German Car Zone

On November 22, 2007, the winners of this year’s Mercedes-Benz Global TechMasters were honored at the official award ceremony in the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart. In 2007, the best Mercedes-Benz service station team for passenger vehicles comes from Switzerland. Second place went to the team from Germany. The best 75 out of 10.000 participants from 15 countries took part in the final round of the competition in Stuttgart. “To provide customer-focused high-quality after-sales services, you need competent and service-oriented employees. Because of our state-of-the-art technologies and comprehensive range of products, it is crucial that we provide our employees with high-quality training and continuing education in order to maintain the competitiveness of our company,” said Günther Fleig, Daimler Board of Management member for Human Resources and Labor Relations Director. “The Mercedes-Benz Global TechMasters competition helps to motivate the technicians and service staff at our workshops worldwide to deliver top performance every day and thereby contribute to the brand’s success,” added Fleig, the patron of the competition.

“Quality and customer satisfaction have top priority throughout the entire Mercedes-Benz organization. That’s why all processes at Mercedes-Benz service stations are guided by the principles of providing the very best in service and support and ensuring customer satisfaction,” said Dr. Frank Reintjes, head of the after-sales organization Global Service and Parts. “Through their skills and commitment, the participants of the Mercedes-Benz Global TechMasters competition and our entire workshop and service staff make a valuable contribution to meeting the needs of our customers worldwide,” Reintjes continued.

The international competition for technical employees was held for the third time. The Global TechMasters serve as a key training tool and are designed to boost the qualification and motivation of the after-sales employees and to underscore the brand’s claim to providing top-quality premium products and services by ensuring global excellence at workshops as well.

More than 10,000 technicians and service consultants took part in national competitions in 15 participating Mercedes-Benz markets (Germany, UK, Spain, France, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland, Greece, Turkey, Portugal, Canada, Japan, Taiwan, Korea and India), with the winning team from each country going on to the final round in Stuttgart.

On November 21, the Global TechMasters teams were tested on their theoretical and practical skills in the professions defined by the company for the after-sales sector. In addition to their knowledge of after-sales processes, the participants were also tested on their practical skills for their specific job profiles. As a result of these tests, the world’s best team was selected from the various winning teams of the individual countries. In addition to determining the overall winning team, the competition honored the best technicians and service consultants in five separate categories.

The factors evaluated include the interplay within the teams, the correct performance of diagnoses, and the direct communication with customers. The test simulated and evaluated the entire process, ranging from the discussions with the customers when they bring their vehicles to the service point to the preliminary diagnosis, the repair work and the subsequent return of the vehicles to the customers. The test was rounded out by general questions concerning the tools, products and processes in the after-sales business as well as the culture and country-specific contact behavior of the service consultants.

Because the global offensive for the further improvement of customer satisfaction also plays a key role in the Mercedes-Benz Global TechMasters competition, the employees from the technical professions were joined during the international final round by the best service consultants from each of the participating countries. The key brand pledge of “appreciation” and the type of behavior toward customers that it entails was also reflected by the competition through the incorporation of a customer contact situation in the test.

In addition to its importance for ensuring high-quality continuing education over the long term, the Mercedes-Benz Global TechMasters competition demonstrates how the members of a very diverse team interact. The optimal skills usage of the various team members creates a culture of top performance. In addition to taking the test, which was held in twelve different languages, the participants had plenty of opportunities to learn about the intercultural diversity within the group.


Source: eMercedesBenz - The Unofficial Mercedes-Benz Weblog