Not a PLC - we’re a family- and privately-owned company
Terry Lister opened his first dealership in 1979 and, since the beginning, his ethos for customer care and customer satisfaction has never changed. As the company has grown, each new site has been built around his simple philosophy.
The Listers team will often encourage customers to “relax,” because “you’re in safe hands”. Whilst other companies may offer a similar promise, our team will show them that they care by looking after them through every step. This brings customers back time after time and, more importantly, it brings further customers to our doors through the glowing recommendations by friends and relatives.
With Listers, our customers become members of our extended family and we never forget that you are a person - not a number lost in a PLC’s customer database.
Our relationships with the manufacturers we represent
Walk into any Listers centre and take a good look around. Everything you see will have been developed by working closely with the vehicle manufacturer. Look out for the quality team from Listers Head Office - their purpose is to monitor the practices of the centre against not only the manufacturers’ standards, but also against our own, often more stringent, requirements.
Our quality team will listen to phone calls taken by our customer care department and ensure that requests are carried out to the highest standards. By ensuring your satisfaction, we build and strengthen our relationships with our represented manufacturers, something that has far more impact for our customers than most people realise.
The relationship with our manufacturers not only ensures our stability, it strengthens the peace of mind we offer to you - as the link between your car and the people who made it, our bonds to the manufacturer secures and bolsters the support we offer to your vehicle, should you ever be in the position to need it!
Training
All Listers staff undergo regular training and coaching, either carried out on site, at the manufacturer’s facilities or at our bespoke training facility in Stratford-upon-Avon. Many of our staff are also performance monitored to ensure the experience given to the customer is of the highest standard.
Our training programmes range from some of the most basic skills, through to financial services regulation and training, all the way through to updating our vehicle technicians on the most recent product launches. The benefits gained by us are obvious, but from a customer’s perspective, our training regime ensures that the information you are given is up to date and accurate at all times.
Listers Listen
Here’s a little something we’ll share with you: sometimes, we get it wrong!
Our Customer Liaison team make over 100,000 calls every year to gauge reactions and, in the vast majority of cases, our customers are completely satisfied. We also find, however, that in a minority of cases a customer is not completely satisfied with the service they have received.
Whenever we find a customer who is less than 100% satisfied, we listen carefully to each individual concern and then we do everything in our power to rectify the situation. That’s not where we stop, though. Unlike most companies, we then adapt our practices and processes to ensure that, in cases where mistakes were made, they are never made again.
Our ability to listen is just one aspect of the secret to our success.
Demonstrator Policy
Drive-before-you-buy. Obvious really, but some customers choose cars that are very specific to them. “I need an Estate…”, “an automatic…”, “…with a diesel engine”, “…but with a 2.5 engine, not the 1.9”.
At many garages across the country, you will find that the choice of demonstrators is limited. “You can drive the 1.9, but we don’t have the 2.5 for you to drive…”, or “the estate version has just arrived but we only have it in manual…” and so on.
At Listers, we have over £15,000,000 worth of demonstrators in stock at any one time. As an example, our Toyota sites try, between them, to cover almost every derivative of every model. If all else fails, our relationship with our representative manufacturers will always provide us with anything we cannot source ourselves.
In other words, if you want to try the car you’re going to buy, come and see us.
The future
As the major automotive PLC groups battle for profits to support shareholders, vying to buy or take over each other in the process, Listers remains proudly independent. Our simple philosophy, firmly centred around customer care and satisfaction, has served us well for over 30 years. We see no reason to change it now.
Call into any one of over 40 Listers centres, enjoy a complimentary tea or coffee, take a look around, enjoy a test drive and chat to any member of our team. Hopefully you’ll become a member of the Listers extended family soon.