Reuss, Engineering Executives Reach Out to Money Back Guarantee Customers

2009-11-20

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Fewer than 200 of 222,000 customers who have opted for the 60-day Money Back Guarantee on new vehicle purchases are in the process of returning the Chevy, Buick, Cadillac or GMC vehicle they purchased, Vice President of Global Product Engineering Mark Reuss said Thursday.

And every potential walk away is getting an exit interview from Reuss or one of his engineering leadership team.

Reuss gave the customer outreach example in answer to a question in a roundtable with Detroit media about how the new Board of Directors is influencing Product Development.  He said the idea came during a dinner he recently attended with GM Chairman Ed Whitacre.

“People are not satisfied and we’re going to find out why,” Reuss said. “This is about the best unfiltered consumer feedback we’ve had, and it was suggested by Mr. Whitacre. We’ve got all the (customer) data. We’ve gone to see some of them and we’re calling some of them at night as well.”  

By the numbers, 653 customers to date have taken the 60-day return guarantee in lieu of a $500 discount on a new vehicle purchase.  Fifty-three vehicles have been returned and about 140 others are in the process.

Reuss said in some cases where a buyback was averted, the money back guarantee itself persuaded a skeptical customer to complete a purchase. He told of a Cadillac SRX buyer who traded up to a more expensive model SRX.

In another case, a customer unhappy with the paint quality and interior roominess of a Chevy Silverado pickup is on Reuss’ list of customer contacts.

Reuss said there is no need for a new quality initiative in the company. All the processes needed are in place.

“The so-called perception gap is a result of what we do,’’ he said. “We need to hit the ball with the center of the bat in everything we do.”

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