Bakemono
New member
For those of you who have ever wondered if Yamaha ever reads whats posted on forums, check this out:
http://snowmobiles.yamahablogs.ca/2007/12/18/i-think-my-yamaha-skidoo-is-broke/#comment-1754
http://snowmobiles.yamahablogs.ca/2007/12/18/i-think-my-yamaha-skidoo-is-broke/#comment-1754
I read an interesting thread on TY where a guy is asking if we ‘hear’ the conversations taking part on-line and others wondering: ‘do they (Yamaha) listen to us’?
I have touched on this subject before and I think the timing is ripe to revisit. How do we handle market information or input from customers regarding their complaints?
Before I comment let me give a little background. When we first introduced the idea of SledTalk, we performed a ‘risk management‘ exercise and held meetings to determine what kind of fall-out could arise from such an open, public forum. Put yourself in the position of a corporate ‘watchdog’ in any big company and consider for a moment the litigious climate in which we must do business. If one is deemed ‘aware‘ then it can be construed (right or wrong) one is ‘negligent‘ for any ‘inaction‘ after the fact, regardless of circumstance. Enter the internet and the overwhelming stream of information now available. How should companies recognize and react to the online chatter? Safest thing to do; is do nothing. Do not participate, do not acknowledge, do not discuss. And that is precisely the reaction you will see from most companies.
Are there people on the inside (all the OE’s) lurking on forums and blogs? Absolutely. Do they take conversations from the internet into the boardrooms? You bet. Do they react to everything thatgets posted? Of course not. The fact is there’s almost as much ‘mis-information‘ on-line as there is good information. What I like the most about sites such as Totallyamaha, HCS and Dootalk is the ‘early indicators‘ and ‘customer reactions‘ I get from monitoring some conversations. Do I read them all? No way, there’s far too much and I don’t get paid to spend all day surfing but I do ‘share the love‘ when I read something I think is important, I’ll leave it at that.
So how do we separate the ‘wheat from the chaff ‘? It’s pretty simple actually…
We rely upon our dealers to report to us after investigating, inspecting and collecting all your information including conditions, mileage, VIN numbers and a detailed analysis of a failure or complaint. We have TSM’s (technical service managers) who take the information provided to them by our dealers then develop and forward MI’s (market information reports) which are standardized collection templates designed by our factory service division. The data is gathered by our technical service division. Once they determine a problem exists they forward to factory service who review along with warranty claim histories and field testing results. Next service will meet with engineering, to confirm everything and finally, if required they will issue the order to develop a CM or ‘counter measure‘. This all must happen before we even start working on the solution.
Obviously he time required can be extensive and presents a big challenge for a fast response. Often a dealer will ‘first hear‘ of an issue and doesn’t alert service until a second or third complaint is received. The TSM also goes through the ‘first heard’ syndrome’. Many days can pass before it becomes clear we even have a common problem.
Often we will find some issues only exist in certain regions or under certain conditions only effecting a select percentage of owners. Other times we discover a problem effects many but it is not necessarily perceived by everyone as an issue at all.
Once we determine something is not right, it has to be investigated to discover exactly why. Sample parts need to be collected and shipped through the distributors to Japan. If the part is manufactured by an outside vendor, they need to be brought in and given opportunity to inspect. All this takes more time and when a snowmobile season lasts less than two months in some areas, well it can get a little tense for all involved.
We are trying to streamline the process and I hope we can alter the system to where we can at least acknowledge certain issues before we have the final counter-measure issued. Currently we cannot say anything until all the above processes have taken place with the counter-measures developed and discussed with each country effected. And the required parts are ordered, the shipping date to dealers is established and the planets have all aligned.
Meanwhile with all this is quietly happening behind closed doors, the conversation on the internet continues. Emotions flare, perceptions alter and for every positive suggestion comes an arguably negative one until we finally issue our solution.
The best thing you can do when something is not right with your sled is contact your dealer and be prepared to give them as much detailed information as you can. It doesn’t hurt to ask them if they intend to contact their service rep if they don’t have a solution or ‘first heard’ of the problem. If you take it to the internet (and trust me on this one), give concise, detailed information under a clear subject line and hold back the language of frustration; the chances of me or someone else in the loop reading it are pretty darned good and you will be heard. I should also recognize the many forum mods and VIP’s who spend a lot of their time trying to help less experienced people shedding light on areas of concern, they also tend to respond better towards well worded questions and sincerely stated POV’s…
So yes, we listen and in the end we always react to take care of our customers as best we can.
