LOUISVILLE, Ky. — To compliment its new mid roof product offerings, Volvo Trucks North America introduced what it calls its 10 Point Service Commitment, which is said to clearly define the customer service from Volvo and its dealers, including repairs and parts transactions.

Each of the elements of the 10 Point Service Commitment came out of extensive discussions with Volvo’s customer advisory councils representing fleets and owner-operators.

The elements contained in Volvo’s 10 Point Service Commitment are:

— Customers must have service available to them on a 24/7 basis.
— Customers must be able to schedule a service appointment promptly.
— Customers must find knowledgeable service advisors/managers at all Volvo dealerships.
— Customers must have their problem diagnosed within two hours.
— Customers must find that parts are available when and where they need them.
— Customers must be updated during the repair process.
— Customers must be notified promptly of a completed repair.
— Customer repairs must be finished when promised.
— Customer problems must be resolved correctly the first time.
— Customers must have assistance in understanding warranty coverage and resolving warranty questions.

“None of these 10 points are revolutionary,” Scott Kress, senior vice president of sales and marketing, said at the Mid-America Trucking show. “But they are essential to the customer service experience. If any of them are missing, customers can experience delays or disappointment while trying to obtain needed service or repairs. This costs customers time and money, and it keeps Volvo from achieving our goal of being Number One in customer satisfaction.”

To support this goal, Volvo has backed up the service commitment with a comprehensive dealer certification program, called World Class Dealer. It includes such things as mandatory service tools and parts inventories, diagnostic procedures, 24/7 emergency road support, required levels of technician training and more.

Almost 100 Volvo dealers have earned WCD certification to date and the company says its goal is to have all of its dealers certified by the end of 2006.

Each new Volvo VN, Volvo VHD or Volvo VT truck contains a 10 Point Service Commitment brochure along with a wallet card detailing Volvo’s commitment.

Customers will also be surveyed about how satisfied they were with the service received after repairs at a Volvo dealership. The survey, linked to the elements of the 10 Point Service Commitment, is automatically generated by a report from the dealership business system at each dealership and is mailed to the customer by an independent company. Based on Volvo’s experience with existing customer surveys, a response rate of approximately 20 percent is expected, which is adequate to yield statistically significant results.

“A dissatisfied survey report from a customer generates an immediate email to the dealership from Volvo alerting them to the unhappy customer, and causes Volvo’s district service manager to become involved with the situation’s resolution,” Kress says. “The customer must be contacted within 24 hours and the case closed within seven days, with the customer satisfied that his concerns have been addressed.”