Methods for Analyzing and Incorporating Customer
Feedback in Automotive Design and Manufacturing
by
Cynthia Lin
B.S., MIT, Cambridge, 2008
Submitted to the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the MIT Sloan School of
Management in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degrees of
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering
LU)
and
Master of Business Administration
in conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at the
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
June 2015
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@ Cynthia Lin, MMXV. All rights reserved.
The author hereby grants to MIT permission to reproduce and to distribute publicly paper and electronic
copies of this thesis document in whole or in part in any medium now known or hereafter created.
A u th or ............................
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Department of Mechanical Engineering and the MIT Sloan School of Management
May 8, 2015
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Certified by .....................
Maria Yang, Thesis Sipervisor
Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Systems
Signature redacted
Certified by...
Roy Welsch, Thesis Supervisor
Professor of Statistics and Managemenk< lnce and En ngpring Systems
Approved by...
............................. Signature
redacted
David E. Hardt
Committee Chairman, Mechanical Engineering Graduate Program
A
A
A pproved by ....................................
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WV
Maura Herson
Director of MBA Program, MIT Sloan School of Management
LU
Methods for Analyzing and Incorporating Customer Feedback in
Automotive Design and Manufacturing
by
Cynthia Lin
Submitted to the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the MIT Sloan School of
Management on May 8, 2015, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degrees of
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering
and
Master of Business Administration
Abstract
One of the key focus areas of the General Motors (GM) Company's leadership is to collect,
quickly analyze, and respond to customer feedback pertaining to product quality issues in
newly built vehicles. This project is intended to complement the Quality team's initiative
to develop a tool to combine data sources on product quality. Currently, the tool prioritizes
issues based on the frequency of reported incidents, and does not integrate responses to
open-ended survey questions. The objective of this project is to recommend methods in
which customer satisfaction input can be used to improve product quality.
We leveraged customer data and analytical tools to do three things. First, we identified
sources of customer feedback across the organization to strengthen collaboration on listening
to the customer. We then created a survey to assess the gap between customers and GM
employees' definitions of terms such as quality, dependability, and advanced technology.
Lastly, we used text analytics to provide structure to open-ended survey responses, which
enabled us to identify concerns expressed by customers that were not otherwise captured
using the current tool.
The cross-functional approach enabled us to gather quantitative results to support observations and anecdotes of misalignments between consumers and GM employees define
terms. Analysis shows that Dependability definitions are similar between employees and
consumers, but that there is a significant gap for High Quality. Text analytics uncovered
that customers were highly dissatisfied to discover that their vehicles did not have features
they expected to be basic attributes.
Thesis Supervisor: Maria Yang
Title: Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Systems
Thesis Supervisor: Roy Welsch
Title: Professor of Statistics and Management Science and Engineering Systems
3
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4
Acknowledgments
I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to the following individuals and teams who
made my two years in grad school and internship a fantastic learning experience.
Firstly, thank you to General Motors for its continued support of the MIT Leaders for
Global Operations program. To my former and current supervisors and sponsors in the GM
Global Quality and Consumer Experience division - Chuck Dryer (supervisor), Jennifer Shinska (former supervisor), Scott Young (current sponsor), and Mike Hardie (former sponsor)
- thank you for hosting me and for sparking my interest on the topic of customer needs and
satisfaction. Sigal Cordeiro (General Director, Chevrolet Global Marketing) and Richard
Choi (Director, Chevrolet Global Brand Strategy) for providing me resources to connect the
dots, for setting me up with the Market Research team to run the survey, and for throwing
a great holiday party - I cannot thank you and your teams enough! Mansoor Zaman (Sloan
'14), Mike Peterson (LFM '94), and Todd Huston (LFM '96) - thank you for arranging plant
tours. Thank you to all my unnamed colleagues who provided insightful anecdotes that led
to all the pieces coming together. To my new Michigan friends - thanks for welcoming me
to your climbing and running clubs and for making the Midwest experience truly fun and
wonderful!
-
Professors Roy Welsch (Management), Maria Yang (Engineering), and John R. Hauser
thank you for enthusiastically supporting me through the experience, for patiently guiding me
as I scoped my project, and for encouraging me to pursue cross-functional collaboration! MIT
professors, LGO staff, and classmates - thanks for providing the platform for experimentation
and growth in this exhilarating chapter of our lives. I look forward to more opportunities to
interact!
Shannon Seeger, Juan Pablo Mendieta (MIT '08), and Carl Brown - without the three
of you being my personal cheerleader, sounding board, and best friends as I applied to grad
school, I would not be here today. Thank you!
Thank you mom, dad, and sister Christie (MIT '12/MEng '13) for your unconditional
love, continued support, shared excitement, and endless encouragement when I decided to
tackle MIT a second time! I love you!
5
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6
Contents
List of Figures
10
List of Tables
12
1
13
Introduction
Project Motivation
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13
1.2
Hypothesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14
1.3
The Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14
.
.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
15
1.3.2
Sources of Customer Input . . . . . .
15
1.3.3
Text Analytics of Customer Responses
15
.
.
Gap Analysis
16
Thesis Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
17
Overview of the Global Automotive Industry
. . . . . . . . .
17
2.2
General Motors Company
. . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
21
2.3
The Customer Purchase Funnel . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
22
2.4
Customer Focus at GM . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
24
GM Quality Strategy Team's Initiative
. . . . . . . . .
24
.
.
2.1
.
Background
The Kano Model
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
27
2.6
Product Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.
. . . . . . . . .
30
2.7
Customer Needs and Customer Satisfaction
. . . . . . . . .
32
2.8
Quality Metrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
34
.
2.5
.
2.4.1
.
2
1.3.1
.
1.4
.
1.1
7
2.9
Text A nalytics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3 Methodology
4
5
6
36
37
3.1
Phase 1: Develop Current State Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
37
3.2
Phase 2: Identify "Voice of Customer" Inputs
38
3.3
Phase 3: Develop Method for Conducting Gap Assessment
. . . . . . . . . .
39
3.4
Phase 4: Text Analytics of Survey Responses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
40
3.5
Phase 5: Generate Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
41
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"Voice of the Customer" Inputs
42
4.1
Summary of Approach
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
42
4.2
Flow Diagram of Customer Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
43
4.3
Data Sources that were Discovered
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
44
4.4
Potential Applications
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
45
Gap Assessment
46
5.1
Summary of Approach
5.2
Design of Survey Questions
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
47
5.3
Dem ographics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
48
5.4
Gap Assessment Survey Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
51
5.4.1
Comparison of Ratings and Rankings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
56
5.4.2
Summary of the Findings
64
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
46
Text Analytics of Unstructured Survey Responses
65
6.1
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
65
Word Count Analysis in Excel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
66
6.2
Summary of Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
73
6.3
Potential Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
73
6.3.1
Sentiment Analysis Tool by Third-Party Vendor . . . . . . . . . . . .
73
6.3.2
Social Media Listening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
75
Text Mining Open-Ended Responses
6.1.1
8
9
The Strategic Design Lens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
76
7.2
The Political Lens. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
78
7.3
The Cultural Lens
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
78
.
.
.
7.1
80
Conclusions
Summary of Results
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
80
8.2
D iscussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
81
8.3
Recommendations for Future Initiatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
83
.
8.1
.
8
76
Organizational Assessment using the Three Lenses Framework
.
7
85
Bibliography
89
A The Gap Assessment Survey
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
89
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
94
...
95
............
A.4 Employees' Definitions of "High Quality" . . . . ..
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
96
A.5
Consumers' Definitions of "Dependability"
.
.
Consumers' Definitions of "High Quality"
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
97
A.6
Employees' Definitions of "Dependability"
.
.
A.3
.
A.2 The 22 Descriptors in the Survey
.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.
A.1 The Survey Questions
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
98
A.7
Consumers: Adv. Tech. Not Sign of Qual/Depend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
99
A.8
Employees: Adv. Tech. Not Sign of Qual/Depend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
100
A.9
Consumers: Adv. Tech. Is Sign of Qual/Depend
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
A.10 Employees: Adv. Tech. Is Sign of Qual/Depend
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
A.11 Consumers' Definitions of "Advanced Technology" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
A.12 Employees' Definitions of "Advanced Technology" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
B Text Mining
105
Excel Macro Code for Word Parsing . . . . . . . .
105
B.2
Verbatims on the Absence of Interior Trunk Latch
108
B.3
Verbatims on Absence of Spare Tire . . . . . . . .
110
.
.
.
B.1
9
List of Figures
2-1
World production (by share) of passenger cars and commercial vehicles, 1961-
2013 ...........
2-2
18
World production (in thousands of vehicles) of passenger cars and commercial
vehicles, 1961-2013
2-3
........................................
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
18
Top 10 Manufacturers by Market Share: Rolling 12 months from March 2014-
Feb 2015 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
19
2-4
2013 World Production of Cars and Commercial Vehicles, by Country . . . .
20
2-5
Logos of GM's Ten Brands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
21
2-6
U.S. Market Share from 1961-2014 from Ward's Auto Data . . . . . . . . . .
22
2-7
The Classic Customer Purchase Funnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
23
2-8
Customer-centric Customer Life Cycle
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
23
2-9
The Kano Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
28
4-1
Sources of Customer Input at GM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
43
5-1
Gap Assessment: Respondent Demographics by Region . . . . . . . . . . . .
48
5-2
Gap Assessment: Respondent Demographics by Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
49
5-3
Gap Assessment: Demographics by Vehicle Segment . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
49
5-4
Gap Assessment: GM Employee Respondents' Years of Service . . . . . . . .
50
5-5
Gap Assessment: GM Employee Respondents' Job Functions . . . . . . . . .
50
5-6
Word Cloud of Consumers' Responses to the term 'High Quality' .
5-7
Word Cloud of Employees' Responses to the term 'High Quality' . . . . . . ..
5-8
Word Cloud of Consumers' Responses to the term 'Dependable' . . . . . . . . 52
10
. . . . . . 51
52
5-9
Word Cloud of Employees' Responses to the term 'Dependable' .
. . . . . . . 53
5-10 Word Cloud of Consumers' Definitions of 'Advanced Technology' . . . . . . ..
53
5-11 Word Cloud of Employees' Definitions of 'Advanced Technology' . . . . . . .
54
5-12 How Strongly Respondents Agree with Factors Representing High Quality
57
5-13 Side-by-Side Comparison of Factors Representing a High Quality Vehicle
58
. . . . . . . . .
5-14 Top 3 Features that Most Represent a High Quality Vehicle
59
5-15 How Strongly Respondents Agree with Factors Representing a Dependable
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
61
5-16 Side-by-Side Comparison of Factors Representing a Dependable Vehicle . . .
62
. . . . . . . . . .
63
. . . . . . . .
67
. . . . . . . . . . .
67
Vehicle, sorted by Top 2 Box Score
5-17 Top 3 Features that Most Represent a Dependable Vehicle
6-1
Responses by 2014 Malibu Owners, All Comments (n=13,145)
6-2
Responses by 2014 Malibu Owners, Like Most (n=6517)
6-3
Responses by 2014 Malibu Owners, Reason for Brand Score (n=743)
. . . .
68
6-4
Responses by 2014 Malibu Owners, Suggestions to Improve Vehicle (n=5885)
68
6-5
Suggestions to Improve Vehicle, filtered on "Back" (n=673 mentions)
. . . .
70
6-6
Suggestions to Improve Vehicle, filtered on "Trunk" (n=314 mentions) . . . .
70
6-7
Suggestions to Improve Vehicle, filtered on "Release" (n=70 mentions)
. . .
71
6-8
Suggestions to Improve Vehicle, filtered on "Spare" (n=189 mentions) . . . .
71
6-9
Feedback Ferret categorization of "sentences in context"
. . . . . . . . . . .
74
6-10 Feedback Ferret categorization of "sentences in context" by sentiment . . . .
74
A-1
Gap Assessment Survey: Likert Matrix on Definitions of a High Quality Vehicle 90
A-2
Gap Assessment Survey: Top 3 Ranks for Definitions of a High Quality Vehicle 91
A-3 Gap Assessment Survey: Likert Matrix on Definitions of a Dependable Vehicle
92
A-4 Gap Assessment Survey: Top 3 Ranks for Definitions of a Dependable Vehicle
93
11
List of Tables
2.1
Global Share of Total Vehicles Produced, 2013 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5.1
Frequencies of the Top 50 Words used to Describe the Terms (Quality, Dependability, and Advanced Technology) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.1
55
Frequencies of the Top 70 Words Mentioned in Open-Ended Responses by
2014 M alibu Owners
6.2
19
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
69
Frequencies of Words Mentioned as 'Suggestions' and Associated Filtered Responses.........
.......................................
12
72
Chapter 1
Introduction
1.1
Project Motivation
The mantra commonly seen and heard at GM, created by CEO Ed Whitacre in 2009, is
to "design, build and sell the world's best vehicles." Most recently, GM leadership revised
its vision to focus on the customer and has adopted the new mantra "Our Customers are
Our Compass." The belief is that the customer-focused vision will increase GM's market
share, which has been declining over the past few decades. GM divisions are wrestling with
how to implement the new vision, as this requires a mindset shift for employees, who have
traditionally focused on developing advanced technology.
GM collects a considerable amount of data and it has numerous internal processes to
communicate across functions. This project uses a customer-focused lens to examine the
problem posed by GM's Quality group: how can we use customer feedback to improve
product quality? GM wants to be able to understand customer needs earlier in the design
process, to be able to respond to product quality problems more quickly, and to create
targeted marketing campaigns which increase customer consideration and increase purchases.
13
1.2
Hypothesis
We observe that GM's DNA is heavily focused on production-driven quality measures, which
overrides other measures such as designing for customer needs. As such, we hypothesize that
customers have different definitions and criteria for evaluating vehicles than those of the
company's designers and engineers. Furthermore, we hypothesize that structuring customer
input, such as social media and survey responses, can provide additional opportunities to
capture the "voice of the customer."
1.3
The Approach
The Kano Model of Product Development and Customer satisfaction, further described in
Chapter 3, served as the basis for framing our approach. The Kano Model shows that the
absence or presence of certain product attributes can drive customer satisfaction. Therefore,
knowing how customers classify those attributes can help companies focus their resources.
Based on observations, interviews, and initial project work with the Quality team, we took
the following approach for the thesis:
1. Identify sources of customer feedback across the organization and illustrate opportunities to strengthen collaboration on "listening to the customer."
2. Create a survey to assess the gap between customers and GM employees' definitions
of terms such as quality, dependability, and advanced technology.
3. Text-mine unstructured data sets (ex: responses to open-ended survey responses) to
highlight concerns expressed by customers that were not otherwise captured using the
current tool.
14
1.3.1
Gap Analysis
The purpose of the Gap Analysis is to quantify and highlight differences that exist between
consumer and employee perceptions of key quality-related terms to see if the two populations
are aligned. Differences would indicate there are opportunities to narrow the gap between
what customers get and what they expect, thereby increasing customer satisfaction. Studies
show that increased customer satisfaction increases sales, which could eventually lead to
increasing market share.
The terms we examine in this project are Dependability and Quality. We leverage the
insights, expertise, and resources of the Quality Strategy and Chevrolet Marketing Brand
Strategy teams. The goal is to generate information to enable GM divisions to develop a
more universal customer-centric view during the vehicle development process.
1.3.2
Sources of Customer Input
The purpose of mapping out the sources of customer input is to develop a single list of
available data and their owners. This is valuable because there is no central repository for
all data. Knowing where data lives would be a good step to enable cross-functional work.
There are internal, proprietary data (i.e. Compass surveys) as well as external, syndicated
data (i.e. JD Power surveys, Maritz surveys).
1.3.3
Text Analytics of Customer Responses
The purpose of exploring text analytics options is to help identify methods by which qualitative, open-ended, unstructured responses can be more effectively utilized. These inputs
are commonly in the form of written surveys, which can be difficult to analyze, structure,
and classify in a meaningful way to drive actions.
We believe that converting these unstructured responses into a structure that dovetails
with processes already in place at GM would enable GM to better understand and leverage
customer input. This would enable GM divisions to drive improvement on aspects affecting
consumer perceptions of product quality.
We believe that qualitative data from surveys can be more effectively structured and
15
used in the decision making process, since these are actual comments and feedback written
by customers and informed by their experiences with the vehicles. There are currently at
least eight word-mining tools under development or being tested at GM. We use some simple
techniques to unearth themes and attributes that dissatisfy customers, but that were not
previously captured by other means.
1.4
Thesis Overview
The thesis is organized as follows:
" Chapter 2 provides a brief background of the automotive industry and of the General
Motors Company.
* Chapter 3 defines the methodology and inspiration for initiating a collaboration between the Quality and the Marketing divisions.
" Chapter 4 lays out the sources of customer input at GM.
" Chapter 5 assesses the gaps between how customers and how employees define important terms.
" Chapter 6 shows how text analytics can provide structure to open-ended survey responses and provide valuable insight.
" Chapter 7 analyzes the organizational structure of the company.
" Chapter 8 concludes with a summary of results, discussion of implementation recommendations, and offers ideas for future initiatives.
" Appendix A contains a copy of the survey that was sent to the consumer panel and
to the employees, as well as select quotes from both consumers and employees on
their concepts of specific terms related to vehicle dependability, quality, and advanced
technology
o Appendix B contains select quotes from owners of the 2014 Malibu on what they dislike
about not having an interior trunk release and not having a spare tire in the vehicle.
16
Chapter 2
Background
2.1
Overview of the Global Automotive Industry
The automotive industry began in the 1890's, evolving from horseless carriage manufacturing.
In the 20th century, the "Big Three" automakers (GM, Ford, and Chrysler) emerged to lead
the U.S. auto industry. The U.S. dominated global vehicle production in the first half of
the 20th century [1]. It was overtaken by Japan in the 1980's, when Japan produced 30%
and the US produced 20%. China started producing vehicles in the 1990's and overtook the
U.S. and Japan in 2009 as the world's top producer. In 2013, China produced 25.4% of the
world's cars and commercial vehicles, whereas the U.S. produced 12.7% and Japan produced
11.1% [2].
Market share by country is shown in Figure 2-1 and the absolute production
volume is shown in Figure 2-2.
17
100%
90%
EJothers
80%
N Russia
70%
0 Canada
N Mexico
60%
* Brazil
50%
*India
* South Korea
40%
E Germany
30%
EJapan
20%
U
United States
0 China
1W%
Figure 2-1: World production (by share) of passenger cars and commercial vehicles, 19612013
100,000
=Mexico
=lSouth Korea
80,000
70,000
i
11Germany
60,000' -
.--.-..-..-
----
-
-
.Japan
United States
EMChina
e40000
-
30,000
world
...... .otal
10,000
*
20,000
Figure 2-2: World production (in thousands of vehicles) of passenger cars and commercial
vehicles, 1961-2013
18
The global auto market is highly concentrated among a few manufacturers, as shown
in Table 2.1 of the top five global manufacturers in 2013 [3]. It shows Toyota leading with
11.9% and GM in second with 11.1%.
Table 2.1: Global Share of Total Vehicles Produced, 2013
Company
Toyota Motor Corporation
General Motors Corporation
Volkswagen
% Share
11.9
11.1
10.8
Hyundai
8.3
Ford Motor Corporation
7.0
Figure 2-3 shows the top ten auto manufacturers by market share in the U.S. on a rolling
12 months basis, from March 2014-Feb 2015 [4]. This shows GM leading with 17.8%.
Top 10 Manufacturers by Market Share:
Rolling 12 Mos. (Mar 2014 - Feb 2015)
i-rn
*'mii mii
mim mi mimE
GM
Ford
Toyota
Chrysler Group
Nissan
Honda
Hyundai
Kla
Subaru
Mercedes-Benz
0%
2%
4%
6%
8% 10% 12% 14% 16% 18% 20%
Source: Edmunds.com 0 E dmunds c*m, Inc.
Figure 2-3: Top 10 Manufacturers by Market Share: Rolling 12 months from March 2014-Feb
2015
The International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers, known as the "Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles" (OICA), publishes world vehicle
production statistics gathered from national trade organizations, OICA members, corre-
19
spondents, and National Offices of Statistics or Ministries of Transport. Passenger cars are
defined as "road motor vehicles, other than a motor cycle, intended for the carriage of passengers and designed to seat no more than nine persons (including the driver)." Commercial
vehicles include light commercial vehicles, heavy trucks, coaches and buses (except for some
countries in which the buses or heavy trucks data are not available). The 2013 world vehicle
production of cars and commercial vehicles is shown in Figure 2-4 [5]. The U.S. is shown
as producing over twice as many commercial vehicles as cars, whereas all other countries
produce more cars than commercial vehicles. China is shown as largest producer of vehicles
in terms of unit production, yet none of the largest manufacturers listed are Chinese. Most
of the automobiles produced in China are made by joint ventures between local and foreign
brands, but China also has a growing number of domestic brands [6].
2013 World Vehicle Production
25,000,000
20,000,000
ommecia
Commercial
vehicles
-
15,000,000 1s,00--0
Is cars
10,000,000
*~
~~4
5,0
buJuu
,0P
J.
Figure 2-4: 2013 World Production of Cars and Commercial Vehicles, by Country
The 2008-2010 recession severely affected the U.S. auto industry.
Of the Big Three,
Ford was the only one not to ask for a government bailout. Chrysler and General Motors
Corporation sought bankruptcy protection in 2009. Chrysler's bankruptcy led to restructuring in which the United Auto Workers pension fund, Fiat, and the U.S. and Canadian
governments became principal owners
17].
Over the years, Fiat acquired the other parties'
shares to complete 100% takeover in 2014 [8]. The entity is now Fiat Chrysler Automobiles
20
(FCA) and is the world's seventh-largest auto maker [9]. In April 2010, GM repaid the $8.1
billion loan it received from the government bailout. A report by the Center for Automotive Research estimated that the $12.5 billion government bailout of Chrysler and General
Motors saved 1.5 million jobs in the U.S.
1101. According to a 2014 report by the Office of
the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), the U.S. lost
$11.2 billion on its $49.5 billion bailout investment [111.
2.2
General Motors Company
The General Motors Company (GM), headquartered in Detroit, MI, is one of the world's
largest automakers. It traces its roots to 1908, when William Durant consolidated a number
of the U.S. automakers. GM held the position as the global sales leader of automobiles for
80 years, until it was overtaken by Toyota in 2008.
GM produces cars and trucks in 30 countries under 10 brands, shown in Figure 2-5, from
left to right: Baojun, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Holden, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall,
and Wuling. It sells over 9 million vehicles in over 120 countries. As of the end of 2013, GM
had 17.5% market share in the U.S. and 11.1% globally. The U.S. is GM's largest national
market, followed by China, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Canada, Russia, and Germany.
S
N r.R A
V 0 T 0 R S
Figure 2-5: Logos of GM's Ten Brands
Updated U.S. auto sales data are published on Wall Street Journal [12]. Despite owning
over 50% market share in the mid-20th century, GM has seen its market share decline over the
last few decades, as shown in Figure 2-6 [13]. Internal data show that customer consideration
rate (i.e.
customers who are aware of the brand would actually consider purchasing the
product) is slipping, but that conversion rate of potential customers into buyers is strong
as long as customers test drive GM products. Thus, GM is interested in boosting customer
21
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consideration rate, a Purchase Funnel marketing concept that will be further discussed in
Chapter 2.3.
2.3
The Customer Purchase Funnel
The "purchase funnel," shown in Figure 2-7, is a classic concept in marketing that describes
consumer behavior [14]. In the first step, customers build awareness by implicitly or explicitly
gathering information. At the consideration stage, customers filter options based on a set of
criteria. When customers are ready to make the purchase, they enter the transaction stage.
If customers are satisfied with their purchases, they can become loyal advocates for the
product, brand, and company. The awareness step is where GM thinks it can increase the
funnel of customers. Companies are pairing the purchase funnel with greater emphasis on
understanding the customer and putting the customer at the center, as depicted in Figure 2-8
[151.
22
THE PURCHASE FUNNEL
Advocacy
Transaction
Lower
RETENTION &VALUE DELIVERY
Figure 2-7: The Classic Customer Purchase Funnel [141
Figure 2-8: Customer-centric Customer Life Cycle [15]
23
Higher
"
Awareness
2.4
Customer Focus at GM
Under the leadership of Mary Barra, CEO since January 15, 2014, GM is "driving to become
the global industry leader in automotive design and technology, product quality and safety,
customer care and business results." The motto spoken around the Quality team is "The
Customers are Our Compass." One of the key focus areas by GM's leadership is for the
company to collect, quickly analyze, and respond to customer feedback.
Under the leadership of the Senior Vice President (SVP) for Global Quality and Customer Experience, a unique experimental position created in July 2013, GM started making
company-wide changes "to get everything right for the customer." GM consolidated the call
enters and brought 300 call center contract employees to Warren, MI (and renamed it the
Customer Engagement Center) so they be closer to the designers and engineers. Additionally,
they set up a social media group to proactively reach out to customers and to engage in social media listening. These two initiatives were intended to improve the customer experience
[16].
The Quality part of the organization was tasked with quickly identifying and resolving
product quality problems. The Quality Strategy team launched an initiative to gather and
centralize data that reflect quality issues and that capture customer-reported problems.
2.4.1
GM Quality Strategy Team's Initiative
As part of the Quality group's strategy to connect customer satisfaction to product quality, it
created the Daily Customer Incident (DCI) tool. This intent of the initiative is to ensure the
customer has a larger role in how GM identifies and resolves top customer issues. DCI's goal
is to quickly identify product quality problems that occur in newly built vehicles, shorten
the time to resolve that product problem, provide feedback to the appropriate team (manufacturing plant, supplier, engineering) for future development, and increase communication
across teams in the company to change the way quality issues are handled. The intent of
DCI can be summed up as:
* Commit to GM's new vision and value: "Our Customers are Our Compass"
24
* Improve "customer-centric problem solving process"
" Detect issues and concerns reported by new vehicle owners on a daily basis
" Ensure the right people are working on the right problems
" Address issues in a timely manner before they become long term problems
The DCI initiative faced an uphill battle on organization adoption because quality
metrics at GM plants have historically been based on the number of warranty claims and
plant defects. Quality metrics also included annual external measures based on third-party
customer surveys, such as those collected by JD Power. DCI now incorporates the "voice of
the customer" by adding input from internally-generated product quality surveys (i.e. the
Compass survey).
DCI centralizes data into three categories: "voice of the business," "voice of the process,"
and "voice of the customer." The tool prioritizes a single list of "customer concerns," or
issues, based on the number of reported incidents. It states the "item" (refers to physical
components or features, such as "radio" or "door") and the "condition" (refers to the state
the component is in, such as "does not work"). The issues with the highest frequency of
reports are then assigned to engineering and manufacturing teams to resolve.
" "Voice of the Customer" input is collected through the Compass survey, which are sent
to new vehicle owners after 60 days of ownership. It is an opportunity for customers
to provide feedback on components and features in the car. Customers choose from
a predefined list of problems they have experienced, rate how much they like or dislike certain attributes, and provide additional comments in the open-ended response
sections.
* "Voice of the Business" input is the warranty claim count. The data are collected up
to 180 days from vehicle production date.
* "Voice of the Process" input is the plant defect count and comes from two data streams:
(1) the number of problems per hundred that require rework at specific quality gates,
(2) end-of-line plant quality audits on subset of vehicles (usually six vehicles per day).
25
To respond to quality problems, GM has traditionally focused on fixing items with high
failure rates that come from warranty claims. It has put less emphasis on fixing attributes
that could be perceived to make customers' lives easier, but that are not traditionally captured by warranty claims. Problem hand-offs are rather linear and driven by the engineering
division.
Designing an integrated system or forum for groups to share findings centered
around the customer could improve product design and development upstream. Management would like to see DCI evolve to prioritize projects based on customer satisfaction rather
than purely by incident frequency. To do so requires making sure engineers are aligned with
consumer needs.
Challenges with DCI
DCI created a composite score from the three data streams: 40% for frequency of warranty
claims, 40% for number of incidents reported through the Compass survey, and 20% for
defects discovered during the manufacturing process at the plants.
The composite score
was set up to put more weight on the "voice of the customer" as opposed to "voice of the
process." The primary metric used to evaluate DCI at its onset was the time to identify an
issue, as compared to other existing systems.
Early on in the project, metrics were developed and tested. Tableau is the software
package used to combine and visualize the overlay of different data sets.
However, the
data were not set up in an intuitive manner for anyone in the organization to understand.
Furthermore, there were many data points missing, making it very difficult to examine
causation.
While some GM teams have employees who read the open-ended responses on a regular basis, the author did not identify formal processes that resolved issues solely derived
from survey comments written by customers. One employee's understanding, as told to the
author, is that the qualitative, open-ended responses are read only if customers give low
satisfaction ratings [17]. At this point, the employee's understanding is that the customers
may be contacted by GM customer engagement representatives [17]. If there is a way to
systematically parse open-ended survey responses, then GM might be able to take customer
input into its decision making process. Successfully doing so could lead to three anticipated
26
impacts:
" Develop a systematic process to manage unstructured customer feedback
" More quickly assign feedback to divisions to resolve problems
" Leverage capabilities in other parts of the organization
Management Changes Affecting DCI
DCI resources were placed in the assembly plants to focus on identifying top customer issues;
however, the responsibility to find a resolution could be assigned to the manufacturing,
engineering, or supplier groups [18]. Management restructuring eliminated the position of
the Senior Vice President for Global Quality and Customer Experience in November 2014.
Now, the VP of Global Quality and the SVP of Global Connected Consumer Experience
report directly to the CEO [19]. Previously, the VP's of Quality were typically held by
people with manufacturing experience and was seen as a very dynamic position wherein the
VP's stayed in the role for a few years before moving on. DCI was put on "pause and reflect"
in November 2014 to evaluate its intended benefits.
2.5
The Kano Model
The Kano Model is a theory developed in the 1980's by Professor Noriaki Kano. The model
links product development and customer satisfaction, and is one of the fundamental tools in
product design. Professor Kano believed that product and service performance factors are
not equal in the minds of customers, and that certain factors create higher levels of customer
satisfaction and loyalty. The Kano Model identifies essential and differentiating factors with
respect to customers' perceptions of quality. It offers insights into product attributes that
are perceived to be important to customers, which could ultimately win them over in buying
the product.
Companies use the Kano Model to understand customer needs, adjust their
products according to meet customer requirements, and gain competitive edge.
Kano's
diagram, shown in Figure 2-9, is adapted from the one created by Vincent van Vliet [20].
27
The x-axis represents proxies for quality and attributes, and the y-axis is the satisfaction
scale.
High Satisfaction
Performance Needs
(normal attributes, more is
better)
Excitement Needs
(unexpected and unspoken,
"surprise and delight" differentiators)
, Fully Implemented
(High Quality and
Absent
(Quality or Performance not
Achieved)
Basic NeedsPerformance)
(expected and unspoken, the implied
and "must-have" requirements)
Low Satisfaction
Figure 2-9: The Kano Diagram
The Kano Model describes five categories of customer preferences, with the latter two
being more rare [211:
* Attractive Quality: These attributes are not necessary to trigger customer satisfaction.
They increase satisfaction when present, but do not cause dissatisfaction when absent.
* One-dimensional Quality:
Customers do not treat these attributes as a necessary
"must" of the product. But the absence of the feature causes dissatisfaction.
" Must-be Quality: These attributes are the bare-minimum attributes and often taken
for granted by customers.
Customers expect these attributes to be present. While
these features do not increase satisfaction when included, they cause dissatisfaction
when absent.
" Indifferent Quality: These attributes do not effect satisfaction.
" Reverse Quality: These attributes cause inverse satisfaction. The absence of a functionality or attribute increases customer satisfaction, while the presence of the attribute
28
-
decreases satisfaction. While rare, this can be used to describe high-tech innovation
some customers welcome advanced technologies while others dislike bells and whistles.
Over the years, the Kano Model has been simplified to these three categories of customer
needs [211:
o Basic needs (aka Must-be Quality): These are the minimal, must-have attributes required to attract and retain customers. Since customers expect these attributes. The
absence of the expected attributes increases customers' levels of dissatisfaction.
o Performance needs (aka One-dimensional Quality): The more these attributes are offered, the happier customers are.
o Excitement needs (aka Attractive Quality): These are the differentiating attributes
that exceed customers' expectations.
These are typically defined as attributes cus-
tomers did not know were missing until offered.
Over time, attributes that were once in the "excitement" category eventually become
"basic needs" as they become more of an expectation. This arguably has happened with gaps
between body panels over the last two decades. In 1992, Lexus made a commercial featuring
a ball bearing smoothly rolling along the seam between body panels to demonstrate to both
the auto industry and to consumers that body tolerances can achieve precise quality [22].
This inspired the "2-millimeter project," which gathered U.S. automakers, suppliers, and
universities to seek duplicating this body dimension control feat and bringing a focus on
quality to U.S. automakers [23]. Customers now expect cars to have tight "fit and finish,"
so this is no longer a "wow" factor.
We heard anecdotes that GM had developed unique technologies that were not used in
its vehicles, in part because there was no streamline go-to-market strategy. However, similar
technologies were used by its competitors and were loved by consumers. Examples are the
interior vacuum cleaner, which Honda put in its minivan [24, 251 and the foot-activated
liftgate in Ford's SUVs [26]. We will use the Kano Model as the basis for understanding and
evaluating customer needs.
29
2.6
Product Quality
There are different views on what product quality should be. The definition of "product
quality" from the consumer perspective may differ from that of the manufacturer. Quality
is largely dependent on individual perceptions. Consumers tend to associate the quality of
a product as an aggregate of interactions and experiences he/she had. Customers may feel
that in a product designed to have multiple components work together, it is more important
that the overall functions work at the system level. The manufacturer, on the other hand,
may have its check points set up to look at ensuring components meet spec, regardless of
how they affect overall function.
In manufacturing, quality is the "measure of excellence or a state of being free from
defects, deficiencies and significant variations" [271 and is "conformance to specifications"
[281. Quality also has a dimension that takes into account what customer wants. Dr. Joseph
Juran, a prominent quality management expert, defines "quality" as a "product's fitness
for use" and defines "product quality" as the ability "to incorporate features that have
a capacity to meet consumer needs (wants) and gives customer satisfaction by improving
products (goods) and making them free from any deficiencies or defects" [29].
In a 1984 article in the MIT Sloan Management Review, Professor Garvin provides a
discussion of product quality measures [30]. Despite being recognized as an important competitive issue to many companies and managers, academic literature of product quality had
not yet been reviewed extensively. He boils it down to four disciplines: philosophy (focused
on definitional issues); economics (focused on profit maximization and market equilibrium);
marketing (focused on the determinants of buying behavior and customer satisfaction); and
operations management (focused on engineering practices and manufacturing control).
Here are a few highlights of The Five Approaches he uses to define quality
[30]:
1. The transcendent approach of philosophy: Quality is "innate excellence."
2. The product-based approach of economics: Quality is "a precise and measurable variable."
30
3. The user-based approach of economics, marketing, and operations management: Quality "lies in the eyes of the beholder."
4. The manufacturing-based approach: Quality is "conformance to requirements."
5. The value-based approaches of operations management: Quality is "affordable excellence."
A framework for thinking about the basic elements of product quality are captured in the
following Eight Dimensions. Garvin notes that each dimension is self-contained and distinct,
such that "a product can be ranked high on one dimension while being low in another" [30]:
1. Performance is the primary operating characteristics of a product. In the auto industry,
examples could include acceleration and handling. It combines the product and the
user-based approaches. Performance is often thought of as objective, measurable characteristics, while the relationship between performance and quality is more ambiguous
and reflects individual preferences.
2. Features is the secondary characteristics of a product.
These "bells and whistles"
supplement the product's basic functions.
3. Reliability is the "probability of a product's failing within a specified period of time."
It is measurable and more relevant to durable goods than to services.
4. Conformance is the "degree to which a product's design and operating characteristics
match pre-established standards." It is a relatively objective measure that can be
captured by the incidences of defects during the build-phase or by related proxies such
as warranties during the use-phase.
5. Durability is "the amount of use one gets from a product before it physically deteriorates." It is a more complex concept because it can account for repairability, which
brings in consumer choices and preferences.
6. Serviceability is "the speed, courtesy, and competence of repair."
31
7. Aesthetics is how "a product looks, feels, sounds, tastes, or smells," and is a subjective
measure of individual preferences.
8. Perceived Quality is evaluated "less on objective characteristics than on their images,
advertising, or brand names," and is a measure based on both subjective and objective
measures.
Garvin cites potential conflicts of the coexistence of these approaches. The definition
of quality has implications on price, advertising, market share, cost, and profitability. Marketing departments often take the user-based and product-based approaches, whereas manufacturing departments often take the conformance to specifications approach and expect
improvements to reduce costs. Given that the concept of quality is complex and multifaceted,
Garvin cites strong communications between functions to be an important factor in ensuring
real progress happens on the quality front.
A company must understand the needs of the consumers and translate those needs into
product design specifications before producing the product. Once the product is in production, tracking quality at the manufacturing stages helps ensure that the finished product
conforms to design specifications and prevents defects from propagating.
centric paradigm, there needs to be a feedback loop to the design stages.
In a customerThis not only
enables continuous improvement at the production level, but also allows for companies to
iterate more quickly based on customer feedback.
2.7
Customer Needs and Customer Satisfaction
Knowing and understanding customer needs is at the heart of successful companies. There
are a multitude of methods to take customer feedback: written surveys, panels, focus groups,
etc. "Customer satisfaction" is a function of the customer experience, customer service, and
corporate culture. Customer loyalty is affected by how well customers feel their needs are
addressed and how well companies are engaging with them. Companies need to be able to
listen to customers' ever-changing expectations and respond, and also anticipate customer
expectations and deliver.
32
A 2010 study in the Harvard Business Review on customer service and loyalty finds that
"loyalty has a lot more to do with how well companies deliver on their basic, even plainvanilla promises than on how dazzling the service experience might be," and that customers
will more often than not "punish bad service" [31]. Two key insights emerged from the study:
" Delighting customers doesn't build loyalty; reducing their effort - the work they must
do to get their problem solved - does.
" Acting deliberately on this insight can help improve customer service, reduce customer
service costs, and decrease customer churn.
Furthermore, "customer experience" is not merely a single touch point when the customer interacts with the company, but is the "cumulative impact of multiple touch points
over time" [32]. Customers expect to build and maintain a relationship with the business,
particularly with the advent of social media and similar real-time interactive feedback. Customer experience is all about the customer's perceptions.
The dispersal of information in large organizations often lacks transparency. This creates gaps between groups doing related work. Crandell notes, "If data is siloed, then you
have siloed insights" [33]. Furthermore, Crandell recommends that "To actually listen to
customers, companies need to connect the data with conversations. That includes call center phone recordings, social media interactions, structured data in legacy systems as well
as interaction data in partner systems" [33].
Thus, it is important for GM to recognize
that "product quality" does not merely equate to measuring warranties, but that improving quality requires understanding customer needs to improve customer service and product
design.
Customer satisfaction of a product is often rated quantitatively through customer satisfaction surveys. These vary from company to company, and also vary depending on product
life cycle.
Customers can be surveyed on their satisfaction level with the salesperson or
service at point-of-sale, on their initial satisfaction with product performance or features
after product release, and on their satisfaction level after-sales during repairs or additional
service.
These can then be analyzed to inform product development strategy.
Ryu says
"a corporation should produce products of equivalent quality at a lower price, with higher
33
customer satisfaction in important attributes, and superior advantages in core performance"
[34].
We cannot rely on results from self-reported customer satisfaction surveys to ensure customer engagement and loyalty. Research posits that there is a weak link between customers
who report themselves as satisfied and repeat purchases, thereby supporting that customer
satisfaction and customer loyalty are weakly linked. Customers are attracted to products
and services that are unique (think: Apple). That said, Micah Solomon argues that it possible to use the a customer experience methodology called "home-building" to gain repeat
customers t35].
Denning argues that delighting the customer through "outside-in innovation" is "hugely
profitable." He cites companies like Apple, Amazon, and Salesforce.com having 10x the
return as traditional companies like Walmart, GE, and Intel. Denning describes traditional
companies as having "top-down inside-out management thinking." Traditional firms have
hierarchies that prevent efficiency gains. Firms that innovate outside-in are able to rake in
higher profits by providing goods at a price customers are willing to pay, allowing them to
compete on time, which lowers costs. In contrast, traditional firms tend to be hierarchical
with inefficient processes and layers of authority in place which slow down work [36]. "If you
have a bunch of traditionally-managed bureaucratic command-and-control firms and 'tell'
the customer reps to 'delight the customer,' you get rather poor results." It requires the
whole culture and DNA fabric of the organization to "conduct conversations and practice
deep listening" [36]. Denning also says, "The trick in delighting customers is focus: aim for
the simplest possible thing that will delight buyers. Don't load products down with features
that most people won't use and that make the product hard to operate" [36].
2.8
Quality Metrics
Professor Hauser of MIT describes the importance of setting up the right metrics to drive
specific behavior and influence desired outcomes [371. He illustrates his point by describing
a study of a credit card company: "One critical metric focused on the quality of the plastic
used in their credit cards - no bubbles or blemishes were tolerated.
34
But after talking to
customers, we found that customers never noticed the blemishes as long as the magnetic
strip on the back worked. On the other hand, customers were extremely concerned with
other aspects of the service. By focusing on the quality of the plastic, the company was
diverting resources away from issues that mattered more to customers. By truly listening to
and understanding the customer, we helped this company reduce the number of their metrics
by more than half and refocus efforts toward those aspects of the service which increased
revenues and enhanced profit."
Hauser's Seven Step Action Plan [371
1. Start by Listening to the Customer. The customers are not just the end-users, but
can include other interactions in the flow.
These needs ("voice of the customer")
aren't metrics, but are indicators of the outcome (long-term profit). The metrics are
the decisions and actions that are executed by the company's teams that tie to the
customers' needs.
2. Understand the Job. What motivates the employees and managers? What do they
value? Assess the "voice of the employee." Put together a detailed map of the work
processes
3. Understand the Interrelationships.
4. Understand the Linkages. Use the House of Quality paradigm. Have something specific
that ties together customer need and metrics that address those needs.
5. Test the Correlations and Test Manager and Employee Reaction.
If you can't test
a control group vs test group, at least track process changes over time with attitude
changes over time via employee surveys.
6. Involve Managers and Employees. Those subjected to the metrics should help develop
them. Hold town meetings to obtain feedback. Measure the system not the individual.
7. Seek New Paradigms
35
Based on discussions with plant managers, DCI appears to compete with the traditional
methods of prioritizing rework because of the way performance metrics and incentives are
structured. New metrics that were explored included time to close an issue, time between
handoffs in the system, and frequency of certain issues over time. However, these were highly
variable metrics that did not have comparable baselines. Suggested metrics include data that
can be independently collected, such as market share and customer satisfaction scores, did
not appropriately drive actions and also had lag times of over a year (for third-parties to
collect and report the data). Proxies are thus necessary to assess and validate the model.
2.9
Text Analytics
Text analytics is the process of deriving high-quality information from text.
It involves
parsing text to create a database that can be used to derive patterns in a structured way.
For example, analysis could include word frequency distributions, text categorization, text
clustering by tagging/annotating, and sentiment analysis.
The goal is to turn text into
relevant data so that information can be evaluated and interpreted to generate interesting
insights.
Companies are interested in analyzing what customers are saying on social media and in
survey responses about the companies' products and services. There are specialized vendors
that engage in "social media listening," which entails analyzing social media content to
identify themes that can then be used to craft messages that resonate with consumers.
36
Chapter 3
Methodology
We take a 5-phase methodology that starts with understanding and analyzing the current
state of the problem. Once the problem is scoped and defined, we are able to define the
three areas of research we will pursue for this project. We identify the sources of customer
feedback, specifically to find out which divisions generate and own which data sources. We
develop a survey to conduct a gap assessment between consumers and employees. We also
analyze unstructured, open-ended responses to identify issues that dissatisfy current vehicle
owners. Lastly, we synthesize the information to generate recommendations.
3.1
Phase 1: Develop Current State Analysis
The first step of the project is to develop an understanding of the current state through
company observations and tours, employee interviews, and literature research. The Kano
Model serves as a foundation for how we formulated the approach for this project. We ask
questions such as: What is the overall strategy? What are the goals? How is work driven
within the organization? What are the interfaces?
To develop an accurate understanding of the current state, we aimed to:
" Understand the development of the Daily Customer Incident (DCI) initiative and associated software tool
" Map organizational structure
37
* Understand how metrics and incentives are structured
" Create and analyze survey sent to DCI developers and users in July
" Identify gaps in the metrics hindering DCI adoption
" Identify customer satisfaction analysis done by other groups
" Determine pitfalls of attempts to integrate pre-existing customer satisfaction analysis
with DCI
" Review relevant academic literature: Kano Model, customer needs, metrics and incentives, internal and industry benchmarks
" Network with GM divisions to understand their perceptions
" Draw the "customer value chain" (how a customer interacts with GM) and identify the
type of interactions customers have. Match that onto where GM's data sources can be
used to feed actions and decisions.
" Attend Quality Professional Day, apply the Juran Institute's 9 Essentials framework
These steps will help identify the problem so that we can then appropriately frame the
project, identify the data sources we need to collect, and develop the analytical method to
support and solve the problem.
3.2
Phase 2: Identify "Voice of Customer" Inputs
Because the "voice of the customer" comes as various inputs, it is imperative that this
project goes beyond just looking at what is coming into the Quality Strategy group. There
are external, syndicated surveys that relate to customer feedback, as well as internal sources
of customer input.
To gain a clearer understand of customer needs, we stepped outside the walls of the
Quality team to:
38
"
Tour the Customer Engagement Center, Social Media Command Center, On-Star Command Center, and three GM assembly plants
" Interview salesmen and customers at dealerships (Chevrolet and competitor)
" Test drive a number of GM vehicles
" Partner with Chevrolet Marketing Brand Strategy team
" Locate and access syndicated, external surveys related to customer feedback (J.D.
Power IQS, APEAL, VDS; Maritz NVAS, NVCS)
" Make a matrix of the known customer-feedback data sources
These steps will enable identifying the various customer feedback inputs so that we can
clearly and simplistically illustrate it for GM divisions to use.
3.3
Phase 3: Develop Method for Conducting Gap Assessment
Through discussions with employees and customers, we observed that consumers and GM
employees have different perceptions and definitions of what quality means to them. We developed a method to capture, quantify, and assess areas of alignment and areas of gaps. GM
gathers a wealth of consumer-centric data through surveys and focus groups on consumer
perceptions of specific vehicle features. GM also collects objective data, such as body measurements, by surveying employees. However, according to the Market Research team, there
have been few precedents of surveys designed to compare employee and consumer responses.
Thus, we took this opportunity to design and launch a survey with the purpose of comparing
the two populations' responses to identify where gaps and overlaps exist.
The steps in this phase are to:
" Identify resources and formulate plan
" Create survey using input from consumer and employee interviews
39
*
Iterate based on pre-tests
" Send survey to GM employees and to the Auto Insight Online Community (AIOC)
panel of consumers.
" Analyze results to understand the terms that customers use.
" Provide recommendations to the Quality on how to improve their surveys to capture
the "voice of the customer."
These steps will allow us to collect data to quantitatively support anecdotes about there
being misaligned interests between the purchaser of the vehicle and the manufacturer of the
vehicle.
3.4
Phase 4: Text Analytics of Survey Responses
GM vehicle owners have several opportunities throughout their ownership cycle to provide
responses to surveys. The DCI tool counts the frequencies (i.e. number of times) a "checkbox" in the Compass survey is checked as an indicator of product quality issues. At the
moment, open-ended responses to the product survey are not being used as effectively as
they could be. A text mining tool that is intended to be paired with DCI is under development. We show that simple tools can be used to text mine the data, and derive insights
from unstructured text. We analyze open-ended survey responses and identify themes that
are not currently being captured by the DCI tool.
When customers take surveys, they do not necessarily know what division in the company their responses will go to. For example, a customer may indicate a specific productrelated problem on a dealer satisfaction survey.
Customers who respond to the product
survey may talk about the dealership experience; however, few methods exist to feed this
back to the appropriate dealership.
The steps to analyze unstructured, open-ended survey responses are to:
* Identify the current process for prioritizing customer input
40
" Identify teams using or developing text mining software: Customer Experience using
Feedback Ferret
" Identify data sets to analyze: product issue identification survey, dealer satisfaction
survey
" Provide example of how to analyze large data sets in a more manageable fashion
" Demonstrate that customers use feedback opportunities indistinguishably, so it behooves GM to integrate its capabilities rather than developing word mining capabilities
in silos.
Currently, divisions at the company are working with vendors to develop the IT tool
without really understanding what customers are saying. These steps will allow us to show
that simplistic tools can be used to do first-order analysis of open-ended, unstructured survey
responses. Identifying and understanding the themes of what customers are saying can help
build an IT solution around the customer's voice.
Phase 5: Generate Recommendations
3.5
The anticipated outcome of this project is to illuminate the wealth of data available on
customer inputs that should be used by cross-functional teams. Leveraging these customer
insights and aligning the organization is intended to help GM create messages that resonate
with shoppers. We identify:
" Opportunities for organizational design improvements to facilitate more efficient crossfunctional collaboration.
" Themes and areas that dissatisfy customers who own the 2014 Malibu.
" Areas of alignment and misalignment between employees and consumers on the concept
of High Quality and Dependability as these terms pertain to vehicles.
Finally, putting the pieces together will help us formulate recommendations to GM on
how it can analyze and incorporate customer feedback in automotive design and manufacturing.
41
Chapter 4
"Voice of the Customer" Inputs
4.1
Summary of Approach
Hauser's credit card example discussed in Section 2.8 is a perfect description of our initial observations of GM's approach to quality. The focus on credit card blemishes can be
likened to GM's hyper-focus on fit and finish of vehicles.
In test driving several vehicles,
the author found that the infotainment system on Cadillac vehicles had several high-tech
gadgets, though some were not intuitive to use. Consumer Reports reviewed the Cadillac
User Experience (CUE) infotainment system in 2012 and reported that though the system
"looks extremely impressive in the showroom," it "is so convoluted and frustrating that it detracts from the XTS's easy-going and otherwise pampering environment" [38]. For instance,
"scrolling through menus can be slow and cumbersome" and the "touch screen sometimes
needs a rather hard tap to register an input" [38]. For many designers of consumer products,
they recognize that simplicity delights for both consumers as well as for manufacturing operations [39]. As we find out in our Gap Assessment survey, discussed in Chapter 5, vehicle
consumers are more interested in having cars that run than they are concerned with vehicle
fit-and-finish. Though metrics and incentives are critical for change management, we leave
the specifics out of this project and instead focus on fleshing out Step 1 of Hauser's Seven
Step Action Plan: Start by Listening to the Customer.
At GM, customer data are primarily collected at a division-level and kept internally
within those respective divisions. There has not been an overarching strategic view on what
42
types of customer feedback are collected and where. Prior to this project, the Quality team
working on DCI has had limited contact with the Marketing or Customer Experience teams,
two teams that we believe have valuable consumer insights whose resources can be leveraged
to improve product quality. For this project, we leveraged cross-functional collaboration for
the purposes of gathering and analyzing information on customer needs.
4.2
Flow Diagram of Customer Input
Through a series of interviews and observations, we put together a chart that depicts the
sources of customer input, shown in Figure 4-1. For the purposes of this project, we interfaced
most closely with the Quality and the Marketing divisions.
Survey to new vehicle owners
" Warranties
" Third-party syndicated surveys
Market Research
"
" Internal Clinics
" External Clinics
Marketing -R&D
- Design -
Developmentl
-
Engineering
Market Research
"Audits"off the
production line
Employee feedback
Surveys to representative
population samples
" Focus Groups
" Third-party syndicated surveys
*
*
*
*
"
Manufacturin gl - Quality - Customer
Production
Experience
Figure 4-1: Sources of Customer Input at GM
43
On-Star
Customer Assistance
Center (call center)
Dealership/Technical
Assistance Center
4.3
Data Sources that were Discovered
rhere are several databases and analyses spread across GM. For groups and personnel that
do not have pre-established working relationships, knowledge of the data relies on personal
networks.
Global Information Center (GIC)
GM has a rich set of internally generated and vendor generated analyses. This is owned by
the Market Research team and access is selectively given out.
J.D. Power
J.D. Power is a market research firm that collects "the voice of the customer to drive improvement of products and services" for over a dozen industries [40]. There are 33 studies
listed as being relevant for automotive manufacturer/OEM, but the following four were the
most influential in developing the Compass surveys:
" Initial Quality Study (IQS). IQS surveys new vehicle owners on problems experienced
with specific components of their vehicles measured at 90 days of ownership.
" J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS). VDS surveys original owners of 3year-old vehicles and collects information on problems they experience.
" J.D. Power Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout Study (APEAL) Study.
APEAL surveys new vehicle owners on their assessment of the design, content, layout,
and performance of their new vehicle after 90 days of ownership.
" Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) Study. The SSI surveys provide "a comprehensive analysis of the new-vehicle purchase experience from the customer perspective." The study
"measures the ability of dealerships to manage the sales process, from product presentation and price negotiation to the finance and insurance process and final delivery."
Additionally, the study "provides insights into customer needs and expectations and
provides recommendations for improving the sales process." [41].
44
Maritz Syndicated Research
Maritz Syndicated Research runs two studies that are of particular interest to automotive
manufacturers.
Together, the New Vehicle Customer Study (NVCS) and the New Vehi-
cles Avoider Study (NVAS) form the largest and most comprehensive automobile database
available today and attempt to include every vehicle line sold by domestic and import manufacturers [42].
" New Vehicle Customer Study (NVCS). NVCS has been running for over 40 years and
collects information for the North America Market.
" New Vehicles Avoider Study (NVAS). NVAS has been running since 2005 to complement the NVCS. NVAS recontacts buyers who participated in NVCS.
4.4
Potential Applications
Identifying the groups that worked with customer feedback allowed us to identify the disparate sets of databases available. Mapping this out for the teams at the company is helpful
for them to understand what types of data is collected and housed, where overlaps exist, and
where synergies can be achieved. The data should be transparent and made easily accessible
for divisions in the company to do analyses. The analyses should be easily searchable and
made available, possibly even through the Global Information Center.
45
Chapter 5
Gap Assessment
The need for a gap assessment was inspired by the results of a previous survey the author
sent following the DCI Workshop. This two-week training session taught the primary users of
the DCI tool, the "customer quality engineers" (CQEs), how to identify top customer issues
based on the DCI composite score. The CQEs were then responsible for acting as liaisons
between the DCI development team and the manufacturing teams, the engineering teams,
and the suppliers. The results showed that definitions and understanding of "Quality" varied
across the DCI tool development team members and the customer quality engineers. The
Compass survey is currently the only way the Quality group at GM gets direct customer
feedback on product quality issues. Some members of the marketing team view the Compass
survey as taking too long to complete and written in technical language, as opposed to
allowing customers to drive the discussion.
5.1
Summary of Approach
Looking at the connection between customer satisfaction and product quality led us to
hypothesize that there are definition gaps between customers who buy vehicles and employees
who design and build them. Networking within GM enabled the author, who worked within
the Quality team, to partner with the Chevrolet marketing team to leverage the surveying
capabilities of the Market Research team.
In a unique collaboration effort, we created a
survey to send to GM employees and to an online customer panel to better understand their
46
definitions of: quality, dependability, and advanced technology. The Market Research team
typically does not run the same survey internally as externally [43]. This Gap Assessment
project is thus a novelty because it compares employee and consumer populations.
At its core, the Gap Assessment survey collects definitions of the terms: Quality, Dependability, and Advanced Technology. A secondary area of interest is to understand customers' perceptions of how advanced technologies in a vehicle can imply higher quality or
higher dependability. Gaining a better understanding of terms in the "customer's voice" will
enable the Marketing team to create targeted advertising messages and the Quality team to
improve the questions in the new vehicle owner survey (known as the Compass survey).
5.2
Design of Survey Questions
Prior to designing the Gap Assessment survey, we talked with stakeholders at a Chevrolet
dealership and at a Toyota dealership. These included prospective vehicle buyers, salespeople
at the dealership, service agents at the shop, and current vehicle owners who were getting
their vehicles serviced at the shop. These conversations helped inform the development of our
survey questions. The terms we surveyed were around the concepts of: quality, dependability,
and advanced technology. A full list of the survey questions is included in Appendix A.1.
We first asked respondents open-ended questions to get their definitions and word associations before showing them the 22 categories of possible definitions for them to rate and
rank. This was intended to reduce selection bias. The open-ended questions asking respondents to define the terms High Quality and Dependability were randomized. For each set of
questions on High Quality and Dependability, respondents were asked to rate how strongly
they agree with the 22 categories of definitions on a five-point scale.
Respondents were
then asked to select and rank their Top Three definitions from the 22 options. Respondents
were asked to describe why they did or did not rate Advanced Technology as an important
characteristic of vehicle quality or dependability. Lastly, respondents had the opportunity
to provide their definitions of what they consider to be Advanced Technologies in vehicles.
47
5.3
Demographics
Basic demographic statistics were collected from the two groups of respondents: consumers
(external) and employees (internal).
The "employees" group is composed of GM employees who opt-in to take surveys for
the Internal Research Panel (IRP). Over 90% of the 508 responses received were by engineers
living in the Detroit-metropolitan area. The engineers have a high influence on how product
is designed and executed, so it is valuable to know whether they are designing with the
consumers in mind. While we understand this is a biased sampling and likely not fully
representative of GM employees, as we are unable to confirm GM's employee population
with the human resource team, it is a benchmark we find is useful for the purposes of
illustrating our hypothesis.
The "consumers" group is composed of a representative sample of new vehicle owners in
the U.S. who participate on the Auto Insight Online Community (AIOC) panel [44]. AIOC is
a community of consumers who take vehicle-related surveys a few times a month. In exchange
for participating, they accrue points that go towards gift cards. The 1216 respondents are
distributed by region, age, and vehicle classification. Survey takers are contacted by AIOC
and do not know for which company they are completing surveys.
As shown in Figure 5-1, the AIOC's sample is representative of new car owners across
the U.S. In contrast, the IRP is a biased sample set composed primarily of people from the
Midwest.
100%
80%
40%
20%
West
Northeast
South
F:Consumersp(%)
Midwest
DEmployeesm(%)
Figure 5-1: Gap Assessment: Respondent Demographics by Region
48
Figure 5-2 shows the respondents' age distribution. AIOC's consumer panel is representative of new car owners across the U.S. A significant number of consumer respondents
are over 60 years old, whereas the predominate employees' age bracket is in the 46-59 range.
60%
-
-
-
-
50%
40%
30%
---
20%
-
10%
18-30
46-59
31-45
0 Consumers (%)
60+
U Employees (%)
Figure 5-2: Gap Assessment: Respondent Demographics by Age
Figure 5-3 shows the types of vehicles the respondents own. Both the consumer and the
employee groups are well-matched for the compact and mainstream categories. The consumer
population has about twice as many respondents as employees driving luxury vehicles.
60%
-
80%
40%
20%
0%
Camp ac
Mainstream
0 Consumers (%)
Luxury
U Employees (%)
Figure 5-3: Gap Assessment: Demographics by Vehicle Segment
49
Figure 5-4 shows the number of years of service the respondents have had at GM. A
third of the respondents has worked at GM for fewer than 5 years, a third for more than 21
years, and the remaining third between 6-20 years.
25%
20%
15%25%
10%
0%
1-5 years
6-10 years
11-15 years
16-20 years
U Employees' Years of Service
> 21 years
(%)
Figure 5-4: Gap Assessment: GM Employee Respondents' Years of Service
Figure 5-5 shows the job function of GM employee respondents. Over 50% of the employees classified themselves as working in design, engineering, or manufacturing functions.
The "other" category includes Communications, Customer Service, HR, Legal, Management,
Admin, Strategy and Development, Planning, Finance, Purchasing.
Other, 16%
&
Sales, Service,
Marketing, 4%
Research, 3%
Quality and
Aftersales, 8%
Design,
Engineering,
Manufacturing,
54%
-
IT, 1s%
Figure 5-5: Gap Assessment: GM Employee Respondents' Job Functions
50
5.4
Gap Assessment Survey Results
We used a combination of word clouds (www.wordle.net) and Excel macros paired with pivot
tables to transform the open-ended responses into visuals to quickly get a sense for what
words were used most frequently. There are several limitations to the word count method.
For example, it only parses for individual words, not phrases.
It also does not account
for positive and negative associations. It simply provides a snapshot to enable us to look
for words that seemed intriguing. We use those words to filter the responses to look for
additional trends.
Responses to "What makes a vehicle high quality?"
Figure 5-6 is a word cloud generated from open-ended responses provided by the consumer
panel to the question: "In your opinion, what makes a vehicle high quality?" Prominent
words include: quality, good, materials, vehicle, interior, parts, and features. One implied
phrase is: well made.
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Figue 5-: Wrd Coudof Cnsuers'Resonse tothe erm'Hig Qlity
51
Figure 5-7 is a word cloud generated from open-ended responses provided by GM employees
to the same question. Prominent words include: good, interior, quality, vehicle, materials,
finish, feel, and fit.
s
-
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0
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Figure 5-7: Word Cloud of Employees' Responses to the term 'High Quality'
Responses to "What makes a vehicle dependable?"
Figure 5-8 is a word cloud generated from open-ended responses provided by the consumer
panel to the question: "In your opinion, what makes a vehicle dependable?" Prominent words
include: good, break, maintenance, vehicle, time, starts, and always.
agBor
Od
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own
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Figure 5-8: Word Cloud of Consumers' Responses to the term 'Dependable'
52
Figure 5-9 is a word cloud generated from open-ended responses provided by GM employees
to the same question. Prominent words include: vehicle, maintenance, time, starts, and
dependable.
U6MfW hOUTw-
moWAM
(V(RYAI
STRT
-Mmm-
Figure 5-9: Word Cloud of Employees' Responses to the term 'Dependable'
Responses to "What are advanced technologies in a vehicle?"
Figure 5-10 is a word cloud generated from open-ended responses provided by the consumer
panel to the question: "In your opinion, what do you consider to be advanced technologies in
a vehicle?" Prominent words include: features, safety, vehicle, systems, Bluetooth, advanced,
lane, camera, GPS, and navigation.
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Figure 5-10: Word Cloud of Consumers' Definitions of 'Advanced Technology'
53
Figure 5-11 is a word cloud generated from open-ended responses provided by GM employees to the same question. Prominent words include: features, systems, advanced, control,
safety, adaptive, infotainment, and departure. The implied phrases are: cruise control, lane
departure, and collision avoidance.
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Figure 5-11: Word Cloud of Employees' Definitions of 'Advanced Technology'
54
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5.4.1
Comparison of Ratings and Rankings
Informed by conversations with discussions at the dealerships and with GM employees, we
formulated a list of 22 possible descriptors of High Quality and Dependability. A complete
list of the 22 categories are listed in Appendix A.2. In the survey, we ask respondents to
first rate how strongly they agree with how each descriptor represents their definitions of the
terms in question. We then ask them to pick from the 22 descriptors to rank their top three.
We compare the internal (GM employees) and the external data (consumer panel) sets
using the chi-square test (X 2 ).
It tests non-normal data to determine whether there is a
significant difference between the expected frequencies and the observed frequencies (not
percentages or ratios) in one or more categories or if the difference is due to sampling variation. The p-value is the probability that the deviation of the observed from that expected
is due to chance alone. A p-value greater than 0.05 indicates the null hypothesis can be rejected. So if the p-value is less than 0.05, then the differences in the data sets are statistically
significant.
The null hypothesis is that GM employees' responses (internal) will be the same as
that of the consumer panel (external). Given there are 22 categories in each data set being
compared, there are 21 degrees of freedom.
The chi-square test will tell is if there is a
statistically significant difference between the internal versus the external data sets.
Analysis on "High Quality"
Figure 5-12 shows responses to the question: "How much do you agree that the following
factors represent a high quality vehicle?" The results are sorted by the "Top Two Box" Scores
(i.e. the sum of what respondents rated as "Somewhat Agree" and "Strongly Agree"). As
highlighted in the blue box, the top three categories differ between internal and external
respondents. The top three factors consumers rated as important factors representing high
quality are: has consistent performance, is built from durable materials, and lasts a long time.
In contrast, employees rated the following three as the most important: has excellent fit and
finish on the interior, has excellent fit and finish on the exterior, and has few breakdowns.
56
Internal (GM Employees)
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Has advanced technology
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Has won awards
-
External (Consumer Panel)
ANeutral
ESomewhat Agree
a Strongly Agree
mO
60
70
80
90 100
Some categories
Figure 5-13 is a side-by-side comparison of both parties' response.
have larger discrepancies than others. A greater percentage of GM employees (noted as "I"
for internal in the graph) "strongly agree" that a high quality vehicle "has excellent fit and
finish on the interior" and "sounds quiet from the inside." A greater percentage of consumers
(noted as "E" for external in the graph) "strongly agree" that a high quality vehicle "has
advanced safety features" and "has advanced technology." The Chi-square p-value is less
than 0.05, indicating that the responses from the external and the internal groups differ
significantly.
--
..--------------
... ...-...-
... . ..- ..
----.-----.----..-----------...
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Is built from durable materials (1)
(E)
(
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Has few breakdowns (I)
(E)
i
~Operates thke the day I bought it (1)
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(E)
Has distinguished craftsmanship/manufacturing/assemnbly (.)
(E)
Has excellent fit and finish
on the exterior (1)
(E)
Makes me feel I can count on It (1)
(E)
Sounds quiet from
the inside (1)
(E)
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Has advanced safety features (1)
(E)
Has good resale value (1)
(E)
Has comprehensive warranty terms (1)
(E)
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E1
technology~l(E) (i,)IE
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Has fuel economy consistent wish what's advertised (I)
Has responsive support from manufacturer (roadside assistance,loaner vehicles,
(E)
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by Consumer Reports (I)
(E)
Other (1)
(E)
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Has
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won awards (1
M%
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Somewhat Disagree
M0 M%
2
8 Neutral
U
40%
W0%
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W0%
M0
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U Strongly Agree
Figure 5-13: Side-by-Side Comparison of Factors Representing a High Quality Vehicle
58
Figure 5-14 is the distribution of answers to the question: "Of the features listed below,
please rank only the top 3 features that most represent a high quality vehicle." We treated
Rank 1, Rank 2, and Rank 3 equally in the sum. The top three categories for employees are
that a high quality vehicle "has excellent fit and finish on the interior," "operates like the
day I bought it," and "has excellent fit and finish on the exterior." The top three ranks for
consumers are that a high quality vehicle "lasts a long time," "has few breakdowns," and
"has consistent performance."
Lasts a long time
Has few breakdowns
Has consistent performance
Is built from durable materials
0I
Has distinguished craftsmanship/manufacturing/assembly
Has excellent fit and finish on the interior
Operates like the day I bought it
Has excellent fit and finish on the exterior
E Consumers (%)
Has advanced technology
Makes me feel I can count on It
0 Employees (%)
Has advanced safety features
Has good resale value
K.....
Sounds quiet from the inside
Has comprehensive warranty terms
_
_..
Is recommended by Consumer Reports
Has controls and features that are easy to use
Is convenient to repair
Has responsive support from manufacturer (roadside assistance,
loaner vehicles, customer call center)
Has fuel economy consistent with what's advertised
Has won awards
Has a positive dealership experience when purchasing
Other
0
10
20
30
40
50
Percentage Ranked In Top 3
Figure 5-14: Top 3 Features that Most Represent a High Quality Vehicle
59
Analysis on "Dependability"
Figure 5-15 shows responses to the question: "How much do you agree that the following
factors represent a highly dependable vehicle?" The results are sorted by "Top Two Box"
Scores (i.e. the sum of what respondents rated as "Somewhat Agree" and "Strongly Agree").
The top three categories between internal vs external respondents are similar.
Both the
consumer and the employee groups indicate the top three factors for a dependable vehicle
are: lasts a long time, has few breakdowns, and makes me feel I can count on it.
60
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Internal (GM Employees)
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Figure 5-16 is a side-by-side comparison of both parties' responses. The internal (noted
as "I" in graph) and external (noted as "E" in graph) groups generally have similar responses
when taking into account "somewhat agree" and "strongly agree." However, some categories
have larger discrepancies than others, indicating that certain attributes matter more to one
group than to the other.
For instance, a greater percentage of GM employees "strongly
agree" that a dependable vehicle "makes me feel I can count on it." A greater percentage
of consumers "strongly agree" that a dependable vehicle "has distinguished craftsmanship,
manufacturing, and assembly," "has advanced safety features," and "has advanced technology." The Chi-square p-value is less than 0.05, indicating that the responses from the
external and the internal groups differ significantly.
a long time
(
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---------
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Has responsive support from
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U Somewhat Disagree
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Figure 5-16: Side-by-Side Comparison of Factors Representing a Dependable Vehicle
62
Figure 5-17 summarizes the responses to the question, "Of the features listed below,
please rank only the top 3 features that most represent a highly dependable vehicle." by
equally summing Rank 1, Rank 2, and Rank 3. The top three categories for both consumers
and employees are that a dependable vehicle "has few breakdowns," "lasts a long time,"
and "operates like the day I bought it." This implies that employees and consumers perceive
dependability to be composed of similar factors.
Has few breakdowns
Lasts a long time
.
.....
..
.------ .
Operates like the day I bought it
U77
Has consistent performance
Makes me feel I can count on it
is built from durable materials
Has advanced safety features
Has distinguished craftsmanship/manufacturing/assembly
Has comprehensive warranty terms
Has good resale value
Is recommended by Consumer Reports
Has responsive support from manufacturer (roadside
assistance, loaner vehicles, customer call center)
El Consumers (%)
0 Employees (%)
Has advanced technology
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Has excellent fit and finish on the exterior
Has excellent fit and finish on the interior
Has fuel economy consistent with what's advertised
Sounds quiet from the inside
Has controls and features that are easy to use
Has a positive dealership experience when purchasing
Has won awards
Other
0
20
40
60
80
Percentage Ranked In Top 3
Figure 5-17: Top 3 Features that Most Represent a Dependable Vehicle
63
5.4.2
Summary of the Findings
A key recommendation to the Quality team is to use the AIOC consumer panel and GM's
Internal Research Panel (IRP) to quickly gather data from a large number of people. The
Marketing team also uses the AIOC panel to understand word associations consumers have
with specific product names. The Quality team can use the AIOC panel to poll a wide range
of consumers for words they use to describe their vehicles as a way to enhance the Compass
survey.
Several observations emerge from the analysis of the Gap Assessment survey. There is
a greater gap between how customers and employees define a "high quality" vehicle: GM
employees emphasizes fit-and-finish, where as consumers emphasize many more attributes.
For "dependability," consumers and employees share similar top three definitions.
Con-
sumers also treat dependability and quality very similarly in their minds, whereas employees
distinguish the two terms.
64
Chapter 6
Text Analytics of Unstructured Survey
Responses
Chapter 5 demonstrated that surveys may be created to provide insights to a specific division
within a company, customers often use the opportunity to provide feedback about related
experiences with the product or service. In this chapter, we seek to use text analytics to
derive further insights on what GM customers said in an actual product survey, internally
called the Compass Survey. As described in Chapter 3, text analytics is applying methods to
turn text into data analysis. Such methods include natural language processing. In general,
documents are set up for predictive classification or to be searched against a database. There
are over eight contracts for various text mining projects at GM. We show here that using
simple tools, we can derive powerful insights.
6.1
Text Mining Open-Ended Responses
We analyzed the open-ended responses provided by owners of the 2014 Malibu vehicle in
the Compass survey, which is sent out to new vehicle owners after 60 days of purchase to
assess initial product quality issues. The general steps used to centralize the unstructured
responses, analyze using word count methods, seek high frequency or recurring themes to
identify categories, dive into the actual response to derive insight, and then recommend
actions.
65
6.1.1
Word Count Analysis in Excel
Open-ended responses were first put into word clouds using www.wordle.net to get a sense
for which words were used the most frequently.
We then looked for words that seemed
intriguing, filtered the responses, and looked for additional trends. An Excel Macro, copied
in Appendix B.1, was then used to set up appropriate filters to set up structures to enable
preliminary analysis.
Using this method to iterate enabled us to hone in on features and
components that customers mentioned.
As described, a methodical process was used to identify the product issues that customers complained about in the open-ended response sections of the Compass survey. The
very first step is to visualize the text in a more manageable fashion, so we copy it into a program that generates word clouds. Though we don't know the context or the sentiment of how
these words are used, it gives a sense for what terms are used with the highest frequencies.
Figure 6-1 is a Wordle of the 13,145 comments made by 2014 Malibu owners across
three categories of questions, excluding common English words. The words look close to
what we expect to see, with terms like "car," "vehicle," "like," and "Malibu" being the
dominant words. We could start filtering responses based on these terms, but because we
have the three categories available, we decide to use those as the first set of filters.
The
three categories are: Like Most About Vehicle, Reason for Brand Score, and Suggestions to
Improve Vehicle.
The first category, shown in Figure 6-2, is a word cloud of 6517 responses by 2014 Malibu
owners of what they like most about their vehicles. Prominent words include: car, like, ride,
love, interior, mileage, gas, and looks.
Figure 6-3 is 743 responses on the 2014 Malibu owners' reason for brand score. Prominent terms include: car, Malibu, vehicle, like, new, back, mileage, and dealership. Since we
do not have access to the brand scores, we were not able to quickly dissect positive from
negative sentiment. For this analysis, we focused on the suggestions category.
66
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Figure 6-4 is 5885 comments by 2014 Malibu owners on suggestions to improve their
vehicles. Upon first glance, the most frequently used terms for the "suggestions" category,
Figure 6-4, look similar to the ones used in the other two categories.
Table 6.1 is a table counting the Top 70 words used to the three open-ended questions:
what users liked most about their vehicles, reasons for users' brand scores, and suggestions
for improvements. The grand totals represent the number of words that were parsed from
the open-ended responses. The non-highlighted terms are common English words that were
67
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68
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From the suggestions category, we selected the term "back" to explore further.
Of
the 782 comments that had the term "back," 673 of those were classified as suggestions.
The word cloud formed from those 673 comments, shown in Figure 6-5, showed interesting
themes. The word "trunk" was the most frequently mentioned term and it had associated
words such as "release," "inside," "button," and "open."
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Figure 6-5: Suggestions to Improve Vehicle, filtered on "Back" (n=673 mentions)
Filtering the "suggestions" categories based on the term "trunk" returned 314 mentions,
as shown in Figure 6-6, but it did not show much other insight. Instead, using insights from
Figure 6-5, we filtered the comments using the term "release." The 70 mentions were on
customers being dissatisfied that the 2014 Malibu does not have an interior trunk release
latch or button that can be operated from the front seat. Customers are required to press
the button from the key, but customers say that it only works when the key is not in the
ignition. An excerpt of comments are listed in Appendix B.2.
Figure 6-6: Suggestions to Improve Vehicle, filtered on "Trunk" (n=314 mentions)
70
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Figure 6-7: Suggestions to Improve Vehicle, filtered on "Release" (n=70 mentions)
Picking yet another term from insights drawn from Figure 6-5, we filtered the comments
using the word "spare" to get Figure 6-8. The 189 mentions were customers being heavily
dissatisfied with the 2014 Malibu lacking a spare tire or donut in the trunk. An excerpt of
comments are listed in Appendix B.3. Discussions led us to understand that the spare tire
feature was intentionally left out as a design requirement to increase the fuel efficiency of the
vehicle. Customers said they left the dealership without knowing about the missing spare.
T R(
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Figure 6-8: Suggestions to Improve Vehicle, filtered on "Spare" (n=189 mentions)
71
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6.2
Summary of Findings
Two themes were identified as being highly dissatisfying to customers owning the 2014
Chevrolet Malibu: the absence of a trunk release inside the vehicle and the absence of a
spare tire in the trunk of the vehicle. Select quotes from customers' written responses to
displeasure in discovering the absence of a interior trunk latch and spare tire are shown in
Appendix B.2 and Appendix B.3. Customers view these as "Basic Needs," from the Kano
Model. The absence of the interior trunk latch is likely due to cost reduction. The absence of
a spare tire is a strategic decision to boost fuel economy [45]. These themes were only found
after analyzing open-ended responses, and are not in the drop-down checkbox menus of the
Compass survey. Neither of these concerns showed up in the Compass survey's method of
categorizations. The Compass survey is a global study that lists a variety of features, though
not all listed features are available in all vehicle models.
6.3
Potential Application
6.3.1
Sentiment Analysis Tool by Third-Party Vendor
Feedback Ferret is a third-party vendor working with the Customer Experience team to
analyze customer satisfaction surveys of dealership experiences, and has the capability of
parsing responses into relevant sentences and scoring responses by sentiment [461. As a followon to the initial analysis, we used the ability of Feedback Ferret to parse entire comments
into separate sentences by context, and then classify those sentences by 27 pre-determined
categories and 350 sub-categories. It also provides sentiment ratings at both the answer-level
(full comment) as well as the the sentence-level (parsed). Sentiment classification is a way
to bucket comments into positive, neutral, or negative categories.
For the Compass data set on Malibu vehicle, there were 6,517 responses to the question on what customers "Like Most" about their vehicle, which Feedback Ferret separated
into 11,306 sentences by context. There were 743 Brand Score comments that were parsed
into 2464 sentences by context.
Lastly, there were 5885 Suggestions comments that were
parsed into 12,357 sentences by context. The proportions are shown in Figure 6-9. The sen-
73
timent classifications in Figure 6-9 shows that nearly 50% of sentences were on suggestions
to improve the vehicle.
Uke Most About
Vehicle 43%
Suggestions to
Improve Vehicle,
47%
Reason for Brand
Score, 10%
Figure 6-9 : Feedback Ferret categorization of "sentences in context"
For the Compass data set on Malibu vehicle, Feedback Ferret parsed responses into
"sentences in context," and then placed each one into one of seven sentiment categories. The
spread of categorization is shown in Figure 6-10. This is a power feature of Feedback Ferret's
tool. If it interprets sentences correctly, running data sets through the tool could quickly
put sentences into sentiments. The company would then have an additional perspective for
analyzing the responses.
50%
----
-
40%
35%-
30%'
-
-
--
25%
20%
31%
---
------------ ------
Extremely
Very Negative
Negative
Neutral
Positive
Very Positive
Duke Most About Vehicle
Extremely
Positive
Negative
U Reaso for Brand Scr
ESuggestlons to
Improve
Vehicle
Figure 6-10: Feedback Ferret categorization of "sentences in context" by sentiment
74
6.3.2
Social Media Listening
One of the Customer Experience teams recently signed a contract to work with a public
relations firm to "listen" to social media content using the Oracle's Social Relationship
Management tool
147].
The tool centralizes content from a variety of social media sources,
based on filters set by the users. The most prolific sources of data are Twitter, Facebook,
and blogs. It looked for trends over time, sentiment, etc. We had the opportunity to test
Oracle's tool to see if we could identify what customers were saying about terms such as
Quality, Dependability, and Advanced Technology. We discovered that social media is best
used for looking at trends or for looking at consumer response to an advertising campaign.
For example, the Social Media team was able to track #TechnologyAndStuff chatter before
it decided to turn this potential publicity crisis into a trending ad campaign [48, 491.
While it works for tracking social media trends, the word mining method does not yet
work well for gleaning information on consumers' associations, as we had tried to do. An
additional pitfall we encountered was that the catchment radius was too broad and that the
filters we formulated for trying to understand definitions would return spam messages, which
did not lend well to analysis. If the spam filters were greatly improved, then the comments
from social media could be integrated into these text mining methods to provide even greater
insights. We believe if vendor-supported word mining tools are to be used, then GM should
take the time and resources to "train" the system with enough data to capture what the
customers are saying. Furthermore, we recommend that each division within the company
make customer insight data available to the rest of the organization.
75
Chapter 7
Organizational Assessment using the
Three Lenses Framework
We assess the customer-feedback initiative at GM through the Three Lenses framework
and offer organizational recommendations [50]. The framework analyzes the organization
through the strategic design, political, and cultural perspectives. The strategic design lens
focuses on how the organization is designed to achieve specific goals through processes such
as organizational alignment and linking mechanisms. The political lens focuses on how internal stakeholders compete for power and autonomy, and how conflicts can be mitigated
through negotiations and coalition building. The cultural lens focuses on shared identities
and assumptions held within an organization, and how artifacts and myths can shape an
organization. Change management initiatives and project success depends on abilities to
leverage support in all three of these organizational aspects. The following sections are opinions of the author based on onsite research, and do not necessary represent a comprehensive
review of GM management practices.
7.1
The Strategic Design Lens
The strategic design lens is about setting up structures, processes, and mechanisms to align
the organization towards a common mission. Projects that require behaviors to deviate from
the norm require that the organizational architects pay careful attention to the strategic
76
design of the organization.
The concept of focusing on the customer is a shared vision among the GM leadership.
However, the overall strategy and vision have had little penetration to those in middlemanagement and below. We take the DCI as an example. DCI was a project envisioned
to support management's vision to bring the customer's voice closer to engineering. DCI
initially had strong support by senior leaders from the quality, manufacturing, and product
programs, who formed a steering committee. Among several changes in the leadership structure at the director level, the Global Quality and Customer Experience division went from
reporting to one SVP to reporting to two. In the author's opinion, the series of turnover
amongst these leaders caused DCI to have little visibility across the rest of the company.
Cross-functional change initiatives are successful when they have dedicated project
champions, which in project management speak is "someone with credibility who advocates
for the project by constantly praising its benefits (strategic advantage, ROI, etc...) to the
stakeholders" [51]. The project champion's role is not that of a project manager or sponsor,
people who own the outcomes of the project, but to help advocate and break down barriers
that may stand in the way of the project being successful.
As a strategic initiative set up to challenge the status quo, cut across functions, and
require rapid execution, the structure needs to have:
" Cross-functional teams under a clear leadership. Senior leaders with cohesive visions,
a clear understanding of the organization's dynamics, and positional authority need to
be the ones establishing cross-functional teams. This means appointing representatives
from different organizations to work together, as well as setting a clear strategy and
direction for the cross-functional team to execute.
" Clear communication. Teams need to be forthcoming with accomplishments and challenges so other groups avoid duplicating work and wasting time chasing leads.
" Empowered people. Teams need to be small and nimble to execute and implement.
" Transparent Data Sources. It took an immense amount of time and relationship building to track down the various data sources and owners. It would benefit the company
to centralize the cross-functional data sets and allow everyone to access them.
77
7.2
The Political Lens
The political lens is about power. Understanding what motivates people in the organization
is important for identifying your supporters versus your opponents.
GM leadership cares about DCI succeeding and they are reevaluating the best way to
drive aligned actions. All GM employees' bonuses are tied to TeamGM Metrics; Quality
metrics make up 25%.
Plants are incentivized to reduce defects; engineering to reduce
warranty incidents and costs; and quality to rank high in external consumer reports. Power
at GM is derived primarily from positional authority, and DCI's potential success threatens
the current balance of power. In the author's opinion, the Engineering and Production teams
are well-respected because they focus on developing and manufacturing products, whereas
Quality is viewed as a support organization. Given this dynamic, DCI is being selectively
communicated at Senior Global Product Development and Manufacturing staff levels.
The biggest challenge is incompatible interests among stakeholders, and thus requires:
" Incentive alignment. Develop a DCI-centric measure to include in the TeamGM Metric.
* Relationship-building.
Set aside time and take initiative to attend networking and
volunteer events to build relationships across GM.
7.3
The Cultural Lens
The cultural lens looks at legacy and sources of motivation. A company's culture is something
innate in the DNA of everyone who works at the company, all the way down the reporting
structure. During our time at GM, many GM offices toured the Quicken Loans offices as
part of a team-building exercise to see the differentiated customer-focused culture. Quicken
Loans calls the ideals that they live by the "ISMs" [521. They are capturing the attention
for their efforts to revive downtown Detroit [53, 54]. What's important to recognize here is
that the culture of a company cannot be changed overnight nor can it replicate that of other
companies.
DCI challenges several cultural norms, some are Quality-specific while others are corporatewide. GM's new motto, "The customer is our compass," is intended to listen to customers
78
to ultimately improve its brand image. The author did not observe many instances of the
motto on display in common areas at GM, except when visiting the Customer Engagement call center. The new definition of "product quality" is supposed to consider customer
feedback, which is a big change. GM operates in silos within and across organizations and
functions. There is an opportunity for Marketing and Quality to collaborate more, especially
since both address customer needs.
Leadership has set a new vision around the customer, but how that should be embedded
in the culture and actions is unclear. GM leadership can:
" Broadcast customer-centric vision. Decorate hallways with mottos for employees to
internalize.
" Shift mindsets. Refer to the new definition of Quality and efforts to increase transparency across the whole company.
" Embrace continuous improvement. Leadership can taut DCI's achievements to date to
garner broader support.
" Respect meeting times. Propose using Sloan time and agendas for meetings.
" Recognize employees. Managers need to recognize contributions.
" Recognize that company culture cannot be changed overnight. Company culture also
cannot be copycatted.
Learn from your own backyard - assess what works within
our own company. The Quality Strategy team spent a team-building day visiting the
Quicken Loans downtown revitalization efforts, which exuded a special culture that
shouted we are proud to be in this together.
79
Chapter 8
Conclusions
We initially hypothesized that customers have different definitions and criteria for evaluating
vehicles than those of the company's designers and engineers. We also hypothesized that
structuring customer input, such as social media and survey responses, can provide additional opportunities to capture the "voice of the customer." This project sought to identify
ways of integrating customer satisfaction feedback to improve product quality issues at an
automotive manufacturing company. It uses the Kano Model for Product Development and
Customer Satisfaction, the Three Lenses framework, and a customer-centric perspective to
make assessments and recommendations. We collaborated with the Quality and Marketing
teams that then leveraged capabilities in the Customer Experience and Market Research
groups.
In a busy environment and in the absence of formal linkages to support cross-
functional collaborations, we show that personal relationships and networks can provide
significant leverage.
8.1
Summary of Results
Customer data are stored across a number of different databases across organizations. As
companies migrate towards in-house customer data collection, it is imperative to effectively
find and analyze responses. Automating the data analysis helps direct data for initial screening, but structures and processes need to cut across business functions to impact the business.
Quite a bit of legwork was involved in tracking down methods, processes, and data. Key
80
findings of this project include:
" Despite the tools available to text mine and categorize open-ended responses, the tools
are not 100% correct. Human eyes are still required to differentiate the details and
nuances.
" Identified valuable customer data and analysis tools that exist in specific groups for
analyzing customer feedback (ex: focus group survey lists, social media team)
" Demonstrated successful collaboration among distinct divisions by leveraging their
expertise and data access,
" Collected data from employees and customers to show a gap between the respective
groups' definitions of key terms, and show this can be iterated,
" Completed preliminary analysis using existing word mining tools from different divisions on open-ended responses
* Met with Marketing to better understand customer needs, a critical piece missing from
DCI.
8.2
Discussion
Based on discussions with consumers and employees, GM could benefit by strengthening its
brand identity with respect to quality. A study of Toyota highlights an embedded culture
of quality throughout the organization. Toyota's strategy was not to simultaneously focus
on high quality products at low cost, rather its focus was entirely on building quality at
every station. By decreasing defects throughout the process, cost naturally declined [551.
Informal interviews indicate that some people see GM as a company that provides "a car to
everyone" and other people see it as a company that "is not memorable" [56]. Ford redefined
itself in 2008 and has since been consistently communicating its Drive One motto, supported
by four key pillars: "Quality, Green, Safe, and Smart." Chevrolet made InterBrand's Top
Global Brands list for the first time in 2013, coming in at #89 [571. Again in 2014, Chevrolet
was still the only GM brand to be represented on Interbrand's list, coming in at #82 [58].
81
GM should understand what consumers perceive to be its brand identity and its competitive
advantage, and shape a strategy around it.
The original intent of DCI was agreed upon by the leadership, but the implementation is
where stakeholders started disbanding. The problem must be clearly understood so that the
mission and goal of the initiative can be clearly communicated at the beginning. This clarity
enables the development of appropriate metrics, to set the baseline, to set the milestones,
to align incentives, to implement, and to track progress and see results.
Organizational
change initiatives must have a clear strategy, backing by leadership and informal project
champions, and encourage cross functional collaboration.
Without this clarity, functions
within the organization do not know what to follow - the new initiative or the current
incentive structure.
We found out that customer data and internal analyses on customers are stored across
a number of different databases across organizations.
Access depends greatly on personal
networks. As companies migrate towards in-house customer data collection, it is imperative
to effectively find and analyze responses. Automating the data analysis helps direct data
for initial screening, but structures and processes need to cut across business functions to
impact the business. In terms of the gap assessment, teams throughout GM should utilize
Market Research's survey capabilities. It is able to collect information from a wide breadth
of consumers in a rapid manner. Data should be made available and transparent to everyone
at GM to use for analysis, particularly in areas that ought to be operating across functions.
Specifically, access to the Global Information Center (GIC) resource should be made available
to all employees upon on-boarding.
We learned that process improvement requires understanding customer needs and organizational capabilities. We can not simply create a new IT system to replace the work
of human capital.
To understand customer needs, we recommend directly engaging with
customers and with groups that work directly with customers (ex: dealerships, market research, focus group panels). Through interviewing customers and employees, we created a
gap assessment survey. The results from it show that customers and employees have different
definitions of the term High Quality. Perhaps there are other terms worth exploring as well,
particularly it GM is trying to rebuild its brand and identity.
82
If customer needs and satisfaction is really what GM wants to drive at, GM needs
to revisit its metrics and incentives system.
It can use a system dynamics approach to
ensure that customer needs are balanced against vehicle cost, weight, manufacturability, and
performance.
Furthermore, we learned that understanding and maintaining high levels of customer
satisfaction is imperative for companies to succeed. Customer input comes in various forms,
some of which cannot easily be automated to drive organizational decisions. Just because a
company collects a wealth of data does not mean they have insights. It's what the company
does with the data that gives it a competitive edge. Though quantitative scores and ranks are
easier to analyze, it's the qualitative information that provides valuable customer insights.
It makes sense to have these systematically processed to create useful insight and to drive
actions. However, our recommendation is that rather than installing multiple expensive IT
systems that work with poor accuracy, there should be a vetting process that uses simple
word mining techniques to assess open-ended survey responses to identify themes for further
analysis.
8.3
Recommendations for Future Initiatives
There are several opportunities for future work in the area of integrating customer feedback to
improve product quality. This will undoubtedly be a growing field, particularly as companies
move towards designing around customer needs and as customers turn to social media as
the way to provide immediate feedback to companies. Suggestions of future projects in the
realm of incorporating customer feedback into the decision-making process include:
" Enhancing the current analysis by using a word vector approach (i.e., comparing between sets of word by treating each set of words as a vector and finding the distance
between sets).
" Developing a more robust model that prioritizes product quality issues by putting more
weight on customer satisfaction feedback.
" Setting process metrics and scorecards to show leadership how well DCI is working.
83
"
Assessing error rates on auto-binning of unstructured responses to categories and to
sentiment classification.
* Integrating data from the Customer Experience team (ex: On-Star, Call Center).
" Continuing to centralize customer feedback data from across GM (ex: Engagement
Centers, social media, dealer technical hotlines, marketing surveys, user clinics, OnStar) and making them transparent.
" Balancing customers' needs/satisfaction against vehicle cost, weight, manufacturability, and performance using a system dynamics approach
" Creating intuitive dashboards for leadership from integrated data sources.
" Creating an "experiential journey" map from the customer's perspective rather than
from GM's process perspective.
84
Chapter 9
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at
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88
Appendix A
The Gap Assessment Survey
We created the following survey and sent it to GM employees ("internal") and to the Auto
Insight Online Community ("external" customer panel). Details of the analysis and results
are discussed in Chapter 5.
Aside from collecting demographic information, the survey
questions we used are in Appendix A.1 in bolded text.
A.1
The Survey Questions
We are interested in your opinions about various aspects of a vehicle.
When
answering the questions, please imagine yourself shopping for a new (not used)
vehicle.
In your opinion, what makes a vehicle high quality?
(open-ended response)
In your opinion, what makes a vehicle dependable?
(open-ended response)
89
How much do you agree that the following factors represent a high quality vehicle? A vehicle with high quality...
(A screen shot of the response matrix is shown in Figure A-1.)
How much do you aee tht the fofowing lectern represA a thigh guum
vehicle?
A vehicle with high quaity...
4.
4.
Has corobs and fWWrM that we easy to a Lo
*
Has won awards
4>
4.
4.
4.
a
*
Has good resale value
Has avNt4=d 8Wmtq %SbX"
Has consistent performance
Has dktigwished
Hm fuel economy consistent with whas adveted
4
Isrecommnded by consumer Rports
Has a Post"v dea*%Nshp wtpedce when pmuvcaig
He advanced technalogy
Mekes ane res I can cotl on
a
it
a
Sound% quiet tom tie inside
Is convnaent to rqpsir
barsiounsss
Has comprhns wnrrnty termis
Opentes Reo Ne day I NwqhtR
Lasts along time
"aMffxn nt#andAsh
OLZZr
4
*
4
*
4.
a,
*
an
fthnteror
4.
"A4
Z
4
.
Hae
*
Figure A-1: Gap Assessment Survey: Likert Matrix on Definitions of a High Quality Vehicle
90
Of the features listed below, please rank only the top 3 features that most represent a high quality vehicle. Rank 3 features, with 1 being the highest, 2 being
the second highest and 3 being the 3rd highest.
Please rank only 3 features
leaving all other drop down fields as "select one."
(A screen shot of the options is shown in Figure A-2.)
pfluu vehksls. Rank 3
Of Usfsgures lsed belo, pleas run only the top S3fares th most represent a J
the mcond highest wd 3 beig the 3rd hghest.Pleas rank only 3
fed
s
mfselet
onel.
faiures leving aN other op down
fetures, wih I beIng the highest 2 beIng
Hm oe\4K<<>and<t
satwf e&&
Ah
Kes WV...os
W.". %Mf
Has caralsitguedmihnd
Has ki economy w
*
Kw wan awards
sebltwth *lne adverlyed
al I Mm
hlf
bae
.eW..
Ha excbord itbvt
Figure
~~
~
F
Rk
r
+ -s & osSsrVey:
WW TWopy
fnd~istonajiliao
fe knk*
~
Y% A-:CpAssmn
uvy
Tp3RnsfrDfntos
91
ei
faHg
ult
f
eil
dependable
How much do you agree that the following factors represent a highly
vehicle? A vehicle with high dependability...
(A screen shot of the response matrix is shown in Figure A-3.)
How ra*
do you age that tstSowingtactor represent a
I
deondas4
a vhill?
A vehicle with high dqpendability-
*
0
peno ne
Has comprehemss
0
0
4
isge"
wanrIty t-s
"kdtNnmw~
0
'
ncsa
Ptlasso
Ha eaierA fit and finmh on to wwrr
Has wnt awards
tW s ponsive suppxod fiwnmaAO* r (radsx*ast
0
0
*
0
0
"4
*
0
St
4
*
*
0
m Oa
sbrnsestd)
yOnitw
00
*
M
0
*
Ia recommended ty CnsumWr Rapus
kd*
*
*
ent to repair
H Mi
0
'4
sounosquet tom Ov vide
is builttm dorate matiedas
Ha advanred tedvNftqgy
Haoideonn
0
*
Has advaned Saf-bty f n s
Is cm
A
0
OpeyOsn W.Iote y 4 tM t
Has go esne aksesnhenar
*4"
exe0o
ftt
and
fiiho tW
Has lbrsdiwnwsa
Vehicle
Figure A-3: Gap Assessment Survey: Likert Matrix on Definitions of a Dependable
92
Of the features listed below, please rank only the top 3 features that most represent a highly dependable vehicle. Rank 3 features, with 1 being the highest,
2 being the second highest and 3 being the 3rd highest.
Please rank only 3
features leaving all other drop down fields as "select one."
(A screen shot of the options is shown in Figure A-4.)
eedde wshich
Of tie features Nted belowr, plessam rank onl the top 2 testing that inset represenit a bf
Rank 3 lemats, with I being the highest, 2 beIng the macond highest and 3 being te3rd hIghest. Piesm rank
oily 3 fltueaseaving aM other drop down Uids - "elect one"
e
t sm
Has consistant perfominoe
fs adwvan
Has
.
*
Has exosent fit and Ieeh on TIe exarl os
Hwon &ardf[te
Operateslke the day IbougNtlt
e:
*
Misem" MdI M00onoi#
e
tno
" fareyresises
onlanod franu hclrere~ odse
s________
lies emuelmnt tend flnlah on fu tador
Has>2
% 4
4ald tX
tenon
<
7
Figure A-4: Gap Assessment Survey: Top 3 Ranks for Definitions of a Dependable Vehicle
You indicated that Advanced Technology is (or is not) a sign of a vehicle's quality
or dependability for you. Why?
(open-ended response)
In your opinion, what do you consider to be advanced technologies in a vehicle?
(open-ended response)
93
A.2
The 22 Descriptors in the Survey
This list of 22 categories are possible descriptors for the definitions of High Quality and
Dependability.
It was formulated based on conversations with stakeholders at dealerships
and with GM employees.
1. Is built from durable materials
2. Has distinguished craftsmanship/manufacturing/assembly
3. Has excellent fit and finish on the interior
4. Has excellent fit and finish on the exterior
5. Has won awards
6. Is recommended by Consumer Reports
7. Has consistent performance
8. Operates like the day I bought it
9. Sounds quiet from the inside
10. Has few breakdowns
11. Is convenient to repair
12. Has advanced technology
13. Lasts a long time
14. Has controls and features that are easy to use
15. Has fuel economy consistent with what?s advertised
16. Has good resale value
17. Has a positive dealership experience when purchasing
18. Has comprehensive warranty terms
19. Has safety features
20. Has responsive support from manufacturer (roadside assistance, loaner vehicles, customer call center)
21. Makes me feel I can count on it
22. Other ISPECIFY]
94
A.3
Consumers' Definitions of "High Quality"
The quotes below are consumers' responses to the Gap Assessment Survey question, "In
your opinion, what makes a vehicle high quality?"
" "When it is made with high quality parts and processes, is from a brand with a good
reputation, lasts long/doesn't require a significant amount of maintenance." -Age 26,
drives a 2011 Toyota Corolla
" "Brand reputation, reliability, design, durability, high performance, and well-built with
attention to detail - also one that pays particular attention to detail and is known for
safety." -Age 54, drives a 2013 BMW 3-Series
" "No skimping on materials, good fit, technical superiority, eco-minded, good repair
record, no significant recalls" -Age 58, drives a 2009 Lexus IS
" "Lots of electronic gadgets. well thought out - vents, sound system, coffee holders."
-Age 61, drives a 2014 Acura RDX
* "A car where every detail has obviously been carefully thought out, a car in which there
is almost nothing I would improve." -Age 61, drives a 2012 Mercedes-Benz C-Class
" "It doesn't break down and everything functions like it was new even a couple years
down the road." -Age 34, drives a 2011 Nissan Maxima
" "Exquisite appearance and unique design." -Age 29, drives a 2010 Ford Focus
* "1. quality of workmanship (how parts fit together, etc), 2. quality of materials used in
its construction including engine parts, tires, upholstery fabric, body material, paint,
3.
good vehicle design (little or no wasted space, attractive, aerodynamic, etc), 4.
smooth quiet ride." -Age 66, 2013 Honda Fit
0 "The vehicle is technologically advanced to be environmentally protective." -Age 69,
drives a 2009 Toyota Prius/Prius Plug-In
* "All parts of it run smoothly and seamlessly." -Age 33, 2012 Honda Civic
95
A.4
Employees' Definitions of "High Quality"
The quotes below are GM employees' responses to the Gap Assessment Survey question, "In
your opinon, what makes a vehicle high quality?"
" "Excellent fit and finish of interior and exterior components/assemblies." -Age 39,
drives a 2014 Chevrolet Sonic
" "Smooth ride, quite, door slam quite, paint job holds up to minor nicks.
Question:
If our paint job is of high quality why does the dealer always want to sell me paint
protection it should good and not need another level of protection. High quality vehicle
should not need extra items purchased after the purchase." -Age 39, drives a 2008
Pontiac G6
" "Visible elements of the interior and exterior - materials used, no noises during a test
drive. Smooth shift points, no lag in calibration or car jolts when shifting." -Age 35,
drives a 2014 Chevrolet Cruze
" "Fit and finish of panels and materials. Distinctive styling elements. Premium materials. Features above and beyond commonly used features such as integrated power
inverter, large touch screens, heated and cooled seats. Premium engines and performance." -Age 26, drives a 2014 Buick Regal
" "The overall appearance of the vehicle and the extra touches - leather seats, heated
seats, heated steering wheel." -Age 34, drives a 2014 Cadillac XTS
" "There can be no squeaking or rattling of any kind. There must be consistent gaping
between the seats, and other moving parts. Everything that I touch must feel solidly
designed. I don't like flimsy door handles or knobs and latches. When I close my door,
I don't want it to sound like I closed a tin can. Also, I don't want to feel like when
a heavy truck passes me or a strong wind blows my car is going to fly away with it."
-Age 36, drives a 2010 Chevrolet Aveo
96
A.5
Consumers' Definitions of "Dependability"
The quotes below are consumers' responses to the Gap Assessment Survey question, "In
your opinion, what makes a vehicle dependable?"
" "Routine service only." -Age 32, drives a 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee
* "It always runs well, performs as is expected in other ways like with it's electronics
and such, and doesn't give me cause to have it serviced more than basic maintenance."
-Age 33, drives a 2011 Infiniti G-Series
" "A solid motor that won't break down and leave me stranded." -Age 33, drives a 2013
GMC Yukon/Denali/XL
* "Can handle a lot of rough driving conditions such as snow, or extreme heat, and rarely
needs repairs." -Age 29, 2009 Suzuki Sx4
" "Long warranty, good safety features and reviews" -Age 36, drives a 2011 Honda
Odyssey
* "I feel good performance and optimum gas consumption makes a vehicle dependable.
Security features and minimal recalls also creates a dependable picture." -Age 29, drives
a 2012 Toyota Camry
" "Good reviews from an objective source." -Age 53, drive a 2014 Ford Escape
" "Starts every time." -Age 61, drives a 2011 Chevy Malibu
" "Being available every day at a reasonable cost." -Age 63, drives a 2010 Chevy Camaro
" "Few if no repairs required for 100,000 miles." -Age 2009, drives a Ford Edge
* "if I feel that i trust the vehicle, knowing the records on its dependability" -Age 68,
drives a 2010 Lexus ES
* "No mechanical issues with low maintenance and repair costs." -Age 40, drives a 2010
Nissan Cube
97
A.6
Employees' Definitions of "Dependability"
The quotes below are GM employees' responses to the Gap Assessment Survey question, "In
your opinion, what makes a vehicle dependable?"
* "A vehicle that does not breakdown and when problems occur there is warning time
sufficient to have the problem corrected before a breakdown" -Age 51, drives a 2007
Saab 9-3
0 "Reliability, the vehicle starts, takes me to my destination and return me to my point
of origination. a vehicle that last well beyond the monthly payments" -Age 57, drives
a 2007 Chevrolet Silverado Reg/Ext Cab
0 "Introducing new technology step by step after proper validation that it will work...
instead of to much technology at once and not sufficient testing." -Age 46, drives a
2015 Chevrolet Traverse
0 "You turn the key and it starts reliably, all function of the vehicle perform their function
reliably. Exterior metal on vehicle retains good appearance and does not show rust
through. Good fuel economy." -Age 59, drives a 2009 Buick Enclave
0 "Few maintenance requirements. Basic maintenance should prevent the need for major
repairs." -Age 34, drives a 2010 Toyota Prius/Prius Plug-In
* "Never leaves me stranded; I know I never have to worry about it doing its job; I
wouldn't think twice about going on a long trip in it; I am comfortable letting my
family drive it." -Age 37, drives a 2007 Cadillac CTS
0 "Dependable is when I can drive without the fear of something breaking down or
costing a lot of money to repair unexpectedly." -Age 24, drives a 2014 Chevrolet Cruze
0 "Flawless engineering, manufacturing, and assembly combined with purchased parts
and components that meet their design specifications. Design specifications that include the ability to meet rigorous performance requirements over 20 years and 200,000
miles." -Age 64, drives a 2012 Buick Lacrosse
98
A.7
Consumers: Adv. Tech. Not Sign of Qual/Depend
The quotes below are select responses from consumers to the Gap Assessment Survey question, "You indicated that Advanced Technology is not a sign of a vehicle's quality/dependability
for you. Why not?"
" "Just because something has advanced technology does not necessarily mean it is
dependable - sometimes technology simply means there are more things that can go
wrong and that are more complicated to fix!"
* "There are many cars that are average - no advanced technology - that are quite
dependable and are considered quality cars."
" "Advanced doesn't mean dependable. The newest technology is the first to fail."
" "Some vehicles have advanced technology but the technology is problematic (e.g. some
of the so-called infotainment systems). Therefore, having advanced technology does
not mean that a vehicle is dependable at all. The two factors may not be related or
they can even be inversely related."
" "Dependability to me is more about running consistently and correctly.
I interpret
advanced technology to be more around options of the truck - satellite radio, rear view
camera, blind spot detection, etc. Those items are not about dependability to me, but
quality and ease of use."
* "Gadgets tend to break down and be expensive to repair."
* "Seriously? Have you ever bought an appliance that has advanced technology but turns
out to be substandard?
Just because a computer is involved doesn't automatically
denote quality or dependability."
" "I like advanced technology but to me they are not necessarily a sign of quality or
dependability. Technology can only be appreciated if the vehicle is usable."
" "All I need is air/heat 4X4 and stereo."
99
A.8
Employees: Adv. Tech. Not Sign of Qual/Depend
The quotes below are select responses from employees to the Gap Assessment Survey question, "You indicated that Advanced Technology is not a sign of a vehicle's quality/dependability
for you. Why not?"
" "A lot of Advanced Technology I have seen recently does not work well and is confusing
/
distracting to driving, i.e., the radio/HVAC screens. I prefer knobs for radio/HVAC
controls."
" "Quality and Dependability are bare minimums when shopping for a new vehicle. They
should be standard. Advanced Technology, however, is not standard.
It is usually
bonus, luxury, above minimum vehicle content. If it does not affect the fit and finish,
material quality, or vehicle performance that I count on, then it's not a sign of quality
or dependability."
" "Does not necessarily make the car work any better or operate more reliably."
" "Advance technologies might not be as proven as past technologies and can create a
more error prone vehicle."
" "Although "Advanced Technology" may give me better fuel economy or the ability
to talk-and-drive "handsfree" I don't believe that makes it more or less durable or
dependable. Yes, it changes the value of the vehicle and may make it more desirable but
I don't have enough data to show me that it gives it better quality and dependability
in the longterm."
" "Having the latest bells and whistles does not necessarily make a vehicle more dependable. There's plenty of cars and trucks that have nearly no technology to them but
have lasted well over 100k miles. Some frivolous features may break but it starts up
when they want it to and it gets them to where they want to do."
* "Advanced technology is more likely to break than tried and true, and be more expensive to fix. Hand crank windows are still more dependable than buttons to push them
up and down."
100
A.9
Consumers: Adv. Tech. Is Sign of Qual/Depend
The quotes below are select responses from consumers to the Gap Assessment Survey question, "You indicated that Advanced Technology is a sign of a vehicle's quality/dependability
for you. Why?"
" "Because it shows that the car is not going to fall apart because the technology will
keep me safer and it means that it will sell better for a resale."
" "If the technology has been proven and tested, it would make me feel the vehicle is a
quality vehicle and dependable."
" "Advanced Technology brings features like blind zone monitor."
" "Normally things with advanced technology run better and are more dependable."
" "When I think about high quality I think about precision and attention to detail.
Those two things typically go hand-in-hand with advanced technology."
" "Makes the experience of owning this type of vehicle much more positive because the
vehicle is capable of doing so much, including assisting with various performance issues
and comfort options."
* "Advance Technology can make a vehicle more safe, more dependable, and give you
peace of mind that you will be forewarned of any problems."
" "With all the advances in vehicle manufacturing I expect to have advanced technologies
available as standard equipment or as part of a package I can purchase."
* "If the vehicle has the most advanced technology it should performance better than
vehicles without same technology. It tells me that the vehicle is engineered to the best
options available and should out performance all other vehicles and last a long time."
" "Advanced technology is a sign of quality not so much dependability. I like the extra
features - like blue tooth-that makes driving easier. I live the jukebox feature where
I can down load my ipod directly to the car. It makes driving fun. I could care less
about internet connectivity, receiving emails etc-"
101
A.10
Employees: Adv. Tech. Is Sign of Qual/Depend
The quotes below are select responses from employees to the Gap Assessment Survey question, "You indicated that Advanced Technology is a sign of a vehicle's quality/dependability
for you. Why?"
" "The use of advanced technology indicates that the manufacturer has put a lot of
thought into the vehicle and probably has spared no expense on engineering effort."
" "Provides safety and information that is useful and dependable.
Important for the
amount of time spent traveling in the vehicle."
" "If not implemented/engineered/manufactured
properly, it can be a source of poor
quality and dependability if done too early/soon."
* "Correction made - advanced technology is not in the top 3 of 'high quality'. In today's
market, I wouldn't buy a vehicle with significant advanced technology in its first year.
I would wait until at least it's 2nd year to make sure all the bugs are worked out and its
really worth it. Minor advanced technologies I would buy in the first year. However,
in today's market with competing technologies, one does expect new advances to be
rolled into higher end vehicles."
" "Advanced technology is added to the premium vehicles first.
higher quality or at least perceived as such.
These are typically
High quality and premium status are
intertwined."
" "A lot of time is spent in your car, sometime more time than you spend with your
family.
I want the best technology regarding infotainment to enjoy my ride and I
want the best technology regarding safety so that I can survive my ride and prevent
accidents."
" "Advanced Technology enhances the user's experience. Having the right technology
at the right time shows that time and thought has gone into the design of the vehicle
and, to me, is an indicator of quality."
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A.11
Consumers' Definitions of "Advanced Technology"
The quotes below are select responses from consumers to the Gap Assessment Survey question, "In your opinion, what do you consider to be advanced technologies in a vehicle?"
9 "Newer safety features, eg, blind spot warnings, leaving lane warnings, bluetooth capability - things like that." -Age 62, drives a 2015 Dodge Caravan
0 "Autonomous driving. Distance control/maintenance. Lane departure warning. Blind
spot assist.
Parking assist.
Virtual dashboard.
Complete smartphone integration.
Laser headlights. Heads-up driver display. Night vision assist. Suspension/drive selection. Keyless start, stop and entry. Ventilated seats." -Age 61, drives a 2012 Audi
Q5
0 "Back-up warning and/or camera, CVT or 6+ speed transmission, hybrid drive, blindspot warning, traction control, ABS, keyless ignition" -Age 56, drives a 2011 Hyundai
Elantra/Elantra Gt
0 "satellite radio, gps/nav, rear view camera, heated seats, blind spot detection, push
buttomn ignition" -Age 32, drives a 2012 Toyota Tacoma Crew Cab
* "GPS, a system that alerts you when you are in reverse and nearing an object, lane
change alerts, wifi." -Age 51, drives a 2012 Subaru Forester
0 "Clear sound speakers, music player that is crisp with the great speakers." -Age 36,
drives a 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee
* "self parking, adaptive cruise control, lane deviation warnings." -Age 46, drives a 2010
Hyundai Genesis Coupe
* "Computer technology integrated vehicles, were you need all kinds of diagnostic equipment to analyze an engine problem where your old-fashioned hands on mechanic becomes obsolete and a computer tech services your car." -Age 81, drives a 2013 Chevrolet
Avalanche Crew Cab
* "Better safety features and gas mileage." -Age 47, drives a 2013 Buick Enclave
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A.12
Employees' Definitions of "Advanced Technology"
The quotes below are are select responses from employees to the Gap Assessment Survey
question, "In your opinion, what do you consider to be advanced technologies in a vehicle?"
* "Could be either advanced technology as it relates to Powertrain such as cylinder
deactivaction or technology inside the car such as the advanced infotainment systems."
-Age 45, drives a 2007 Saturn Outlook
9 "Magnetic or other adaptive suspension technology and stability control. Direct fuel
injection. Variable valve timing. Deep integration with smart phones. High end screens
for displays with physical buttons for heavily used features. Systems that remember
my settings for a particular trip or time of day.
BMW Laser).
OLED lighting.
Adaptive headlamp systems (Like
Automatic transmissions with more than 8 speeds.
Collision avoidance systems, especially those designed to avoid pedestrians and animals.
Thermal imaging." -Age 56, drives a 2015 Chevrolet Camaro
0 "Safety structure, crash performance, multiple air bags. Seating comfort and adjustability. Lane departure warnings, parking assistance, back up camera, crash avoidance
(ie too close to the vehicle in front at speed and rate of approach). Automatic heat
and a/c. Bluetooth phone via audio speaker and microphone system. OnStar collision
emergency response. Stability control, Anti lock braking." -Age 58, drives a 2014 GMC
Sierra Crew Cab
0 "User interface/interaction options, HUD [heads up display], latest safety features."
-Age 29, drives a 2014 Chevrolet Cruze
0 "Infotainment system that is comprehensive (I drive many GM vehicles and they do not
function correctly or consistently)-this isn't really an advanced technology item, but is
something we should focus on. Navigation. WiFi-a great feature for growing families.
Safety features that have become more advanced due to technology (back-up assist,
object detection, accident warning, etc.). Parking assist. 'Smart' cruise control." -Age
37, drives a 2013 GMC Sierra Crew Cab
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Appendix B
Text Mining
B.1
Excel Macro Code for Word Parsing
New vehicle owners provide feedback on "product quality" issues via a survey that the
Quality team sends after 60 days of car ownership. The questions are similarly structured
to that of J.D. Power surveys.
However, in the Product Quality survey, customers have
the ability to provide written responses to three open-ended questions in the following three
categories: Suggestions to Improve Vehicle, Like Most About Vehicle, and Reason for Brand
Score. We used an Excel Macro to parse words from customers' written responses to see
what single words are most frequently used.
The code from the macro is copied below [591:
Sub RoundedRectanglelClick()
'Sub MakeWordList()
Dim InputSheet As Worksheet
Dim WordListSheet As Worksheet
Dim PuncChars As Variant, x As Variant
Dim i As Long, r As Long
Dim txt As String
Dim wordCnt As Long
Dim AllWords As Range
105
Dim PC As PivotCache
Dim PT As PivotTable
Application.ScreenUpdating = False
Set InputSheet = ActiveSheet
Set WordListSheet = Worksheets.Add(after:=Worksheets(Sheets.Count))
WordListSheet.Range("A1") = "All Words"
WordListSheet.Range("A1").Font.Bold
=
True
InputSheet.Activate
wordCnt = 2
PuncChars = Array(".",
";", ":",
"!",
"
"I&", "(", ")", " - f ", "_" "--",I "
"
"1$", " ",
",",
r= 1
Loop until blank cell is encountered
Do While Cells(r, 1) <>
""
covert to UPPERCASE
txt = UCase(Cells(r, 1))
Remove punctuation
For i = 0 To UBound(PuncChars)
txt = Replace(txt, PuncChars(i),
"")
Next i
Remove excess spaces
txt = WorksheetFunction.Trim(txt)
Extract the words
x = Split(txt)
For i = 0 To UBound(x)
WordListSheet.Cells(wordCnt, 1) = x(i)
wordCnt = wordCnt + 1
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"#",
_
Next i
r = r + 1
Loop
Create pivot table
WordListSheet.Activate
Set AllWords = Range("A:A").CurrentRegion
Set PC = ActiveWorkbook.PivotCaches.Add
_
(SourceType:=xlDatabase,
SourceData:=AllWords)
Set PT = PC.CreatePivotTable
_
(TableDestination:=Range("C1"), _
TableName:="PivotTablel")
With PT
.AddDataField PivotFields("All Words")
.PivotFields("All Words").Orientation = xlRowField
End With
End Sub
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B.2
Verbatims on the Absence of Interior Trunk Latch
Here are select quotes from customers who answered the open-ended questions in the Product
Quality Compass survey, sent to GM-vehicle owners 60 days after new vehicle is purchased.
The three categories associated with these questions are: Suggestions to Improve Vehicle,
Like Most About Vehicle, and Reason for Brand Score. The quotes below are customers'
reactions to the 2014 Malibu not having a trunk release near the driver.
" "Put a trunk release in the driver area. It is extremely inconvenient and annoying to
have to use the key to open the trunk."
" "A second way to open trunk besides using the key remote."It would be nice if there
was a button on the dash to open the trunk."
* "Had 2005 Malibu and would like more basic features such as trunk opening from
inside and extended survivor on basic models."
* "An inside vehicle trunk activation button."
* "No interior trunk release. REALLY?"
" "The things I miss is a trunk release in the car and the cargo net is no longer over the
wheel wells."
* "An interior trunk release is a must. Heated seats standard on this model would be
nice."
" "A manual trunk lever would be nice."
" "Trunk release button on the inside of the vehicle."
" "I also wish there was an interior button to open the trunk instead of having to either
use the key or the button on the trunk."
* "Unable to find so far where the button or whatever its called to open the trunk from
inside the car."
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0
"Cannot open trunk unless you take key out of ignition."
" "My 2009 Malibu Hybrid had an inside button to open the trunk. My 2014 Malibu
LTZ doesn't have that. You must take the key out of the ignition to open the trunk
now. Not a big inconvenience, but different."
" "I would like to have a way of opening the trunk from inside the car."
" "There isn't a trunk opener inside the car - only on the key."
" "Beautiful Key (wireless entry) but don't like that when the car is running, you are
unable to open the trunk. (It must be shut off first! - Bad idea!!) Very unhandy!!"
" "There should also be a trunk release on the dash."
* "Put a trunk opening button by the driver inside the car, please!!! Come on! Every
vehicle I've had for years has one of these and its handy. Ill certainly be embarrassed
if this car has one, but it doesn't does it?"
" "add inside trunk release button. What if remote fails and trunk access is needed."
* "I am still hunting where everything is. I can't find how to open trunk in the car."
* "Fix the minor problems I've indicated, include as a standard feature manual truck
release."
" "I prefer to have the trunk release on the inside of the car."
" "The car needs a trunk release inside the car. My old car has that and I miss not
having that option."
" "I do not like trunk lid release on key fob. It needs to be changed. I am constantly
opening trunk with key in my pocket. I have left car in a parking lot and came back
to find it open. This is very upsetting leaving car in public lot."
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B.3
Verbatims on Absence of Spare Tire
The methodology is described in Chapter 6. Here are a select number of quotes from customers who answered the open-ended questions in the Product Quality Compass survey, sent
to GM-vehicle owners 60 days after new vehicle is purchased. The three categories associated with these questions are: Suggestions to Improve Vehicle, Like Most About Vehicle,
and Reason for Brand Score. The quotes below are customers' reactions to the 2014 Malibu
not having a spare tire.
" "The only thing that really bothers me is NO SPARE TIRE!!! What am I supposed
to do with that pump if I get a blow out. Sure, I can call road service and have the
car towed but doesn't it make more sense to be able to have the tire changed on the
spot either by myself or by road service??? Also, the button on the outside to open
the trunk doesn't make much sense because I always have the key in my hand and can
open the truck with the key. On my last Malibu (2011), the button was on the inside
driver side door and I used that a lot when I was exiting the car and needed something
from the trunk."
" "I would like to have had a spare tire and jack in my trunk. I WAS not informed of
this missing feature before I bought it."
* "I would feel more comfortable with a spare tire instead of air pump!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
* "Provide a spare tire in trunk. Vehicle came equipped with inflator only."
* "Put a spare tire in the trunk keep your can of fix a flat and that cheap air compressor;
at 3am on a dirt road with a cut in the sidewall of a tire i don't think fix a flat would
help."
" "I'm not sure I like the tire repair kit in lieu of a donut/spare tire. It just seems more
inconvenient."
" "I love my car, just don't like that I have to buy a spare tire and jack to feel safe
driving. if I blow a tire or get a flat then I have to get help. I spend a lot of money on
110
my car and can't change a flat tire. I'm glad I wasn't on expressway when got a flat
tire. that fix a flat kit is only good if the hole is the size of a pin. that's not good"
* "No one told me didn't have spare tire wife 200 miles from home had flat called On-star
before 9:00 am final towed car to Chevrolet place didn't get car fixed until 2:30 took
5.5 hrs to get a flat fixed when if there had been spare tire could have been back on
road in 30 minutes."
0 "What type of car does not come with a spare tire? I have 7 cars that range from a
Ferrari to Corvette and this is the ONLY one that is sooooooo cheap that it does not
have a spare tire. To make it worse I did not find this out until I had a flat in my
BRAND NEW CAR!!! On-star was a joke and Chevrolet road side was even worse.
After paying $300 to the tow truck driver (That I googled and called on my own) for
a used tire I was on my way. HELLLO Toyota!!!"
0 "You have a lot a nerve selling a car without a spare tire."
0 "It needs to come from the factory with a spare tire and jack and not at an added
cost."
* "#1 spare tire should be mandatory, it's unsafe not to have one. In fact it would make
me buy another make in the future if spare isn't standard... bring back physical key
release on the trunk too."
0 "For the money they are not equal in quality or options with a VW Passat. I like Chevy,
but only purchased because of trade-in value. Otherwise, I would have purchased a
VW. You don't even give me a spare time and avoided telling me that. Then upon
inquiry: Oh that is $500 extra and we don't have any, you should try a junkyard to
find one. REALLY."
* "More for money. Spare tire is a safety issue when a new car is not equipped with
one."
0 "Adding a spare tire to the car would make me very happy."
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