Tarcísio Triviño, Volvo Brazil: Improving service to retain customers

Retaining more customers by providing quality after-sales service is key, according to Tarcísio Triviño who is Volvo car group's customer service director in Brazil.

In Global Fleet's brief talk with the executive, he tells us how the Swiss automaker's "Volvo Personal Service" benefits its clients. 

How long have you been with Volvo and what is your main objective?
I've been with the Volvo group for approximately three years. However, I have been working with customer service my whole life, spending about 25 years of that in after-sales and customer service in the automotive industry.

As for my goal at Volvo, it revolves around maintaining a high level of customer satisfaction of course. Despite this, our competitors are always working on improving so we need to do more than maintain our level. We need to innovate and pay attention to even the smallest customer service detail which could be improved.

One of my main objectives right now is to improve Volvo's technical service.

Speaking of that, could you explain "Volvo Personal Service"?
Sure, it is a tool aimed at improving our technical assistance, especially when it comes to how we communicate with our customers.  It gives our clients an advantage as they can communicate directly with the technician carrying out work on their car without dealing with an intermediary. 

We, at Volvo, like to use the doctor analogy. To get the best service when you are sick, patients prefer to speak directly with the doctor and not with the receptionist, secretary or nurse. As such, our technicians are like full service doctors.

Through Volvo Personal Service, our technicians are responsible for scheduling, explaining the service, carrying out the work, and answering calls if any questions arise.

For instance, they could tell you whether or not it is possible to wait on replacing a part that is starting to wear out. Should you change brake pads which have 5,000km of wear left or should you wait? These are some of the questions customers have. Basically, we are focused on offering transparency in our service.

Could you define the profile of the Brazilian car buyer, compared to other regions of Latin America?
The Brazilian customer is demanding when it comes to quality of service, and this even includes the cleanliness of the car. While many car owners in other Latin American countries see the car as a means of transport, it is more than this in Brazil.  It is seen more as a commodity or even a member of the family.

I am a Brazilian and I like my car well maintained and clean.  I don't even want to hear any strange sounds.

And what about the Volvo customer?
Volvo clients are those who want luxury but are not necessarily looking to call attention themselves. From what we see, they seem to be more self confident.