Cars & Autos | Thursday 19 February, 2015 2:59 pm |

Nissan Middle East has honoured its finest sales executives and service technicians from throughout the region at a gala event in Dubai as it reaffirms “customer experience excellence is top priority.”

“Customer experience excellence is not an option in the Nissan family, it is part of our culture,” says Nissan’s Managing Director Middle East, Samir Cherfan.

“Nissan’s objective in this area is very clear – to be number one globally. Nissan Middle East has aligned itself with this goal. Customer satisfaction is not enough – we all have to deliver industry-best customer experience and that’s excellence.”

The Japanese auto maker invests heavily in customer care and focuses on providing the highest standards of sales and after-sales service.

“During Financial Year 2015 we have to continue to target customer excellence as number one in each market,” says Cherfan.

The Dubai occasion was to announce winners of Nissan Middle East’s annual Regional Skills Contest. Candidates had already won their categories in their respective countries.

The Regional Skills Contest comprises four competitions for engineers, technicians, sales staff and service advisors with the objective of discovering their capabilities and potential, and advancing their skills.

The awards span every aspect of the business - from knowledge of Nissan genuine parts to service advice to sales acumen to technical expertise.

Presentations to the award winners took place at a function at Dubai’s Waldorf Astoria, Palm Jumeirah.

Cherfan has paid tribute to the winners.

“Nissan Middle East is extremely proud of the winners’ efforts. Indeed, all who made it through to the finals achieved a great deal and the current winners joined a select group from previous years.

“Nissan invests heavily in its employees and the company and our customers are constantly rewarded by their consistent professionalism.”

Cherfan says in recent years Nissan has achieved “remarkable performances” in sales volume along with major improvement in customer service satisfaction in sales and after sales.

“We are constantly seeking to improve brand and sales power. Nissan strives to provide best-in-class interface with customers. This why every day our frontline staff play such a critical role in putting a smile on the customers’ faces and building loyalty for the Nissan brand.

“Customer experience management is serious business with very strong implications to the bottom line.

“Our unequalled team is vitally important as we drive the Nissan brand forward here in the Middle East. Our employees are raising the standards of customer care not just at Nissan but in the industry as a whole.”

The oldest and most coveted category is Nissan Service Technical Excellence Competency Award (NISTEC), now in its 18th year.

The first place under the NISTEC category was won by Darwin George from the A. A. Al Babtain Co in Kuwait.

“It’s wonderful to receive such an award, especially is it’s judged by your peers within the company,” says Darwin. “But it’s all down to being part of a great team. Doing a good job to the best of your ability to the satisfaction of the customer is the number one reward.”

The first place under the Nissan Service Advisor Excellency Competency Award (NISAC) category was won by Munazir Sayed from Arabian Automobile Co in Dubai while the first position under the Nissan Sales Executive Excellence Competency Award (NISEC) category went to Firas Ahmad from the Jordan dealership. Satheesh RamanKutty from Y K Almoayyed & Sons in Bahrain was presented with the first place for the Nissan Parts Executive Excellence Competency Award (NIPAC).

The Best Performing NSC award was given to Arabian Automobiles Co in Dubai.
Nissan has ambitious sales targets for the Middle East. These will be met by the highest level of training across the spectrum of the dealer network.

Nissan aims to sell 300,000 units a year in the Middle East by April 2017. This plan is in tandem with Nissan’s global ‘Power 88’ blueprint which targets 8 per cent global market share by the end of fiscal year 2016.

“Excellence will contribute to overall favourable opinion of the brand. It is the linchpin between sales to ownership then to repurchase and recommendation,” adds Cherfan.

Other winners included Majith Komath from A. A. Al Babtain Co in Kuwait (NISTEC), Dan Setunga from Arabian Automobiles Co in Dubai (NISTEC), Kenan Huervana from Saleh Al Hamed Al Mana in Qatar (NISAC), Waseem Roshdi from Bustami & Saheb Trading Co in Jordan (NISAC), Chadi Abdul Khalek from Al Masaood Automobiles Co in Abu Dhabi (NISEC), David Ghanameh from Arabian Autmobiles Co in Dubai (NISEC), Madhi Hossein from Al Masaood Autmobiles Co in Abu Dhabi (NIPEC) and Hany Sayed from Saleh Alhamad Almana Co in Qatar (NIPEC)