An investigative report of FAW-Volkswagen Automotive Co. Ltd customer carestrategyIntroduction:I will give you a report to analyse FAW-Volkswagen customer care strategy. FAW-Volkswagen Automotive Company was founded in 1990, is a Chinese joint venture between the First Automobile Works (FAW) and V olkswagen Group, creating FAW-V olkswagen Automotive Company, informally abbreviated to FAW-VW. Equity holdings are split as follows: Volkswagen AG with 20%, Audi AG has 10%, V olkswagen (China) Invest 10%, and FAW has the remaining 60%. The main FAW-VW factory is located on the south-western fringes of Changchun, in Jilin Province, second factory is located in Chengdu, Sichuan Province.Section 1:A company's mission statement is a constant reminder to its employees of why the company exists and what the founders envisioned when they put their fame and fortune at risk to breathe life into their dreams. Woe to the company that loses sight of its Mission Statement for it has taken the first step on the slippery slope to failure.Many organizations have mission statements. Particularly large ones, e.g. FAW-Volkswagen Automotive Company. This is not same as their organizational objectives. Mission statements consist of two elements.1.The vision of the organization.The vision may include the ideal destination. This is where the organization wants to go and when it hopes to get there. FAW-V olkswagen corporate creed: creating china's best automobile Joint-Venture, The most attractive company in employee eyes.Mr. Gen Zhaojie, the first Chairman of FAW-VW had expressed this during the company's Inauguration Ceremony. It embodies the aspirations of the company's shareholders, as well as the corporate mission and ultimate target. It encapsulates the company's glorious history and unlimited future.2. The values or principles of the organization.The values are the sets of beliefs behind the actions of the organization. It will relate to the quality of goods and services, treatment of customers and employees and make statements regarding openness and good practice.FAW-V olkswagen Corporate Values: Pursue product excellence; honesty with customers.They insist on the principle of "Internal Customers" and treat "cost as a matter of priority". By implementing the concept of "engineering for the future", they provide first-class products to their customers. Their employees are provided with excellent learning conditions. They establish a platform for them to excel as a team. The customers' needs are their motivation; they provide service to their customers with care and dedication. Customers are won over by their product quality, and loyalty is assured by their integrity.Other corporate cultures:FAW-V olkswagen Corporate Spirit: Learning; Innovating; Cooperating; GivingLearning enables the company's staff to raise their abilities; a superlative learning ability is key to adapting to the environment's changes and maintaining vibrancy in the face of intense market competition. Innovation is the root of the company's sustainable development; it enables management to continue developing. A cooperative culture is deeply imbued in every work process; the integration of Chinese and German culture and good team construction assure thattargets will be successfully met. Giving exemplifies responsibilities; work initiatives and common sense are basic qualities required of modern workers.FAW-V olkswagen operating concepts: Quality-first; technological leadership; management innovation; market-oriented Customer satisfaction and expectations are their enduring pursuit; strict quality control, uniform craftsmanship and professional integrity are imbued in our production operations. Technological leadership is their motto. They infuse their passion and rationality into their products, thus becoming the pioneers of the industry. Continuous improvement and process rebuilding. Innovation enables them to develop through "low cost, high efficiency". The customers' needs are the foundation of their product strategies: diverse products and wide range fully satisfy customers' requirements and are self-accomplishing.Section 2:The ways that FAW-V olkswagen to establish the standards of customer care:·communicationFAW-V olkswagen establishes two kinds of communications. One of is‘Top-down’. It has some advantages. When superior setting policy, it can implement efficiency. E.g. they make some policies that give discounts to customer when they purchase Audi A4L, this information can implement quickly through‘Top-down’communication. Another is ‘Bottom-up’,if a good idea started at the employee level it would move laterally, then upwards to the next level, where it would spread laterally. Then upwards to the next level and again go lateral. By this time everyone in the organization knew what was required and their part in it. E.g. some customers complain the seat of car not comfortable and the color is not various. This information convey at the employee. By this time everyone in the organization knew what was required and their part in it. At last, this problem solve well.·Quality controlQuality control is a process employed to ensure a certain level of quality in a product or service. It may include whatever actions a business deems necessary to provide for the control and verification of certain characteristics of a product or service. The basic goal of quality control is to ensure that the products, services, or processes provided meet specific requirements and are dependable, satisfactory, and fiscally sound. FAW-V olkswagen carries out total quality management. This philosophy is based on creating a culture of quality which drives the actions and attitudes of everyone in the organisation. A total quality approach should empower everyone to be co–managers of their education. The search for knowledge and improvement should be something to be sought after rather than to be done. The system must offer the chance to fail and then learn from failure in order to improve. This system incorporated performance management. productive process：FAW-V olkswagen Qualitaetessicherung Kaufteile has responsible to control the quality. In raw material review, firstly, they will do a series of evaluation of suppliers to determine the final choice of suppliers. Then, they will make approved manufacture part list, and take integration warehouse management system. The warehouse is so clean and can protect the part from damage. In the process of production, Participate in existing production process improvement to improve products quality, production efficiency .Support production to measure some critical dimensions, to coordinate in-process quality control and maintain high quality level. They have a strict quality testing for the production of every procedure, and maintain equipments regular. In the product transportation process, they will use appropriate transportation equipment and a series ofprotection measures to protect cars from damage. As view from consumer:Strict quality control make consumers more satisfied. More and more customers become loyalty customer in FAW-V olkswagen.Industry standard:The Strict production process of FAW-V olkswagen meets a series of quality certification. FAW V olkswagen quality is fully guaranteed. Along with providing its customers with quality products and services, FAW-VW strives to protect the natural environment in order to enable sustainable development.·TeamworkTeamwork is defined a joint action by a group of people, in which each person subordinates his or her individual interests and opinions to the unity and efficiency of the group. This does not mean that the individual is no longer important; however, it does mean that effective and efficient teamwork goes beyond individual accomplishments. The most effective teamwork is produced when all the individuals involved harmonize their contributions and work towards a common goal. Teamwork divided two types, one of is teamwork between departments, another is teamwork between employees.I will give an example to introduce teamwork between departments in FAW-Volkswagen. In FAW-V olkswagen, every department has their own responsibility and goals. Only a department completes their tasks, it can make the enterprise operation well. In FAW-Volkswagen, Production department will achieve their produce task and meets the quality request within the prescribed time. Then the sales department finished the sales task well. Teamwork between departments is so important to make the enterprise operation well.·Training and developing staffThe first stage is recruiting. FAW-V olkswagen has strict procedure to recruit employees. The employee must have technical skills —product knowledge, systems knowledge, selling skills. They must have good attitudes, communication and interpersonal skills. They need an understanding of the needs of customers and the customer care and philosophy. They should have teamwork sprit. There are no hard and fast cut-offs in terms of academic experience, they evaluate each candidate's unique skills and achievements.The second stage is training. Training can be of two kinds: that is “on the job” or “off the job”. On the job training means being trained whilst actually performing the tasks and activities you normally carry out. In FAW-Volkswagen, the training was carried out by a member of the Training Department. ‘Off the job’ training means being tra ined at a place which is not the normal workplace. In FAW-V olkswagen, the training carried out in a training establishment, Many training programmes combine both to ensure that there is genuine transfer of knowledge and skills from the off the job scenario to the work situation. In FAW-Volkswagen, this is often the responsibility of a Training Section within a Human Resource Department. Nor is the training confined to the lower echelons. In fact it is perhaps even more important for the higher echelons. FAW-V olkswagen now runs Continuing Professional Development Programmes. They therefore expect staff to continue to develop their knowledge, skills and qualifications. FAW-V olkswagen training using modern techniques.The third stage is selecting. FAW-V olkswagen let all the dedicated capable staff be promoted, timely promoted talented employees. Issue year at the same time “golden lion large award “a list of names posted up is odd, promote and rewarded large quantities of one outstanding employee.When selecting people for promotion, they pay attention to weaknesses as well as pronounced strengths. In the past, seeking out "high potential" employees typically meant looking for those who could climb the next rung of the management ladder.·Encouraging creativityFAW-V olkswagen takes measures to motivate employees. From the employees ‘performance, they will select excellent employee to higher position, give out bonus. It can increase productivity. It has a link between performance and reward. Enterprise will give employees pay insurance. They will organize staff to travel regular. Give the rights of workers to take a vacation. FAW-V olkswagen takes these measures to let employees do their job well.·Added valueFAW-V olkswagen in a position that technological leadership. Multi Media Interface (MMI)The multi media interface brings together the operation of all entertianment components; access is just a fingertip away. Adjustable Air Suspension (AAS), the electronically-controlled adjustable suspension system is integrated with the self-adjusting shock-absorption system, making it even more convenient to adjust to various driving conditions. It is a perfect combination of comfort and sporting abilities in a luxury sedan. Audi Air Frame (ASF),The improved all-aluminum car frame's has 60% greater tensile strength, 40% less welding points, and is also lighter than that of its competitors. This brings greater agility, safety and stability. 5Audi Space Frame (ASF), Audi's all-aluminum structural frame. The car's weight is greatly reduced by the lightweight aluminum alloy car body; compared with steel structure of similar volume, the weight of the ASF can be reduced by between 30-40%. Electronic Stabilization Program (ESP), When the car is in an extreme control situation such as avoiding obstacles under high speed, the ESP will instantaneously collect enormous data from ABS, EDL and ASR systems.Section 3:Collect and analysis the feedback from customer.1. Obtaining customer views on customer care have many methods. It is divided into two types. One of is formal methods, another is informal methods.Here are some formal methods: Surveys and questionnaires, customer comment cards, letters of complaint or commendations, structured conversations with customers, telephone polling. ·Surveys and questionnaires: FAW-V olkswagen make some questionnaires in their website or service center and give them to the customers, when the customers completed the questionnaires the company will give them a small gift to thanks them.·Customer comment cards: We can see this way to collect feedback in many industry just like hospital and so on. The FAW-V olkswagen also make a customer comment card in every service center. And they appoint our customer service department staff to collect it in a fixed period. ·Letters of complaint or commendations: If we do a good job in customer service we may receive customer’s commendations letters, then we know what we done was good so we must keep it on. But when we made a poor customer service we may receive the complaint letters, it isn’t a good phenomenon, we must regard it seriously and find the reason why customers complaint and correct it as soon as possible.·Structured conversations with customers: FAW-Volkswagen has a crowed of loyal customers by they provided a good service. The company has the structured conversations with them and gets what they want and their advice. They also invite them to a wine party and they may bring some potential customers. Of course after the meeting they will receive the compan y’s small gifts.·Telephone polling: FAW-V olkswagen have a fixed phone code to receive the customer feedback. They make a special department under the customer service department called customer hotline center. The center collects the customer’s feedback and makes a record and gives it to the customer service department in time.2. How to analysis the feedback from customer.To analysis the feedback we can use two ways: from quantitative aspects and from qualitative aspects.·Quantitative aspects: This concept is based on numbers. You could for example check customers’records to see how many complaints have been received on goods and services and determine which ones are creating most customer dissatisfaction. For internal customers you might want to know where budgets or cost are being exceeded. In the feedback which FAW-V olkswagen customer service department collects the most be attention is the process time in the settlement in claim. A number of customers complain the process time is too slow. It’s the most important thing the company would face.·Qualitative aspects: Here the most important feature is the quality of the good or service. You might therefore want to know from external customers that the product is performing as it should, is lasting as long as it should and is still valued by the customer. Indeed many firms now contact customers sometimes after purchase of the product to specifically ask if all is well. You will appreciate too how vital it is for internal customers that if they receive from their supplying department a good or service that is not up to specification they may have to return it pushing up costs and causing delays. In the customer’s feedback the FAW-V olkswagen may know whether their service can satisfied their customers. For example the customer may complaint they wait a so long time in delivery time and some staff have a bad attitude. Then the company must investigate these feedbacks and take some measures.3. Take measures to improve the dissatisfaction customer care.FAW-V olkswagen possibly devotion many manpowers, material resourcess and financial power. Since they collect some feedback that is customer complain. The most be attention is the process time in the settlement in claim. A number of customers complain the process time is too slow. It’s the most important thing the company would face. The company devote many employees which have technical skills to solve the customer complain. And the company makes a police that is if the customer meets a slow process time in the settlement in claim, they will obtain indemnity. Since then, it is improvement on the process time in the settlement in claim. The company gains more and more loyalty customers. Some customer complaint they wait a so long time in delivery time and some staff has a bad attitude. The company takes some training to let the employees understand the needs of customers and the customer care philosophy. And improve employees’attitudes and communication and interpersonal skills. Sine then, more and more customers satisfied with the customer care in FAW-V olkswagen. Customer feedback show very low level of complaints.Section 4:Generally speaking, FAW-V olkswagen customer care strategy is very suitable. In the company, they use “top-down” and “bottom-up” communication in different situations. They have a good teamwork between departments or employees. They also have a strict quality control in all processes. FAW-Volkswagen added more values in their different cars to gain lots of ground. They train and develop staff to understand the needs of customers and the customer care philosophy.And training staff have good attitudes, communication, interpersonal skills. The company has a high standard of quality to meet internal customer needs. Treat external customer courteously. Internal supplier has a clear understanding of quality. Get the car quality right first time and ever time. Customers’feedback shows very low level of complaints. All their output meets quality specification. There is no delay from production through delivery.Also, FAW-Volkswagen has some detail problems in dealing with the feedback of customers in previous. E.g. A number of customers complains the process time is too slow. And the company made some efforts to solve. The company devote many employees which have technical skills to solve the customer complain. And making a police that is if the customer meets a slow process time in the settlement in claim, they will obtain indemnity. Since then, it is improvement on the process time in the settlement in claim. Since then, it is improvement on the process time in the settlement in claim.In order to improve the modern enterprise system, I recommend FAW-V olkswagen build quality circles. That is composed of employees who actually produce the goods or service. They are made up of 6–10 employees, with regular meetings held weekly or fortnightly during working time. They usually have the following priorities: to take responsibility for analyzing processes, situations and problems; to put suggestions to quality councils; to develop detailed plans; to take responsibility for implementing plans and monitoring progress; to take a monitoring/reporting responsibility.FAW-V olkswagen should create constancy of purpose for continual improvement of products and services. Adopting commitment to seek continual improvements. Switch from detecting defects to preventing them, i.e. from inspection at end of process to getting it right first time, every time. When dealing with suppliers focus on quality of product, reliability of delivery, co–operation and improvement. Note not price. Improvement is not confined to products and processes but to all supporting services and activities. Train using modern techniques. Supervision should not be ‘chasing’ but coaching and supportin g. Drive out fear and encourage two way communications. Remove barriers between departments. Don not have unrealistic targets. Eliminate quotas and numeric targets. Remove barriers that prevent employees having pride in the work that they perform. Encourage education and self–improvement for everyone. Publish top management’s permanent commitment to continuous improvement of quality and productivity.。
