I just picked up a copy of the newly published (December 2015) Driven to Delight by Joseph A. Michelli. I plan to dig through it over the next few days because I'm intrigued by the book's claims and its timing. Steve Cannon is referenced throughout the book while he was CEO of MBUSA until just weeks ago. He has evidently left the auto industry altogether. Is it ironic Mr. Cannon left MBUSA at about the same time this book was published? Has MBUSA held true to the claimed course of creating "a compelling vision for exceptional customer experiences"? [/U][/U]

Perhaps this thread may evolve into a virtual Driven to Delight book review where readers and MB customers may provide valuable feedback which might assist with holding MBUSA accountable. For disclosure purposes, I was a committed and first-time MB customer when I purchased my 2010 ML350 BLUETEC new that year and I remained as such until 2015. My experience with MBUSA and my MB Dealer in 2015 left me utterly frustrated and led me to declare I'll never purchase a Mercedes again. MBUSA had several opportunities and options to keep me as a customer, but instead they failed me. The peak of my disappointment with MBUSA stemmed from a "cease-and-desist" sent to me from MBUSA after I escalated my MB issue to Mr. Cannon's corporate office (please see attached copy here, and my attorney's response as Post #94 in the link that follows). For details about my MBUSA experience, please see my original thread here: https://mbworld.org/forums/diesel-fo...-seized-6.html

I continue to publicly post updates (in my spare time) about my MBUSA experience because I told my MB Dealer and MBUSA that I would. I feel it's important to publicly voice unresolved issues so we all remain informed as educated consumers. I also believe, ultimately, that such posts will drive the auto industry to continually improve on the customer experience.

I plan to add other input and reflections in this thread as I read through Driven to Delight, and I encourage you to do the same here. Best wishes and safe driving in 2016!

 

http://driventodelight.com/index provides a good overview of Driven to Delight. I've almost completed the book, and I highly recommend it. It's refreshing to see that MBUSA acknowledged significant shortcomings a few years ago in how their internal culture, and specifically their CAC (Customer Assistance Center), addressed and resolved service issues. The book details strides MBUSA has made / is making to overcome challenges related to the customer experience and building loyalty. In general, the book is great for any business organization looking to overhaul process flows and culture altogether to create and sustain the ideal workplace and customer experience.

Will it hold true for MBUSA? It's yet to be seen, and your input here may provide insight. Hopefully for MBUSA, I slipped through their cracks and I don't represent the bulk of their customers. Page 66 in the book details the "customer experience war room" where MBUSA's Customer Experience team and other staff met regularly (in and around 2012) in a conference room to "merge the knowledge and feedback gleaned from diverse customer data sets such as surveys, focus groups, and side-by-side customer journey walk-throughs... At a deeper level of detail, participants (from MBUSA) stepped into the customer's perspective and identified very specific contact points and interactions that the customer would encounter within each phase. Staying with the customer's vantage point, participants sought to refine the touchpoints by identifying ways in which the customer's needs could be better met (for example, removing unnecessary steps and streamlining processes) and approaches for helping customers experience delight (having their needs anticipated and exceeded as well as feeling appreciated and valued)."

Had these steps been taken with me in 2015, I may or may not have been "delighted", but I'd probably still be a Mercedes-Benz customer today.

 

Thanks for the posts.

Looking forward to the oil test results.

 

I read and finished all of Driven to Delight over New Year's weekend, and I still recommend it for any business looking to improve their overall organization and how to better engage with customers. For MBUSA, I'm still not convinced their shift to Steve Cannon's proclamation of "The Standard" is sufficiently demonstrated. Page 37 in the book summarizes "The Standard", which Cannon presented at his first national dealer meeting as CEO in 2012: "The Mercedes-Benz automobile brings with it the expectation that every encounter with the brand will be as extraordinary as the machine itself- as thoughtful, innovative, and breathtaking, as confidence-inspiring and worthy of trust. When our customers enter our dealerships, their standards are predetermined. They rightfully anticipate and deserve the best or nothing. They will not be disappointed. 2012 will see the introduction of the most comprehensive pledge to an extraordinary customer experience in the history of Mercedes-Benz. Every department will be mobilized. Every touchpoint in the brand will be examined and refined. Every employee at every dealership will be trained and equipped. We will begin immediately, and we will not rest until we are regarded as the global benchmark- until expectations are exceeded with such frequency that the Mercedes-Benz name will be as famous for our total customer experience as it is for our legendary engineering. Mercedes-Benz. The best or nothing."

Well, as of this post, Steve Cannon is no longer at MBUSA and I no longer drive a Mercedes-Benz.

 

I started to read the book - but returned it to my friend, who thought I should read it, very fast..... I read Ross Brawn's book instead - much more interesting ..