Border Toyota (St Boswells) Wins European Customer Satisfaction Award

EPSOM, UNITED KINGDOM – May 6, 2011: Border Toyota in St Boswells, was awarded with the top honour of Toyota’s ‘Ichiban’ European Customer Satisfaction Award during a ceremony followed by the Ichiban gala dinner held on 3 May at the Reichstag in Berlin.

Border were recognised for their exceptional performance in customer satisfaction in both Sales and After Sales areas. The awardwas presented to Mark Gaddie, Sales Manager at Border Toyota by Didier Leroy, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Europe.

Approximately 2,600 European retailers were evaluated on their results during continuous performance monitoring, which is included in the company’s standards. Based on a very demanding set of selection criteria, 41 retailers achieved this distinct recognition by Toyota in Europe.

Speaking at the awards ceremony, Mr. Leroy said: ‘The Ichiban Award formally recognises outstanding performance in delivering our “customer first” philosophy. Each and every member of Toyota ensures to always deliver their best, with our Retailers especially committed to providing the best overall customer experience. We count on our winning Ichiban Retailers to lead and continue to set the example in delivering the best experience to our customers.’

‘Ichiban’ is a Japanese word borrowed from ‘Okyakusama Ichiban’ which means ‘Customer First’, with ‘Ichiban’ meaning ‘first’ or ‘number one’. Since the start of TME’s annual Ichiban Awards in 2006, Customer Satisfaction performance of the Toyota retailers has improved by some 21 per cent points in Sales and 14 per cent points in After Sales.

Two other retailers from the UK were also among the 41 winners. These were Listers Toyota in Boston, Lincolnshire and Minories Toyota in Wearside, Sunderland.