KSS January eKourier 2023

FEATURE

On Friday afternoon in the last hour or so of business, I had the privilege of closing the Wairau site with the outgoing Manager Mark Montgomery for the last time. Mark has decided to leave the business, tidy up family matters in NZ and return over the Tasman to start a motorcycle tour of Australia. NEW ZEALAND LEGEND MOVES ON...

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HIS APPROACH TO THE CUSTOMERS WAS SIMPLE – GIVE THEM A SMILE AND FRIENDLY INTRODUCTION, BE GENUINE IN WANTING TO HELP AND MAKE THE EXPERIENCE EASY WITHOUT FUSS

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I first met Mark at a Momentum Bootcamp in Kiama in 2013. Straight away I could see the orange blood pumping away with his passion and commitment to customer service, and a strong desire for growth in the business. His approach to the customers was simple – give them a smile and friendly introduction, be genuine in wanting to help and make the experience easy without fuss. Mark worked across the business, within both Victoria and NSW before coming across to New Zealand. Every centre he worked in seemed to excel in both occupancy and income growth. He was also one of those gifted candidates that naturally fitted into the Training Manager role. Many existing Team Members today having his customer service DNA all over them, continuing his legacy. When I asked Mark, what was the favourite part of his 16 years with KSS, he was very modest saying that every day was a good day at work. However,

I did manage to get out of him that the best moments were opening new centres. He believed in having a new site properly set up well in advance, with a good team who would put in the hard yards. Knowing that their customer service had to be top notch to earn a wedge of business as the new guys in town. His greatest successes include the opening and initial expansion of the Wollongong centre in NSW and more recently the first purpose built New Zealand site in Auckland at Wairau Valley. I believe achieving a company record by renting up to 60% of MLA within 6 months of opening.

simple things well, along with great customer service. Most evident with the regular mention of his name in Google Reviews. He will be missed by all the team and on a personal note, I appreciated his candid feedback to me on occasions that helped me in the business. We closed out his final moments of the day with a classic treat as pictured – a can of VB beer. After all, nothing beats the reward of an ice-cold beer.

All the best Mark, don't be a stranger and pop in again sometime.

Andrew Kirkham NZ Operations Manager

Well liked and admired by his peers, Mark leaves a legacy of doing the

13 Kennards Kourier Jan 2023