What motivated you to challenge the WTGP at the time?
What effort did you make to win the prize?
Were there any effects in your job after you win the prize at the WTGP? Please introduce us the episode of the positive effects to your professional attitude and others.
Let us know the activities or services your shop doing to go beyond the expectation of the customers if any.
When do you find your job rewarding.
What do you want to challenge or be passionately at work from here on?
Please give a message for the 2016 WTGP participants to cheer them up.
2012
Mark William Sagers
EX: South Valley Motorsports Country: U.S.A Present: YMUS
Q1What motivated you to challenge the WTGP at the time?
I competed in other technical competitions when I was a student and found them to be exciting and rewarding. In 2007 I read a press release about the USTGP and how to qualify for the upcoming event in 2009. I knew I wanted to compete and immediately began preparations to attend YTA Silver and Gold training before 2009. My goal in competing was to attend the WTGP and prove I could compete at a global level.
Q2What effort did you make to win the prize?
After winning the USTGP in 2009, the training staff at YMUS communicated with me about what type of tasks would be at the WTGP. Prior to arriving in Kennesaw, GA in 2010 to prepare for WTGP, I had worked many hours on the YZF-R6 to become very familiar with the layout and systems of the motorcycle. I reviewed material about Yamaha's history and corporate structure, knowing the written exam at WTGP may include questions related to those subjects. I also knew there would be a task related to customer service, so I worked to refine those skills as well. While in Kennesaw, I and the other contestant worked with the YTA training staff to increase our understanding of the R6 electrical systems and general electrical troubleshooting principles.
Q3Were there any effects in your job after you win the prize at the WTGP? Please introduce us the episode of the positive effects to your professional attitude and others.
It's difficult to quantify all the effects of WTGP on our business operations at South Valley Motorsports. We made every effort to exploit my success in the competition in our social media advertising and with local press releases. I personally spoke with many customers who came to our store because of the WTGP advertising campaign produced by us and YMUS. The WTGP helped build greater initial trust with new customers in all of our departments. Customers said if a dealership could produce such a quality technician then the other departments must also excel. I also feel WTGP improved our relationship with YMUS. They trusted us to a greater degree which enabled us to help our customers more quickly when difficult problems arose. There were many positive and long-lasting effects from WTGP participation.
Q4Let us know the activities or services your shop doing to go beyond the expectation of the customers if any.
We try to focus on good communication with the customer from the point of write-up to repair order completion. Our service advisors inspect every unit with the customer at drop-off to help prevent miscommunication about the requested service work and to verify the overall unit condition. We improved our scheduling system to provide more accurate start and finish dates for the customer. We also created a quick service program which was done on a walk-in basis at a reduced cost. In the shop we also improved our operations by purchasing two lifts per technician in an effort to boost their productivity. We invested in machining and welding equipment to expand our capabilities. These and many other small improvements made our service department one of the best!
Q5When do you find your job rewarding.
While I was still at the dealership, I found the greatest reward in providing quality work to our customers and producing a good work environment for our technicians. Now, as an instructor for YMUS, the reward comes when students learn and understand a new concept that can help them be more productive in the shop.
Q6What do you want to challenge or be passionately at work from here on?
I'd like to improve on the existing YTA curriculum and expand our training efforts to make classes more accessible to the technicians.
Q7Please give a message for the 2016 WTGP participants to cheer them up.
Every technician who makes it to the WTGP is the best in their respective region. I would encourage all contestants to learn as much as they can while at WTGP about their competitors and their market environments. Attending a gathering of technicians from so many different countries is a unique opportunity most of us will only have once.
