Bartons Celebrates 25 year milestone with dealer principal Michael Atkinson

Last Friday Bartons Motor Group held a morning tea for our staff member Michael Atkinson proudly celebrating his 25 year anniversary with the company.

Michael started his employment on the 13th November back in 1995, this was after completing 12 month’s work experience as a student of Iona College. Every Friday Michael worked in the dealership learning key skills that would set him on the path for a successful career. When he commenced at Bartons, he was an apprentice mechanic. After 4 years he was proud to achieve his qualification and become a fully qualified Service Technician. From there, Michael spent time on the road as a Mobile Mechanic for Bartons, servicing vehicles at a time and place that was convenient for our customer base. This was something Michael particularly enjoyed as it gave him exposure directly to our customers.

Michael then transitioned into the role of Service Advisor, which further developed his customer service skills. He spent 5 years in this role and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was at this time that the business saw the potential Michael had with our customers and offered him a role in sales, as a Used Car Sales Consultant. While Michael was hesitant to transition into sales, he was given the opportunity to do this role for 6 months, and if he wasn’t happy he could get back into a service role. Within 1 month of being in sales, Michael was ecstatic with the opportunity to be face to face with customers each day, working to help them find a car that suited their needs. After 5 years in the Used Car Department, Michael was offered a new role, transitioning into new car sales as the Mitsubishi Sales Manager. This was a great opportunity for Michael to understand the area of new car sales and how to work with the manufacturer to ensure targets and key performance indicators were met, including customer satisfaction. It wasn’t long until Michael was promoted to the role of General Sales Manager, responsible for the new car sales across the site at Wynnum.

In 2014, Michael was then given the opportunity to be the General Manager at Wynnum, as his experience in both Sales and Service gave him the perfect grounding to manage the day to day operations of the business. His people skills made him a genuine leader, gaining the respect of his staff and encouraging the best for the Bartons customers. Michael’s next opportunity was in 2015, when he was appointed the General Manager of Bartons Capalaba which was a part of the business where there was great potential for growth, both in sales and employee development. He demonstrated his success in this role and in 2017 was appointed Dealer Principal of Subaru, Holden and Hyundai. Michael embraced these challenges and won numerous awards for Bartons with these brands. In December 2019, Michael was then given the opportunity to return to our Wynnum branch to utilise his skills to further develop the teams in Sales and Service.

Bartons are proud of Michael and his achievements in his 25 years with the company. His story is a great example of how the Bartons Way encourages both personal and professional development, ensuring that our business gives our employees the opportunity to grow with the company.