Dylan - Proprietor AVIT, Geelong Vic, Harvey Norman Australia

Years of experience

3 years

Tell us about your career journey?

I began in a Harvey Norman Computer Sales role in August 2012 at the Maribyrnong Franchise in Melbourne, Victoria. I immediately began to enjoy the interaction with customers and meeting new people.

After 1 year and 5 months I moved to the Bondi Junction Computer Franchise to prepare for the Proprietor in Training course supported by my Proprietor.  This was something new for me and it was exciting to learn in a new area and see a different side of the business.

In October 2015 I was given the opportunity to run my first store at the Harvey Norman AVIT Franchise in Geelong Victoria.

I have now been the Proprietor for 4 months and have enjoyed working with the team and the challenges we have faced so far.  My course and previous training has definitely prepared me for this experience and I am excited and look forward to achieving results out of the store. Not only results with business and sales but also results with customer experience and customer satisfaction levels.  It is very important to make sure the customers enjoy their in-store experience and look forward to shopping with you again and we must give them a reason to do so.

What support have you had in your career development?

Harvey Norman has supported me with any questions, queries and training facilities and resources required throughout the experience. The structure ensures that all the resources are available when required.

My Proprietor has been my mentor and motivation since I joined Harvey Norman.

He has not only supported me through the training and move, he has shown me the ins and outs of running a Franchise and taught me more then I would have ever thought. As well as this, there have been other Proprietors who have been supporting me and making me feel comfortable in the transition. To top this off, the Proprietor and Business Development Manager has been there to offer a hand and see if anything is required to help out whether it is for personal or business reasons.

I have participated in the Proprietor In Training Course and many other staff training sessions ultimately to achieve a better result in the business whilst building a strong team that enjoy working with one another.

What have been some of the highlights of your career to date?

My favourite part of the job is when a customer comes in the store and we are able to provide them with a solution that makes them happy. In turn this generally leads to return customers that then become your good customers. As well as this, ultimately meeting new people and building rapport is a very exciting experience that teaches you and the customer so much.

The most memorable moments of my Career in Harvey Norman so far are:

• Getting flown to Sydney from Melbourne to meet Gerry Harvey and Katie Page to be presented with the Customer Service Ambassador award.
• Receiving a Customer Service Ambassador badge.
• Having the privilege to represent customer service in our national marketing campaign
• Taking part in the Connected Health and Fitness photo shoot for Harvey Norman and appearing in Men and Women’s Health Magazines as well as Harvey Norman catalogues to advertise our line of fitness wear.
• Without doubt being given the opportunity to run my first store as a Proprietor has taught me to look at the business from so many different angles.  From training staff, to managing rosters, to the back-end operations work and much more.  I love the vibe that can be created between the team and how everyone can work together to achieve results and am very excited to further develop the team, the business and myself.