London, 30 November 2022 The Motor Ombudsman, the Ombudsman dedicated to the automotive sector, is pleased to announce that the National Garage Star trophy in the 2022 Star Awards, has been awarded to Roadside (Garages) Kia, a family-owned and long-established dealership in Coleraine, Northern Ireland.
Around 1,500 online nominations were submitted by customers of Motor Ombudsman-accredited businesses across the UK in this year’s accolades – a near 40% increase compared to the number seen in 2021. From these entries, a shortlist of three businesses or individual team members was created by The Motor Ombudsman for each of the eight regions in the Garage Star Awards. The 24 finalists were chosen based on the accounts submitted by consumers as to how a franchise dealership, independent garage or body repair centre, or a staff member working for one of these organisations, went above and beyond to assist them, and whether this was a standalone or a repeated act of going the extra mile.
After reviewing the shortlisted nominations for Northern Ireland, the four-strong judging panel reached a unanimous decision to name Roadside (Garages) Kia in County Londonderry the worthy recipient of the Garage Star trophy for this region. The business was praised for their ongoing relationship with customers, their dedication to sourcing new vehicles and reducing the lead time to as short as possible, whilst also going above and beyond to deliver excellent customer service.
To crown this year’s overall National Garage Star, the eight regional champions, which included representations from five dealerships and three independent garages, were then pitted against one another for judges to re-assess the winning nominations on their own merits. It was however, the personable approach and efforts made for customers by Roadside Garages in Northern Ireland which stood out above the competition for members of the judging panel. The retailer on the Causeway Coast emerged triumphant to claim their second trophy of the year – the title of National Garage Star for 2022. In recognition of their outstanding achievement, the Kia dealership also received £1,000 in vouchers from The Motor Ombudsman.
David Boyd, Director of Roadside (Garages) Kia, said: “We are thrilled to have won both the trophy for Northern Ireland, and this year’s coveted National Garage Star Award. We faced very stiff competition in the final few, so it was a nice surprise to have been chosen by the judges and emerge with the top prize.”
David added: “Our team is immensely proud of our success, and our fast-expanding trophy cabinet is testimony to our long-standing ethos of going beyond what would ordinarily be expected of us, whilst adopting an individual and personal approach so that our customers always feel like a valued member of the Roadside family. We are very grateful to those who put our name forward in this year’s contest, and we look forward to welcoming them back to our showroom as The Motor Ombudsman’s National Garage Star for 2022.”
Bill Fennell, Chief Ombudsman and Managing Director of The Motor Ombudsman, explained: “This is the third year that we have run our Star Awards, and it has been very exciting to see the buzz that they have created, and to see more customers and businesses engaging with the competition than ever before.”
Bill added: “The Star Awards show first-hand the high calibre of businesses that are accredited to our Motor Industry Codes of Practice, and put many great examples and personal accounts of how individuals excel and go above and beyond to help their customers, firmly into the spotlight. We would like to congratulate all those who were nominated, highly commended and who won an award, including of course, our National Garage Star winner – Roadside Garages.”
The eight regional Garage Star Award winners for 2022 selected by the judging panel, are:
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- North: David Lloyd at Hayselden Volkswagen Barnsley (South Yorkshire), for his excellent communication skills when supporting customers looking to purchase a new vehicle;
- South: N.R.P Autocentre in Sheerness (Isle of Sheppey), for going the extra mile to support customers with a home vehicle collection and delivery service;
- East: Glyn Hopkin Limited in Colchester (Essex), for going above and beyond to deliver a positive and welcoming experience for customers when bringing their car in for routine and ad hoc maintenance;
- West: Okee Car Service Centre in Wellington (Somerset), for doing all they can to diagnose faults and save customers from having to pay for unnecessary repairs;
- The Midlands: Jagmaan Choudhary at Listers Honda Solihull (West Midlands), for keeping customers fully up to date with new vehicle orders, and for arranging home deliveries when needed;
- Northern Ireland: Roadside (Garages) Kia in Coleraine (County Londonderry), for their ongoing relationship with customers, their dedication to sourcing new vehicles and reducing the lead time to as short as possible, whilst also going above and beyond to deliver excellent customer service;
- Scotland: W Livingstone Ltd in Glasgow (Lanarkshire), for providing roadside repairs to customer vehicles at no charge; and
- Wales: Terry’s Auto Repairs in Wrexham (Wrexham County Borough), for organising same-day off-site vehicle collections and deliveries for customers.
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This year’s contest also saw the introduction of a third Customer Service Star Award category for the head offices of Motor Ombudsman-accredited dealer, garage and body repair centre groups, which saw the inaugural award bestowed to Protyre. The Customer Service Star Award for vehicle manufacturers accredited to The Motor Ombudsman’s New Car Code went to Honda UK, with Timothy Ellis at Car Care Plan Limited named the holder of the 2022 Customer Service Star trophy for Vehicle Warranty Product Code-accredited businesses.
