was held in conjunction with the market-leading truck brand’s national dealer meeting, with Mr Deacon describing the award as unexpected but “really exciting” achievement for the dealership.

In the previous two years, Tony Ireland Isuzu in Townsville had taken out top honours in the program.

“We never really thought we’d be a chance to win it so it was always about what’s the best thing for our business and making sure we focus on the right thing for the business, which is making sure all our customers are happy and looked after,” Mr Deacon said.

The locally owned dealership has been operating in the region for more than 25 years, and Mr Deacon simply described its success as owing to “just a lot of hard work”.

“It’s just making sure that if something needs to be done, then it’s done, and done in a timely manner,” he said.

“We’re all focused on the one thing, which is making sure our customers are happy. There’s nothing big or overly exciting that is involved in that, it’s just making sure every little touchpoint the customer has is covered well.”

Other award winners included Webster Trucks in Tasmania (operating in Hobart, Launceston, Devonport and Burnie), which took out the Best Sales Dealer, Suttons Motors in Arncliffe, Sydney (Best Service Dealer) and Peel Valley Isuzu from Tamworth in north-east NSW (Best Parts Dealer).

As with other retail incentive awards, IAL evaluates a variety of business areas including presentation standards, customer care, training attendance, inventory management and activity-based KPI measurements.

“To win this award, the team must excel in every area, no matter their size or sales volume, and Ian and his team are great exponents of these values,” said IAL business planning manager and company secretary Paul Evans.

“Customer service is a fundamental component of Isuzu’s success in the broader industry and with these awards, we encourage dealerships to better their services, so that the customers can really benefit.”

By Terry Martin