Ashhurst vehicle glass technician Gavin Wairau fourth in Best of Belron contest

Gavin Wairau placed fourth in the Best of Belron contest in Spain. Photo / Supplied

Ashhurst vehicle glass technician Gavin Wairau's repair and customer service skills have gained him fourth place in an international competition.

Wairau recently returned from a two-week trip to Europe where he competed against technicians from 27 countries in the Best of Belron contest.

Run every two years, top technicians from the world's leading vehicle glass and replacement companies pit their skills against one another to be named global champion.

Wairau, who works for Belron-owned Smith&Smith in Palmerston North, won his spot in the international final in January when he defeated colleagues from 34 Smith&Smith branches nationwide to take the New Zealand title.

He has worked for Smith&Smith for 22 years, working on many thousands of vehicles during that time. He says while technical skills are important, customer service is a critical part of the role – and of the competition.

"The people we deal with may often be upset, following an accident or their vehicle having been damaged and property stolen, for instance," he says. "It's important to be able to interact well with customers in that type of situation, to put them at ease and reassure them – and it is very satisfying to provide them with solutions."

Wairau's first stop in Europe was a Belron training facility in Belgium where he and the Australian and Canadian competitors underwent a week of training, including with Belron's European technical team.

Then he went to Barcelona in Spain for the three-day competition. Timed challenges included undertaking a stone chip repair, replacing door glass, removing and refitting a rear windscreen, and recalibrating a windscreen camera for the Advanced Driver-Assistance System (ADAS) – a critical aspect of putting modern vehicles safely back on the road after a windscreen replacement.

There was also a mystery challenge that entailed clearing a damaged vehicle without losing any of the property scattered inside, including cash and jewellery, and a role-play category where contestants were assessed on how they responded to a distressed customer whose car had been broken into.

Wairau recently moved into a new role with Smith&Smith as regional performance coach, training other technicians across the lower North Island.

"I'm now providing a lot of training and support," he says. "I'm passionate about providing the best possible service and I really enjoy empowering others to be the best they can be."