Ford Middle East concluded the regional leg of the 2007 Global Service Advisor and Technician Skills Service Excellence World Cup with representatives from Al Tayer Motors (UAE), Arabian Car Marketing (Oman) and Al Jazirah Vehicles Agencies (KSA) qualifying to join the final competition in the US.
Al Tayer Motor's service advisor Noel Christian Faustino was declared winner with Arachali Thiruinban Annadurai of Arabian Car Marketing as runner up. Sunil Montiero from Al Tayer Motors and Jefferson Mallari Dimacali of Al Jazirah Vehicles Agencies tied for the first place in the Technicians category. All winners will go to Dearborn, Michigan to compete with representatives from five regions around the globe for the coveted prizes and titles.
"Our congratulations to the Middle East finalists for showing the best skills in providing informed service to our customers," said Waldo Galan, Ford ME's managing director.
"This championship is a great opportunity not only to get our service teams to compete for the title, but also to ensure they all have the best skills in the industry across the Middle East. We commend their dedication to providing increasing levels of customer satisfaction and to advancing their own skills and knowledge of the business."
The winners will fly to Dearborn, Michigan, all expenses paid, to compete in the first-ever Global Service Advisor and Technician Skills – Service Excellence World Cup.
Contestants for the Middle East leg completed rigorous trainings and simulations over the past months to prepare them for the service excellence competition. The program is an incentive to help sharpen the skills of service advisors and technicians in serving their customers and reaching high levels of satisfaction each day.
Apart from the roundtrip airfare, winners get deluxe accommodations in a five-star hotel, exciting tours to the historic Henry Ford Estate and the famous Ford Rouge Factory. Winners will also get the chance to attend the high-adrenalin NASCAR racing.
For the global competition in Michigan, winners will receive cash prizes of up to US$5,000 plus trophies for themselves and their dealerships.
Expected to vie for the titles with Middle East contingents are representatives from the Caribbean and Central America, Puerto Rico & Virgin Islands, Asia Pacific and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Service advisors will have to demonstrate their service write-up skills, using the Service Excellence "Interactive Reception Process" while technicians need to show diagnostic skills using computer systems employed by Ford in its dealerships.
At the global level, technicians once again will do a "hands-on" competition involving diagnosis and correction of actual vehicles. Service advisors will compete based on their customer-friendly interaction to identify the customer's service needs.
About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles in 200 markets across six continents. With about 260,000 employees and about 100 plants worldwide, the company’s core and affiliated automotive brands include Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mercury, Volvo, Aston Martin and Mazda. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford’s products, please visit www.fordvehicles.com.
Ford Motor Company’s history in the Middle East goes back to nearly 60 years. The company’s local importer-dealers operate more than 55 facilities in the region and directly employ more than 4,000 people, the majority of whom are Arab Nationals.
Ford Middle East is also a responsible corporate citizen in the region, with the Ford Motor Company Conservation & Environmental Grants, a grass-root level program that has offered USD600,000 in grants to over 75 Middle Eastern environmental projects since 2000.
