In a lot of production environments, there is a saying: “Eating one’s own dog food.” If you’re unfamiliar with the quote, it’s when a company uses its own products. It’s an easy way for companies to add to the amount of testing a product undergoes before being released to customers, and generally leads to better products. In the case of a new program started by GM, employees at its Renaissance Center building will be able to check out the company’s cars overnight. The program is the Company Vehicle Ambassador Program, and aims to spread good words about GM’s newest products. Traditionally, only managers and executives were able to drive the company-owned vehicles.
So far, 500 employees have opted into the program, which uses some vehicles recycled from the corporate test fleet, since GM is currently facing shortages of their most popular vehicles. Amanda Halabou, an investigator in GM’s global security group, borrowed a Chevy Camaro for a weekend during December, and had this to say, “It allows me to speak more knowledgably about the vehicles when I am trying to promote the product or promote the company.” This fits another motive GM has for the program: it turns regular employees into salespersons for the company, since a lot of the vehicles will be used to go shopping, to church, or run errands. If people see and ride in the vehicles and like them, GM sales are bound to rise. Given GM’s current push for more quality and features in their cars, this program has a good chance of helping GM, if only in the Detroit area.
by John Suit
Source: Detroit Free Press
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