Audi Centre Arcadia has won the Dealer of the Year award at the Audi Vorsprung Awards for five years in a row. Phillip Clough, the award-winning divisional managing executive, believes that the team’s success can be attributed to their meticulous attention to detail, with the focus always on the criteria and the knowledge that they must be better than the team that comes in second. He believes that winning is a matter of split seconds, similar to how eight-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps won his races. Clough explains that his managers have faith in themselves and their abilities and that he wins through his people rather than at their expense.
Clough believes that the team’s success is dependent on its ability to keep its clients happy, and this is only possible if the team members are happy. He refers to Richard Branson’s statement that happy employees lead to happy customers. Weekly customer survey results provide verbatim comments made by customers, and Clough ensures that any complaints are addressed promptly by the staff. He believes that mistakes are opportunities for learning and promotes continuous training and procedure reviews to reduce errors and increase repeat business.
Current economic pressures, load shedding, and low levels of consumer confidence are among the challenges faced by Audi Centre Arcadia. Clough believes that effectively playing the hand dealt to them is critical to their success. They concentrate on the aspects they can control rather than the model shortages and shipping challenges. Despite the economic climate, there is still a demand for Audi’s RS (performance) cars, particularly in South Africa, which ranks among the top ten RS sales markets in the world.
SUVs, particularly Audi’s Q series, are the most popular vehicles sold in South Africa. Despite Audi’s emphasis on electric vehicles (EVs), Clough believes that internal combustion engines continue to dominate the market. Diesel engines provide an excellent balance of performance and economy, but fuel quality issues have limited access to some of the most recent engines. Clough predicts a shift toward gasoline and electric vehicles as diesel becomes more scarce, particularly in the European Union.
The Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 increased internet shopping; however, Clough believes that the first point of contact should be electronic, followed by person-to-person interaction.
The goal of winning the Dealer of the Year award is to fulfil the purpose that each person has for it. Clough believes that the goal of winning is the more important motivator.
In conclusion, Audi Centre Arcadia’s success can be attributed to their attention to detail, focus on the criteria, and striving to outperform the second-place team. Their ability to keep their clients happy by ensuring that their staff is accommodating and that complaints are addressed promptly has resulted in repeat business. Despite current economic pressures, demand for Audi’s RS (performance) cars remains strong, particularly in South Africa. Although the internal combustion engine continues to dominate the market, there is a shift toward SUVs and electric vehicles. While electronic contact is possible, face-to-face interaction is preferred. The goal of winning the Dealer of the Year award is to fulfil the purpose behind it, which varies from person to person and is the primary motivator.
