Capital Equipment News June 2018

TRANSPORT

FAW SA’s big strides in aftersales FAW South Africa has made concerted efforts to set industry-leading aftersales benchmarks for its dealers and branches. As a result, all FAW dealers are said to be operating at a higher level than ever before.

W hile FAW SA’s efforts have culminated in a comprehen- sive programme of action to standardise its dealer operations and after-sales departments, including parts, service and warranties nationwide, it believes that customer satisfaction is the ultimate indicator of where it stands. Over the past two years, FAW SA has therefore meticulously developed industry standards, which demonstrate dealer and branch facilities and their proper management. It has also developed a reporting structure in order to measure and better manage the performance of its South African dealers and after-sales departments. FAW SA has also introduced processes to increase dealer stockholding and quicken parts supply. Simultaneously, it is busy introducing FAW TQC (Total Quality Care) in South Africa. TQC is a worldwide programme that was launched two years ago by FAW in China. It is a framework and umbrella brand that represents all of the initiatives being done in the FAW aftersales environment globally. FAW dealers in South Africa will need to be accredited by FAW SA in order to reach TQC level. technical improvement courses, ranging from beginner to advanced, have been implemented by FAW SA over the past year. Furthermore, all FAW technicians are required to attend certain service courses to fast-track their technical development. Central to this process is the overall customer experience, part of which includes the training of technicians, which culminated in the FAW National Service Technician Competition. Held in February, the biennial event was won by FAW technician Martin Fick. The competition was aimed at the FAW dealer network, including Botswana and Namibia, with the intent to find the best three technicians and workshop managers the company has, before developing them further by sending them overseas. Training in focus To this end, various training and

All FAW technicians are required to attend certain service courses to fast-track their technical development.

FAW technician Martin Fick (right) was the winner of the FAW National Service Technician Competition held in February this year.

Assessment of the competitors was done during classroom and practical exercises, with technicians scored on their fault finding and fault fixing proficiency. The competition was designed to mirror what happens inside FAW dealerships on a daily basis. The overarching idea is to motivate

FAW technicians, while improving their ability to find and fix problems on cus- tomer vehicles in a practical manner. The competition further sought to motivate workshop managers to increase the scope and frequency of technical training offered to staff. ❂

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