a legend returns - Nissan Lebanon

Customer satisfaction is
a key factor to success in
this very competitive world
of today. Obviously, we pay
immense attention to it and
in fact, created a whole
new division to be able to
achieve our planned goals
in customer satisfaction.
SHIFT_: The Saudi Arabian market is one of the
largest markets for Nissan in the Middle East and
Alhamrani United Co. (AUC) was a large contributor in
achieving the NISSAN 180 plan. What programmes did
AUC have in place to collaborate in this achievement?
Sh. Ahmed: AUC prepared an intensive
plan called Thunderbolt to cope with the sudden
demand of the 180 plan. With all the new models
launches, Thunderbolt centred around the
following:
a) Increase our presence in the market through
the distribution channel. More “Branches” to be set
up enabling to service the Nissan brand name and
satisfy our customers.
b) Focussed management approach on sales
by sales type.
c) Enhance the finance company performance,
because majority of our sales are on instalment/
hire purchase. Our top management issued the
“Zero Tolerance” policy and we had to achieve,
which we did.
SHIFT_: What is your business outlook for the
coming year ?
Sh. Ahmed: The business outlook in Saudi
Arabia in particular is very promising and the
region in general is growing. The oil prices are very
foreseeable and the general economy of Saudi
Arabia is strong. The Government is to execute the
best budget in many years to improve the standard
of living in Saudi Arabia, so I am very optimistic for
the future.
SHIFT_: What role does Customer Satisfaction (CS)
play in your total business outlook?
Sh. Ahmed: Customer satisfaction is a key
factor to success in this very competitive world
of today. Obviously, we pay immense attention
to it and in fact, created a whole new division to
be able to achieve our planned goals in customer
satisfaction. What is relevant today may become
redundant tomorrow, so there is a constant
learning curve and training that is being imparted
to our entire staff – be it front line sales personnel
to service and aftersales staff. We are extremely
proud of our manpower and believe that regular
updates on innovative management techniques will
INTERVIEw
Short Takes
only further improve our progress in total customer
satisfaction.
SHIFT_: Aftersales has a growing influence on
buying intentions. What are your current efforts to
improve quality service and to exceed customer
expectations?
Sh. Ahmed: Our focus has always been
on the whole aftersales experience – right from
the parts availability to the demands of the fleet
industry to increasing the manpower and manhours
to opening new workshops. We believe all
these efforts and investment will surely play a key
role in the brand image in the future and will result
in satisfying more customers and consequently
more sales. As our brand equity increases we will
constantly innovate to bring ever increasing quality
to our customers.
SHIFT_: The Saudi market is a highly competitive
automotive market. What are AUC’s plans for staying
ahead of the competition?
Sh. Ahmed: Saudi Arabia is a highly
competitive market. Thanks to our widespread
experience in this environment we are constantly
evolving with modern business plans to further
increase our customer base. We have a big
database of Nissan owners and others who are
potential Nissan customers, so the focus is now
on further improving our coverage to be a strong
second largest network. In addition to increasing
our manpower – we are hiring experienced new
personnel who are experts in their fields – we
now have some truly modern facilities as well as
an attractive product line up that is young, vibrant
and refreshing to our customers. We are becoming
more aggressive and competitive in the market
place and thanks to the exciting Nissan model
range we have an advantage on others. So within
this combination, the secret lies in our confidence
in staying ahead of the issue.
SHIFT_: What are your top two Nissan / Infiniti best
sellers in the Saudi market ?
Sh. Ahmed: On the Nissan side, the Pick-up
and Altima breeze out of our showrooms very fast,
while the FX35 and QX56 are the jewels in Infiniti’s
crown.
Philosophy of Life: Live simple, and enjoy it with all kinds, of people around you
and try to make difference in their lives.
Hobby/Sports: I love all types of sports and participated in many of them, but
lately due to pressures of business I obviously have less time. But I do enjoy
the following and take part in some sporting activity whenever time permits:
1) Football
2) Skiing
3) Fishing
4) Swimming
5) Basketball
6) Reading
Favourite Holiday Destination: France.
Favourite Car: I have two favourites - Nissan Maxima and Infiniti Q45
Favourite Book: Apart from Quran, the latest book I am reading.
Favourite Advice: Treat people like you would like to be treated. Also time is
money, so use your time well.
Favourite Food: Home made food.
SHIFT_: What after sales services does AUC offer in
its showrooms that distinguish it from its competitors,
and how successful have these services been?
Sh. Ahmed: We have many services that add
value to the vehicle as well as to the customer. We
have a full fledged accessory section as people in
Saudi Arabia like to customise their cars further.
Plus we also provide leasing service contracts,
insurance and invite our customers to interact
closely with our service managers and personnel
to build up long lasting bonds. This, I feel, is very
important as we want our customers to feel and be
part of the AUC family.
SHIFT_: What are biggest challenges Nissan is
facing in the Saudi market?
Sh. Ahmed: The biggest challenge facing
Nissan in KSA comes mainly from the two giant
manufacturers who are fighting heavily for market
share - Toyota and General Motors. The latter is
offering products made in Korea with very attractive
prices, whilst the former has traditionally been a
forerunner in sales.
We are having to innovate and push
aggressively in the market to further increase our
presence and this is on the upswing thanks to the
new model portfolio that Nissan has developed in
the last few years. This is a great challenge to AUC
and we are fully geared to rise to it.
SHIFT_: How closely do you work with Nissan
Jeddah Office?
Sh. Ahmed: We work very closely with
Nissan Jeddah office on a daily basis. We
always considered them part of AUC and always
appreciate their efforts in supporting us.
SHIFT_: Recently Nissan has opened the Olaya
showroom in Riyadh. What has been the public’s reaction
to this flagship facility?
Sh. Ahmed: The people in Riyadh realize
and appreciate the Olaya showroom as a unique
and wonderful showroom. With sales from that
showroom increasing, it proves the ideal investment
to be a very worthy one. It also shows our
commitment to the brand as also our customers in
providing facilities that are world class.
2006 15