With 5,400 authorised dealers and service operators worldwide, the global ŠKODA service network is a cornerstone of the Czech manufacturer’s growth strategy. The best of the best gauge themselves annually as part of the ‘ŠKODA Service Challenge’.
140 finalists, 33 countries, four winners – the winners of the fourth international ‘ŠKODA Service Challenge’ are announced. Number one of the ŠKODA service advisors is Andrei Cristian Lascar from Romania. Thijs Veenstra from the Netherlands was awarded best service technician. The best painter is Pavel Pluhař from the Czech Republic, best parts manager Manfred Ruch from Germany. The best team is from Romania and the best representative of the importer is Marian Musat, also from Romania.
“The high level of qualifications amongst the 5,400 global ŠKODA dealers and service operators is fundamental for the success of the brand and a cornerstone of our growth,” says Werner Eichhorn, ŠKODA Board Member for Sales and Marketing. “Growth offensive is also a service offensive. My congratulations go to the finalists and particularly the winners of this year’s ŠKODA Service Challenge. They represent the excellent expertise and high level of commitment of all of our service technicians around the world,” says Eichhorn.
A total of 140 service specialists from 33 countries, including China, India, Russia and South America, took part in the two-day final stage in Prague and Mladá Boleslav. All finalists had qualified for the final round through national elimination stages. The final round included theoretical and practical tasks, as did the national qualification rounds before it. The winners were determined by a total of four categories: service technology, service advice, parts management and paint.
This year’s ‘ŠKODA Service Challenge’ was the fourth of its kind. The competition is continuously growing. “Successful participation in the Service Challenge is a great advert for the respective operation,” says Roman Havlásek, Head of ŠKODA Customer Services.
ŠKODA permanently invests in developing the skills of its service partners. This includes comprehensive training sessions at the ŠKODA Service Training Centre in Kosmonosy near Mladá Boleslav. The ŠKODA Service Training Centre combines both technical and commercial training sessions. In 2013 alone, almost 14,000 training days were carried out at the centre. Around 9,000 trainers, trading and customer service partners as well as importers of the brand from around the world took part in the further training courses for technology, new models, processes, communication and information systems. The ultimate goal: to keep the necessary expertise of the ŠKODA service workshops at the same level around the world, in order to ensure maximum customer satisfaction.