LEWISTON, Maine – VIP Tires & Service recently held its Annual Managers Conference, where managers from all 56 locations met to discuss business issues and receive valuable training from more than a dozen key suppliers. In addition, awards were presented to the managers who achieved "Top 10" status for sales growth during VIP’s 2013 fiscal year.
According to VIP, these annual meetings reflect the company’s commitment to continuing education and investment in the leadership skills of its people. Training was held from Bangor, Maine, to Concord, N.H., and each manager spent a full day engaged in learning how to further develop the knowledge and skills of their teams. The goal of this training was to showcase the past year’s success stories and focus on the goals ahead.
“I’m really proud of all that our people have accomplished this past year. They had a lot thrown at them, but they found a way to win despite the hurdles. Their passion for helping customers is evident in their desire to create strong, winning teams,” said John Quirk, VIP’s president and CEO.
These sessions helped VIP’s store-level leaders keep focus on the company vision after a year of change. With the sale of VIP’s parts division at the end of 2012, all 56 stores underwent a complete remodeling. “Through it all, the staff has remained committed to being the resource their customers can turn to for all their automotive needs,” said Quirk.
“By focusing all of our energy on tires and service, we can make a real difference for our customers. It has always been the mission here at VIP to ‘Earn Automotive Customers for Life,’ and these annual meetings definitely helped me find new ways to realize that goal,” said Kurt Hamel, market manager for the Lewiston/Auburn region.
“We were very excited to hold these meetings. Bringing all of our talented leaders together reminds us what a great team we have,” said Tim Winkeler, VIP’s chief operating officer. Each day was concluded with a banquet and awards ceremony. “Events like this are not only an opportunity to sharpen our leadership skills, but also bring us closer together as a team,” said Winkeler.
