Page 166 - Toyota Under Fire

RESPONSE AND THE ROAD TO RECOVER Y

that vehicle, technical information about the recalls, and more.
The system allows the CSRs to navigate quickly through a great
deal of information while engaged in discussions with customers.
The information system was also connected directly to dealers’
service centers. That allowed CSRs to make confirmed appoint-
ments for customers with a specific dealer immediately over the
phone, and if necessary arrange for special services like transpor-
tation, rental cars, or loaner vehicles on the spot, a feature that
made a huge difference in handling calls from sometimes pan-
icked customers.
The selection and training of CSRs also made a huge differ-
ence. Unlike many companies, Toyota had deliberately decided
not to outsource the customer call center to low-wage countries.
The employees in the call center at TMS who are using the sys-
tem have been specifically screened for skills in building relation-
ships with customers over the phone. While this is an entry-level
job, it is not an easy job to be hired for. Those who have the basic
skill set go through a four-week training course, followed by 6
to 18 months of close supervision before “graduating” as a full-
fledged CSR.
While their training was not as stringent, the outside agen-
cies that the TMS call center had been working with for some
time had also received a great deal of training on the Toyota ap-
proach to handling customer calls. So when they were brought
in to help with the increased call volume, they needed only some
refresher training. Still, the CSRs from the outside agencies were
primarily dealing with information requests, such as a customer
calling in with his VIN to confirm whether his vehicle was or
was not part of the recall, and had Toyota supervisors on site to
provide coaching. If a customer had more serious questions or
believed that he had experienced sudden acceleration or a sticky

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