Mastering the South Island

MUCH LIKE THE BRANDS THEY IMPORT TO NEW ZEALAND — CORGHI, PEAK, POWERREX AND AUTOMASTER, AUTOMASTER EQUIPMENT CONTINUES TO EVOLVE IN ORDER TO BETTER SERVE THEIR CLIENT BASE. WE CAUGHT UP WITH THE TEAM TO CHAT ABOUT THEIR NEWLY OPENED CHRISTCHURCH SHOWROOM

Fresh from having opened an impressive Auckland showroom in early 2022, the crew at Automaster has re-imagined their Christchurch warehouse to include its own South Island showroom. The impetus for the space — which launched in late 2022 — was “to help explain the differences between models to customers and show them the quality and performance of the equipment,” says managing director Gary Cotterell.

Thanks to all the available online research material, retail customers tend to visit showrooms already quite well informed about the differences between products they might like to purchase. As such, showrooms for everything from whiteware to commercial equipment have become handson spaces; somewhere to test out theory and ask usage-specific questions from knowledgeable staff who can answer and demonstrate directly on the product itself.

Automaster’s South Island sales rep Bryan Atkins echoes that sentiment: “Customers are quite keen to come in and see the item they’re thinking of buying in the flesh. For example, people who are buying a hoist for home are doing it from the heart and they want to make sure they’re making the right decision. Coming in and seeing it and looking at the other options has been very useful.” Likewise, customers love being able to see the differences between models and price points, according to Gary.

Another bonus of a showroom set up for Automaster is the fact that staff are better prepared to give phone and digital support to non-local customers, further enhancing the supplier’s reputation for high-calibre equipment and customer service. According to Gary, having Automaster’s core products set up and operational allows staff to “get more familiar with the equipment — our tech guys can give better phone support to our customers by having the actual machine in front of them and they now regularly use video calls to help customers who are not local to learn the features or fix small issues”.

Bryan agrees: “If I get a customer who is in Invercargill, for example, and he’s got a problem with his balancer, I can just walk out to the showroom, get the same balancer in front of me and it helps me talk him through some diagnostics and troubleshooting.”

For more information on Automaster’s extensive range of wheel-service equipment, hoists, and other workshop equipment, see automaster.co.nz, call 0800 214 604, or visit the new showroom at 6 Gerald Connolly Place, Hornby, Christchurch. Please phone first to arrange an appointment.