A LIFE TIME OF WORK IN PERSUIT OF SERVICE EXCELLENCE

THE FIRST thing you notice about Matt Small, the Assistant Service Manager at Wide Bay Toyota, is the easy way he engages in conversation. It’s a quiet confidence that has built up during his twenty year tenure at the region’s leading motor dealership. His focus is acutely shaped around providing the best service possible, not just for the dealership’s customers but also for his co-workers. Growing up in Sydney, Matt was a long way from the relaxing five-acre property he now enjoys on the Fraser Coast. He’s not able to say that he developed a passion for all things mechanical at a young age but did find himself in an apprenticeship at Bankstown Motor Group, working on Subaru, Kia and Mitsubishi at the time. His life’s working journey as a skilled motor mechanic had begun. Two years later, his family moved to beautiful Hervey Bay after having spent holiday time here in the past. Matt came along for the ride, and therein began his twenty year tenure at Wide Bay Motor Group. “I wouldn’t say that I had ever held a lot of ambition to climb the ladder as such. I was just always focussed on doing the very best job I could, everyday,” Matt said. “When I had completed my apprenticeship here at Wide Bay, I started some comprehensive

manufacturer training with Toyota in Brisbane. I was lucky enough to be offered the foreman’s role here and then onto Assistant Service Manager.” Despite his understated manner, Matt oversees a large part of the Wide Bay Motor Group business, which he takes immense pride in.

“A lot of things have changed over the years; that is certainly true. I am happy to roll my sleeves up and do whatever needs to be done to create the best experience possible.” “Technology plays a huge part in everything we do today, from the amount of vehicles we can service

every day to the customer experience from booking to collection.” “In terms of scope, when I first came here, we were doing twenty to thirty cars a day in terms of service. Today, that number is well over double.” With the ever growing market-share of Wide Bay Motor Group, new car

sales has also increased significantly, which in turn has seen an expediential upswing in pre-delivery service provisions. “We might have been washing five cars a day when I first started here, now it’s up to fifty.” Culturally, Matt positions Wide Bay Motor Group as simply the best place he has worked and points to the long standing consistency of staff as a driving factor for not only the dealership’s success but also the personal development of staff. “It permeates from the top down here, and management is very engaging when it comes to training, feedback and taking on ideas and suggestions.” “It’s easy to come to work when you know what your role is, but more importantly, that you are valued for the work that you do.” Matt enjoys spending time with his young family outside of work and unwinding from the fast pace of Monday to Friday. “This is such a beautiful place to live, we enjoy getting out on the water in the warmer months as well as heading off camping.” Some of the best things in life are not planned for; you just seem to fall into them. That seems to be the case for Matt Small. Every opportunity that has come his way, he had made the very most of.