Chevrolet’s most talented service technicians from dealerships in seven countries competed in Chiang Mai for top honors at the company’s third-annual “ASEAN BEST of the BESTs” competition. Ricky Manaois from Chevrolet Philippines won, with Aekkaluck Prasitdechakul from Auto Technic Thailand (Chevrolet New Petchaburi) second. The third place went to Jose Custodio, also from Chevrolet Philippines.

“The tests and sessions were challenging. They were really designed to get the best out of us. I am happy to have made it here and to go back with the win. It has been an invaluable experience and I look forward to sharing what I have learned with my colleagues in Philippines,” said Manaois.

Prasitdechakul agreed, adding: “Our coaches pushed us hard and today, I understand why. Without the quality training, I would not have made it. I believe we can bring after sales and customer care functions to new levels of quality to assure customer satisfaction.”

“Congratulations to the winner. This competition shows how good Chevrolet technicians in the region are. Winning is not easy. Still, I enjoyed meeting my colleagues from other markets. Next year we will be back to fight for the win,” he added.

The Head Judge of the event, Harshil Patel, Training Manager from Chevrolet India, said, “It was great to see the determination in each and every contestant. Everybody wanted to do well and that is the mindset we all must have when we are at work. Everyone is a winner here today as each of us will take something positive away from this event.”

Contestants from Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand were evaluated in various tests, including written, practical applications, pictorial and video questions, measurement tools skill testing and vehicle diagnostics. The latter category required the service technician to systematically solve a simulated vehicle problem in accordance with GM standards.

Originally known as the “ASEAN Service Technician Skill Olympic” when it was launched in 2012, the ASEAN BEST of the BESTs competition intends to encourage the sharing of best practices throughout Chevrolet’s dealer networks in the region and reinforce Chevrolet’s commitment to providing the best possible customer service and satisfaction in the industry.

Through the hard work and dedication of their National After Sales team spearheaded by Ms. Rose Dimalanta, Senior Vice President and Director for Aftersales, Mr. Lito Landicho, First Assistant Vice President for the Service Department, Mr. Lemuel Lapascua, Assistant Vice President for Technical/Field Service and Mr. Leo Medina, Manager for Technical Training, in cooperation with the Chevrolet Academy- Chevrolet Philippine’s learning and development arm, Chevrolet Philippines succeeded in providing the best training to their service technicians which helped them triumph over their ASEAN counterparts. Pursuing excellence in customer service and satisfaction, Chevrolet Philippines pledged to continue their efforts in ensuring the competency and expertise of the technicians are indeed the “Best of the Bests.”