The company, which operates from Bellshill, Glasgow and Broxburn, Edinburgh, passed a stringent audit to become Scotland’s first Mercedes-Benz Van ProCenter.
Mercedes-Benz Van ProCenter Dealers must keep extended opening hours for customer convenience and meet the manufacturer’s requirements on everything from sales staff numbers, their training, qualifications and expertise in specific models and business sectors, to advice on bodybuilding options and the availability of Sprinter, Vito and Citan demonstration vehicles for test drives at short notice.
They must also demonstrate “best-in-class” brand and product presentation at their premises where, as well as new models, they should retail a broad range of top-quality used vans and offer customers fair and transparent trade-in deals on their own vehicles.
From an after sales perspective, meanwhile, Van ProCenter Dealers must have specially trained service advisors and technicians, and ensure customer mobility by providing replacement vehicles and collection and delivery services.
The Van ProCenter programme is an international initiative by Mercedes-Benz that puts customer care at the top of the agenda. As well as leading the way in Scotland, Western Commercial is one of only a handful of Mercedes-Benz Dealers anywhere in Britain to have met all of its demanding criteria – most UK franchisees are still working towards accreditation.
There was more good news for Western Commercial at the latest Mercedes-Benz Dealer awards event, where used van sales manager, Kevin Paton, and his colleagues carried off the Used Van Team of the Year award for 2015, in recognition of their record-breaking performance during 2014. At the corresponding event 12 months ago Western won the Mercedes-Benz Van Dealer of the Year title.