Working behind Toyota’s principle of continuous improvement, Oben Group dominates Toyota Motor Philippines 2023 dealer awards
By VJ Bacungan
Running a car dealership can be a thankless job. Although customers have no choice but to go to a dealer to buy their brand-new dream car, keeping them is challenging. This is because of the unseemly reputation that more rapacious dealerships in the Philippines have built.
But the Oben Group, which runs Toyota Balintawak, Inc., Toyota Otis, Inc., Toyota North EDSA & Service Center, Toyota Marilao Bulacan and Toyota San Jose Del Monte Bulacan has long played a different strategy. And it has paid off big time in so many ways, especially with its stellar performance in 2023.
Four of its dealerships took home four of the five major awards at the recent Toyota Motor Philippines Dealer Conference. Receiving the prestigious President’s Award for Excellence were Toyota Marilao (Large Business Division) and Toyota North EDSA (Medium Business Division), with Toyota Subic getting accolades for the Small Business Division.
Toyota Marilao also brought home the President’s Customer Satisfaction Cup of Excellence, while Toyota Balintawak got the President’s Value Chain Award of Excellence.
The Dealer Conference also honored three sales professionals and service advisors in the Toyota Outstanding Performers in Sales and Service (TOPS).
They were TOPS Finest Marketing Professional of the Year Pamela Santos of Toyota Valenzuela, TOPS Finest General Job Service Advisor of the Year Rodrigo Bauzon of Toyota Dagupan, and TOPS Finest Body and Paint Service Advisor of the Year Shala Suan of Toyota Pasig.
“Congratulations everyone for a job well done,” said recently appointed TMP president Masando Hashimoto in a speech.
“As ONE TEAM, we made 2023 one of our most historic years ever,” he added. “I believe we are in a good position to help define and create the future of mobility in the Philippines.”
Deeper bows
In an exclusive interview with Inquirer Motoring, Oben Group president Cosco Oben said he was very thankful for the accolades.
“I know we all, as a group, worked hard for those accomplishments,” he said. “I just keep telling our people to stay humble about these accomplishments and always stay grounded despite all of these milestones received by all of our dealerships.”
Nonetheless, Oben reiterated a powerful message from Toyota Motor Corporation chair Akio Toyoda – “The taller we grow, the deeper we bow.” He also thanked Toyota for all the support it has given over the last 24 years.
“I saw how Toyota really tried to teach me the values and principles of The Toyota Way: respect for people, kaizen and genchi genbutsu,” he said.
Living, breathing kaizen
Oben said kaizen, which is Toyota’s principle of “continuous improvement,” was something that really struck him when TMP flew him and his team to various Toyota dealerships abroad.
“To me, it was always very enriching and very fulfilling,” he said. “Every time we go to these best dealers, mostly in Japan, I make sure that I take home something. Actually, I try to make it better and try to make the right fit for the kind of business environment that we have here in the Philippines.”
Oben added that he visited some of these dealers more than once over the last few decades.
“And you can tell from your first visit, to the second, to the third, that there are really improvements on all their business operations and KPIs (key performance indicators),” he said.
As such, Oben said he has proudly practiced kaizen for all his Toyota dealerships since 2004.
“For all of our kaizen activities, for every dealer and affiliate, I am a part of the evaluation process so I know what’s going on,” he said. “In every kaizen activity, there would be countermeasures that need my approval. That has helped us improve in all of the aspects of the business through the years.”
Daring to be different
Oben said that for 2024, the group plans to provide positive and unforgettable experiences for their customers every time they go to the casa.
“Basically, we’re trying to move their hearts, not just selling or servicing their vehicles,” he said. “From the time that a customer steps into our dealership and by the time they step out, we want to really make them say, ‘Wow, the service in the Oben Group is different.’”
Oben said these are all ways to provide peace of mind for their loyal Toyota customers.
“There’s this stereotype that when you go to a casa, you won’t be treated well or they’ll try to make money out of you,” he said. “That’s why we created our own core values and I think professionalism, integrity, honesty are what we really stick to and try to erase that negative stereotype, not just for our dealers, but also for the whole industry.”
Can you imagine how much better the world would be if all casas were run like this?
