LG’s Sam Kim, center, meets with Bekins staff at the dealer’s Grand Rapids, Mich., showroom.
Sam Kim visits member’s Grand Rapids showroom
YSN Staff
West Michigan BrandSource member Bekins welcomed a special guest last month when Sam Kim, president of LG Electronics USA’s Home Appliances division, paid a visit to the dealer’s Grand Rapids showroom.
Kim and his staff were seeking feedback from dealers on ways to improve the brands, and the Bekins purchasing, sales and marketing teams were happy to share their insights. Among them, the sales staff cited LG’s quality and commitment to service as the biggest reasons they feel comfortable selling the line, and also lauded Kim for the company’s engineering innovations, including LG’s door-in-door refrigeration and SKS range with internal sous vide.
The Bekins crew also noted a number of customer requests for products that are not yet available in the LG lineup. Those aside, the dealer carries a full selection of LG, LG Signature, LG Studio and Signature Kitchen Suite (SKS) products within its two state-of-the-art showrooms.
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The BrandSource member said the visit by Kim and his staff further strengthened its trust in LG, knowing the needs of Bekins and its customers were heard by a top-level vendor executive.
“Our dedication to serving our customers as the appliance experts is unmatched,” said Bekins President Scott Bekins. “We built a dedicated training room in our warehouse and service center so we could invite vendors to exclusively train our staff on the latest products and tips. When you work with Bekins you work with a company that puts service first by challenging industry norms to do what’s right and make a positive difference. We advocate for our customers to some of the biggest appliance companies in the world who seek our advice about customer needs.”
See: Scott Bekins Says Service Industry Needs Fixing
Kim’s was not the only recent visit by a senior-level vendor. Koray Derman, global customer care executive director for Beko corporate parent Arçelik, met with Scott and members of his management team in March.
Scott also had a recent sit-down with Keyur Shah, VP of customer service and operations for Fisher & Paykel’s U.S. Customer Service division, during a visit to the company’s Global Brand Academy in Costa Mesa, Calif., where Bekins managers earned brand knowledge certification. During the one-on-one meeting, Scott and Shah discussed post-sale customer support and how Fisher & Paykel can further support local independent dealers.
YSN publisher AVB BrandSource is the nation’s largest merchandising and marketing co-op for independent appliance, mattress, furniture and CE dealers.
