Over the two days of October 18 and 19, qualifying Yamaha motorcycle mechanics from dealerships and distributors in 23 countries gathered to test their service skills in the "YAMAHA World Technician Grand Prix 2005" held at the Communication Plaza of the Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. (YMC) headquarters in Iwata and the nearby Yamaha Resort Tsumagoi.
This annual contest was begun as a part of the YTA (Yamaha Technical Academy) program YMC has been promoting since 2000. In addition to help win more Yamaha fans around the world by providing high added-value service, this contest seeks to raise the service people' s consciousness of their place in the global Yamaha group, stimulate the desire for improvement and build and strengthen the worldwide Yamaha service network.
For this 3rd holding of the Yamaha World Technician GP, the slogan was "Create Customers Smiles." The contest was competed by 21 servicemen from 17 countries. The categories of competition included (1) a written test of motorcycle repair knowledge and theory, (2) troubleshooting and repair on actual motorcycles and (3) skills for dealing with customers, and the winners were decided on the basis of cumulative points in the three test areas. When the contest was over, the winner was Mr. Haruki Hamasaki (YSP Nerima-nishi, Tokyo), 2nd place went to Mr. Wu Cheng Wen of Taiwan and 3rd place was a tie between Mr. Sommitr Labuth of Thailand and Mr. Greg Slattery of Australia. |
The contents of this year' s contest included (1) a written test of technology, product and motorcycle industry knowledge (60 min.), (2) a practical skills test of pre-delivery machine preparation, troubleshooting and post-repair road testing (80 min.) and (3) customer reception/handling skills and contents (10 min.), and the winners were decided on the basis of cumulative points in the three test areas. |
Road testing |
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Written test |
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1st Place : Mr. Haruki Hamasaki, Japan representative (YSP Nerima-nishi, Tokyo)
These two days showed me once again that "You can do it if you try" and the importance of making the effort. In my daily work I have always made it my policy to try to "Create Customers Smiles" just like this contest' s slogan. This victory inspires me to work even harder to become a good partner for my customers. And I also want to share this experience with other service people around me so that we might see a second and third Japanese champion some day. |
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2nd Place : Mr. Wu Cheng Wen, Taiwan representative
I am very happy to see the skills I have acquired over the years be recognized in this way. I want to take this experience back to Taiwan and share it with other service people in hopes that they can some day compete here and show a high level of technical skills and knowledge. In the end, this kind of effort will contribute to greater customer satisfaction. |
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3rd Place : Mr. Sommitr Labuth, Thailand representative
I felt a lot of pressure in representing the service people of Thailand in this competition, so I am relieved to have received this prize. I consider the things that I have learned over these two days of competition to be a great asset for me as a service technician. Though I value this prize, I will continue to work with pride to offer the customers even greater satisfaction. When I get back to Thailand I will also share this experience to help nurture the next generation of skilled service technicians. |
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3rd Place : Mr. Greg Slattery, Australia representative
I' m just very happy. I want to share all the things I have experienced here with the staff at our dealership, and also work through a growing network of service people to communicate the importance of service activities. Personally, I want to continue to improve my level of service skills and to keep on offering service that the customers can really appreciate. |
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Stefan Everts Prize |
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Antonio Cairoli Prize |
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The winners of the Everts Prize and Cairoli Prize received official pit shirts and caps.
Everts told the contestants that he is able to win because of the mechanics on his team and he hopes that they will be the same kind of supportive mechanics to the customers. |
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