Beijing, June 17, 2009 - As part of the long-term commitment to customer service, Mercedes-Benz (China) Ltd. today initiated a series of award ceremonies to honor dealers for their excellence in the after-sales criteria of Fix First Visit (FFV) and Service Follow Up (SFU). 16 of Mercedes-Benz's network of nationwide dealers were recognized, earning a total of 21 awards based on their top performances and tremendous progress in the indicators. These awards mark yet another measure by Mercedes-Benz to appreciate and support dealers - the main entity that serves as the gateway to customer satisfaction.
"Customer satisfaction is at the heart of Mercedes-Benz's operations. FFV and SFU play an important role as they help us measure dealers' success in satisfying customer needs," said Mr. Daniel Whitehead, General Manager of After-Sales for Mercedes-Benz (China) Ltd. "Through these awards, we want to recognize dealers for their exceptional service, and to encourage them and all dealers to provide even better service, therefore to yield another year of high customer satisfaction to support the growth of Mercedes-Benz in China."
Numerous aspects, including staff hospitality and inviting environments, contribute to a customer's overall experience at a dealership. However, ensuring success in fixing a customer's car as well as listening to client's service needs are two of the most important factors that lead to customer satisfaction. FFV and SFU are the two key indicators that measure such criteria. Dealers with high FFV scores attain great success in fixing customers' cars at the first visit, thus earning customers' trust in the dealers' reliability and technical expertise. Meanwhile, dealers that perform well in SFU indicate that they have demonstrated excellence during their follow-up after a service. Through such follow-up, dealers not only get the opportunity to understand customers' opinion on service and help solve problems, but they also enhance communication, which ultimately allows customers to feel the dealers' care.
Mercedes-Benz's encouragement of the 16 dealers with achievements in the two criteria clearly indicates that the automaker is truly dedicated to reward those that pay attention to every detail of customer satisfaction. In addition to awarding the dealers, Mercedes-Benz also paid tribute to each of the nearly 1,000 front-line staffs – all of whom were equally rewarded – demonstrating the automaker's humanistic care to the working employees.
In addition to the activity held today, Mercedes-Benz has also conducted numerous initiatives to support dealers to help their dealerships enhance service to customers. Starting from 2007, Mercedes-Benz has gradually expanded its "People in Retail" (PIR) program, which aims to assist dealers in managing their employees and improving their overall customer service. Furthermore, Mercedes-Benz conducted "Vocational Education Training" programs through its cooperation with vocational schools in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai, to develop high-quality talents for its dealerships - thus reserving well-trained professionals for the automaker's dealerships.
Mercedes-Benz's strategic cooperation with dealers in providing star service has indeed yielded positive feedback from the market. Mercedes-Benz has been consistently ranked the highest in the J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2008 Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI), setting new benchmarks for the Chinese auto industry. With such achievements, Mercedes-Benz is determined to further solidify its partnership with dealers and provide customers even better service that will exceed expectations.
