Nissan Philippines Inc (NPI) recently held the first ever Nissan Olympics at the Nissan Training Center in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.  The Nissan Olympics sets to identify and recognize the top performing individuals and teams within the nationwide dealer network, in the fields of Sales, After Sales, and the V-Up Program - Nissan’s way of promoting the continuous improvement in business operations.

“The Nissan Olympics is our way of acknowledging the best performing members of the Nissan team, and how these skills have helped differentiate Nissan customer service from a competitive market,” said NPI President and Managing Director Ramesh Narasimhan. “In the previous years, the competition mostly focused on After Sales. But since customer service means a complete customer experience, we opened the competition to other members within the dealer operations, recognizing the excellent contributions of the team.”

Participants of the 2017 Nissan Olympics were chosen from various Nissan dealerships, under-going a strict criteria for qualification.  For the Sales category, only 11 out of 550 Nissan Marketing Professionals (NMPs) nationwide were invited to be part of the competition. These NMPs qualified by achieving 90 percent on online exams, 90 percent on the sales satisfaction index, and sold a minimum of 3 units per month average for the last 12 months.

The After Sales category saw 6 teams of 4 members each, composed of a Dealer Marketing Officer, Service Adviser, Parts Personnel, and Technician. The top 6 teams were chosen based on their performance in a qualifying exam that was distributed to the nationwide dealer network.

Dealer representatives were also invited to present their V-Up Projects, to help improve their dealership operations. Out of 14 projects fielded by different dealers nationwide, only 11 were selected to be part of the finals.

After a full day activities – which included a battery of written exams, a simulated showroom scenario, and a comprehensive interview for the Sales category finalists; vehicle troubleshooting for the After Sales category finalists; and the presentation and defense of different V-Up projects – the winners of the first ever Nissan Olympics were announced.

For the Sales Category, only 3 out of the 11 finalists were awarded for their outstanding performance in all sales activities. Third place went to Neil Villamoreal, while second place went to Ryan Damaso, both from Nissan Isabela. The championship for the category was awarded to Marvin Sarmiento from Nissan Don Chino Roces.

The After Sales Individual Category awarded the Best Dealer Marketing Officers, Service Advisers, Parts Personnel, and Technicians. For the Best Dealer Marketing Officers, 3rd place went to Rosalie Dominguez from Nissan Mantrade, 2nd place to Maria Victoria Manalastas of Nissan North EDSA, and 1st place to Jasmine Mercado of Nissan Commonwealth.

For the Best Service Advisers, 3rd place went to Joebert Entereso of Nissan UN, 2nd place to Lawrence Lim of Nissan Mantrade, and 1st place to Manuel Zapanta of Nissan Commonwealth. For the Best Parts Personnel, 3rd place was given to Ariel Bang of Nissan Commonwealth, 2nd place to Celso Tibang of Nissan Isabela, and 1st place to Bernie Dalida of Nissan Mantrade.

For Best Technicians, 3rd place was awarded to Jefrey Arquero from Nissan Isabela, 2nd place to Kier Ojenar from Nissan Commonwealth, and 1st place to Charlie Marcos from Nissan Man-trade.

The After Sales Category also saw the awarding of the Best Teams. Bagging 3rd and 2nd place is Nissan Isabela and Nissan Commonwealth, respectively. Winning the championship is Nissan Mantrade.

Out of the 11 V-Up projects, 6 were recognized for their innovative solutions which mirrors the true Nissan spirit of innovation - Nissan Isabela, represented by Chito Lucas and Ronald Villanueva; Nissan Commonwealth represented by Catherine De Jesus and Nestle Retardo; Nissan Don Chino Roces represented by Ferdie Sundiam and Jorge Saddie; Nissan Palawan represented by Jay Angelo Begino and Ronnie Go; and Nissan Southwoods represented by Connie Villanueva and Carlos Ereve.

And finally, Nissan UN, represented by Riza Evangelista and Maria Milagros Saberon, for their solution to improve delivery lead time for the releasing of brand new vehicles with accessories.

“More than a competition, the Nissan Skills Olympics is a venue for the best members of the team to share their skills with one another. By sharing best practices and striving to consistently enhance our services, we are giving back to our most important stakeholders – our customers.” concludes Narasimhan.