It wasn't exactly “Undercover Boss,” but Mercedes-Benz Canada’s president made sure to include himself in a program that dispatches head office staff to work in dealerships.
The voluntary program so far has sent more than 100 people from its Mississauga, Ont., headquarters to shadow employees at 15 corporate and privately owned Mercedes stores in the Toronto area.
“I think every Mercedes-Benz corporate employee needs to appreciate the complexities and the fast pace of our retail environment,”
Mercedes-BenzCanada CEO Brian Fulton said when the program was announced in April.
“We believe that giving our corporate employees this front-line exposure will help us to provide better customer service in many related aspects of our corporate business.”
Headquarters staff took on roles such as assistant greeter, lot attendant, follow-up caller for sales and service customers and parts runner.
The dealer-visit program gives them “front-line experience,” Fulton told Automotive News Canada.
Fulton recently spent a day at Mercedes-Benz Oakville, a privately owned store.