Category Archives: Cadillac News

Cadillac Customer Experience

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DETROIT – The fierce competition between luxury automotive brands extends beyond artfully designed, high-tech new products. It’s about capturing the hearts and minds of affluent customers before product or price enter the equation.

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“While we’ve performed fairly well in customer service, we sensed a bigger opportunity,” said Kurt McNeil, vice president of Cadillac Sales and Service. “We call the approach Defining Moments – the fact that every interaction with a customer can potentially define our brand.”

Spurred by the brand’s ongoing momentum in product and marketing, Cadillac gained insights from outside the automotive space to enhance its approach to customer experience.

“Cadillac is the real thing when it comes to the products, and its approach to the cultural aspects of the luxury customer experience,” said Milton Pedraza, founder and CEO of the Luxury Institute,

The institute conducts extensive research on affluent consumer behaviors. One of Pedraza’s key findings is that today’s luxury consumers have countless options for desirable products, placing more value on experiences.

“To earn credibility among luxury customers, brands not only have to offer the best products, but they must also be kind and provide an overall positive purchasing experience,” said Pedraza. “The opportunity for luxury brands not only lies in out-performing the competition, but also out-behaving the competition.”

Cadillac began “Defining Moments” training for internal and dealership staff was co-developed with the Ritz-Carlton. Famed for excellence in customer service, Ritz-Carlton team members maintain a consistent global culture at all levels devoted to earning guest loyalty.

“The training was important because it showed that luxury customer experiences are built on the culture and the behavior of people,” McNeil says. “It’s not about programs or discount offers. Great service comes from ordinary people delivering excellence at all levels.”

While emphasizing new cultural approaches, Cadillac has supported that with upgrades to what can be seen and experienced physically. Hundreds of dealers are rebuilding or renovating dealerships. Cadillac has redesigned consumer websites and instituted specific standards for local dealer advertising. For example, Cadillac Shield is a set of ownership benefits that includes complimentary roadside assistance from a Cadillac technician, and Cadillac courtesy transportation programs for cars being serviced.

“With Cadillac expanding in 2012 with two all-new products, it’s a perfect opportunity to prepare to welcome new guests,” says McNeil.

Cadillac has earned steady increases in consumer and industry satisfaction surveys, ranking among the top brands in many measures of customer satisfaction.

The brand was recently recognized as a 2012 Customer Service Champion by J.D. Power and Associates. The luxury automaker was one of only 50 companies out of 800 studied to earn the distinction. The 2012 Champions were identified based on customer feedback, opinions, and perceptions gathered primarily from J.D. Power’s syndicated research in 2011.

Cadillac features Customer Service excellence

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J.D. Power and Associates analyzes customer opinions of more than 800 brands

DETROIT – Cadillac was recognized today as a 2012 Customer Service Champion at the J.D. Power and Associates Customer Service Roundtable in Orlando, Fla. The luxury automaker was one of only 50 companies out of 800 studied to earn the distinction.

To qualify for inclusion, a company must excel within its own industry and stand out among leading brands in 20 major industries evaluated by J.D. Power.

2011 Cadillac Escalade Platinum.

The 2012 Champions were identified based on customer feedback, opinions, and perceptions gathered primarily from J.D. Power’s syndicated research in 2011. The group of 50 represents the highest-performing U.S. companies that deliver service excellence – both within their specific industries and across all industries measured.

“We’re in the midst of a mission to enhance every interaction a consumer has with Cadillac,” said Kurt McNeil, vice president of Cadillac Sales and Service. “We are strongly committed to customer satisfaction, and appreciate this external confirmation of our efforts.”

Cadillac has instituted wide-ranging changes to enhance the luxury customer experience, conducting comprehensive customer experience training for dealership personnel and developing an improved suite of owner benefits called Cadillac Shield.

The Cadillac Escalade received highest honors in the Large Premium Crossover/SUV category of the J.D. Power 2011 Initial Quality StudySM (IQS), which measures the number of problems consumers experience during the first 90 days of ownership.

In February, Cadillac was named the most-desired automotive brand in the United States by men, according to results of a market research test by the global strategic neuro-insight firm Buyology Inc and uSamp, which measured personal and emotional connections to 220 well-known brands across 10 industries.

Cadillac XTS perfect for going clubbing

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DETROIT – To learn first-hand what today’s customers expect in a full-size luxury sedan, Cadillac XTS designers and engineers spend time in homes making observations and taking notes. A recurring theme was the desire for more space to accommodate active lifestyle gear, like golf bags.

The Cadillac XTS full-size luxury sedan has been engineered to accommodate active adults and their lifestyle gear. For example, the XTS can fit four adults with their four golf bags - maximizing every inch of storage space. The Cadillac XTS offers 40 inches of rear legroom and 18 cubic feet (509 liters) of trunk space, more than the Audi A8L, BMW 7-series, and Mercedes-Benz S-class. (Photo by Alex Gort Jr. for Cadillac)

The Cadillac engineering team responded by setting a target to fit four adults and four golf bags without stretching the car’s modest footprint. Such intelligent use of space defines the XTS development process.

“We used computer simulations to model golf bags, as well as other common types of goods our customers are likely to transport,” said XTS chief engineer Sheri Hickok. “That also includes cases of bottled water, luggage, groceries and more. Just as we did with the rest of the XTS, we spent a lot of time maximizing every inch of storage space.”

While most vehicles on the market today carry four passengers, a lack of trunk space can still require a second vehicle to get four sets of clubs to the golf course. XTS offers  almost 40 inches of rear legroom and 18 cubic feet (509 liters) of trunk space, more than the Audi A8L, BMW 7-series, and Mercedes-Benz S-class.

“Our owners want to comfortably take four adults out for a round of golf and dinner afterwards,” said Hickok. “The challenge was to give customers what they expect in terms of interior spaciousness, comfort and luxury, but to do so without compromising exterior looks and handling dynamics.”

XTS’ country club credibility is on display at the Cadillac Championship at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa in Miami. With equipment provided by Callaway, four adults and four bags fit in the sedan with room to spare.

Ryan Hershberger, group golf sales manager at Doral Golf Resort, participated in loading the clubs. “For a sedan, the room was really impressive,” he said. “It’s really convenient to fit four sets of clubs like that with no force or wedging necessary.”

Security takes as high a priority in the new XTS as storage space. While the sedan handles golf bags with the ease of a crossover vehicle, contents of the trunk remain completely out of sight and behind a locked lid.

Likewise, the passenger cabin was designed to keep valuables hidden. More than a dozen storage compartments offer space to stow items, including a space under the front center armrest that can conceal a smartphone. XTS even has a bin behind the advanced new Cadillac User Interface (CUE) accessed by a hidden button and motorized door.

Cadillac has been a leading luxury auto brand since 1902. In recent years, Cadillac has engineered a historic renaissance led by artful engineering and advanced technology. More information on Cadillac can be found at media.cadillac.com.