Saj recently had a customer who was desperate to see the new DBS Superleggera. However, he was going to be on holiday during the dealer event days. Saj went out of his way to book a place for his customer on the VIP launch in London instead and travelled down to meet him there that evening.

The customer was thrilled at the effort Saj went to, and ended up placing an order.

Samantha purchased a new Bentley in November and took delivery in February this year. As a previous Bentley owner her husband, Craig, was interested in seeing her car being built. It was on this visit that Craig decided that he would like to buy his father a new Flying Spur. Craig’s father, Ray, had also owned a Bentley, but it was 20 years ago and his experience hadn’t been great.

Together, our Sales Executive, John, and Craig decided to do something very special for Ray. The car was to be a complete surprise, so after the car was prepared at the dealership they returned it back to the factory. John arranged a factory visit for Ray and his daughter-in-law and the car was placed on the production line, ready for him to drive home. This has never happened before in Bentley’s history. Also in on the surprise were other members of the family – who were all sitting in the car when Ray reached it. After lunch, John drove Ray back home, showing him the controls on the way.

I was just mailing Bentley to thank them for all their efforts on Tuesday, but I am under no illusion that the only reason it happened at all was your efforts. Whilst Sam and I are able to indulge ourselves with many nice cars, which means down the years we have dealt with many dealerships and many sales execs, but, at the risk of sounding patronising, we have never dealt with anyone who is as knowledgeable, professional, flexible and accommodating as yourself, nothing has been too much trouble. I recognise it is a business relationship, but you have made it a pleasure. Ray loved the experience and the Flying Spur.
– Craig & Samantha

As a long-standing Bentley customer, Mr CCC recently took delivery of a Bentley GTC Speed to go alongside his Mulsanne.

The customer has always been incredibly complimentary of both James Horn (Service Advisor), and Daryl Hastings (New Car Sales Manager), and upon taking delivery of his latest Bentley he was over the moon with his new car and the experience provided by both James and Daryl. The customer was so happy, he came in the next day with a mountain of chocolates, biscuits and beer!

This was a fantastic example of how our service and sales departments have worked closely as a team to provide an amazing experience throughout the customer journey.

Fantastic service at Bentley Leicester from sales and service department... that's why I'm on my fourth GT from them. Once again thank you for bringing something new and fresh to the car dealership industry. Deffo not a ordinary Bentley dealer!
– Mr CCC

A customer took delivery of his McLaren 720S following a 6-week delay as our bank had lost his funds following his TT payment for the car. One day after taking delivery his tracker unit failed, leaving the car uninsured. Andy Hill offered to get up at 4 am and drive to Hertfordshire so that the customer would not be inconvenienced that day.

Whilst the customer was grateful, he asked if Andy could wait until 8 am before knocking on the door as his wife was undergoing radiotherapy. After that news, Andy bought her some flowers and arrived with them which made her cry (happy tears) as she really was so surprised and delighted. Andy then spent three hours dealing with the issue and managed to rectify the fault before returning to the dealership and working through until 6.30 pm that evening.

The customer was simply over the moon with what Andy had done for him.

Richard took a call from Mr O looking for a specific Ferrari. As the conversation went on, Mr O explained to Richard how many Ferraris he had bought over the years and how bad the service he’d received was. He lives in Lancaster, so a good distance from us.

Further to his conversation with Richard, he came down to the business and subsequently purchased the car. He was introduced to our Business Manager and Head of Business, to which he remarked he’d never done before in his purchase history.

Just a short email firstly to say thank you for introducing yourself the other day and giving me a wide range of information on the Ferrari products, especially the 812 and how to spec it. Secondly to say how pleased I have been with Richard during my F12 purchase. He has been extremely helpful, knowledgeable and courteous throughout from start to finish. As I said to you, I've bought a lot of cars in the past and I would like to reiterate to you that my dealings on the car through the whole process, from Richard, Helen and yourself have been second to none. Would you please pass on these comments onto Richard. Wishing you, your staff and your dealership every success in the future.
– Mr O

We had a Maserati, owned by Mr N, in for service and repair work. The customer took our loan car and we had started the work on his car. Later that day, Mr N came back and was very distressed as his mother had fallen seriously ill in Iraq and he was very worried about her. He had booked a flight that afternoon and needed to get to Heathrow, but didn’t want to leave our loan car at the airport as he was unsure of how long he would be there. However, his car was in bits and couldn’t be driven.

Our delivery driver, Phil, overheard the conversation and offered to drive the customer to the airport. The customer was over the moon with the offer, and we dropped him off at the airport. Further to this, Phil then offered to collect the customer when he returned to the UK. The trip added some eight hours more to Phil’s day and shows his dedication to our customers. Mr N was blown away by the service offered and was so grateful for the help in his difficult situation.

David, our General Manager at Maranello Classic Parts, recently received the following email from an impressed customer:

I have just completed the purchase of replacement brake parts for my 2008 F599 GTB. The car has just passed its MOT but the Ferrari-enthusiast mechanic pointed out issues with the front brake pads, rear handbrake shoes and cables. After being shown the problem areas on the car I agreed to source the required replacement components.

In order to retain the car’s value, I wanted to avoid aftermarket parts so your Thorpe Classic Ferrari Parts department was the obvious choice. I explained my problems with the car and the parts I thought I might need and Saad pulled up the parts drawings on his iPad and proceeded to identify the required part numbers together with suggested extras such as replacement springs. He showed me the drawings and explained how it all went together. We also discussed the expensive option of changing the front ceramic brakes. He gave me indicative prices and offered to email a formal quote for me to consider. The email arrived minutes later and was forwarded to my mechanic to confirm we had all we needed.

I confirmed the order to Saad for collection on Wednesday. When I arrived the parts were picked, inspected, and packed ready for me to take. Saad explained the back-order process and the minor missing spring should be available next week. He talked me through the parts and took payment on my card. I was away within minutes with everything in order.

As co-founder of British car parts specialist Moss Europe, I understand the logistics and challenges of parts sourcing, inventory and sale. I can truly say my experience at Maranello has been excellent, and it could not have been easier. Saad was knowledgeable, helpful and extremely courteous. I cannot speak more highly of the service I received. Well done and thank you Maranello and Saad Mahmood.

– Mr A

On Friday 29 June one of our customers was collecting his brand new 718 Boxster. During a conversation with the customer on one of his previous visits to the centre Elaine (our host leader) and Micaela (our new host) discovered that he was collecting his car on his 50th birthday.

On the morning of the handover, Elaine and Micaela went and bought him “5” and “0” balloons and a birthday cake. They had the balloons sitting by his car waiting for him and after he unveiled his car, they brought over his birthday cake and sang happy birthday to him. The customer was absolutely delighted and had great fun posing with his balloons and cake in front of his brand new Boxster.

This month, workshop technician Michael Platnauer made it special for a Porsche customer by assisting them with an air-con issue. The customer arrived at the centre flustered and distressed, due to a combination of the recent unusual increase in temperature and a repeat issue with a non-functioning air-con system. The customer was driving their Porsche on the way to a function due to start at 6 pm. On route to the event, the car’s air-con system failed, thus making the 45-minute journey along the A47 hot and unbearable.

Arriving at 5.30 pm (shortly before we were due to close at 6 pm) the frustrated customer was appeased by the calm and helpful service delivered by centre staff. The service advisor advised the customer that it would be a 40-minute wait to fix the car on the spot, but the customer decided they would return in the morning with more time available.

Technician Michael then intercepted and said he was going to endeavour to fix the air-con fault as quickly as possible there and then, which the customer was very grateful for. He managed to fix the fault in half the time!

The customer was delighted and was able to drive the car away after a short wait, to continue their journey in a much cooler and calmer state. The very satisfied customer commented how impressed and grateful they were with Michael’s willingness to help and efficiency regarding resolving the problem.

Well done to Michael for ‘Making it Special’ for this flustered Porsche customer.

Hannah has been very proactive in giving our customers and their families some great events to attend. The feedback from our customers on our 70th Open Day (to celebrate this anniversary for Porsche) was excellent, particularly because there was plenty to do for children. The quality of the event was remarked on by many of the nearly four hundred customers that attended. She also held an Owners Club event on the previous evening as a special preview evening.

Hannah has also arranged a Supercar Sunday here, which has drawn together our customers and allowed them to invite a friend to bring along their cars. Again, a really inspired event.

Conscious that many of our customers are women (and as Mary Portas confirmed, are 80% of the decision makers) Hannah arranged a ladies-only trip to a new Michelin star restaurant in Brighton, a trip to Hickstead for ladies not known to ourselves, hosted by herself and a female show-jumping journalist.

Hannah is coming up with some great ideas to wow our customers and prove that the relationship with us is as much about the lifestyle benefits – not just the car.

Mr C’s Porsche windscreen wash failed and required replacement parts fitting. He was not happy because he was due to travel to Europe the following afternoon. Carl stepped up for the customer – he left home early the next morning in order to collect the parts from a different centre. He then drove onto the customer’s office in Telford to collect the car.

Carl then went straight to Bentley Birmingham, who had kindly agreed to fix the problem. Carl cleaned the car prior to returning it to the customer and placed cold water in the vehicle. Mr C was disappointed that the fault had occurred but was delighted with the way Carl stepped up and delivered to ensure a positive outcome.

A vehicle came in as a breakdown with a smoking engine, and the customer, Mr W, was very upset that his 911 had let him down. He explained that his wedding anniversary was coming up (celebrating 28 years) and he and his wife had booked a weekend away.

Not wanting their special weekend away to be disrupted, Dave spoke to GSM to see if we had a spare car. Dave managed to get a nice Panamera ST for them to use and also had a special hamper made up and put in the car for them to enjoy on their journey.

Mr W was over the moon with his treatment and had a fantastic anniversary weekend with his wife.

Day in, day out, the person who constantly works over and above her position is Angela Fisher. She works extra hours every day. She works at home after hours. She works weekends. Amazing commitment.

All this extra time is done to assist our sales departments in particular to reach the fantastic sales that we are currently experiencing.

At the end of the month, we had a complex deal for a Bentley Bentayga that was sold last minute that Angela helped greatly with getting the car over from Ireland. She ensured that the car for Mr S came in and was paid and ready for collection – much to the delight of the client, who thanked Peter for the seamless and smooth transaction. Another happy customer.