"Premier" status working wonders for Melbourne Marine Centre
by Mercury Marine 2 Oct 2018 20:54 PDT
Premier results for Melbourne Marine © Mercury Marine
The effort and investment it took to become a Mercury Premier Service Centre is most certainly paying dividends for Melbourne Marine Centre and its customers.
"Having Premier status gives us serious credibility with boat owners who might not know anything else about us," said co-owner Andrew Stephen.
"The proof is clear: our Service Centre is noticeably busier now than it was a year ago.
Premier accreditation is the highest recognition that a Mercury Marine Service business can achieve and is only granted to those dealerships who excel in the areas of presentation, technical training, tooling and diagnostics equipment, along with exceptional levels of customer service.
"Not only are we getting more boats to look after, we're getting bigger boats, because people know we have technicians who are fully trained in the latest Mercury technologies, we have the equipment and all the systems to do an excellent job on their engines," Andrew said.
"They know we're a Mercury Premier Service Centre, so they are comfortable entrusting their boat with us."
Situated in Hallam, just half an hour from both Port Phillip Bay and Western Port Bay, Melbourne Marine Centre has only been open for four years but Andrew and his team still went through a long process to reach the standard required to become a Mercury Premier Service Centre.
"Mercury set strict criteria across the whole business, so we went through and ticked the boxes one after another until we crossed the line," he said.
To make it, Andrew and his partner Rob Cuming (the man behind Northbank Fibreglass Boats) had to invest in additional tooling, as well as redesign sections of the workshop and develop new administration systems among other changes.
"Thankfully we had a good computer system already in place and that now plays a major role in tracking what we're doing and communicating with our customers," Andrew said.
Since opening its doors in January 2015, Melbourne Marine Centre has definitely been giving customers what they want with the dealership recording constant year-on-year growth.
"The servicing and repairs we do in the workshop is a huge part of the business, however we aim to offer our customers a one-stop boating shop from new or used boats, fishing tackle, boating accessories, finance and insurance... we try to meet everyone's requirements," Andrew said.
"We started from scratch but the research we did beforehand showed there was definite room from growth in this area and we've managed to secure that.
"The fact is we outgrew this site in the first two years. We've knocked down walls and done what we can but now we're trying to figure out the best way to expand. We've got more customers and more stock and it all has to go somewhere.
"We are thankful to have great customer relationships, we appreciate their loyalty and they know they're welcome to drop by for advice or just come in for a coffee."
To contact Andrew and his team, go to www.melbournemarine.com.au or call (03) 9703 2003.