Volvo Trucks launches Certified Uptime Centers to boost customer uptime

Volvo Trucks will begin introducing Volvo Certified Uptime Centers within its dealer network in 2016 as part of its ongoing commitment to maximizing customer uptime. Dealer locations will receive the certification after adopting a standardized process designed to provide more transparent information to the customer and complete repairs more quickly.

Customers arriving at a Volvo Certified Uptime Center will experience more than just a quick diagnosis of a truck's service issue. The centers will enhance the service experience for any repair, and will utilize improved service workflows supported by Remote Diagnostics, Volvo's telematics-based proactive diagnostic and repair planning system. In addition, Certified Uptime Centers will be supported by the recently announced integration between Truck Diagnostics System (TDS) and Volvo ASIST; Volvo's service management platform.

Volvo Certified Uptime Centers feature dedicated uptime bays, where trucks requiring repair time of four hours or less are serviced immediately, eliminating the "first come, first served" practice that is common in vehicle repair today.

"Volvo Certified Uptime Centers will enable us to better identify and address customers' needs through prompt, efficient service," said Göran Nyberg, president of Volvo Trucks North America. "We're taking our already superior service to the next level to make sure customers' trucks are earning them money and not waiting to be serviced."

Currently, Volvo is piloting the certification at 13 dealerships throughout the U.S. and Canada. Pilot locations have seen an immediate increase in the number of trucks being fully repaired during a 24-hour period, as well as an increase in positive customer feedback.

"Our customers are absolutely noticing a difference through the Certified Uptime Center pilot program," said Chad Clancy, service manager at Kansas City, Missouri-based Westfall O'Dell Truck Sales, one of the pilot locations. "Not only has our diagnostic time been significantly reduced, we're also getting trucks through the repair process more quickly, which means our customers are getting their trucks back sooner."

The Volvo Certified Uptime Centers pilot will continue through 2015, with the start of the rollout of the certification to the Volvo Trucks dealer network targeted for 2016.