The efforts of farm machinery dealers to provide customers with top-level service have been highlighted in new trade awards.
Justin Thomas, parts manager at McCormick dealer Arwel’s Agri Services Ltd in Carmarthenshire took the Dealer Parts Manager of the Year title in the Excellence Awards promoted by the Agri Machinery Trade News website.
Justin was praised not only for the work he does in the parts department but also the help he gives his colleagues in the sales and service teams at the busy dealership.
The awards, which are in only their second year, were created to recognise and reward excellence demonstrated by people in the farm machinery trade. People who work in such businesses were encouraged to nominate and vote online for suppliers, work colleagues and team members who they felt had given outstanding service in their roles throughout the year.
The nomination for Justin, who collected his trophy with wife Wendy from Darren Atherton of award sponsor Bradshaw Bennett Agri Dealer Insurance, stated: “Many customers ring asking to speak to Justin, knowing he will go the extra mile for them. If they ring for a product on a brand we do not stock, I guarantee that Justin would not let that person walk away empty handed. He will find a part for any machine.”
As if to show how much farmers and contractors appreciate such service, during his time at Arwel’s Agri, Justin has grown the dealership’s parts customer base by nearly 200%.
Service in terms of parts, workshop and machinery sales is very much at the core of Arwel’s Agri, which runs a fleet of well-equipped service vans from its base at Harford near Llanwrda in Carmarthenshire to get on to farms and carry out repairs and routine servicing as efficiently as possible.
The business is run by husband and wife team Arwel Evans and Georgina Cornock Evans, and in 2016 won a national Farm Machinery Dealer of the Year title in another awards scheme.
