Mercedes-Benz Retail Group
The first Mercedes-badged car was launched in 1901, fifteen years after joint founder Karl Benz
had unveiled the world’s first petrol-powered car. Mercedes-Benz is now the world’s oldest automotive brand.
Its global reputation for peerless quality and engineering brilliance – not just in its world-renowned passenger cars,
but also in its commercial vehicles – is well expressed by the quotation attributed to Benz’s fellow engineer
Gottlieb Daimler: ‘the best, or nothing.’
Innovation has studded the company’s hundred-year history.
The first car to feature brakes on all four wheels was a Mercedes. Other ideas like Electronic Stability Programme,
Brake Assist and the modern car’s safety cell design have been openly licensed to other manufacturers in the wider
interests of passenger safety.
In 2010, the company’s BlueEFFICIENCY package of fuel-saving technologies
allows owners to enjoy both power and economy in one vehicle, while its BLUETEC NOx reduction system is now enabling
the construction of viable diesel hybrids. Motorsport at the highest
level has always been central to the Mercedes-Benz proposition, with a strong connection being made between the race and road cars.
The rapturously-received SLS AMG, the first car to be built entirely in-house by Mercedes-Benz’s AMG high-performance division,
is an important indicator of the company’s ongoing approach to performance and engineering integrity.
The opening of Mercedes-Benz World in Surrey was a stroke of marketing genius.
Besides showcasing landmark vehicles in a modern and free environment,
this state-of-the-art facility allows both adults and children – the customers of the future –
to experience the unique driving pleasures of a Mercedes-Benz on specially-designed closed circuits.
Mercedes-Benz Retail Group's rising star
Mark Goody
After Sales Manager, Mercedes-Benz Romford
Mercedes-Benz Retail Group
35-year-old Mark Goody is the After Sales Manager at Mercedes-Benz Romford, ranked 3rd in the Customer Satisfaction Index of all 150 UK Mercedes-Benz dealers. In a range of sales and management positions at Mercedes-Benz and Smart dealerships in Mayfair, Edmonton and Loughton he has won numerous awards for customer satisfaction and sales. Born in Chelmsford and raised in Brightlingsea near Colchester, Mark now lives in Ipswich with his wife, baby and cat.
Tell us a bit about your education and qualifications.
I've got a degree in Engineering from Girton College Cambridge, postgrad certificate in Automotive Design, Manufacture and Management from Herts University. I'm a Registered Chartered Engineer, and I used to be a full member of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE).
What do you do outside work?
A bit of DIY. My wife's Swedish, we've just bought a house in Sweden which we visit whenever we can.
Any claims to fame?
I took part in the 2007 Swamp Football competition in Northern Finland.
Coming from an engineering background presumably gives you useful insights into the products you're selling?
I think both then and now, Mercedes-Benz wasn't looking to employ what you might call 'typical' car salesmen. They want people who can bring something different to the job. I've taken on people from advertising and marketing backgrounds. A friend of mine has just joined, he was previously working at a bottling company.
In your own career, did you do much in the way of work experience?
I've had a variety of work placements. I had five years with another major car company as both a design and a manufacturing engineer, two of those on four different placements in the UK, Germany and the US as part of a graduate training scheme. I also spent a year with the company's Formula 1 team. While I was at university I had a short placement with the Motor Industry Research Association as a Test Engineer.
In 2003 I did a stint at the company's stand at the Birmingham Motor Show. I found I loved dealing with the public, so I decided it was time for a change. I sold my place in Brentwood and joined Mercedes-Benz Retail in the Mayfair branch. And I haven't regretted it for a moment.
What car do you drive?
I'm in a C350 diesel at the moment. If I won the lottery I'd probably buy an SLS. That's a great car.
If you were at college and thinking of entering the Next Generation Awards competition, what would you be thinking about as a possible area of investigation for your entry?
From an aftersales perspective there are some big challenges coming up.
Block exemption has quite rightly opened up the competition. There's a competitor on every street corner now for every manufacturer, including specialists, but I just wonder what's going to happen with hybrids and all the other advanced systems that are coming onto the market. Even at Mercedes-Benz we struggle with all the training and the special equipment that's needed.
Is someone with a 10-year-old hybrid going to accept that they're going to have to spend £5k on a new set of batteries? Maybe we need to be designing cars with a 20-year lifecycle, and perhaps more simple cars that are also safe and reliable.
I do believe that aftersales is the heart of our business. Of course there are many people who wouldn't have anything other than a Mercedes. They won't even consider another brand. But many buyers do like to shop around. If we give them exceptional service, they'll keep coming back. And we can make money doing it. Everyone is having to deliver great customer service now just to retain customers. Customer satisfaction is king, and consistency is the key to that. If you can get that right, even if you're not busy now, you definitely will be in the future.
