Riviera’s R MARINE PERTH have been awarded a recognition for their top customer service and always going that extra mile. The Australia/New Zealand Dealer of the Year Awards were held this month in Sydney.

R Marine Perth has taken the proactive move to offer break-down assistance during the busy Christmas holiday period and they also host regular owner information evenings, trips and fundraisers during the year for the year ending June 2010 to ensure they are constantly educating and listening to their customers.

R Marine Perth was awarded overall Dealer of the Year while R Marine Sydney was awarded the dealership award for Sales Excellence.  Individual awards went to Peter Devery from R Marine Sydney for Sales Excellence, Tim Wright from R Marine Perth for Service Excellence and Stephen Milne from Riviera for Excellence in Dealer Support.

These Dealer Awards have been running consistently for the past 16 years and were created to recognise outstanding achievement and dedication to Riviera’s loyal owners and brand.  Dealers are judged on their ability both to service customer needs and boats, conduct client events and professional representation at boat shows, overall boat sales both of new and pre-owned Rivieras, co-operation with the factory’s business guidelines and communication with dealer support services, dealership presentation and customer satisfaction.

R Marine Perth dealer principal Brendan Grieve said this was the first time they had won this award.

“It makes us feel that all the hard work we have put in over the past four years has paid off and we are obviously doing the right thing – it’s validating the work that we have put in,” he said.

“The things that we focus on are exceptional service and doing what no one else does in the industry, we provide a support boat at Rottnest Island during the busy Christmas holiday period.

“We are prepared to work seven days a week if required to keep our boat owners going.  If someone has a break down on a Sunday night we have someone there to help them.

“We will always strive to improve our owner service.  The brand we are proudly representing enables us to achieve what we want to achieve because Riviera’s market position and brand reputation.  We will aim to do more owner information nights and more owner escorted convoys and teach people more about their boats as much as we can and we are planning our next Variety Splash charity fund-raiser in March 2011.”

Riviera Chief Executive Officer, John Anderson, said these awards were a credit to the dealerships and he commended the dedication, enthusiasm and positive attitude of the staff who have received Riviera’s highest accolade.

“R Marine Perth and R Marine Sydney have excelled in every aspect over the past 12 months and these awards recognise their sales success and hard work,” Mr Anderson said.

“I congratulate all our staff for a tremendous effort and their loyalty during these challenging times.  I have no doubt that Riviera’s success today is a direct result of the dedication and achievements of our staff.”

Serviceman of the year was awarded to Tim Wright from R Marine Perth, his exceptional customer service.

Brendan Grieve said Tim was a real asset to the R Marine Perth team.

“He is one of those invaluable guys, I would put him behind the helm of any boat and our customers love him and his positive attitude,” Brendan said.

“Tim’s one of the chief skippers for one of the Fremantle Volunteer Sea Rescue Group so he’s always out on the boat and meeting owners, even on his days off he’s doing volunteer work and helping boat owners.”

R Marine Sydney was recognised for its outstanding sales success with the highest number of boats sold during the past 12 months.  Peter Devery from R Marine Sydney sold the most new boats for an individual over the past 12 months and was awarded the Salesman of the Year award for this outstanding achievement.

R Marine Sydney dealer principal Michael Joyce said it was an honour for his dealership to receive these awards.

“I am proud of R Marine Sydney’s sales success, positive attitude and enthusiasm,” Michael said.

“I would also like to congratulate Peter on his achievement.  Peter is one of the most determined and focused salespeople in our network and I commend him on his efforts and Riviera loyalty.”

Riviera’s annual Dealer Awards acknowledge outstanding achievement, professionalism,  sales success and work ethic.

Riviera offers 20 different models from 36 to 85 feet across four model series Flybridge, Sport Yacht, Offshore Express and Motor Yachts.