[GTO]

While I'm happy to see that they have an eye on after-sales service (I'm a Nissan owner and can tell you their after-sales is LOUSY), what is this F1 initiative?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't they already supposed to fix it right the first time? What was their internal target before? 2 visits? 4 visits?

Or is it just a case of the "service advisor" now being called "final inspector"?

Sharing the press release verbatim:

Nissan India today launched a comprehensive and robust service solution – F1 (Fix It Right First Time) aimed at enhancing customer ownership experience. Launched during the 8th edition of ‘Happy with Nissan’ – an after sales campaign, F1 Solution (Fix it Right First time) aims to address and solve all vehicle concerns and customer queries in the first attempt.

Announcing the initiative, Sanjeev Aggarwal, Vice President, Aftersales, Nissan Motor India Pvt Ltd., said, “It is our constant effort to explore innovative solutions to make the ownership experience of our customers delightful. With F1 Solution, we aim to resolve 96% issues of customers by addressing them at the very first instance during a service visit. This is in line with our commitment towards transforming the customer ownership experience in India by introducing global best practices. Globally, Nissan has introduced F1 Solution in 19 key markets."

As part of the F1 Solution, after capturing customer’s verbal feedback, a comprehensive diagnosis of the vehicle is performed. A team of skilled Nissan technical experts undertake prompt and accurate maintenance and repair work. A thorough final quality check using ‘Vehicle Quality Check list’ is performed. Before delivering the car to the customer, rechecking of washing quality followed by re-verification of repair work by ‘Final Inspector’ is executed. The entire service quality procedure & tool eliminate the repeat repair work and recurring customer visits.

[Mad Max]

Hey look! Finally someone from a Lean / Six Sigma consulting firm talked to Nissan. Poor guys would've believed this will end all their woes.

Honestly though, this type of measures are there in IT (First time resolution - remember?). It just means that the company prepares their staff to get everything resolved in one-go than having to do a fix first and then put a permanent resolution later.

Nothing changes much. Just more pressure on the floor guy to not say much about the issue at hand.

[2000rpm]

96 percent! Thats very in my view. One in every twenty five people will still have to visit the service center twice atleast!

[ashutoshb]

If they mean, that they will thoroughly inspect a car for problems when it comes for routine service, it is surely a good initiative. Identifying and taking care of an upcoming replacement, probable repair, can surely save some time of the customer.

If they mean, that they will take care of the complaint for which the car came for, the first time, it appears they haven't been doing a good job till now and they have given 'pulling up their socks' a better name.

My personal experience with Nissan A.S.S. has been through my Go Pluses, and it has been horrible. In fact, many times I have had to send my cars to them for the same damn problem.

[Nalin1]

Well, just exposes to the whole world the result of their customer satisfaction surveys/feedbacks!

But what about this 96%??

[greenhorn]

If they were serious about it, its actually a good thing.
Tata , for example, does not track if issues reported by customers are reopened or not. They only care if the issue is resolved within the feedback time period. This leads to a lot of recurring tactical fixes, and generally frustrated customers all around. Maruti, on the other hand, supposedly does a sampling check of closed issues to ensure that the issue did not recur.

A good example was my HVAC knob cable. The Cable kept snapping after a few weeks, and every time i raised the issue, they would superglue it, and would work for the next few weeks. Funnily, the 7th time i raised the same issue ( and once the car was out of warranty) suddenly a resolution was available, and I needed to change the console assembly (paid of course)

I assumed Nissan being a Japanese co (though no Toyota) would be at least as mature as suzuki (given that they are/were bigger in japan) process wise

[R2D2]

Hehe! Having been an assessor and practitioner of software engineering processes for nearly 2 decades this press release makes me chuckle at the tick-in-the-box attempts to tackle an issue that should NOT have been poor to begin with. Getting it right the first time is a given, a hygiene thing, not something you shout about and sell as a USP.

These blokes and some other car manufacturers in India ought to take a page or two out of Toyota India's or Maruti-Suzuki's book.

[Rehaan]

Even if this was a well thought out and major initiative - it's one that should have been kept private / internal.

Making it a public announcement like this certainly isn't smart.

One of the common set of questions in A.S.S feedback is :
1) Were all your issues resolved? (yes/no)
2) If no: How many additional visits did it take to resolve your issue/s?

They've just decided to try and reduce the number of people replying "no" to the first questions.

Another thing that could be tied in here (other than imperfect fixes) is part availability. If a car goes in for diagnosis, and a part needs to be replaced but they don't have that in stock (or deliverable within 24-48 hrs), it requires a 2nd visit.

However:

As part of the F1 Solution, after capturing customer’s verbal feedback, a comprehensive diagnosis of the vehicle is performed. A team of skilled Nissan technical experts undertake prompt and accurate maintenance and repair work. A thorough final quality check using ‘Vehicle Quality Check list’ is performed. Before delivering the car to the customer, rechecking of washing quality followed by re-verification of repair work by ‘Final Inspector’ is executed. The entire service quality procedure & tool eliminate the repeat repair work and recurring customer visits.

Doesn't sound like they've announced any actual changes other than doing a supposedly better job of checking the work done!

[Dr.Naren]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

Even if this was a well thought out and major initiative - it's one that should have been kept private / internal.

Making it a public announcement like this certainly isn't smart.

Exactly!

I have seen boards in Maruti Service centres telling the same : "Fix it right first time". They had written the same in Japanese also .

[Sankar]

Nissan F1 Hahaha
F1 is "Help!" on a PC keyboard
Sure better than customer going for Ctrl+Alt+Del

[Dr.Naren]

Originally Posted by Sankar

Sure better than customer going for Ctrl+Alt+Del

If Nissan continues with this strategy, the company would be doing "Ctrl + Alt + Del" for operations in India .

[Durango Dude]

We all know what happened to F ix I t A gain T omorrow! What should have been an internal memo (as Rehaan has correctly said) is being proudly bandied about as a coup of sorts!! Nissan's product mix and after sales leaves a lot to be desired! With tiring old products and poor pricing both the dealers and the support may become complacent and disillusioned and the customer would be at the receiving end of poor sales and support experience. Bring in the new Micra at a good price point and then we can witness F1 in the showroom and service.