Ms. Ede Kimberly, a second year OEM Customer Center senior staff employee reviewed a complaint letter from Lt. Colonel Ed Matthews.
The service manager at the Brainard dealership referred Matthews to the OEM Customer Center. Ede noted that the dealership and Zone office were carbon copied on the letter. In the letter Matthews describes the nature of his complaint with Brainard dealership regarding the peeling and flaking paint on his previously owned 2007 vehicle with 45,000 miles. He expects that the manufacturer will: 1) pay the expense of repainting the front bumper, hood and roof where the paint is peeling and flaking; and 2) pay for car rental covered under the basic warranty during the time the bumper and body are being repainted.
Solving this customer's paint situation appeared uncomplicated at first. Ede had been well briefed by her OEM supervisors on her authority and responsibility with regard to owner paint problems. "In most cases defer the decision to the dealer and their OEM Zone district manager. The paint must be seen firsthand and possibly tested in order for a decision to be made -- a field decision."
"Just do your job," she thought to herself.
Ede knew that paint delamination was a problem for the corporation, not only from discussions with her "pod mates," but from the obvious feelings of guilt noted in conversations with superiors about what they could not say regarding this issue. She suspected such complaints could be a big liability for the corporation and needed to be handled carefully.
In a brief conversation with Lt. Colonel Matthews, Ede determined that the vehicle was diagnosed by the dealership; however, she suspected the Zone district manager did not actually see the car. She immediately placed a call to Brainard to confirm her concern. Upon confirmation that no one from the Washington Zone office had seen the vehicle, she opened a Customer Assistance Inquiry Report (CAIR) to the dealer. She expressed her concern and requested that the dealer meet "if necessary" with the district manager to inspect the vehicle. "Please follow Zone procedures for technical assistance," she typed.
Washington Zone
Jim Reed, Washington Zone district service manager started out his day as expected. He was up at dawn for the third day in a row with two hours of driving already under his belt. "Too much to do and not enough time to do it," he thought. He was feeling pressure from his new Zone manager for solutions to several of his dealer's service problems. He was busy with the warranty and repair issues of three dealerships he would visit today. The meeting with Brainard dealership's dealer principal and service manager would not be pleasant. Feelings of distrust for Brainard crept into Reed's mind as he recalled individual department negotiations concerning who would absorb the cost of repeat repairs. The recent CAIR from the Customer Center concerning Lt. Colonel Matthews' delamination complaints might be a prime example of Brainard's overall service problems.
His Zone manager's directions and time line were clear and pressing. Reed must provide assistance, guidance, analysis and solutions. He needed to find and solve the root causes of Brainard's trending out-of-line areas. Brainard's symptoms included: customer dissatisfaction with vehicle prep; overlooked hidden damage; confused and dissatisfied customers during sale and financing; unacceptable customer comeback rates; increasing customer fairness complaints; technician inefficiency and lack of productivity issues; lack of consistent vehicle diagnostics; high technician turnover; disregard of Zone paint, transmission and ABS repair procedures. Warranty expenses were out of line further damaging the relations between the corporation and the dealership. He was concerned about these symptoms and their effect on owner loyalty as he swung into the dealership...
Training manager instructor in front of District Manager Students;
"Today I would like each district manager to answer the following questions," said the OEM training manager
1. Please give me an over view and specifics of what you think the DSMs primary responsibility is in the customer situation.
2 What will some of the problems Jim Reed might encounter during the case.
3. What would your approach to finding solutions?
4. What corporate, branch or dealership tools are at his disposal and how should he use them?
3. How would you handle these same DSM problems?
4. How would you approach Brainards out of line areas with the dealer and the service manager?
This case introduction was prepared as a basis of study and discussion in OEM Customer Center class room training sessions. It was designed to expose situations that many district managers would encounter during their DM tenure. It assumes a delivery with, 1. clear cut objectives, 2. be attendance limited, 3. brief and modular, 4. highly interactive and realistic, 5. instructor driven, 6. team-centered and delivered in a competitive training environment orientation.
The names of all OEM employees and customers are fictional.
This case was prepared by David S White for one of its OEM clients. If you need a free consultation on a specific training issue or employee cohort communication or training application please don't hesitate to contact White Associates. Request a complete case from White.
http://www.whiteassociatesms.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_S_White
The service manager at the Brainard dealership referred Matthews to the OEM Customer Center. Ede noted that the dealership and Zone office were carbon copied on the letter. In the letter Matthews describes the nature of his complaint with Brainard dealership regarding the peeling and flaking paint on his previously owned 2007 vehicle with 45,000 miles. He expects that the manufacturer will: 1) pay the expense of repainting the front bumper, hood and roof where the paint is peeling and flaking; and 2) pay for car rental covered under the basic warranty during the time the bumper and body are being repainted.
Solving this customer's paint situation appeared uncomplicated at first. Ede had been well briefed by her OEM supervisors on her authority and responsibility with regard to owner paint problems. "In most cases defer the decision to the dealer and their OEM Zone district manager. The paint must be seen firsthand and possibly tested in order for a decision to be made -- a field decision."
"Just do your job," she thought to herself.
Ede knew that paint delamination was a problem for the corporation, not only from discussions with her "pod mates," but from the obvious feelings of guilt noted in conversations with superiors about what they could not say regarding this issue. She suspected such complaints could be a big liability for the corporation and needed to be handled carefully.
In a brief conversation with Lt. Colonel Matthews, Ede determined that the vehicle was diagnosed by the dealership; however, she suspected the Zone district manager did not actually see the car. She immediately placed a call to Brainard to confirm her concern. Upon confirmation that no one from the Washington Zone office had seen the vehicle, she opened a Customer Assistance Inquiry Report (CAIR) to the dealer. She expressed her concern and requested that the dealer meet "if necessary" with the district manager to inspect the vehicle. "Please follow Zone procedures for technical assistance," she typed.
Washington Zone
Jim Reed, Washington Zone district service manager started out his day as expected. He was up at dawn for the third day in a row with two hours of driving already under his belt. "Too much to do and not enough time to do it," he thought. He was feeling pressure from his new Zone manager for solutions to several of his dealer's service problems. He was busy with the warranty and repair issues of three dealerships he would visit today. The meeting with Brainard dealership's dealer principal and service manager would not be pleasant. Feelings of distrust for Brainard crept into Reed's mind as he recalled individual department negotiations concerning who would absorb the cost of repeat repairs. The recent CAIR from the Customer Center concerning Lt. Colonel Matthews' delamination complaints might be a prime example of Brainard's overall service problems.
His Zone manager's directions and time line were clear and pressing. Reed must provide assistance, guidance, analysis and solutions. He needed to find and solve the root causes of Brainard's trending out-of-line areas. Brainard's symptoms included: customer dissatisfaction with vehicle prep; overlooked hidden damage; confused and dissatisfied customers during sale and financing; unacceptable customer comeback rates; increasing customer fairness complaints; technician inefficiency and lack of productivity issues; lack of consistent vehicle diagnostics; high technician turnover; disregard of Zone paint, transmission and ABS repair procedures. Warranty expenses were out of line further damaging the relations between the corporation and the dealership. He was concerned about these symptoms and their effect on owner loyalty as he swung into the dealership...
Training manager instructor in front of District Manager Students;
"Today I would like each district manager to answer the following questions," said the OEM training manager
1. Please give me an over view and specifics of what you think the DSMs primary responsibility is in the customer situation.
2 What will some of the problems Jim Reed might encounter during the case.
3. What would your approach to finding solutions?
4. What corporate, branch or dealership tools are at his disposal and how should he use them?
3. How would you handle these same DSM problems?
4. How would you approach Brainards out of line areas with the dealer and the service manager?
This case introduction was prepared as a basis of study and discussion in OEM Customer Center class room training sessions. It was designed to expose situations that many district managers would encounter during their DM tenure. It assumes a delivery with, 1. clear cut objectives, 2. be attendance limited, 3. brief and modular, 4. highly interactive and realistic, 5. instructor driven, 6. team-centered and delivered in a competitive training environment orientation.
The names of all OEM employees and customers are fictional.
This case was prepared by David S White for one of its OEM clients. If you need a free consultation on a specific training issue or employee cohort communication or training application please don't hesitate to contact White Associates. Request a complete case from White.
http://www.whiteassociatesms.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_S_White
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