Dealership duo to showcase skills on world stage after national win
Two McVerry Crawford Mitsubishi staff will represent New Zealand at a global skills contest.
Gerrit van Schalkwyk won the Best Technician title at the Mitsubishi Motors National Skills Contest this month.
Emma Funnel won Best Service Adviser.
McVerry Crawford Mitsubishi is in Palmerston North.
The national skills contest is part of a global initiative by Mitsubishi Motors Corporation to promote aftersales excellence.
The contest is open to Mitsubishi Motors’ 59 New Zealand dealerships.
Funnel and van Schalkwyk will attend Mitsubishi’s global skills contest in Tokyo in February.
Mitsubishi Motors New Zealand aftersales general manager Noel
Comerford said the finalists were given a tough ride in their pursuit of the national title.
“This competition is designed to push our parts, service and technical advisers through a range of scenarios and problem-solving exercises, testing their knowledge and processes to the limit,” he said.
“It is only by setting the bar high that we . . . demonstrate the standards we expect of our aftersales team.”
The finalists completed two written exams, covering general and specialised knowledge in each of the three areas of expertise.
In timed tests, technicians were judged on how they resolved an assigned vehicle fault; service advisers on their customer handling skills; and parts advisers on customer interaction and parts knowledge.
Wataru Suematsu from McVerry Crawford was a finalist in the technical category, and colleague Karl Dear was a finalist in the parts section.
Logan Pratt from Simon Lucas Mitsubishi in Auckland won Best Parts Adviser.