Three of Toyota’s UK dealers have been honoured for achieving the highest levels of customer service in the 2014 Ichiban Awards.

The awards are contested by around 2,300 Toyota retailers across Europe, with the winners selected for demonstrating exceptional customer satisfaction performance in both their sales and after sales operations. The name ichiban is taken from the Japanese phrase okyasuma ichiban, meaning customer first.

This year Snows Toyota Honiton was successful for the second year running, joined by Burrows Barnsley Toyota and RRG Toyota Altrincham.

Didier Leroy, president and CEO Toyota Motor Europe, said: “Excellent service is a must. With one-to-one contact, we give personal attention to the individual needs and requirements of every customer. With products and services designed to give emotional appeal, we must reach out to the heart of each customer.”

Steve Davidson, general manger Burrows Barnsley, said: “This first Ichiban award for Burrows is the result of the hard work, determination and commitment to customer care of every member of the Burrows Barnsley team.

“It was an extremely proud moment to learn we had been selected, and being recognised in this way makes all the effort worthwhile and ensures our team are motivated to strive to continue to exceed expectations in customer care.”

Mike Hampson, centre principal at RRG Atrincham, said: “Customer satisfaction is the number one priority for all members of the team at Altrincham and we’re thrilled to be selected out of 2,300 Toyota retailers across Europe for our dedication to putting the customers first.

“This award demonstrates our success in making sure our customers are treated how we would like to be treated ourselves whenever we make a large retail purchase, or need to pay a small maintenance cost through our service department. Our next aim is to retain the award for the next year.”

Jon Taylor, franchise manager at Snows Toyota West, said: The team at Honiton are highly privileged to accept their second Ichiban award. They have really embraced the philosophy of Customer First and always deliver a seamless transaction. Nothing is too much trouble and they always look to share customer feedback, both positive and negative.

“This enables them, true to the spirit of Kaizen, to challenge how they can continually improve their abilities and their customer service techniques.”