Wilmoth Takes First in Best of Belron US
January 12, 2010

Brad Wilmoth of Hartford, Mich., took first place in yesterday’s national Best of Belron US competition, held in Orlando, Fla. at the Disney Swan and Dolphin Resort. He wins a prize of $10,000 and a trip to Paris in June to compete in the worldwide Best of Belron competition.

This is Wilmoth’s second time competing. He was the national runner-up when the competition was held two years ago.

Mark Jackson of Columbus, Ohio, was named runner-up. Jackson wins $5,000 and a trip to Paris as well to cheer on Wilmoth in the competition. He also serves as alternate, if for any reason Wilmoth is unable to compete.

Twelve technicians participated in the competition—one from each of the company’s eleven divisions, and Wilmoth, who returned to the competition as runner-up in the 2008 event. Each competitor had won a divisional competition to reach this level.

Each competitor completed a windshield repair, a windshield replacement, a sidelite replacement and a removal and reinstallation on a backlite on a Chevrolet Malibu. In addition, on the previous day, each competitor took a knowledge test and participated in a customer service exercise, both of which played a role in the final scores as well.

During the technical part of the competition, competitors are gauged on hundreds of items, including working methods, car care and more, according to Belron US’s Glen Moses.

When it comes to speed, Moses notes, “They’re expected to do the job in a reasonable amount of time.”

In order to be eligible to enter the regional competitions, which feed into the divisional competitions, and on to the national competition, Moses says the technicians must have maintained high statistics (on items such as warranty rates and customer service surveys) in their daily business. Likewise, if these statistics drop as a competition approaches, the technician loses eligibility to compete.

One new addition to the competition was the use of Belron’s Ezi-Wire system for removal. Belron US chief operations officer Rich Harrison says the company currently is in the process of rolling out the use of the tool in various markets across the United States both as an ergonomic measure and to lessen the chances of vehicle damage.

“It’s safer for the technician,” he says. The Ezi-Wire system has been rolled out to approximately one-third of the company’s technicians so far (about 1,000).

This year, the company also held a customer service representative (CSR) competition, featuring six of the company’s CSRs.

Results of that competition had not been released at press time.

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