For information contact:
Karen Howard
Kawasaki Motor Corp., U.S.A.
(616) 954-3019

KAWASAKI SCHOOLS GET HIGH MARKS FROM DEALERS

GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan — “The training is great.” “I like the instructors.” “An A+ to Kawasaki.” Those are just a few of the many positive comments Kawasaki has received from dealers who have attended Kawasaki dealer schools.

In the fall of 2002, Kawasaki Engines and Power Products created dealer-direct schools to improve communications with its 7,500 independent dealers. The schools were well received by the dealer network right from the start and, four years later, continue to grow and get high marks from Kawasaki dealers.

Kawasaki developed two different schools for its dealer network: one-day Kawasaki Dealer Update Schools and two-day Kawasaki Hands-On Schools.

Kawasaki Update Schools, held each winter and spring, provide dealers with information on new products and updates to current products, plus plenty of discussion surrounding Kawasaki technology, field bulletins and changes in day-to-day items such as parts ordering and warranties.
Four Kawasaki technical instructors travel the country, putting on 55 to 60 Dealer Update Schools for groups as large as 75 dealers at a time, depending on location. In addition to providing product updates, the schools give Kawasaki and its thousands of dealers a chance to discuss new technology and industry issues face-to-face.

“In the last couple of years the schools have improved 500%,” says Greg Foster, service manager at Northeastern Equipment Unlimited Inc., Mattituck, NY. “Kawasaki stepped right up to the plate for their dealers. They’re great at transferring technical information and telling us about new changes.”

Foster attends up to eight OEM schools each year, and says he looks forward to attending the Kawasaki Update School because it provides one-on-one communication with Kawasaki for information he needs in the field. “That’s something very important to us. Kawasaki listens to us and is there to help us solve problems,” says Foster. He also likes the Kawasaki dealer web site, www.kawasakipower.com, which posts service bulletins and other information. “It’s all there right as it happens. There’s no waiting for CDs or mass mailings,” he says.

The Kawasaki Hands-On School is a series of two-day programs held across the country each fall. Meeting in smaller groups than the Update Schools, dealers receive technical product training and get their hands dirty. In addition to viewing engine disassembly on large video screens, dealers team up three-per-engine. They take the engines apart, getting the inside story on Kawasaki technology, and ask technical questions about engine design and theory, as well as about repair or troubleshooting problems they’ve experienced in the field.

Creating the Kawasaki schools was a major undertaking, but both schools have proved to be very popular and attendance has increased every year. Thousands of Kawasaki engine dealers and handheld power products dealers attend the schools each year. “It’s a win-win program,” says Tom Dibble, Technical Services Supervisor at Kawasaki. “Dealers really want the nuts-and-bolts information. The schools enhance dealer knowledge of the Kawasaki products, which helps them improve sales and customer service.”

Duane Kasprick of MTI Distributing, Brooklyn Center, MN, has been supporting Midwest dealers for 25 years, and says dealer training is critical to the success of dealerships and the industry. “The training is great,” says Kasprick. “An A-plus to Kawasaki for supporting the EETC (Engine Equipment Training Council). And an A-plus to Kawasaki for giving dealers training, because it’s all about finding solutions and creating professionalism.”

Kawasaki’s Dibble plans to make next year’s dealer schools even better. “Each year we try to improve the schools. We make them professional, easy to understand, with a lot of current, pertinent information,” says Dibble.

“Also key to a good school,” he adds, “is choosing the right location and making sure the instructors know their stuff and keep the presentations engaging.” Dealers agree. “I like the instructors. They keep the class interesting,” says Arthur Alexander, service manager at Z-1 LLC, Prattville, AL.

Kawasaki Engines and Power Products, a division of Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A., distributes and services gasoline engines and professional handheld power products to landscape, industrial, and consumer markets. Headquartered in Grand Rapids, MI, the company services customers through its network of over 7,500 independent dealers throughout the United States and Canada. Visit www.kawpowr.com or call 877-529-7697 for more information.