After-sales service is more than just a follow-up to a sale, it is a lifeline between Daikin and customers. It was not previously normal business practice for companies in China to provide after-sales service. So the first thing we had to do was educate employees.

We set up three bases to provide after-sales service and maintenance in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. Each base has a Contact Center to take phone calls twenty-four hours a day, every day of the year. If there is a sudden problem at a customer's location, a GPS locates the closest service engineer for immediate dispatch.

Starting in 2006, we began establishing more service centers, and we currently have 12 around the country. These service centers provide technical training for employees and dealers so that we continue to give customers improved after-sales service.

We also established a customer service management team that is in charge of improving our service from every possible angle, including comparing our performance with that of our competitors.

It is through efforts like these that we are fostering an after-sales service culture in China and in the process garnering the trust of our customers.

Contact Center staff pinpoints the location of service engineers. The nearest service engineer is on the scene in no time at all. (China)

In fiscal 2007, After Sales Service Division of Daikin took up three key measures aimed at boosting customer satisfaction.

• The first is “one-time completion.” Complete repairs in a single visit.
• The second is “reforming customer service quality” and consists of five parts: (1) a “customer approval test” that tells us if our service engineers have the level of technology and know-how needed to provide truly satisfying service; (2) a “three-call standard” to ensure that service engineers contact customers regularly; (3) an “after-five policy” where service engineers take five minutes after repairs are finished to chat with customers about topics such as tips on how they can use their air conditioners most effectively; (4) a “New Refresher Course” to teach service engineers the manners that create a good impression with customers; and (5) an overall effort by Daikin to provide new employees with customer satisfaction training and ensure that they put this training into practice.
• The third measure is “individualized service for volume retailers.” We have a special number that volume retailers can call so that our dedicated staff can hear about their particular situation and provide the appropriate meticulous service.

As a result of these three measures, along with continuous efforts to make employees realize “Customers First,” the June 2007 issue of Nikkei Business ranked Daikin No. 1 in its list of the top after-sales service companies in Japan. We will thoroughly maintain our customer-first attitude in fiscal 2008, raising customer satisfaction another notch as we continue to pursue the qualities that earned us this designation.

Daikin Contact Center (Japan)

The main line of business of Daikin Airconditioning UK Ltd. is selling commercial air conditioners such as VRV III. To conduct maintenance requires expert knowledge and experience with complex machinery, so service engineers at dealers and installers must be constantly trained.

For this reason, Daikin established the Daikin UK Technology Center in 2006.Service engineers from dealers and installers are invited to take training courses for Daikin products such as VRV III and to transfer knowledge of heat pump (heating and cooling) technology.

In addition of helpdesk telephone support, we have also introduced an error code Short Message Service. This service enables on-site engineers to send the error code indicted on the air conditioning unit via their mobile phone and receive a reply immediately with suggestions on possible steps to resolve the issue. The results of these actions have been reliable field service and greater comfort for the customer.

The system can deliver instructions to fix the unit to the site engineer by using a mobile phone.