The Road Towards Customer Service Excellence – More is needed for the Volkswagen Cares Customer Loyalty Program

At an automotive event recently, a senior journalist confided in me that he has lots of admiration for Volkswagen vehicles and as one who has tested & reviewed numerous models, a VW never fails to put a smile on his face. As we all knew the DSG along with a few common complaint issues associated with a few VW models sold here has been permanently addressed, there was little doubt that VW vehicles is now as reliable as any other auto maker in Malaysia.

But he dare not buy one.

Not because of the aforementioned technical issues but because he’s not sure how long the brand will remain here.

Which brings me to the next point;- In my mind, the strength of any brand can be measured by two things;-

LOYALTY – Which ensures stability as customers keep returning to patronize the establishment & provides steady income to the business to stay afloat

ADVOCACY – Customers who actively recommends the brand’s products & services which in turn increases the income pool with more customers

Therefore, it makes good business sense to put into place programs and initiatives that focuses on customer satisfaction. To this end, Volkswagen Passenger Cars Malaysia (VPCM) launched the “Volkswagen Cares” customer loyalty program in October 2018.

 

On paper, the Volkswagen Cares philosophy is the commitment to care and provide the best for Volkswagen customers. Key to this initiative is the Volkswagen Cares mobile application, an aftersales-led initiative using a new platform for the brand to engage with its customers and continuously improve the ownership experience. Also part of the program is the Volkswagen Care Plus (VCP), an exclusive program for owners with a vehicle 5-years and older. With a one-time payment of only RM138, VCP member privileges include three 20% service discounts vouchers, 2-year extension of Volkswagen’s Roadside Assistance, and a RM100 merchandise voucher, which can be viewed and managed within the mobile app.

Fantastic, especially since my 7-year old Golf qualifies for VCP and I signed up without a second thought. My rationale is simple;-

20% service discount – probably still more expensive than 3rd party workshops but there is no doubt genuine parts are used (Note; these 3 vouchers is only applicable for regular checklist service. Cannot be used to purchase parts or wear&tear items)
Roadside Assistance – towing, on-site battery replacement, minor repairs and minor mobility support (ie fuel when you’ve completely run dry or even changing your flat tire) are some of the things that standard insurance coverage may not all cover.
RM100 merchandise – I redeemed a pair of pens 🙂

 

Nevertheless, VW paints a nice ownership road map & I am keen to return to authorized Service Centre (SC) – as long as the higher charges comes with a better servicing experience.

When my Golf decided to flash a Check Engine Light (CEL) for no apparent reason last Tuesday, I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to put to the test what I perceive to be a new brand promise. Here’s the sequence of events leading to that;-

• CEL appeared on 13 November 2018 morning
• Refused to go away despite numerous restarts
• Vehicle has no noticeable symptoms & performs normally. The only indication that something may be off is the CEL light.

So the next day on 14 November, I took it to VW’s authorized SC closest to my home, FA Wagan Glenmarie. Arrived 7:30am. Discovered that they only open at 8:30am but glass door was open so went inside to wait. At 8am, the front desk staff approached me and this conversation took place;-

• Me – Hi, my CEL light is up & I was wondering if your technicians can just plug in an OBD to see what’s wrong?
• SC – Do you have an appointment?
• Me – No, this was unplanned.
• SC – Then you’ll have to wait as we prioritise those with appointments.
• Me – I understand. But I just need a brief check.
• SC – Sure, but if our appointment customers are here, you’d have to wait.
• Me – Ok

I was also informed that although official working hours of the SC starts at 8:30am, the technical team would only start looking at vehicles at 9:00am after their morning briefing. Then close to 9am, the front desk approached me and said this;-

• SC – Hi sir, our 9am and 930am appointments are here. I’m afraid we cannot render any service to you until at least after 10am
• Me – Ok, I’ll take my car elsewhere.
• SC – Ok sir

Drove it 10mins down the road to a 3rd party VAG specialist centre who also asked me if I had an appointment and I said no before repeating the same request to the front desk. She then asked me to wait for a while before helping me fill up a job order form.

• 10 minutes later, my car was driven in
• 5 minutes then, the mechanic came in and told me the problem. The CEL was triggered by EVAP system failure which means the carbon canister has expired.
• The solution was to replace the carbon canister and purge the valve. Total cost was RM372 inclusive of labor.
• Within an hour, my car was ready, CEL gone & everything was good.

From this episode, I came to the conclusion that if it the intent of  the Volkswagen Care Plus program was to bring 5-years and older Volkswagen car owners back to the service centre, then it has not worked out as well as intended.

My reasoning for this is simple. There are two kinds of people who visits the SC;-

• In need of regular/scheduled preventive maintenance (in which the VCP program might draw some customers back)
• Those who encounter an unexpected issue (such as this experience of mine) & requires an unscheduled visit to the SC

Both types of customers should be treated with due professionalism and respect. Between these two however, the later whose urgency is greater would appreciate the assistance more. Many of these owners may be aware of the importance to have their VWs checked as soon as possible if there are any irregularities & there is no better place to do so than in an authorized SC.

It is very unfortunate that not all SCs are able to attend to the customer with the same sense of urgency.

It is an adherence to SOP that (again) fails to recognize the degree of customer needs & take appropriate measures to respond according to the situation. In my instance it was not difficult nor time consuming to just plug in an OBD (On Board Diagnostics) module to have a quick view of the nature of the CEL error. Even if the error could not be clearly defined, the customer would have been satisfied that something was done to address his/her need & the immediate concern could be somewhat elevated with a bit more information gleaned from the OBD. Remember; I was seeking information, not an immediate solution.

As it were, mine was treated as “sorry, no appointment, no service”, no matter how simple the request may be.

To make matters worse (for the SC), many long time owners such as myself have found alternatives to getting our car issues resolved and after being turned away, I was able to get;-

• prompt attention by the 3rd party workshop even though they’re just as busy
• resolved my issue within a relatively short period of time
• at a cheaper price (OEM carbon/charcoal canister RM150 vs original as quoted by the SC RM731)

It is, in many ways a superior servicing experience compared to what I had with the authorized SC.

Erik Winter, Managing Director of VPCM once said that the Volkswagen Cares is more than just a loyalty program. “Volkswagen Cares applies on all levels, be it to our colleagues, dealer partners and our other stakeholders. And more importantly, it is about how we interact, engage and serve our customers better.”

Disappointingly in this experience of mine, the interaction, engagement and service still appears to have some ways to go.

On a personal level, so long as the SCs continue to adopt an SOP process that shows an acute lack of empathy and a reluctance to go the extra mile to satisfy the customer, VW will fail to recapture the hearts of true fans such as myself; Owners who cherish the superb driving experience, excellent build quality and an overall safe vehicle for the family and self.

The SC did nothing wrong (beyond not having provisions to assist customers with unexpected issues in need of attention). But they forced me to patronize another workshop.

To quote a fellow VW owner, “You need to make an appointment to match the timing of your car breaking down”

 

Hardly the best way to cultivate Loyalty and Advocacy I’m afraid.