Mercedes-Benz Malaysia hosts 10th anniversary of service excellence awards

Mercedes-Benz Malaysia, in conjunction with the 10th anniversary of the coveted Mercedes-Benz Service Excellence Award Program (SEAward) – established by Daimler AG in 2005 – played host to 250 representatives from 85 dealerships around South East Asia and Sri Lanka.

The SEAward is a motivational program aimed at increasing customer satisfaction in the participating countries. 

Bringing together Mercedes-Benz dealer representatives from around Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei, Philippines and Sri Lanka, the two-day celebrations held recently was an occasion to highlight the importance of the After-Sales business to Mercedes-Benz.

To mark the many SEAward milestones and its 10th anniversary, the one-day conference included several key activities. Dealer representatives heard from Thomas Weigand, Director After-Sales Mercedes-Benz, smart and Maybach, Daimler Central/ Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia; Roland Folger, President and CEO Mercedes-Benz Malaysia; Johannes Fritz, Director Sales and Marketing Mercedes-Benz Cars, Daimler Central/ Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia and Christian Treiber, Director Service and Parts Business Passenger Cars, Daimler AG. The different speakers highlighted the development and growth plans in After-Sales and Sales and Marketing based on customer satisfaction and customer relationship programs for Mercedes-Benz in the region.

“I congratulate and express appreciation to all our dealers who have participated and continued to uphold the three-pointed star. This impressive milestone is what we celebrate today. But for me it is also a starting point to create a new spirit to excelling in customer service for the next years. We are aiming at a service-dedicated future based on the effort made by every single one of our staff members,” said Weigand.

Speaking at the celebrations, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia President and CEO Roland Folger said, “Mercedes-Benz Malaysia is proud to host the SEAward and celebrate its 10th anniversary with our South East Asian and Sri Lankan dealer counterparts. The SEAward is a testament to ‘going the extra mile’ not just today or tomorrow, but every day. As a pioneer and leader in the automotive industry, Mercedes-Benz has a lifelong commitment to the pursuit of excellence in providing the ultimate lasting experience for our customers.” 

The SEAward has gained momentum in the years since its establishment, recording a steady increase in enthusiasm from regional dealers. In 2014, 85 dealers participated in the SEAward; which totalled 4,891 employees dedicated to building excellence in service track records.

Mercedes-Benz has recorded phenomenal growth, particularly within the Asian region. Recognising the integral role its Asian counterparts play in Sales and After-Sales, the SEAward was established to evaluate the performance of service centres. It also serves as a motivating factor towards excelling in customer service. Winning dealers are judged according to an After-Sales Customer Satisfaction Score (CSI) and Net Promoter Score (NPS).

Other activities for the dealer representatives included the opportunity to visit a past SEAward winning Autohaus, Hap Seng Star and a Kuala Lumpur City Tour. The conference culminated with a celebratory dinner at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Kuala Lumpur.

After years of hard work and significant investments made, DIMO accomplished Number 1 position in the entire South East Asia Region for ‘Service Excellence’ in After Sales for the year 2014. 

Chief Executive Officer Gahanath Pandithage and General Manager – Passenger Vehicles Service Tharanga Gunawardena who represented DIMO during the SEAward 10th anniversary celebrations held in Malaysia, upon returning to the country mentioned that every effort put in by DIMO’s team was truly remarkable as there was no better time to reach the pinnacle and place DIMO and Sri Lanka in the world map than during the SEAward 10th Anniversary celebrations. They will also strive to improve DIMOs service standards in every possible way and continue to offer unmatched after sales service standards in the country for years to come.