I would like to congratulate Harry Wallace for receiving the following email from his customer. During the sales process, Harry found out that Mr B was in Edinburgh for the weekend to watch the Scotland match. The customer then expressed his love for Scottish Rugby was second to none so Harry sourced a signed Rugby shirt from the Scotland team as well as organising a fantastic dinner.

Dear Stuart, I just wanted to email you to thank yourself and especially Harry for all your efforts over the last few days which have been truly memorable. Not only have I now 'got my hands on' my new car, but it has also arrived in time for my birthday today. On top of that, our 'Collezione' night in Edinburgh was fantastic. The choice of hotel and restaurant were terrific and the cocktail experience was really novel and great fun. Then, to cap it all, when arriving at the dealership, Harry had gone over and above any expectation by producing a framed, signed Scotland rugby shirt simply as it was my birthday. Truly magnificent, Harry deserves all credit for a great job. With sincere thanks,
– Mr. B

Paul was returning from a morning of parts deliveries and as he was approaching the brow of a hill he saw that a lady was broken down in the middle of the road with a piece of metal wedged under her car. Paul made the road safe by using our delivery van with hazard lights on and proceeded to raise the car up on its jack and removed the piece of metal, he inspected the car for further damage and the lady was able to carry on with her journey. She phoned our Parts Manager to say how grateful she was for the assistance Paul gave.

A great example of helping others when the need arises and fantastic PR for the dealership.

A service customer, Mr S, was on his way to the Centre to drop his car off to us however he was stuck in heavy traffic due to an accident. Rob stayed until 7pm for Mr S to get here and this was Rob’s first day with the company! The customer was very grateful that there was someone here to look after him when he arrived.

Another example of Rob’s excellent service was one Saturday, a customer was bringing their car in for a service and hadn’t mentioned that an MOT was required. Our MOT test centre isn’t open on Saturdays so Rob had arranged for another test centre to MOT the vehicle and paid for this out of his own pocket. The customer was really pleased with the service and has confirmed that due to Rob going the extra mile he will continue to use our servicing and MOT for years to come.

Harry’s customers, Mr & Mrs G, were purchasing a brand new Maserati which they were very excited about.

Sadly, during the sale process their son sadly passed away in an accident, they said they were close to cancelling the sale, but the service they received made it worth going through with. The email is from Mr G after they took delivery of their car.

Yesterday was very difficult for us both due to our loss of our beautiful son that we had been blessed with for 33 years. Only a parent knows how hard it is to lose a loved one, we were so near to cancelling the car when it happened. You and Maserati really touched our hearts with the lovely gifts and words of sympathy, you actually were able to put a little smile on my wife's face that I haven't seen for weeks. Yesterday was a day that you made special, today is back to reality. It happens to be, or would have been, our sons birthday, not sure how it's going to be. We both love the car and are sure it's going to help us on our way to recovery and trying to rebuild our lives. Once again thanks for everything, you were lovely to deal with from the start, we now know we have made the correct choice and look forward to many more years of motoring with our stunning new car, love it.
– Mr & Mrs G

A lady (mother of a famous celebrity) came in to have her Bentley serviced and whilst sitting at our Cafe bar she noticed another customer tucking into his breakfast. She commented to Paul that she thought it odd that a car dealership should go to such lengths and Paul explained that we try to bespoke each visit around the customer. The customer then jokingly said that for her she would like a signed picture of Ray Winstone and a Halloumi Kebab.

When the customer returned later that day to collect her car Paul had downloaded a picture of Ray Winstone and signed it himself and had ordered a Kebab form the local K house and presented both to the customer.

The customer thought this was fantastic and really appreciated the fun that Paul had created from her already tongue in cheek request and she went away very happy.

We had a customer, Mr H, collect his 458 from us one Friday afternoon who was in a hurry to get home as he had a party to attend that evening. He collected the car and all was well until about an hour later a very distressed Mr H called in to say he had got a little lost on his way home and had run out of fuel – as he was new to us he wasn’t familiar with the area. His car was stuck in the road and there was lots of traffic being a Friday afternoon.

Jonathan was just leaving so had come into the office but overheard the phone call and offered to go to the customer. Jonathan went to the fuel station local to us, got 20 litres of fuel then headed off to find the customer. He drove for around an hour and a half to get there, put the fuel in the customer’s car and got him going again. I asked Jonathan if he wanted me to pay him overtime as we were helping a customer and he replied he was happy to help and didn’t want to be paid. Great attitude.

Mr Harris was over the moon with us as the RAC had said it would take 3-4 hours for them to get to him.

After many years of owning their first Porsche, a customer of ours purchased a new Cayman, but this was a bittersweet transaction as their old car had a lot of nostalgic significance to them. The car was part exchanged as part of the deal and scheduled to be brought into stock the day before the handover. Taking this all into consideration, Alex arranged to collect the part exchange rather than letting them drive it in, with a view to surprise them with a small but meaningful gift.

Once at the Centre, Alex had both of the cars valeted early, waited until sunset after the Centre had closed and parked the cars side by side on a scenic part of the pitch. He then took a series of photos of the two cars from a range of angles and had them professionally printed for the couple. Displayed in a lovely presentation box, Alex presented the thoughtful gift on handover as a way to celebrate their Porsche purchase. The couple were bowled over by Alex’s consideration and excellent customer service and were absolutely delighted with their whole Porsche experience.

Well done to Alex for ‘Making it Special’ for this couple.

A customer’s Maserati Ghibli was recovered to our service department, the fault was diagnosed as an engine seizure and a replacement engine was required. Obviously, this news was very distressing for the client but Antony managed the situation brilliantly and, thanks to regular communication, built up a good rapport with the client. The replacement engine was not immediately available and it became apparent it would not arrive in time for the client’s holiday, a road trip to Italy with his family.

Although he was provided with a hire car, it was not a Maserati and he had specifically planned the trip to Italy to enjoy a fabulous driving experience in his Maserati. Antony spotted the pending problem early and in enough time we were able to work with Maserati GB to come up with a creative solution and provide a replacement Maserati Ghibli for our customer’s trip.

What made this very special was solving the problem before the customer raised it and having a solution ready. He was absolutely delighted and when he returned from his holiday he decided to part exchange his old car for the later model Ghibli he had loaned from us for his holiday. Well done Antony!

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

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.

Mr S had always wanted a Maserati and seemed very excited. James had regularly kept in touch with the family and in doing so had discovered from Mrs S that her husband was apprehensive about the car as he’d had a bad experience with another dealer previously.

The car was due to arrive in 2-3 weeks’ time, but James noticed on Mr S’s driving licence that his birthday was in 6 days. James used his weekend off to ring around all the delivery/collection companies he knew to get the car delivered early, and fast-tracked it through the workshop and prep in order to surprise Mr S with his new pride and joy on his birthday. He then arranged for a cake with candles to be delivered during the handover, as another surprise, and the team to sing ‘Happy Birthday’.

It’s safe to say Mr S was blown away by James’ attention to detail, and the personal touch to the great service provided. A job well done, and a long-term customer gained!

As a loyal Maserati customer, when Mr B ordered his 3rd Maserati, a very special replacement for his Grantourismo, James wanted to make his handover experience as unique as the car Mr B had ordered. When Mr B ordered his first Maserati Grantourismo 4 years ago he received a calendar from Maserati which he enjoyed. However, despite James’ efforts, Maserati have not produced one since. So when the beautiful car arrived from the factory unknown to Mr B James arranged for a professional photographer to take his Maserati off-site for a bespoke photo shoot. James then used a selection of the images to design a calendar for Mr B which James handed over as a gift on the day of collection, along with a memory stick with all the images from the photo shoot. Mr B loved his new car and his special handover gift.

Mr Morris had flown up from London to collect his new Cayenne S E-Hybrid on a Sunday morning. His Sales Executive, Stuart, had taken him through the handover process and just as he was getting ready to depart a warning light started flashing on the dashboard.

With it being a Sunday, the service department was closed so there was no one on hand to look at the car. Stuart called one of our technicians, Denis, who lives locally to ask for some advice on what could be wrong but rather than discuss it over the phone Denis jumped in his car and came along to the dealership. He took Mr Morris’ car into the workshop and put a tester on it and managed to have Mr Morris back on the road with only a small delay to his journey.

Well done Denis!

This month’s ‘Making it Special’ nominee is our Parts Apprentice, Kieran Bedi-Archer. Kieran has been dealing with a customer for several months, as he is in the process of restoring a classic Porsche he purchased. The 1988 911 requires a lot TLC and therefore requires someone to offer thorough advice on which parts to source and from where. The retired customer visits the Centre 2-3 times each week and enjoys restoring the car little by little. Each time, Kieran spends between 30-45 minutes with the gentleman, taking a keen interest in his project, offering genuine advice and guidance, while sharing in the customer’s excitement. Last month, in particular, Kieran sourced a number of suggestions in anticipation of his arrival, which really delighted the customer as he was touched at Kieran’s proactive and personal approach. Upon completion, the customer presented Kieran and the Parts Department with a framed photo of the finished article and commended Kieran for his consistent consideration, time and involvement in the project. Well done to Kieran for ‘Making it Special’ for this lovely Porsche enthusiast in his personalised way.

During one of the visits during the sale of Mr & Mrs Curtis’s Aston Martin Rapide it came up that Mr Curtis did favour a certain bottle of wine. Teddy and Rebecca made a mental note and ensured that when the car was delivered it came with the aforementioned special bottle as part of the handover process.

Mr & Mrs Curtis were extremely happy and particularly commented on the attention to detail shown in making their experience memorable.

Just a quick word to thank you and your team for the manner in which you handed over the Aston Rapide to us and for the thought that went into making our younger generations feel part of it. Can you give a special word of thanks to Teddy and Rebecca for the present selection....I really appreciate them noting one of my favourite wines from our general conversations and selecting that for me.
– Mr Curtis

Whilst on a road test, Matt assisted two elderly ladies at the local shop when he noticed them in distress. Their four tyres had been let down so he re-inflated them, drove the car to their local garage and made sure it was safe before returning to work. The ladies called and said that Matt was most certainly their ‘Knight in Shining Armour’.

On another occasion, during our event in Anglesey, Matt fuelled up a customer’s car who had arrived on very low fuel. He then noticed a TPM fault, resolved the issue and fully cleaned the car so when she returned from her driving experience her car looked like new.

A customer was on his own when he called the dealership at around 5.30 pm to say that he was stranded on the side of the road as his car had overheated. We established that the customer had no form of roadside assistance and upon hearing this, Matt offered to go and meet the customer on his way home to see if he could help.

Matt found the auxiliary belt had snapped and then subsequently helped the customer nurse his car home stopping every couple of miles to let it cool down. This resulted in Matt not finishing till gone 10 pm. A great example of outstanding customer service, well done Matt!

A customer contacted Duane to book in for a service and mentioned he and his wife were hoping to attend the RHS Flower show at Tatton Park whilst they were in the area.

They asked Duane’s advice on local hotels. To save the customer the hassle Duane took the customer’s card details and proceeded to make the reservation for them and also purchased them 2 complimentary tickets to the flower show from the Company. He then emailed them the hotel details and directions from the hotel to the Flower Show.

The customer was delighted and will come back to us next year for the same experience.

Mr Harris came into the dealership at 17.30 on a Monday evening. He had been to a local Jaguar dealership to collect his new F-Type which he had waited 6 months for. The car specification was not as he ordered and this was the second time this happened to the customer. He left the Jaguar dealership without his new car and was feeling disgruntled with motor dealers as a whole.

Whilst in Porsche Glasgow, Mr Harris fell in love with a Cayman in the showroom. In order to make the experience special for Mr Harris after tying the deal up, Sean Huxter our Trainee Sales Executive and ex-technician spent time well after business hours to activate the tracker and fit number plates to the Cayman demonstrator so Mr Harris could still go home that night in a new car and put the bad experience from the Jaguar dealers behind him.

Mr Harris was absolutely delighted that Sean went to such an effort to make purchasing a car an easy and pleasurable experience. His efforts have guaranteed we have a customer for life.

A customer called late on a Friday afternoon stating he had broken down in Leamington Spa, as his suspension had collapsed, so we arranged for the car to be recovered. The first recovery truck could not load the car on, so a second truck was sent, this was now 8pm on Friday night.

Dean had arranged to meet the recovery truck here so we could secure the car in our compound, as Dean lives locally. It was nearly 11pm when the truck arrived together with the customer who was now tired and hungry and needed to get home to Nuneaton, 25 miles away. Dean offered to take the customer home for which he was extremely grateful for, resulting in Dean finally getting back to his own home at 1am. This is a great example of working as One Team and going the ‘Extra Mile’.