Twenty-five years ago, Wolfe Mazda opened its doors in Langley surrounded by fields and just six other car dealers.
A quarter of a decade later the location is at the heart of the Langley Bypass auto hub. It welcomed top level executives from Mazda Canada and the company’s corporate headquarters in Hiroshima to Langley on Saturday to present Wolfe Mazda Langley with three awards to honour their achievements in sales and customer satisfaction.
“It means much more than just just the hardware standing here,” said Kory Koreeda, president and CEO of Mazda Canada, of the awards. He credited dealership general manager Mike Hacquard for much of the success that has positioned the location as the number one Mazda dealership in the province by volume.
“In general, for us, it’s all about customer experience, to be honest. He (Hacquard) is the benchmark for us.”
Koreeda was joined at Wolfe’s Langley Bypass location by Akira Marumoto, Mazda’s executive vice president, alongside other high level Mazda Canada delegates who helped present the dealership with three distinctive awards.
Along with an award recognizing Wolfe Mazda Langley’s 25 years of service, the dealership received the Grand Performer Award for being one of only 10 dealers across Canada whose sales exceeded 1,000 new units in 2013.
“We’ve actually done it five years in a row,” Hacquard said.
“So we’re pretty happy about maintaining that.”
Wolfe Mazda Langley was also named a Mazda Dealer of Distinction, an award that honours excellence in sales and satisfaction according to customer surveys and Mazda head office standards.
“At the end of the day people is what makes our business, and Mike’s done a great job representing us in this marketplace,” Koreeda said, noting Mazda’s goal is to provide consistent customer experiences that exceed expectations throughout the ownership cycle — from purchase point to ongoing servicing.
“He’s done a great job representing our brand.”
Hacquard said none of it could have been accomplished without the commitment to excellence from his team of senior staff members.
“We could have the best location in the world, we could have the best brand, we could have the best building — but without the people to make it work, we’re nothing,” Hacquard said.
“He believes you’re only as strong as the team you’re with,” said dealership comptroller Kathryn Miles, who has worked with the Wolfe Auto Group for eight years.
“That’s a terrific philosophy and we’re very proud of it.”
Mazda was the first brand the Wolfe Group represented in the local market, said Hacquard, who said he was grateful for the chance to visit Mazda’s corporate headquarters in Japan last summer.
“It made me want to come home and try harder for Mazda,” Hacquard said. “It’s much more than a brand in Japan, it’s a provider for families.”
“It was so nice for me to see that because I feel very much the same here in providing for my employees’ families, so it kind of put everything together for me. I wish I had gone earlier.”