It has been my honour this week to be part of the judging panel for our Dealer of the Year Awards.

The ceremony is taking place on November 17th at the Oxford Belfry Hotel, following on from the Service Dealer Conference. The team is now at the business end of the organising of the event with speakers booked, breakout sessions planned and panels arranged. All that remains is to find some worthy winners!

As you may be aware, this year the judging criteria is very much in line with the theme of the conference - The Customer Is King. Customer feedback is at the heart of the process.

Now on the whole, I think many people would feel that the independent dealer network has somewhat of a profile problem. As I suppose is the case with many industries, those at the sharp end might often feel under-appreciated by those that they serve.

You know how hard you work, the efforts you put it to make sure your customers go away satisfied, and most importantly, return in the future. But does anyone else notice this dedication? Or more to the point, do your customers appreciate you, or are you merely taken for granted?

Well I can tell you, based on my experience this week, customers up and down the UK are receiving amazing service from dealers - and they haven't been shy in letting us know about it!

We have been overwhelmed with customer comments. Firstly, the sheer volume of testimonials received has been impressive. But then the quality of what these messages have been saying about dealers has been honestly quite breath-taking.

There seriously appears to be some great work going on out there in the network, which is 100% appreciated by customers.

A glimpse at some of the comments includes remarks such as "always willing to go the extra mile", "I am delighted in every respect", "willing to listen to all my concerns, no matter how small", "helpful, patient, professional, friendly", and a key phrase, often repeated, "will return in the future".

And I would describe these as standard comments. Some go a lot further, enthusing about their experiences.

So I suppose the message here is keep on doing what only the independent specialist can do best. We've always known that the dealer network offers unparalleled customer service. But it's great to hear it from those who really count.

The three finalists in each category and the eventual overall winners of the Dealer of the Year awards will be announced on the 17th November - but today we have unveiled the longlist.

I hope to see as many of you there for the Conference and Awards as possible - it is shaping up to be a truly memorable day.