• Western Australian outlet named Bridgestone's top performing commercial vehicle store in 2020.

GERALDTON, Western Australia (23 March, 2021) — Bridgestone has named its top performing stores throughout Australia for 2020, with Bridgestone Service Centre Geraldton named as 'National Truck Store of the Year' in the inaugural year of the DRIVE program.

The DRIVE program was launched in January 2020 as the recognition program of Bridgestone Select and Bridgestone Service Centres, seeing the network benchmarked against customer satisfaction and business performance – designed in line with the network's values of customer centricity, delivering a leading customer experience and exceptional value for tyre and auto services. 

Bridgestone Service Centre Geraldton owner and licensee, Shane Hay, was taken by surprise to be named Australia's top truck store.

"It's great acknowledgement for our store and the team of 10 we have working here, but I certainly wasn't expecting it!" Mr Hay said.

"There's been a lot of opportunity in WA over the past few years and we're fortunate to have a strong commercial vehicle presence in Geraldton, so we've been able to thrive along with the industry.

"We've got a great team here and I'm proud to be able to share this title with them," Mr Hay added. 

DRIVE is made up of four categories: Franchise of the Year for Bridgestone Select stores, Store of the Year for Bridgestone Service Centres, and Truck Store of the Year for the best performing store from Bridgestone's commercial vehicle network, with regional and an overall national winner for each. A dedicated national New Store of the Year title was names amongst the 30 Bridgestone Select locations in their first three years of trading.

The Truck Store of the Year award recognises Bridgestone Select and Bridgestone Service Centres who support Bridgestone's commercial vehicle product range of Bridgestone and Firestone truck and bus tyres, and Bandag retreads through fleet and owner/driver sales.

According to Bridgestone Australia & New Zealand Managing Director Stephen Roche, Bridgestone Service Centre Geraldton excelled in what was one of the most challenging environments on record.

"The DRIVE program was designed to identify and celebrate the exceptional stores in our network,
evaluated by the judges that matter most to our stores and Bridgestone – the customers who trust us with their vehicles," Mr Roche said.

"Shane Hay and the team at Bridgestone Service Centre Geraldton did a remarkable job to adapt and thrive despite the challenges of 2020 and we congratulate the whole team on their efforts.

"In a year where trust and customer service were more critical than ever before, the entire network has demonstrated a commitment to serving the needs of their customers and we're delighted to recognise Geraldton as one of our network's best – and our country's top truck store," he added.

Joining Bridgestone Service Centre on the 2020 DRIVE program honour roll with regional victories were: Brian Hogan's Bridgestone Service Centre Parkes for New South Wales/ACT, Bridgestone Service Centre Horsham and Brendan Ellis for Victoria/Tasmania, Bridgestone Service Centre North Lakes and David Martin in Queensland, and John Bartholomaeus and Bridgestone Service Centre Clare for South Australia/Northern Territory.

Bridgestone Australia's Sales Director, Heath Barclay, highlighted the importance Bridgestone's truck store network plays in supporting the freight industry, and the outstanding achievement of the DRIVE program winners.

"Last year highlighted how crucial our trucking industry is, and Bridgestone's truck store network plays an integral role in keeping trucks on our roads through the supply of quality Bridgestone, Firestone and Bandag products. Without stores like Bridgestone Service Centre Geraldton, we wouldn't be able to support the industry effectively," Mr Barclay said.

"The DRIVE program provides a great benchmark and comparison across our network and we're encouraged by how competitive all of the categories were throughout 2020, particularly in the Truck Store award and we're thrilled to recognise Shane Hay and the team at Bridgestone Service Centre Geraldton as our top performing truck store, along with all of our regional winners."

Stores around Australia have already started contesting the 2021 DRIVE program.

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