Toyota Service team – bringing service skills to the next level
Last month you could read about how STEP (Service Technician Education Programme) is an added value for customers. But we are also curious to know how our service managers and technicians experience this training, so we interviewed Samuele Mazzotta, Service Manager and Giuseppe Isaia, Technician, both working at Milano Carrelli, one of the Toyota dealers in Italy.
Q: So tell us, how did you experience the training programme?
Samuele Mazzotta, Service Manager: “My experience has been very positive: the training has taught me a new approach that’s more methodical and analytical. I learned to approach the situations we usually meet in a more professional way.“
Giuseppe Isaia, Technician: “The training managed to change my mindset: whenever I encounter an issue I’m now able to analyse the situation on a deeper level.”
Q: How is the Toyota training (STEP) different from other training programmes?
Mazzotta: “The structure of the training has an added value: it allows us to focus only on specific technologies instead of entire product ranges. By focusing each time on one specific part, we were able to invest enough time and energy in the logic and principles of analysing and resolving issues.”
Isaia: “Indeed, the training programme allows us to dive deeper into one technology at a time, and learn each technology step by step.”
Q: Which are the most important lessons that you apply in your daily routine?
Mazzotta: “By improving my critical and analytical thinking, I learned that often situations which seem difficult at first sight are in reality easy to solve. This is why now I always keep on asking “why”, which helps to solve recurring problems, and leads to great customer service, with a big S.”
Isaia: “The methods I learned during the training help me to be critical during my daily routine: now I analyse all situations on a deeper level, to avoid dealing with recurring issues.”
Q: Which part of the programme did you find the most difficult?
Mazzotta: “The challenging aspect for me was standardisation: continuing to apply the approach I have learned during the training in my daily work. And also teaching this way of working to my colleagues.”
Isaia: “Indeed, continuing to apply the best practices when being back in the daily routine, especially when things have to go quickly.”
Q: Did the training also teach you non-technical knowledge such as other best practices or values within the company?
Mazzotta: “The programme taught me to not only appreciate the Toyota principles more, but to apply them as well in my daily activities. It also motivated me to share my expertise and values with my colleagues and customers. Thanks to the right knowhow, I’m able to approach even the most stressful situations calmly and successfully.”
Isaia: “Yes, my knowledge has also improved in different areas: I learned about the Toyota way to fixing quality issues, about norms and standards to approach customer issues and how to find a safe solution. Thanks to all this knowledge we are always able to find a solution for our customers.”
February 2018
Toyota Service Concept
We express our passion for service with the Toyota Service Concept, a structured approach to optimise our services.
Technician training is the key to efficient service
The Service Technician Education Programme creates a high level of technical knowledge among Toyota technicians in Europe.
Putting customers first: how Toyota service fulfills customers’ expectations
Toyota Service collects more than 1500 customer surveys monthly, which allows us to continuously improve our service and fullfil customers’ expectations.
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The key to optimise products and the way we work is working with people, as passionate about logistics and technology as us.