SUNDERLAND SEAT RETAILER NAMED UK'S BEST

Sunderland car retailer Pulman SEAT has been named as the dynamic Spanish brand's Dealer of the Year after just one full year of trading.

Pulman SEAT named SEAT Dealer of the Year

The Southwick dealership won the accolade for its outstanding overall performance and was crowned by SEAT UK Director, Peter Wyhinny, at a major conference.

Ecstatic Pulman bosses then returned to the retailer's Burntland Avenue showroom where they popped open the champagne for an impromptu celebration.

They also toasted team member Alex Paget, who was named SEAT's Used Car Manager of the year at the same time.

A delighted Mike Pulman, Managing Director of the Pulman Group, said: 'This is an incredible achievement and was only possible thanks to the hard work and dedication of each and every member of the team.  I'm really proud of what they've achieved and they should all be proud of themselves.

Mike Pulman and the team celebrate

'The Dealer of the Year award not only looks at how we're performing as a business it also, more importantly, takes a customer-eye view of how we're doing in the areas that matter the most.

‘The Pulman promise is to deliver a fantastic customer experience every time, and winning this award is testament to how hard each member of the Pulman team work on achieving our promise.

'To have won means we must be doing things right and we now need to work even harder to ensure our standards don't slip.'

Awards judges scrutinised all areas of operation for every dealer in SEAT's 125-strong UK network across a 12-month period before selecting Pulman SEAT as their winner. This included detailed analysis of the retailer's performance against sales targets as well as its customer service scores.

Alex Paget named the Used Car Manager of the Year

Meanwhile, Alex Paget scooped the used car award following an equally tough process, during which his turnover of stock was closely monitored and his customer service skills were put to the test by a series of mystery shoppers.

Alex said: 'This award is not just recognition for me but for the whole of the hardworking team here at Pulman.

‘It’s also validation of our approach which is to make the experience of buying a used car every bit as fantastic as buying a new car.’